On the Roundup today:
Controversial new governance rules passed in Yarra City; excitement over a potential new train station in Melbourne’s west; bin service changes at some Melbourne councils in the news; a NSW council’s financial troubles in the spotlight; and Devonport doubles down on a proposed council amalgamation.
And why are all of Victoria’s councils being asked to participate in a place naming survey – and what will be done with the data?
Listen to this episode here; find the link for your regular podcast app here, or catch up on all 153 episodes to date here.
Transcript (with links where available):
Hello and welcome to the Local Government News Roundup. This is the bulletin for the 24th August. I’m Chris Eddy.
Coming up in this edition: controversial new governance rules passed in Yarra City; excitement over a potential new train station in Melbourne’s west; bin service changes at some Melbourne councils in the news; a NSW council’s financial troubles in the spotlight; and Devonport doubles down on a proposed council amalgamation.
And later, why are all of Victoria’s councils being asked to participate in a place naming survey – and what will be done with the data?
Just some of what’s ahead on the Local Government News Roundup, brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association, the national broadcaster on all things local government.
(Updated) Yarra City Council has adopted its new Governance Rules, which have been the subject of widespread media attention and some controversy.
The council says the new rules provide clear guidance on decision making processes and community participation in council meetings, while maintaining the need for robust councillor debate.
Under the new rules, residents will need to lodge their questions for the council at least 24 hours before a Council meeting. There will be flexibility in how people can address a council meeting, and speaking times for councillors and members of the public have been amended.
There were suggested amendments and opposition to the provision from some councillors, however the draft rules which had been subject to community consultation and the input of Yarra’s Municipal Monitor, were ultimately passed with a vote of 5 to 3.
The City of Melbourne is reportedly considering a plan to expand the number of smoke-free zones in the city.
A report in the Age this week says that the current number of 13 outdoor areas with smoking bans could be expanded to include entry points to transport hubs; sporting venues and council owned property including the Melbourne Town Hall.
Geelong City Council has scrapped a $2.7M tender for the final stage of a bike path project that would connect the CBD to Waurn Ponds, and Herne Hill via Geelong West.
The council voted to defer a decision on the tender last month, and the CEO says further work needs to be done.
In a statement, Martin Cutter said the council has received new design advice from other authorities and that it was not appropriate to propose awarding a contract yet, as further discussion is needed with key partners.
Moonee Valley City Council’s ‘Western Gateway Station’ campaign appears about to bear fruit, with media reports that the government will include an additional train station at Keilor East as part of the Melbourne Airport Rail Link project.
The council has been advocating for an additional station to help fill a gap in public transport options for residents and workers in that part of Melbourne’s west. Mayor Samantha Byrne said this week that supportive statements by state and federal ministers Ben Carroll and Bill Shorten were a strong sign of hope for local residents.
Mayor Byrne said it meant that all three levels of government are fully on board with the proposal, and the next step is to make it happen as soon as possible.
A new building blocks partnership for early childhood infrastructure projects in Moreland has been agreed with the state government.
The government will contribute nearly $11M towards 11 new and expanded kindergartens in the municipality.
The first stage will deliver over 300 places by 2025, with further projects to come from 2026 onwards.
Ultimately up to 329 extra funded kindergarten places will be delivered in Moreland by 2029.
Here are today’s Victorian Briefs:
Mobile phone blackspots and roads head the list of priority projects for Corangamite Shire Council ahead of November’s state election.
Mayor Ruth Gstrein said the council would like to see commitments to fix mobile phone blackspots and an upgrade of the NBN in Port Campbell; along with an ask for $31M in upgrades to the region’s dairy supply chain roads each year for the next decade.
The head of the new Campaspe Port Enterprise has been announced. Murray River Tourism boss, and former local government executive, Mark Francis has been appointed as executive general manager for the new body that will take over responsibility for the Port of Echuca from Campaspe Shire. Mr Francis takes up the position next month.
The annual kerbside bin audit in Knox City Council has revealed that food scraps make up more than 40% of rubbish bin contents.
The findings come as the council prepares to introduce a service where residents can add food scraps to their green bin from April next year. A change in bin collection cycles will follow in July, with the food and garden bin collected weekly and general rubbish going to a fortnightly collection cycle.
Further to that last story, today’s Herald Sun carries a piece about resident concerns over stinky bins after both Banyule and Monash Councils switched to fortnightly rubbish bin collection.
Banyule has also introduced a weekly FOGO collection, in line with state government requirements.
Macedon Ranges Shire Council has responded to the state government’s call for Commonwealth Games ideas by suggesting the use of Hanging Rock as a location to host events; and an expansion of the region’s annual Autumn Festival program to complement the games.
Also amongst the council’s suggestions are the use of the Macedon Ranges Regional Sports Precinct, due for stage one completion in 2024, and for the official road race to come through Macedon Ranges on its way from Gippsland to Bendigo.
Coming up: a NSW council’s financial troubles in the spotlight; Devonport doubles down on a proposed council amalgamation; no changes to councillor eligibility for this year’s Tasmanian council elections; and why all of Victoria’s councils are being surveyed about 250,000 road and place names.
You’re listening to the Local Government News Roundup for 24th August 2022, brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association.
With a state election looming, VLGA Connect is presenting a series of live panels and discussions with key players over the coming weeks.
The series will comprise moderated live panel discussions, with audience Q&A so that you can ask your questions of panellists on issues of relevance to the local government sector.
Shadow Minister for Local Government Richard Riordan, and Shadow Minister for Planning Ryan Smith will participate in a live panel event next Friday 26th August.
There will also be sessions on infrastructure needs, and the commitments the various council alliances would like to see from the parties in the lead up to the election.
Visit the Events page on the VLGA website for details and to register to be part of the 2022 State Election Series, brought to you by the VLGA.
Heading the National Roundup today:
In NSW, Kiama Council will hold an extraordinary meeting today to table on the public record a letter sent from the Auditor-General to the Local Government Minister about significant issues with the council’s 2020/21 financial statements.
Mayor Neil Reilly says he has called the meeting, with the support of councillor colleagues, to be transparent about the council’s financial situation.
The Auditor-General’s letter raises concerns about the council’s ability to repay its debts, describing it as a significant risk; while also noting issues with the adequacy of the council’s books and records, and the use of externally restricted funds.
A key source of the council’s liquidity issues is an aged care facility that was originally budgeted at $74M, but came in at a final cost of more than $107M.
The Council is awaiting a response to the Auditor-General’s letter from the Minister, Wendy Tuckerman.
An ABC report this week says the Minister is understood to be closely monitoring the issue.
Devonport City Council in Tasmania has reiterated its support for the amalgamation of councils in the Mersey Region.
The council has unanimously endorsed a phase two submission to the state’s Future of Local Government Review, and does not support the suggestion to remove delivery of some key services from councils.
Mayor Annette Rockcliff said consolidating services away from councils removes the local representation and control, and shifts the authority to regional or statewide bodies with unnecessary overhead and cost.
She said a Mersey Region council area, with approximately 60,000 residents, would better serve the region with autonomy to influence and decide what is best for the local area.
The mayor of neighbouring Latrobe Council, Peter Freshney, has expressed disappointment with how the proposed amalgamation of the region’s councils has progressed to date. In today’s Burnie Advocate, he said the council had not been approached about the issue.
Tasmania’s Local Government Minister Nic Street says there will be no legislative changes this side of council elections in October, despite calls to tighten eligibility requirements for candidates.
The calls have come in the wake of a guilty verdict against Waratah-Wynyard Councillor Darren Fairbrother for exposing himself on a beach, which led to a three month suspension from being a councillor.
Mr Street told the Launceston Examiner that any changes would take time and consultation, and any work on the issue would need to be deferred until after the upcoming elections.
Nominations have opened for the 2022 council elections in South Australia.
The nomination period commenced yesterday and will close at 12 noon on Tuesday 6th September.
Postal ballots will go out to voters in mid-October, with the vote count scheduled to take place on Saturday 12th November.
The City of Sydney will investigate a ban on fossil fuel advertising on its assets, after a council vote this week.
The Mandarin reports that Sydney would become the first NSW jurisdiction to take the action, following consideration of similar measures earlier this year at Yarra and Moreland in Victoria.
The Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, was also asked to write to federal and state ministers seeking bans at those levels also.
The Illawarra Shoalhaven City Partnership has reportedly raised more than half of its $875M target of investment in city infrastructure.
The partnership of government, business, and education institutions has so far raised over $470M, with recent commitments for road projects, waste recovery and landfill reduction.
The Illawarra Mercury reports that the partnership will refocus its efforts later this year to respond to the pandemic impacts and a change in federal government.
(Illawarra Mercury, 22/8/22)
Here are today’s National Briefs:
South Australia’s District Council of Ceduna last week appointed its new Chief Executive Officer. Tim Coote, currently GM of City Growth at Mt Gambier will take up the position in November, after the upcoming council elections.
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Georges River Council has adopted a Social Justice Charter at its meeting on Monday night.
The charter is built around 4 core principles of participation, equity, respect and empowerment, to guide championing social justice in the community.
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Gunnedah Shire Council has awarded a contract for stage 2 of the Gunnedah Koala Sanctuary, a planned world-class koala park expected to showcase the region as the Koala Capital of the World.
The council’s renewed commitment to the project follows a funding shortfall caused by increasing supply and labour costs following the pandemic.
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Jon Gibbons has departed the CEO role at Scenic Rim Regional Council in Queensland, having completed an extension to his contract through until this month.
The council’s GM of People and Strategy Caroline McMahon is acting CEO until a replacement is appointed.
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Tasmania’s West Tamar Council has made the news this week after rejecting a suggestion to adopt a caretaker policy ahead of this year’s elections.
The state’s local government minister Nic Street has asked councils to voluntarily adopt a caretaker period policy, as there is currently no legislative requirement to do so. That is likely to be addressed after these elections.
According to the Launceston Examiner, Tasmania is the only state to not have the requirement, while Minister Street says West Tamar is the only council he is aware of that has voted against having such a policy.
Now to today’s International Spotlight:
In London, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has won a court order for AirBNB to share payment data so that the council can take action on illegal short-term lets.
It wants to take aim at the use of social housing properties being listed as holiday and short-term lets, which is against the law.
As reported by localgov.co.uk, data protection rules in the UK prevent the company from sharing the information without a court order. The council and the company have said they want to collaborate on addressing the problem, and Air BnB has called for the complex and costly rules to be updated.
To the US where an overhaul of the local government system in the city of Portland, Oregon is to be put to voters in November after a court determined last week that the proposal does not violate state law.
According to opb.org, the city has a Charter Commission, a volunteer group that has proposed replacing the current system of 5 citywide councillors and a mayor, with 12 councillors charged with writing legislation rather than overseeing bureaus.
The mayor would be separate to the council, and would oversee the executive functions of the organisation.
The local business alliance sued the city over the proposal on the grounds that it contained a number of unrelated issues that violated the single-subject rule for ballot measures.
The court disagreed and the proposal will now move to a ballot of voters in November.
And in Mexico City, there has been an outcry from residents after officials decided to remove a statue that was erected last year in protest at gender violence.
The statue was raised last September year on a pedestal in a roundabout that had stood empty since 2020 when activists removed a statue of Christopher Columbus as part of a wave of monument protests around the world.
ARTNews.com reports that people are unhappy with the proposed replacement – a statue honouring indigenous people by a white male artist – and they say it would destroy the meaning that the roundabout has taken on for Mexican feminists.
Roundup Extra:
Across Victoria right now, all 79 councils are being asked about the naming of places and roads – some 250,000 of them. It’s part of a survey to help bridge a known data-gap to help understand how well women are represented in public spaces.
The initiative is a collaboration between Gender Equity Victoria and Geographic Names Victoria. Kerry Wilson is the Put Her Name On It project lead at GEN Vic, and she joins me now.
Interview with Kerry Wilson
And if you work at one of Victoria’s 79 councils, look out for the survey and consider if you can assist with ground-breaking research.
You can find out more from the link in our show notes.
That wraps up another Local Government News Roundup, brought to you by the Victorian Local Governance Association.
Remember to subscribe to VLGA Connect on YouTube and podcast for regular episodes highlighting local government initiatives, plus the flagship weekly news review on the Governance Update with Stephen Cooper.
I’ll be back with more news from around the world of local government on Wednesday. Head to lgnewsroundup.com for breaking news updates and extra interview content.
Until then, thanks for listening and bye for now.