On the Local Government News Roundup today, Victorian councils call for tough reforms on problem gambling; a Geelong councillor wants to see more leadership on mass public transport options for the city; Albury rebuffs a call from Wodonga for joint hospital advocacy; further delays for Dandenong’s planned art gallery development; a former mayor sentenced for cultivating cannabis – plus much more news from around the world of local government.
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Transcript (with story links):
Hi, this is Chris Eddy, with the latest from the Local Government News Roundup.
On the podcast today – Victorian councils call for tough reforms on problem gambling; a Geelong councillor wants to see more leadership on mass public transport options for the city; Albury rebuffs a call from Wodonga for joint hospital advocacy; further delays for Dandenong’s planned art gallery development; a former mayor sentenced for cultivating cannabis; and much more ahead on the Local Government News Roundup.
Victorian councils are lining up to urge the Andrews Government to follow the lead of NSW and Tasmania in bringing in tough reforms to deal with problem gambling and money laundering.
The Age reports that seven municipalities have signed a joint letter calling for action, including Casey which has recorded the second highest losses to gaming machines in the state – nearly $100M in the seven months to January.
Separately, Brimbank Council, with the highest losses in the state, has passed a motion calling for cashless cards and pre-commitment rules among other measures.
Statewide, losses to gaming machines are on track this financial year to exceed $3B for the first time.
In a survey conducted for the Sunday Age, 42 per cent of respondents supported the introduction of cashless gaming, with a further 36 per cent undecided.
A Greater Geelong councillor has called for state government leadership on the issue of mass public transport in the city.
Deputy Mayor Anthony Aitken says the state and federal governments, and the Geelong council and community need to work together to develop solutions for how Geelong is going to move over the next 50 to 100 years.
Cr Aitken said the removal of the tram network from Geelong in the 1950s has made it harder to now find viable solutions, and he has called for collective efforts on mass public movement transport solutions and new infrastructure.
Wodonga City Council’s call for joint advocacy on a new hospital will not be supported by Albury Council, after its mayor said there was insufficient evidence to justify a greenfield site.
The Border Mail reports today that Albury Mayor Kylie King has received support from fellow councillors for a resolution reiterating strong support for an upgrade of Albury hospital, and assurances from government that the redevelopment will meet the current and future needs of the border community.
In a mayoral minute at last night’s council meeting, Mayor King said the council wants the NSW government to hasten the release of a masterplan for the hospital, and noted that 11 Riverina Councils had backed the upgrade option.
Source: Albury Border Mail, 28 Feb 2023, p.4
A new multi-million art gallery project in Greater Dandenong has been further delayed after a contractual dispute over building work.
The Dandenong Star Journal reports this week that the Dandenong New Art project, which was originally planned to open in 2021, will not open before late this year at the earliest.
A recent council meeting was told that legal steps have been taken to end the contract with builder Harris HMC, and that a sub-contractor had been hired to undertake corrective works.
A spokesperson for the builder told the news outlet that they had asked to be released from the contract due to “council inaction”, and that there was nothing wrong with the steel frame, which the council has described as unacceptable.
Once completed, the $7M plus facility is expected to be a gallery of regional significance
Source: Dandenong Star Journal, 28th Feb 2023
Darebin City Council has achieved a 6 star Green Star rating for the design of the Northcote Aquatic and Recreation Centre.
The council awarded a $50M design and construct contract to Kane Constructions in 2021 to redevelop the existing centre, which has reached its end-of-life.
The new centre is due to open later this year.
The 6 Star Green Star rating is the highest possible in the Green Building Council of Australia’s sustainability rating system.
Briefly:
There’s a new leadership team at the One Gippsland alliance.
East Gippsland Shire Mayor Mark Reeves has been elected as chair for 2023, with new board member Nathan Hersey, mayor of South Gippsland, to serve as Deputy Chair.
Mildura Rural City Council has undergone a structural review, and will reduce its staff to manager ratio and introduce a fourth department.
CEO Martin Hawson said benchmarking showed the council has one of the highest staff to manager ratios compared to similar sized councils.
The leaner structure will include a Strategy and Growth department. Recruitment will soon commence to fill the general manager positions to lead the four departments in the new structure.
The City of Ballarat has approved two special delegations this year to commemorate key anniversaries of international relationships.
Civic ceremonies in Timor-Leste and Japan will take place during 2023. The international visits will cost around $50K in total.
Recent developments in governance at Greater Geelong council are expected to feature strongly at a Women in Local Democracy event to be held in Geelong this week.
Attendees to the free panel and Q&A session will hear from Dr Catherine Williams, a research director from the Centre for Public Integrity; Dr Adrian Evans from Monash University; and former Hobsons Bay mayor and councillor Sandra Wilson.
The event is on Wednesday 2nd March at Geelong City Hall from 5.30pm.
Now for more local government news from around Australia.
A former mayor has been sentenced and fined after pleading guilty to cultivating a cannabis crop worth more than $250K.
Liz Innes, who was mayor of Eurobodalla Shire Council for five years until 2021, will serve a two -year community corrections order, and has been fined $4,000.
As per a report from the ABC, the court heard Ms Innes had turned to cultivating cannabis when under significant pressure after the 2019-20 South Coast bushfires, exacerbated by the pandemic and a marriage breakdown.
Police found 76 plants on her property when patrolling the area on an unrelated matter.
The reinstatement of councillors removed from office in South Australia will not be immediate.
As reported in our last bulletin, legislation to amend the Local Government Act was introduced to the lower house last week to provide the impacted councillors a 10 day grace period to submit their campaign donation returns.
While the legislation passed the lower house quickly, it is required to also pass the legislative assembly, which does not sit again until mid-March.
Reports are emerging of various councillor difficulties experienced in attempting to access and complete disclosure returns.
The Naracoorte Herald has reported on the experience of impacted Naracoote Lucindale councillor Craig McGuire, one of many that the Shadow Minister for Local Government Sam Telfer says he has heard about.
He has called for an independent investigation into the issue.
Cr McGuire says he intends to attend council meetings as a member of the public until he is reinstated.
In Queensland, approval of a 117km billion dollar pipeline project has been welcomed by Gladstone Regional Council this week.
The Queensland Government has given the green light to a $983M pipeline from Fitzroy to Gladstone, which is expected to create 400 jobs and deliver water security to the region.
Gladstone Mayor Matt Burnett said the pipeline brings confidence for renewable energy projects that are a crucial part of the council’s 10 year economic transition roadmap.
He said investments like the pipeline project are helping Gladstone to become a leader in renewables and clean industry.
More from Gladstone Regional Council here, and more about the pipeline project here.
WA’s city of Kwinana wants the state government to take action on recreational shark fishing, proposing a ban in their waters.
The council has directed its mayor and CEO to advocate to the state on the issue, due to the risk to animals and beach goers, and an increase in community opposition to the practice.
Mayor Carol Adam said the City doesn’t have the resources to practically enforce a ban, with a significant proportion of its coastline in private ownership; and it wants the Minister for Fisheries to use his legislative powers to prohibit recreational shark fishing.
Seven local government areas in the NSW Northern Rivers region will share in the first $50M in funding from a federal government flood resilience program.
Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt announced the first tranche of projects from a planned total of $150M to be invested in improving disaster resilience in the Ballina, Byron, Clarence Valley, Kyogle, Lismore, Richmond Valley and Tweed local government areas.
Tweed Mayor Chris Cherry was quick to welcome the announcement, which means $6M will be invested into four pump capacity and earthworks projects.
The projects were put forward by the council’s flood management team to the CSIRO, which has recommended 16 projects in total for funding under the first tranche.
Australia’s peak local government body is working with the housing sector to lobby for increased federal government funding to help councils facilitate more affordable and social housing.
ALGA has partnered with the Community Housing Industry Association and National Shelter in a call for $100M a year over four years to fund a national response to the worsening housing crisis.
ALGA Vice President Matt Burnett said the government’s ambitious target of a million new homes from next year needs to be supported with funding for councils to invest in the physical and social infrastructure necessary for healthy communities.
ALGA says the money would go towards a range of activities, including land audits, housing assessments, and development of innovative models and business cases for housing construction.
The former administrator of Coober Pedy District Council has released a State of the Council report after the conclusion of his term at the helm of the first South Australian council to be put under administration in 35 years.
Tim Jackson has described his experience over four years as “traumatic”, having experienced an unexpected level of anger, distrust and hatred.
He says the crucial issue for the council’s future financial sustainability is water pricing inequity, which is yet to be addressed by the State Government.
The minister for local government recently announced the appointment of Colin Davies as an interim administrator to succeed Mr Jackson, who says he is now planning six months of rehabilitation in the Himalayas.
Briefly:
Toowoomba Regional Council will apply for its next local government elections to be conducted entirely by postal vote.
Under Queensland legislation, an application to have a postal ballot must be made to the Minister for Local Government by 1st May in the preceding year.
A decision from the Minister is expected in the second half of this year.
Mareeba Shire in Queensland has extended the employment of its CEO Peter Franks by five years.
Mr Franks took up the role in 2014, and is credited with successfully leading the organisation out of a period of financial vulnerability.
And WA’s Shire of Dardanup will seek permission to function with one less councillor until elections in October, after the resignation of Cr Janice Dow.
Cr Dow was serving her second four year term on the nine member Council, after first being elected in 2017. Read more here
Now for today’s International Spotlight:
In the UK, council employees have received a pay offer equivalent to a 9.42 per cent increase for the lowest paid workers.
The increase is part of a full and final pay offer negotiated by the National Employers on behalf of 350 local authorities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland which collectively employ around 1.5 million workers.
The National Employers say the offer is fair to employees, while being acutely aware of the additional pressure it will place on council finances.
The ongoing saga of Jeremy Clarkson vs West Oxfordshire District Council has taken another turn, with Mr Clarkson said to be launching an appeal after the council denied permission for his controversial farm restaurant.
Clarkson’s Farm is a popular television program on streaming service Amazon Prime. It’s been reported that despite earlier saying he would not operate a restaurant at the farm, the success of the program has led to a change of mind.
Oxfordshire Live reports that the show has resulted in a dramatic increase of traffic to the small village of Chipping Norton, leading to resident complaints and a plan for a car park on an adjacent field – which the council refused due to sustainability concerns.
Mr Clarkson’s appeal against the council’s decision is expected to be heard next month.
New Zealand’s Nelson City Council has looked outside the local government sector to appoint its new CEO.
It has selected Nigel Philpott for the role, to replace Pat Dougherty who finished with the council in December after more than 20 years.
Mr Philpott has had an extensive career in the navy in both the UK and New Zealand, and will commence a five year contract term in April.
And from the US, the New Orleans City Council is waiting on a legal opinion after revelations its mayor’s office has spent more than $50k on the distribution of political fliers.
A report from WWLTV says the city’s chief administrative officer revealed the expenditure in a letter to council members, and said the matter was under investigation.
The Council’s Vice President has called for the mayor to reimburse the city for all of the costs associated with the mailer, which are typically paid for with campaign finances.
In 2017, LaToya Cantrell, a Democrat, became the first black woman to hold the office of mayor in New Orleans. She was elected to a second term in November 2021 with nearly 65% of the popular vote.
The expenditure revelation comes as a group seeking to have the mayor recalled say they have collected the necessary signatures to trigger a recall vote.
Election officials have until March 14 to verify the nearly 50,000 signatures needed to get a recall election on the ballot.
That’s the latest from the Roundup for the 28th February 2023.
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I’ll be back soon with more of the latest local government news.. Until then, thanks for listening, and bye for now.