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Climate control
The Sunshine Coast solar farm is plugged into the grid. (L-R) Trevor Cohen, Executive Director, Downer Utilities; Sunshine Coast Mayor Mark Jamieson; Cr Stephen Robinson; Glenn Butcher, Member for Gladstone.
New research shows that Australian local governments are tackling climate change without relying on help from other levels of government – and increasingly sharing their knowledge with each other. Read more >
Coastal council sets the pace on climate
Douglas Shire has become the first Council in Queensland to complete the first two phases of a Coastal Hazard Adaptation Strategy (CHAS) under the State Government QCoast 2100 program.
Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) Chief Executive Officer Greg Hallam informed Council it had been successful in its application for funding for Stages 3-8 of a CHAS after receiving funding in late 2016 for the first two stages.
LGAQ is running the $12 million QCoast 2100 Program funded by the State Government to help local governments impacted by coastal hazards as a result of climate change to get on the front foot in adaptation planning.
Mayor Julia Leu said the $393,470 in funding for Stages 3-8 of the Douglas Shire’s CHAS demonstrated Council’s commitment to future-proofing their communities.
“I’m very proud that Douglas Shire Council received funding for all stages of our CHAS and appreciate the support of LGAQ and the State Government to help our communities prepare for the impacts of climate change,” Mayor Leu said.
“This strategy will help us identify and implement cost-effective mitigation measures and plan for appropriate development and growth in the Douglas Shire.”
Council has also recently teamed up with the Douglas Local Marine Advisory Committee to send Sustainability Officer Nicola Learmond to a coastal management short course run by Griffith University.
Ms Learmond said the three-day course held in Brisbane and the Gold Coast included coastal hazard management training on coastal dynamics, the impacts of coastal hazards on settlement, infrastructure and ecosystems.
“We learned about coastal hazards and climate change adaptation options and explored the potential impacts of future tropical cyclones and storms, coastal erosion, storm tide inundation and sea level rises caused by climate change,” Ms Learmond said.
Mayors unite against hate
Dr Dvir Abramovich and Mayor Mary Delahunty signing the declaration.
Mayor of Glen Eira City Council in eastern Melbourne has become the first to sign up to a campaign urging mayors to stand against racial hatred. Read more >
Maintaining rural roads
Meander Valley Council in Tasmania is proving rural councils can make significant roadwork savings and efficiencies.
As with most rural areas, unsealed roads make up a significant part of the road network in Meander Valley.
Maintaining these roads requires the implementation of a gravel re-sheeting and grading program.
Despite $300k per annum allocated to the re-sheeting budget in addition to a maintenance cost of $150k per annum for grading and patching, Council’s works crews were unable to keep pace with the demand for road re-surfacing and maintenance.
Seeking a solution, engineering staff suggested the use of higher quality gravel.
While this would initially incur additional cost, the new material would not require re-sheeting and grading as often and would provide users with a smoother surface that reduced dust.
The suggestion was supported by Councillors who voted to increase the gravel re-sheeting budget by $100k per annum for four years.
In addition to the allocation of additional funding, Council’s works crews also developed an improved road profile that was designed to shed water off the road surface.
This reduced the instance of potholes and customer service requests to rectify them.
Because of this investment, the gravel re-sheeting budget has been reduced to $200k per annum.
Council now has an unsealed road network that will save around $150k each and every year following an initial investment of $100k per annum over four years.
In addition, because the new material requires less maintenance, Council now has the option of increasing the length of time between re-sheeting.
An increase of one year between re-sheets would save approximately $40k in depreciation costs.
In order to achieve better services and better financial returns, success in asset management is dependent on a whole of organisation approach.
Councillors provide support for the initiatives that Council Officer’s identify and works crews need to be able to deliver the projects within the scope of their roles on the ground.
State-local partnership for Western Australia- President’s commen
Councillor Lynne Craigie, President, Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA)
Keeping shared-paths safe
Deputy Mayor, Cr John Mortimore, and Ward Councillor, Jake Keogh, with Jim Chrysis from VicRoads and Knox Environment Society (KES) members.
Knox City Council in eastern Melbourne has unveiled a new shared-path safety campaign to protect both cyclists and pedestrians. Read more >
New research shows that Australian local governments are tackling climate change without relying on help from other levels of government – and increasingly sharing their knowledge with each other.
