With the protracted review process and uncertainty of further amalgamations, the Local Government Association of Tasmania invited the Institute of Municipal Management, the Institute of Municipal Engineering Australia and the Local Government Community Development Association to join with it in staging a joint Annual Conference.
Titled ‘Local Government – A New Beginning’, the combined Conference was a first for Australian Local Government. Speaking at the plenary session, LGAT President, Sue Smith, said that the Conference worked well, providing an opportunity ‘to come together in the combined industry that Local Government is’.
“It has been the voice of Local Government across Tasmania, and, if Local Government is to be reduced through further amalgamation, this model is worth pursuing in the future,” she said.
Taking place in Hobart on 28 and 29 May, the Conference preceded the release on 1 June of the Local Government Board’s reconsideration of its Final Report on boundary restructure. This followed a request by the Minister for Local Government that the Board ‘reconsider’ the recommendations of its Final Report released last January.
With the Board introducing some extra options, including substituting a West Shore and East Shore Council for the proposed Greater Hobart Council, Councils and their communities had until the 15 June to make written comment. Tasmanian Councils are now waiting for the State Government’s final decision.
As part of the State Government’s attempt to counter economic difficulties, the Premier, Tony Rundle, told Conference delegates that he believes larger Councils are best equipped to be facilitators of social, economic and cultural change.
However, he expressed his regret at the immense pressure Councils have been under over the past 12 months. President Sue Smith said that in spite of the uncertainty, Councils are ready to move forward.
“We have the confidence to know that whatever we are handed, we will make it happen for our people,” she said. “We will be a player, not an audience.” Sue Smith went on to say that one of the biggest problems in Tasmania is that of attitude.
“I blame the media for continually saying how bad things are and not encouraging the positives,” she said. “It is time to start talking up not down – that the cup is half full, not half empty.
When other spheres of government are failing in this regard, it is up to Local Government to take this process on, to provide leadership on the ground, talking up that Tasmania is a great place.
