On 1 July 1996, Local Government in Western Australia commenced a new era under the Local Government Act 1995. The first comprehensive review of the operation of Local Government in more than 100 years, the Act introduces a new approach.
Gone is the prescription of what a Council could do. Now each Council has a general power to Œprovide for the good government of persons in its district’, by creating local laws and providing services and facilities to their communities.
Councils can now exercise greater autonomy and flexibility in the way they go about their task of providing for the needs of their areas. In addition, effectiveness and efficiency are encouraged through modern approaches to management, and Councils are more accountable to the people they serve.
Public participation has been increased through greater access to Council information and more opportunities are available for involvement in the decision making process. To facilitate the introduction of these and other changes, the Department of Local Government embarked on an ambitious Statewide training program. Targeted to Councillors, CEOs and other senior Council staff, the training program highlights major themes in the Act and pinpoints specific areas of change.
“With the Act applying to 144 Local Governments in very different circumstances around the State, this has produced a wide range of comments and questions,” said John Lynch, Executive Director of the Department of Local Government. “Workshop sessions have given the opportunity for the application of the new provisions to local situations, and provided responses tailored to individual circumstances.”
Over a four month period, a team of 12 Departmental officers is in the process of delivering 70 two day training courses to almost 2,000 people. From Kununurra to Albany, and Geraldton to Warburton thousands of kilometres have been travelled to reach as many areas of the State as possible.
Alongside this timetable, Municipal Training Services organised a one day ‘Implementation Forum’ in Perth targeted at CEOs and other staff responsible for implementing the Act and Regulations. More than 300 attended and input from the Department and the Institute of Municipal Management stimulated questions, comments and a variety of concerns.
“The response to the training has been very positive and participants have indicated their appreciation of the explanations and clarifications,” John Lynch said. “It has also provided the Department with the opportunity to network with the industry across the State, providing many with follow up contacts as implementation continues.”
