President’s comment
LG Professionals Australia is the leading professional association representing local government practitioners throughout Australia and looks forward to holding discussions in Canberra to advocate on matters that are in the best interest of local government and the communities it represents.
To this end, our Chief Executive Officer, Lauren Oakey, will be spending 100 days in Canberra forging relationships over the next 12 months.
Lauren’s presence in Canberra follows on from our recent work with the University of Canberra’s Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis, which produced a report on the current and future roles of local government: Australia in a Century of Transformative Governance: A Federation for Communities and Places.
Among the themes in the report, is the need to advocate a closer relationship between the different tiers of government in Australia.
Through collaboration, we believe there are a multitude of opportunities to harness the place-based knowledge and connections of local government, especially in area analysis, networked solutions, and implementation and service delivery.
Local government could make a far greater contribution to the wellbeing of our communities and the long-term economic viability of our cities and regional areas. One of the major reasons for this is that, while state and federal governments silo their policy areas to administer them effectively, local governments can take a holistic, community-based approach to the challenges and opportunities within their small geographical areas – based on an understanding of the causes and wider impacts of specific circumstances and decisions.
For example, depending on the community, a new sports facility might have signs in multiple languages, an extra focus on disability access, specific features for an aging population, or hangout areas for youth groups, reflecting the needs of the residents. Real consultation – using existing local government knowledge across different areas of expertise – in the planning stages helps create smart, integrated solutions.
For the same reasons, local government will often be the best vehicle for policy implementation, both in terms of cost and effectiveness.
Recent announcements by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull are a step in the right direction. The PM has announced his new cabinet and ministry, and from a local government perspective, these changes bode well for an increased focus on councils.
Cabinet member Fiona Nash is now Minister for Local Government and Territories and Paul Fletcher has been appointed Minister to the newly created Urban Infrastructure.
In our continuing efforts to shine a spotlight on how thinking locally can make a huge difference to communities across Australia, LG Professionals Australia, announced a new partnership with OurSay.
This partnership is to make sure the voices of people working in local government around Australia are heard in Canberra.
The first forum, just launched, is titled ‘First 100 Days in Government’ enabling people working in local governments around Australia to raise their voices to shape and inform the agenda in Canberra and let the Turnbull Government know what matters to local government practitioners.
We would like to invite you to get involved. Tell the federal government what local government practitioners need to be effective, and why being local matters via the Our Say forum page. Visit oursay.org/lgprofaust/first100days to have your say.
