Auburn Council is committed to inclusive engagement with its community and employs a range of techniques to ensure genuine participation and communication with residents and the local business community about issues and decisions affecting their lives.
Council recognises that a personal approach and use of informal, word of mouth communication from trusted members of local groups is the most effective way to ensure the widest contact and involvement of all sectors of the community.
Council has developed comprehensive community networks and in particular works closely with community leaders and workers to disseminate information to local community groups.
Initiatives listed below, undertaken in 2007–2008, demonstrate Council is committed to active participation from the community in decision making.
Ambassadors program
In 2006–07 Auburn Council developed the unique Ambassador program which aims to connect with sections and members of the community who traditionally do not have direct contact or interaction with Council.
Auburn Council has successfully used its Ambassador project to interact directly with and entreat involvement and comment from a broad range of its diverse community. Ambassadors have a direct link into the planning processes of Council and are inducted to represent Council out into the broader community.
The Ambassadors are more than volunteers, they are ‘good will’ Ambassadors, who are local people of standing within their particular community sectors and represent Council throughout their dealings within and without the Auburn Local Government Area.
Council Ambassadors are drawn from a range of community groups. Currently 25 Ambassadors promote Council initiatives and significant issues such as sustainability, energy conservation, cultural programs and community issues throughout their community networks.
In 2007, the Ambassador group promoted initiatives and issues of significance to the community. In addition, it assisted Council in developing the Auburn Sustainability Plan and Cultural Plan and provided valuable feedback to Council on relevant plans and policies.
The Auburn Council Ambassador project is an innovative solution to ensuring an open, democratic governance by a Local Government Authority and ensuring that community consultation is undertaken in the most inclusive and extensive way.
Translating key information
into community languages
To overcome the difficulties in communicating with our ethnically and linguistically diverse communities, Council translates material in the major and emerging community languages spoken by Auburn residents. During 2007–2008, Council translated range of material including:
- the Council newsletter which is distributed quarterly to all residents
is translated into the four major community languages spoken
in Auburn – Arabic, Chinese, Vietnamese and Turkish - promotional material for all community consultations
and information sessions, for example; illegal building
works, letters to residents, cultural plan and Auburn Bowling
Club consultations, Auburn Town Centre Study, the LEP
process - community surveys and evaluations seeking feedback from
residents on Council’s community events and lifelong
learning activities and local community surveys - Council’s Library Service Information
- waste education brochures
- community education fact sheets, which addressed the
vital issues of : No Dumping or Spitting; What is Local
Government; What is a DA and Illegal Building Works in the LGA; a series of community safety factsheets in Arabic, Chinese, Dari, Korean and Turkish - school readiness posters in Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Arabic, Turkish, Dari and Tamil
Use of interpreters and utilising
our bilingual staff
Where possible and where needed Auburn Council employs the services of interpreters and its own bilingual staff to engage the community and ensure participation.
Council is proud of its own culturally and linguistically diverse staff. It has over 50 Council staff members who speak a second or third language. Interpreters and bilingual staff have been utilised for a number of events and activities.
Use of ethnic papers
To ensure maximum communication with our culturally diverse community, Auburn Council issues translated press releases and community advertisements to Turkish, Chinese, Vietnamese and Arabic media and also utilises SBS and community radio to reach our target audience.
In addition, all statutory notices are also translated and sent to ethnic media.
