Asset Management a key focus at Adelaide conference
The next big step in asset management will be integrating the technical aspects with long term financial planning in Councils according to Chris Champion, CEO of the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia (IPWEA).
“There needs to be shift from annual budgeting to long term financial planning as a normal part of the business cycle in Local Government,” Chris Champion said. “How can elected members know the long term impact of their decisions without sound long term planning? It is too easy to balance the annual budget by again cutting maintenance of your valuable community infrastructure such as your roads, footpaths, community buildings and stormwater drains.”
He said that the total value of local community infrastructure assets can easily represent in the order of ten times an annual budget.
“Yet little regard is given to the long term impact of annual budgeting decisions on the long term condition of these valuable assets,” he said. “Sustainable infrastructure is the essential foundation for supporting viable communities.”
Keynote speaker at IPWEA’s 2005 National Conference in August will be Matthew Lugg, UK Municipal Engineer of the Year and Chair of the UK Roads Board. Matthew Lugg will be addressing the Adelaide Conference on ‘Sustainable Management of Infrastructure”. A continuous stream on asset management will run throughout the Conference.
The IPWEA has also invited the Victorian Auditor General, Wayne Cameron, to address the Conference on ‘The Essential Role of Audit in Asset Management’. This reflects the IPWEA’s belief that Auditors will be taking a much closer look at the way a Council accounts for its community assets in the future.
John Comrie, Executive Director of the Office of Local Government in South Australia, will speak on long term financial planning and its role in ensuring sustainable communities. His talk will be of interest given the recently released interim report on ‘The State of Local Government Finances in South Australia’. An international panel session will close the conference.
The IPWEA International Public Works Conference is being held in Adelaide from 21–25 August 2005. Further information and registration is available online at www.ipwea.org.au/adelaide2005.
