Rhonda Bignall, General Manager at Maitland City Council in NSW, gave an overview of her Council’s approach to instituting reforms for increased competition.
Unencumbered by the regulatory framework which has characterised the Victorian reforms, Maitland was able to conduct change in a way which was least destructive of staff morale, existing goodwill and community support.
Maitland based its corporate strategy on a collaborative team approach. This included no forced redundancies, workshops for Councillors, identification of core business objectives and realistic preparation times.
Workplace reforms, achieved with full staff involvement, have realised productivity gains of $610,000 in the first year of operation. Staff have been rewarded with bonuses, equating to one and a half weeks salary, providing both reward and incentive for further reform.
All reform has been based on achieving improved community outcomes within a competition framework. The reform process is not finalised, but the first contract has been won, and the aim now is to continuously increase benefits to ratepayers and staff.
Rhonda Bignall, who is enthusiastic about the benefits to be had from competition reform, is emphatic that competition is not about relying on State Government prescriptions or following the example of others.
“It is not about change without proper research and it is not about ‘one size fits all’,” she said. “Nor is it about decreasing staff numbers or selling off assets without agreement and discussion, or hidden agendas and competition for its own sake.”
