At the 2002 Local Government Managers Australia National Congress in Sydney, FOCUS invited delegates to nominate an individual and team from their Council who are excelling in their field and promoting the organisation’s corporate goals. In this edition we showcase two more of the competition winners.
Individual Winner – Tony Walker, Manager Development Services, Break O’ Day Council, Tasmania
Tony has been employed at Break O’ Day Council for a total of 15 years and currently holds the positions of Environmental Health Officer, and Manager Development Services. The latter is a newly created position at Council, and for which Tony is already making huge advances.
“I have had a total of 33 year’s experience in Local Government,” said Tony Walker. “I started off at the Westbury Council at a very young age as an Administration Officer, then after deciding to progress to the field of Environmental Health, I was appointed as the Assistant Environmental Health Officer.”
Tony worked at several other Councils as Environmental Health Officer, and in 1994 Portland Council where he was working at the time amalgamated with Fingal Council to become Break O’ Day Council. Also undertaking the role of Manager Development Services, Tony manages a team of six people providing planning, building control, environmental health, animal control and building maintenance services.
“I am a strong advocate for team work and it is my firm belief that effective teams achieve considerably higher levels of success and are a must in the Local Government arena, with its numerous interactions and diverse interests,” he said. “As an experienced, proactive and strategically focused person, I find the challenge of undertaking the complex tasks of both positions exciting.”
One of Tony’s achievements within the Development Services Team, has been the development of a streamlined process for DA’s.
“An integral part of this process was the development of quality systems performance measures and benchmarks to enable the assessment of applications and determine progress,” Tony Walker said. “The community wants a smooth integrated process when submitting an application, not having to submit separate information for different aspects of their applications.
From this concept we developed a single application form as people see the application for any development as a single process, whereas within Council it involves at least three separate approval systems.”
It is the customer/community interaction among other things that Tony enjoys about working in Local Government.
“I place great importance on being a part of the local community and being accessible and open to listen and understand the issues which people face,” he said.
David Morcom, General Manager at Break O’ Day Council in Tasmania, nominated Tony Walker, Manager of the Development Services Team at Council, for his achievements within the team, and in particular drawing together various processes to provide more efficient and streamlined customer service.
Break O’ Day Council is located on Tasmania’s east coast. It has an area of 3,809 square kilometres and services a diverse population of about 6,000 residents. “Tony has been in Local Government for more than 30 years, but has the enthusiasm of someone who started yesterday!” said David Morcom. “Tony’s real strength is his ability to constantly perceive Council services from the client’s perspective – this sounds straightforward but is not always as easy as it seems.”
Tony’s drive for continual improvement within the Development Services Team has lead to a number of key service initiatives within the area. One of these initiatives was to merge Council’s existing DA’s into a single, simplified application form incorporating building, planning and plumbing applications.
“Customers have found this much easier to use as there is no duplication, less information required and generally the entire process is seamless,” David Morcom said. “Our approval time for standard applications has been reduced by around 50 per cent and our customer satisfaction rating has improved since the process was introduced.”
As well as undertaking the duties of his role at Council, Tony has been able to devote his time in mentoring some of Council’s staff. Last year, Council employed a Municipal Inspector, responsible for animal control, fire abatement matters and enforcement of Council By Laws. With the introduction of a new fee for caravans on vacant lots, and by working closely with the newly appointed Municipal Inspector, Tony has helped to ensure that Council collected $15,000 in new fees for the financial year. At the same time, an active visitation and information program ensured that adverse feedback from affected ratepayers was minimised.
Tony is not only Manager of the Development Services Team, he is also Council’s Environmental Health Officer and for his contributions in this field, he was inducted as a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Environmental Health.
“As if Tony didn’t have enough on his plate, he is also the President of St Helen’s Little Athletics and is the Second Officer of the Binalong Bay Volunteer Fire Brigade,” said David Morcom. “He was in the very first contingent of volunteer fire fighters from Tasmania to travel to NSW to assist fighting the terrible bushfires last year.”
Team Winner – Weed Management Team, Burdekin Shire Council, Queensland
John Woods, Mayor of Burdekin Shire in Queensland, is proud of the achievements of Council’s Weed Management Team.
A largely rural agricultural area, the Weed Management Team works in a variety of environments, from coastal dune and wetland areas with a focus on aquatic weed issues through to the rangeland grazing country where woody weeds, which are tree shrub like weeds provide the greatest challenge.
Burdekin Shire is centred on the rich farming land of the Burdekin Delta. Situated 80 kilometres south of Townsville, the Shire has an area of 5,067 square kilometres and an estimated population of 18,930.
The Team’s work involves land management, liaising with the community, developing land, pest and weed management plans, and supporting weed control projects. It is for their achievements in forming partnerships with various stakeholders to clean the waterways of weeds and rehabilitate riparian areas that Mayor John Woods nominated the Team.
“The Team has been able to encourage residents and groups within the community to combat our weed issue,” said Mayor John Woods. “With artificial weeds having gotten out of hand, the Team has worked in cooperation with the State Government to clean up, and encourage cleaning up of riparian areas and enforcing controls.”
One of the unique things that the Team has been investigating is the use of mullet and other natural growing fish in the area as a form of control. With weed management sometimes being a contentious issue between Councils and communities, the Team has turned what can be a negative issue into something more positive.
“The Team has the ability to communicate with people and empathise with the problems they are facing,” Mayor Woods said. “They are able to deliver a project firmly but still be aware of what farmers and residents are going through. Compliments keep getting back to Council regarding the good work that the Team do. I am very proud with what they have achieved and the Team is recognised throughout Queensland for their efforts in community building.”
The Weed Management Team at Burdekin Shire is headed by Council’s Land Protection Officer, Merv Pyott. Team members include Terry Olsen and Ken Bone-Kobo, both Weed Harvester/Plant Operators; and Rachel Fahey, Administrative Support.
“The Team are prepared to go the extra yards to ensure efficient outcomes,” said Merv Pyott. “We encourage each other to think outside the circle and suggest innovative work.”
The Team, working in a variety of environments, also deals with a number of animal species such as estuarine crocodiles and native spiders. However with the help of their aquatic weed operator, both animals and weeds are dealt with. The aquatic weed project is just one of the things that the Weed Management Team undertake and is part of their overall land management project.
“The positive aspects of the operation are the opportunities to rehabilitate degraded weed infested lagoons and wetlands,” said Merv Pyott “Native birds and water fowl return virtually overnight and fish species previously unable to survive, return within weeks.”
The Team also undertakes rangeland weed inspections and control works. Merv believes it is the combination of the peaceful rural setting and the friendly company of the easy going bush folk who run these large grazing enterprises that make their work worthwhile. Another of the Team’s projects, the Sheep Station Creek Rehabilitation Project, has seen the Team successfully form partnerships with landholders, and various industry, community and government bodies, including the Burdekin Canegrowers Association, Department of Primary Industries, Queensland National Parks and Wildlife and the Australian Centre for Tropical Freshwater Research.
“Since the program commenced, seven lagoons covering approximately 150 hectares have been returned to their natural state, and over 30,000 trees have been planted to provide shade and rehabilitation along the stream banks,” Merv Pyott said. “The pride felt by a dedicated team, committed to passing on a healthier environment for our youth is in itself a great reward. The challenge ahead for Burdekin Shire is to nurture and build upon the partnerships formed because the road ahead is far too difficult for individual people or organisations to tackle alone.
“These invasive introduced plants and animals have a 200 year head start on us in some cases as they arrived with the first settlers. We cannot correct our mistakes overnight, but, in partnership with our community and like minded organisations, we are achieving results not previously thought possible.”
