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 – Christie van der Beeke, Public Relations Officer, City of South Perth, Western Australia
“Christie, despite her fairly young age, is a very determined young lady and often challenges the status quo, making some important contributions to Council.”
Those were the comments made by Acting Chief Executive Officer, South Perth City Council, Cliff Frewing, of Council’s Public Relations Officer, Christie van der Beeke. Christie first came into the role of PR Officer in April 2001 and holds a Bachelor of Arts English degree with a major in journalism and politics. She had previously worked for the Western Australian Foundation for Deaf Children in a special project role. This included the planning and execution of public relations campaigns and special events. She has also had previous work experience working as a journalist for the Hills Gazette.
Her responsibilities at Council are vast, covering both functions within her own department and involvement with other teams. This includes the production and editing of all of Council’s corporate communication documents, media liaison and public relations counsel to the various Council departments.
“Christie has a non complicated, easy to read but relevant style of communicating information to the public,” said Cliff Frewing “The quality of the two annual reports that have been prepared since her arrival has shown this. In addition, the content and appearance of the City newspaper , Peninsula, which is produced four times a year, has also improved significantly.”
Christie is also involved with Council’s Strategic Planning Team, Fiesta Working Party, E-commerce Working Party, and is the inaugural Team Leader of the Business Improvement Team (BIT).
“Christie is very enthusiastic in the manner in which she goes about her work and tasks and is very focused on outcomes,” Cliff Frewing said. “She has brought a degree of professionalism to the organisation which is displayed throughout her work.”
This is particularly evident through her work with the Strategic Planning Team. The team was formed to develop the Plan, which involved a process that incorporated seeking information from local community groups, in house discussions, interpreting community input through community surveys, and obtaining comment from staff members and Commissioners.
“Christie was particularly responsible for the design and layout of the document and ensured consistency between its various components,” said Cliff Frewing. “The end result is a high quality product that is used throughout the organisation on a daily basis.”
Among her other achievements are her role in the development of Council’s Customer Service Charter, her role as a trained facilitator with the BIT exercises, the City Code of Conduct and the review of a local park redevelopment. It is evident that Christie, in the amount of time she has been at Council and the abundance of responsibilities she has undertaken, has won the praises of her peers.
“Working for Council is both challenging and rewarding,” said Christie van der Beeke. “It is a progressive workplace dedicated to the development of its staff, and works to achieve Best Practice outcomes in all its activities. The importance of public relations, moreover strategic communication to both internal and external staff, stakeholders and the community is a high priority. As a result, my role is demanding but I really enjoy the challenges and diversity that each day brings.”
Her role has also enabled her to interact regularly with a diverse range of community members, to hear their ideas and thoughts, and to try to interpret them into actions. She also enjoys the opportunities she has to work cross departmentally, enabling her to establish strong working relationships with a broad range of staff.
“Christie is very thorough in her work, is ambitious and has brought a high level of skill to the function of public relations for Council,” Cliff Frewing said.
Team Winner – Community Environmental Contact team (CEC), Mosman Municipal Council, New South Wales
A commitment to the environment – that is what the community of Mosman in New South Wales wants. And it is through the work of Council’s Community Environmental Contract (CEC) team, that this commitment is coming to fruition. Mosman Municipal Council’s CEC team was formed in mid-2000 when Mosman’s environmental levy was approved by the State Government. The ratepayer levy funds Mosman’s CEC works to improve stormwater quality, regeneration of bushland and natural creeks, and the restoration of seawalls.
The team’s job is to develop and manage projects that address these environmental issues, and to educate the local community. A key reason for the team’s success has been its multidisciplinary composition. Currently the team consists of ten people including: Project Engineer Stormwater, Jennifer Pang; Project Engineer Stormwater, Edwin Ho; Engineering Assistant Stormwater, Nanda Abeysinghe; Project Engineer Seawalls, Alex Manning; Senior Environment Officer, Kane Glanville; Environment Officer, Belinda Atkins; Environment Officer Communications, Lyndall Pickering; Stormwater Education Officer, Charlie Hewitt; Manager Finance, Mark McDonald; and Manager Assets and Services, Scott Turner.
“The range of professional expertise within the team has contributed to the success of CEC projects, and enabled the adoption of complex projects with multiple environmental objectives,” said Council’s General Manager and nominator of the team, Viv May. “The willingness for each member to incorporate a variety of environmental practices in their projects, look at the overall environmental issues affecting the project, and consider new approaches and different management techniques to achieve the best environmental outcomes has been critical to its success.”
One of the team’s significant achievements has been the Lawry Plunkett Reserve Environment and Heritage Project, which arose from several small creek rehabilitation projects to improve the riparian habitat in a bushland reserve. “The vision of the team, and the opportunity of funding from the NSW Stormwater Trust, makes it one of Council’s most complex and interesting projects,” said Viv May.
With creek rehabilitation works still underway in conjunction with stormwater diversion works and the installation of stormwater devices, it is proposed to prevent the damage being caused by polluted water to the bushland and creek lines of the reserve. Included in this project is a comprehensive in depth education campaign to address the social causes of stormwater pollution and bushland degradation, with the hope of involving the local community.
“The improved interaction with the community created by these activities has enabled better consultation and mediation with the local community,” said Viv May.
The feedback that Council has received from the local community about the hard work and dedication of the team has been overwhelmingly positive.
“Being part of the team is an extremely rewarding experience,” said CEC Project Engineer Stormwater, Jennifer Pang. “The dynamics of this multidisciplinary team, and their commitment have been key reasons for the team’s success in cross disciplinary learning and innovation. The most satisfying part of my work is the outcome – achieving environmental targets, taking part in capacity building of the team, and the positive recognition that CEC work has received from the community and Councillors.
Viv May said that the work undertaken by the CEC team has increased the value of the rate levy and given additional support to the concept of ratepayer funded environmental projects that are properly scoped, planned and implemented.
“Projects are progressively incorporating and integrating objectives including water cycle management, pollution source control, water sensitive urban design and biodiversity enhancement, and I believe this will continue,” said Jennifer Pang. “The extension of CEC projects into other facets of environmental planning is a positive trend that I see continuing.”
“Mosman’s CEC team is a motivated, innovative team, which has a stake in the important work that it conducts, and whose members aspire to achieve the stated objective of the CEC, that is – to protect, conserve and enhance the environment of Mosman and its value to the community,” said Viv May.
