For its annual conference staged on 16 and 17 February, Victoria’s Local Government Professionals (LGPro) chose the theme ‘The Next Generation’. LGPro President, John Bennie, said that our ageing community and workforce demands greater flexibility. As the baby boomers make way for generation X and Y, he pointed to LGPro preparing for the next generation of Local Government leaders through its Emerging Leaders program.In opening the conference, Victorian Minister for Local Government, Candy Broad, said that the theme indicates that Local Government is thinking about change and the future. She outlined five key changes that are likely to have an impact Victorian Councils during 2006.
The State Government’s $78 million Fairer Victoria program will result in some additional funding for Local Government. Including community building projects to address disadvantage and delivery of better government services, the Minister said that the program will tap into various skills and networks already present in Local Governments and communities.
Turning to recent Federal Government legislation on Industrial Relations, Candy Broad said that this will impact greatly on people with low skills and those entering the workforce as well as making balancing family and work harder. She said the State Government is working with the Municipal Association of Victoria to look at ways to address these challenges.
The third area is the Intergovernmental Agreement. “With the Financial Assistance Grants now less than one per cent of GDP and expected to fall further, the intergovernmental agreement is vital,” the Minister said. “We have a commitment from Jim Lloyd that this will be resolved in the first half of this year.”
With the current myriad of strategic plans being required of Local Government by the State Government, the Minister told delegates there is a need for improved integration of State and Local Government planning.
“This will see fewer plans through better integration and more community input,” she said. Lastly, she said there will be increased training opportunities provided for Councillors and practitioners to increase skills in community involvement and planning.
“Service delivery is still a vital role but Councils are now more involved in community consultation and community building,” Minister Broad said. “This will see a move from local government to local governance.”
