A record number of delegates attended the 2007 Local Government Professionals (LGPro) Annual Conference staged in Melbourne from 14-16 February. The theme, In the Public Interest, provided delegates with scope to discuss the needs of communities and how to address them.
LGPro President, John Bennie, opened the conference reinforcing the pivotal role that Local Government plays in disaster recovery.
“In times of crisis, communities reach out to Local Governments and their leadership,” he said. “They rely on us for support, comfort and direction. The State’s recent bushfires have seen a fantastic effort by all public officials and Local Government administrators, and we should stand tall knowing that our communities recognise we are there for them.”
Keynote speaker, Barry Quirk, agreed that times of crisis are crucial for Councils.
“People remember how we act in times of crisis more than the service we provide daily,” he said.
Barry Quirk is CEO of the London Borough of Lewisham, located in south east London. His Council covers 35 square kilometres and has a population of 250,000 people. With one Mayor and 54 Councillors, Lewisham has a gross annual revenue of £860 million, with a £110 million capital spend. Barry oversees 8,500 staff members, which includes 4,500 core authority staff. He said the scope for people wanting to be involved in Council and its decisions is often greater than we anticipate and that Councils need to be more creative in involving them.
“In Lewisham, we are involving the public in problems and decision making through citizens’ juries,” he said. “The juries address complex or controversial issues and are usually made up of 12 to16 people. They hear evidence from a range of specialist witnesses over several days and then draw a set of informed conclusions and collective recommendations.”
Barry Quirk said jurors are selected at random and are representative of the local population. Lewisham was one of the first Councils in Britain to use a citizens’ jury in April 1996, when 16 local people met over four days to debate the impact of drugs on individuals and communities. More recently, Council used a citizens’ jury to determine the extent to which the car should fit into Lewisham’s future transport plan.
Barry Quirk said it is also crucial to involve young people.
“Of 2,000 students in our Council area, only 47 are enrolled in government related courses,” he said. “We recognised that Council needed to make some changes to alter the view of Local Government careers and get young people interested. As such, we introduced the Young Mayor Program in 2004.”
Supported by a dedicated Young Advisory Group, the Young Mayor is in office for one year and has a budget of £25,000 to spend on things to make life better for young people in Lewisham. The Young Mayor and advisers give young people in Lewisham the opportunity to make their voice heard, so that they can have a real say in the future of their area. Advisory group members are drawn from a variety of community and young people’s groups. All have a chance to influence and advise the adult Mayor and Cabinet.
Any person between the age of 11 and 17 years who lives, works or studies in the borough of Lewisham can stand as a candidate for Young Mayor and any person aged between 11 and 18 years can vote.
Barry Quirk said the Young Mayor brings focus and excitement to youth related issues.
“Lewisham has England’s only directly elected young Mayor and we are seeing a 50 per cent turnout for elections,” he said.
The Young Mayor is also supported by a Young Citizens Panel. The panel comprises approximately 300 young people that the Council, Young Mayor, health service, police, colleges and others work alongside to address issues affecting young people in Lewisham.
Senior Lawyer and former Victorian Commissioner for Equal Opportunity, Moira Raynor, agreed that decision making happens best if the public is consulted before.
“People at a grassroots level will commit to something if they have worked for it,” she said. “Citizens need to be seen as participants and owners of decisions that come out of Local Government.”
