At the 2007 Local Government Managers Australia National Congress in Hobart, Local Government FOCUS invited delegates to nominate individuals or teams from their Council who are improving Council’s operations or enhancing service delivery within their community.
In this edition, we showcase two more of our high achievers for 2007.
Kylie Whitehead, Development Officer, Shire of Wongan-Ballidu, WA
Wongan-Ballidu Shire is located in the centre of the Western Australian wheatbelt and covers an area just over 3,300 square kilometres.
The Shire boasts rolling hills, softly undulating farmland with various soil types, plus granite outcrops. It is also home to one of Western Australia’s four hotspots for wildflowers.
Wongan-Ballidu is currently in an exciting time of development, with progress evident through both Council and community activity. This is largely due to the inspirational effort of Council’s Development Officer, Kylie Whitehead.
Over the past three years, Kylie has worked with Council and its 1,500 residents to change the way the community views itself and the local area. Her role is quite diverse, comprising what she refers to as the ‘quadruple bottom line’. She not only addresses the economic, social and environmental aspects of the community, but community spirit as well.
“No matter what the project is, I believe it is essential to focus on developing community spirit first,” Kylie Whitehead said. “Here in the wheatbelt, people are extremely innovative and inventive, but previously did not give themselves enough credit for this. They often asked the question, ‘why would people want to come here?’
“I have simply asked people to look at and appreciate what we have, and in doing so we’ve gained proper and full acknowledgement of our own qualities. Our residents now speak freely and enthusiastically to others about the great tourist attractions and natural beauty we have in our area.”
Wongan-Ballidu CEO, Dale Stewart, nominated Kylie to appear in FOCUS. He said she has unbridled enthusiasm and passion towards community development.
“Kylie is motivating the entire wheatbelt community to achieve their dreams,” he said. “She works endless hours developing strategic plans and assisting the community to become all it can be.”
Kylie said that having a small population made getting the message out quite easy.
“As with any community, once a message is put out on the grapevine, it spreads quickly,” she said. “With the majority of our community located in the main township of Wongan Hills, I was able to personally speak to a lot of people, as well as send emails to key community groups and use the local weekly newspaper to encourage positive thinking. By using fun, jovial language, it did not take long until everyone was feeling and admitting they were part of a great community.”
As a result of this newfound community spirit, Kylie Whitehead said the community has achieved many great things. For example, it recently pulled together and rebuilt the local airport’s airstrip and car park in only nine days. Local farmers and contractors took part by donating use of their tractors and loaders. At one point, residents claimed trucks were passing through the town centre every two minutes.
Community groups also got involved, providing lunches for the 120 volunteers who helped out.
Local farmers also approached Kylie about the need for a local Natural Resource Management (NRM) Officer. While various funds were being made available to the community, they were not getting to the farmers, and as a result were not being spent.
Working together with the community, Kylie has generated such outside interest in the area that the Shire recently landed a project with a three year potential of $1.2 million. This will see NRM contractors coming into farmers’ properties and completing the works they need.
Kylie Whitehead said the key is to work together with the community to make them aware of what they already know.
“Most of the time they already know what they need and how to get there – you just need to ask the right questions to make them realise it,” she said. “It is a great pleasure to be of service and know you are making a difference.”
Docklands Integration Team, City of Melbourne, Victoria
Melbourne Docklands, Victoria’s new waterfront, is located to the west of the CBD on the magnificent Victoria Harbour and three kilometres of Yarra River frontage.
The area is being developed in stages over a ten to 15 year period and has a dynamic combination of residential, commercial, retail and leisure activities.
In 1999, the Victorian Government assumed responsibility for the area from the City of Melbourne to drive the development and infrastructure of what we see today.
It established the Docklands Development Authority, now part of VicUrban – the Victorian Government’s urban development agency, to oversee the development.
On 1 July 2007, with development now 20 per cent complete, the Docklands officially returned to the control of the City of Melbourne.
This has doubled the size of Melbourne’s CBD and has returned the waterfront to the City. However, it also presented a challenge for the team in managing this integration.
City of Melbourne’s Director of Economic Development and Director Docklands Integration, Scott Chapman, said it was time for Local Government to step back in and deliver key municipal services to residents.
“The State Government has managed the private developer program and overseen the building of public infrastructure,” he said.
“Now that the development is well on its way, it is an exciting opportunity for Local Government to deliver municipal services and assist in building a sense of community and place that is integral to those 6,000 residents who live and work there.”
Throughout the development phase, the City of Melbourne continued to provide key municipal services to Docklands residents under contract with VicUrban. However, Scott Chapman said Council was also keen to provide residents with a democratic voting process and representation.
The Integration team of five people is now working with all areas of Council to get the best result for Docklands residents and businesses.
Residents and reatepayers will now be eligible to vote in the 2008 November Victorian Local Government elections and can access Council programs and services, including tourism, marketing and events, as well as business development and community building.
Scott Chapman said the major challenge has been bringing the VicUrban development imperative and Council municipal service imperative into balance.
“In bringing these together, we have created a strong partnership between the two organisations, as well as a high degree of cooperation between all Council areas,” he said. “However, while this is going well, it will take between two and four years before the integration is completely finalised.
“The driving objective is bringing two communities together to complement each others’ strengths. Although the integration has been driven by a dedicated team, it has relied on the whole of Council.”
Scott Chapman said to date, the team has successfully completed transition tasks including its due diligence on assets and agreements, the establishment of a rate base and an operational budget. He said the ultimate aim is to promote the Docklands as a destination for visitors and business investment, and as a unique place to live.
“We don’t want to simply duplicate the strengths of Melbourne in this area, we want to embrace its qualities and the fact that it is the first time Melbourne has had a waterfront city,” he said. “Other cities, such as Perth, Hobart and Sydney have done this for a long time and now it is our turn to shine.”
Manager Melbourne and Docklands Integration, Rod Burke, nominated the Integration team to appear in FOCUS. He said the work that has taken place is unique.
“There has been a lot of hard work put in by all involved, both within the former VicUrban team and the City of Melbourne,” he said.
