Mayor Ron Clarke, Gold Coast City Council, Qld
Q. Why did you become involved in Local Government?
I spent three years as the Chair of a charitable trust – the Council for the Encouragement of Philanthropy in Australia (CEPA). The staff and I visited not for profit organisations throughout Australia. From this, I became exposed to the needs and wonderful successes of community organisations, as well as their continuing aspiration to be better acknowledged by all levels of government, particularly Local Government. I was determined to assist however I could and saw a chance to contribute to the wider community at the back end of my business career. Consequently, in March 2004, I stood against and defeated the incumbent Mayor in the Council elections. I was re-elected in 2008.
Q. What makes your Council area special or different?
As a municipality, the Gold Coast is no different to any of the other 560 odd councils throughout the country, except that it is larger than most in terms of residents. At 500,000 plus, we are the second largest municipality in Australia.
It is also different in its expeditious growth (10,000 to 15,000 new residents on average each year for the past two decades), and its diversity of topography (from 70 kilometres of surf beach to 100,000 hectares of protected bushland reserves)
Uniquely, we also experience a year round influx of tourists from within and outside Australia (over 10 million per annum).
Q. With the current financial climate, people are spending less on travel. With tourism a major industry for your region, how is Council assisting the local tourism industry to prepare for this?
Although our visitor figures from some regions are down somewhat, particularly Japan, the length of stays and total spends have increased. This includes Japanese and domestic visitors. That said, we are organising more special events, and are boosting our sports tourism with new national teams imminent in basketball, soccer and Australian Rules football. In addition, we are looking at more ways to boost our business visitors. Currently 51 per cent of all business conventions held in Queensland are hosted by the Gold Coast.
New air services have been introduced to both Asia and Japan by Air Asia and Jetset, and our business with countries in the Middle East continues to prosper and grow.
There is no doubt it will remain a tough market, but we are confident it is one that Gold Coast Tourism will continue to build with focused marketing and promotion.
Q. What other challenges are facing your Council?
Traffic integration and congestion. Although nowhere near as critical as it is in the larger capital cities of all States in Australia, it is nonetheless our major concern. In conjunction with the Queensland Government, we are about to construct a $1.67 billion rapid transit corridor for light rail that will address a substantial part of our problem. However, widening roads, improving and adding to our bicycle pathway network through the introduction of a free cycle service along the foreshore, new community hub GPS controlled buses, and strengthening our current bus service, are all within Council’s radar and 10 year plans. The problem lies in being able to finance and thus implement our proposals.
Q. What issues are important to you?
Environmental and social issues remain closest to my heart. I believe the region has such perfect weather, wonderful beaches, parks, gardens and bushland, as well as such a relaxed, easy lifestyle, that it must be protected at all costs. At the same time, we must remember the true worth of a community is how well we treat those less fortunate – physically, economically and mentally – within our City.
Deputy Mayor Karen Ticehurst, Paroo Shire Council, Qld
Q. How long have you been on Council?
I am now going into my sixth year, having been elected in 2004.
Q. Why did you become involved in Local Government?
I really thought I could make a difference. I had no personal agenda, I just wanted to have input into the decision making process about my local community and region.
Q. What makes your Council area special or different?
We have had to reinvent ourselves following the collapse of the wool industry. Small communities such as ours, like many of the mining towns will now find, must encourage diversity to minimise reliance on and the associated risks of having only a single industry. Over the past 10 years, our Shire has seen a steady increase in the production of organic products, making us one of the major ‘organic’ regions within Australia. Local farmers are developing markets for organic wool, lamb, wheat and beef.
Tourism has also become an important industry for the Shire, with the development of specific tours or stays for niche markets, including birdwatchers, Indigenous cultural awareness, the outback experience, and sport and recreation.
As a Shire, we feel that we have been through the worst period and are now on the road to recovery. Our population has decreased over the past 15 years, but there seems to be a wave of optimism sweeping the region – a feeling that people want to belong to a community where they can make a difference.
Q. What key challenges are currently facing rural councils?
In Queensland, there seems to be a fear that we may get left behind following amalgamations, and the intense spotlight on development in the southeast corner. Our key challenge, especially during this economic crisis, is to make sure we are still heard and our needs are not seen as trivial. Our Shire is heavily reliant on subsidies from Federal and State Government, and to ensure longterm viability and planning, we need to know that this funding will be ongoing. There has also been much cost shifting from Federal and State Governments to Local Government, sometimes with limited compensation, which has stretched local resources and budgets to the maximum. In rural areas particularly, where there are limited auspicing agencies, Local Government finds that we are delivering many services that are outside our core business, and often not where our skills lie.
Q. How important is it for rural councils to engage with and provide services for youth?
It is vital that we engage with our youth, especially through the encouragement of leadership skills, which we endeavour to do through the development of our Junior Council. Schools throughout the Shire elect representatives to the Junior Council, who meet once every two months to discuss issues relevant to young people throughout the region. These issues are then presented to Council for further discussion, with many of the ideas coming to fruition.
Also, as Council is responsible for almost the entire sporting infrastructure throughout the Shire, it is vital that we develop programs and employ youth workers to ensure that there is maximum usage of ovals, courts and pools.
Q. How does Council overcome the challenge of reaching residents not living in one of the Shire’s town centres?
We have developed a monthly householder – ‘The Paroo Review’ – which is delivered to all residences throughout the Shire. This is a new initiative following the outcome of a community consultation in 2008, where feedback indicated that ‘lack of communication’ was seen as a major issue by a large number of respondents. Mayor Jo Sheppard also does numerous weekly interviews on several radio stations throughout the region, which appear to have extensive coverage and listeners.
Q. What issues are important to you?
Longterm financial and infrastructure planning. We must see ourselves as caretakers who are here to make a contribution and leave the Shire in a more stable and viable position than at the start of our term. Although there will often be dissent, Council must work as a team so that it will never be an instrument for manipulation or political point scoring within the community at large.
Employee stability is also important. Prior to employing our current CEO, Mark Watt, we had a high turnover of CEOs. As a new Council, we made a concerted effort to find the right person for the job. Having done this, we are starting to reap the benefits already, with other skilled personnel keen to move to our region and work in this environment.
