In each edition we feature the views of a Local Government Association president. The following is from Councillor Barry Easther, President of the Local Government Association of Tasmania.
Having just taken on the role of President of the Association in Tasmania, I had time to briefly reflect on the long drive back home from the office a few days later.
Imagine what it would be like if you could simply sit in the Council Chamber every day, watch the passing parade and only deal with those issues that people brought to you via the front door of the Council building. Wouldn’t life be just grand!
At the local level there are any number of issues, problems and challenges to deal with in relation to the community and its expectations and desires. Generally, it is possible to be proactive in relation to many and at least be aware that some are likely to arise. Life at council has its moments but it’s not all bad.
Life inside a Local Government Association is something else again. I have discovered very quickly how things suddenly emerge from nowhere and even though you think you didn’t even have a responsibility for a particular function, you are now being called upon to fix a problem arising from that function. Moreover, you are being lobbied to get everyone of your member councils to take on board a new responsibility and enjoy the experience, because, after all, it is in the best interests and for the greater good of your community.
Isn’t it funny how the voters of other levels of government suddenly become a community when something needs doing and there is a need for someone to do it? Things that you thought were the mainstay of someone else’s being are now important for each and every member of your community and probably also needs a bit of top up funding while you’re at it.
I am sure I will get used to it and I am glad I have arrived, but it has been an eye opener already.
While the water and sewerage reform race in Tasmania should have concluded on 1 July 2009 when the new regional corporations began operations, the last hurdle in the straight suddenly grew taller and was moved beyond the finishing line. We now find ourselves negotiating on who pays for the concessions for pensioners and at what level this should be.
Councils are angry at the proposition of cost shifting and the State Government is adamant that pensioners and other eligible persons need to be looked after.
We have a little way to go yet, but hopefully we can come to some accommodation shortly to ensure that all parties are at least mainly satisfied.
As with the position in other States, Tasmania is in the middle of yet another iteration of planning reform, with the ongoing focus on governance and decision making and whether councils should continue to have the authority to make certain decisions or send off the hard decisions to a team of experts.
It’s unfortunate that when it suits, the lowest common denominator gets rolled out to substantiate the need for change and to point the finger.
We are also in the process of working through some frameworks for long term financial planning and asset management, with a view to understanding the obstacles and deficiencies that councils may face or have in meeting the requirements of the broader national agenda in these areas. We are confident that we will have some valuable data and detail to allow us to move into an implementation process that will assist the underpinning of long term council sustainability in Tasmania.
These are the big issues at the moment in my State and I relish the opportunity to get in and tackle the things that will make the big differences to council operations across the board. It is a fair way from the Mayor’s chair back at the Council Chamber, but I know that it will have its rewards.
