We live in uncertain times. This will influence the future directions of national issues in the short to medium term.
Government revenues will remain under pressure for some time yet. We have been protected from this to some degree when you think of the dramatic fall in revenues for local government in the UK. Different local governments in different countries will be impacted to different degrees. However the global nature of an economic downturn in other parts of the world means that underlying uncertainty and pressure on revenues will remain for the foreseeable future.
Another area of uncertainty beyond financial sustainability is environmental uncertainty and the impacts of climate change on our economies and planet. The incidence of extreme weather events and natural disasters has noticeably increased.
And, our communities are growing older. There is a greater proportion of our population of older people that will need to be supported by the young in our populations. Our populations are also increasingly more concentrated on the coastal fringe and in our cities – in areas more severely impacted by recent extreme events (such as recent events in Queensland or New York).
It is only a little more than five years since the launch of the first iPhone. Amazing. Most of us now carry and use our powerful pocket mini-computers on a daily basis. The iPad and other tablets are revolutionising the way we read and, to some degree, they way we are entertained.
All of these changes are happening in the world around us and are influencing future directions in national issues. I would like to nominate just a few new or reinforced directions on which the IPWEA is working.
Long term financial planning
There needs to be an increased focus on the long term. We need to move away from annual budgeting to long term financial planning. I see long term financial plans as the single most important instrument in a local government’s planning and future direction.
A credible long-term financial plan helps provide more focus and reality than a long-term management plan, which can often be comprised of motherhood statements and wish lists.
A credible long-term financial plan founded on sound asset management and other plans encourages strategic discussion about desired and affordable levels of service. It should bring about discussions on priorities and the management of risk. (Download a free copy of our IPWEA/ACELG LTFP Practice
Note at www.ipwea.org.au/home/PracticeNotes)
Sustainability
Living sustainably just makes good sense. How can we continue to waste our valuable environment and limited resources? Even in our IPWEA online forums, there are still those who say the science is not yet in. For the sake of my children, their children, and their children’s children, I can’t see why we would risk it; why we shouldn’t take measures to live more sustainably. I’d prefer to use the ‘precautionary principle’.
IPWEA has commenced a pilot study of the way we manage our road maintenance, operations and renewal against the Infrastructure sustainability ratings system of the Australian Green Infrastructure Council (AGIC). We will be working with pilot councils to see if there are some generic principles that could be applied across this most expensive of our programs to manage and operate more sustainably.
We are also developing some interim guidelines to account for the impact of climate change when designing storm water drainage systems. Presently designers are using guidelines published back in 1987. Major work is being undertaken to update these guidelines but the information will still not be available for some time to come. IPWEA intends to research what material is presently available that might form some
interim guidelines.
A focus on the young
Young professionals can contribute so much if given the encouragement, the mentoring and the opportunity. I am looking forward to supporting and working with IPWEA’s new Young IPWEA network and it is encouraging to note that this initiative has developed from the young members
of IPWEA themselves.
There is incredible enthusiasm and professionalism about how they would like to grow and develop our young networks and contribute to their personal and professional development. Local government can be the employer of choice for young professionals wanting to work to better our communities.
Technology
Innovation in technology is rapid and it is difficult to predict what ‘devices’ we might be using in another five years. We need to embrace changes in technology just to keep new developments within our reach. For IPWEA, we see an increased emphasis on online communities as networking opportunities and on eLearning for professional development. Our IPWEA online communities are ‘the place to go’ for public works Q&A.
e–Learning is not just about ‘webinars’ and recording workshops. Our aim is to explore the world of ‘instructional (educational) design’ to maximise the learning experience. There could be a case for blended learning that combines the best of e–Learning with face-to-face workshops.
Future directions in national issues are formed by the circumstances and environment we live in today. Sustainability, long term planning, the young and technology are but a few of these issues.
