Rate capping | Code of conduct round table | Election commitments | Australia Day honours | Member survey No Images? Click here Special weekly update from the LGA President Vol 3: Issue 3 - Monday 29 January 2018 Dear Mayors and CouncillorsWe have just completed a successful round of SAROC, LGA Executive and LGA Board meetings. I would like to welcome our new Deputy Board member Mayor Dean Johnson from the District Council of Kimba. They are a smaller regional council in terms of residents and budget, and are innovative in their approach to issues, and I admire this way of doing business. We have some exciting reforms to talk through with the sector over the next few months, and I look forward to providing further details to you soon. LGA President Mayor Lorraine Rosenberg Rate Capping This week we will launch the third phase of our campaign to oppose the introduction of rate capping in South Australia. It will include activity on radio, digital and social media, in both metropolitan Adelaide and regional SA. As I’ve made clear before – this is not a campaign against any political party. It is a campaign against a policy that will interfere with local decision making, and impact on our capacity to deliver community services. To date, representatives from the Labor Party, SA Best, Greens, Australian Conservatives and Dignity Party have all committed to protecting community services and opposing rate capping. However, the SA Liberal Party remain committed to the policy, and over the next few weeks we will work with our sector to let South Australians know exactly what rate capping would mean for SA. We need your continued assistance in letting your communities know about the impact this policy would have at a local level. You can find out all you need to know about rate capping at www.lga.sa.gov.au/ratecapping. Code of conduct round table Last Wednesday we held a round table meeting at LGA House on the code of conduct for council members, that was attended by representatives from the SA Liberal Party, Dignity Party, Greens, and SA Best. It was a frank and productive discussion, and I would like to thank and acknowledge all of the participating parties for taking the time to attend. There was consensus on a number of points, including that councils should be trusted to set their own behavioural expectations, and that while low level bad behaviour should be dealt with by councils, serious issues need to be dealt with outside the sector. There was general agreement that the current system isn’t working, and a willingness to work with the LGA and councils on a solution. The official communique from the round table can be downloaded here. Election commitments It’s been a relatively quiet week for major policy announcements relevant to local government, with Labor’s plan to fund three new permanent household chemical waste collection sites in Adelaide the only significant commitment. Minister Hunter announced $1.85 million in funding over two years for this project, which would establish three new sites in Edinburgh North, Campbelltown and North Plympton. While this was not a feature of the LGA’s election platform, it will assist metropolitan residents given the inadequate existing DEWNR arrangements for such chemical wastes at Dry Creek Australia Day honours It was tremendous to see several members of our local government family formally recognised last Friday with Australia Day honours. Congratulations to Carol Martin (City of Port Adelaide Enfield) and Michael Scott (Alexandrina Council) who both received Order of Australia Medals, and City of West Torrens CEO Terry Buss who received a Public Service Medal. A complete list of recipients of Australia Day honours and a summary of their significant contributions to local communities can be found here. LGA Member survey The LGA will conduct its annual member survey during March. This is your opportunity to provide feedback on the performance of your Association, and provide input into our strategic direction and annual priorities. Feedback received will be incorporated in the LGA’s business planning for 2018/19. Further information and a link to the survey will be provided in a future edition of this update. January LGA Board meeting Last Thursday we held our first Board meeting for 2018. At this meeting the Board endorsed the scope of the LGAs’ new Building Sector Morale Program, and approved the LG Research & Development Scheme’s 2018/19 Annual Business Plan. The Board also endorsed preliminary directions for a local government reform agenda that reflects the feedback provided by councils over the past eight weeks. The Secretariat will further develop the ideas that have been supported by the sector and a future directions paper will be sent to all members – and then political parties – next month. The minutes and a summary of key outcomes will be on our website later this week MLGG and SAROC Chair reappointments In the past few weeks Gawler Mayor Karen Redman was reappointed as Chair of the Metropolitan Local Government Group (MLGG), and Naracoorte Lucindale Mayor Erika Vickery reappointed as Chair of the SA Regional Organisation of Councils (SAROC). Women make up less than 30% of council members in SA, but it’s fantastic to see them in key leadership roles in our sector. Increasing the number of female candidates – as well as candidates from other under-represented groups – in the 2018 council elections is a priority for the LGA, and we’ll be working closely with councils towards a bigger and more diverse field than ever before this November. State election candidate update The past week saw even more council members announce as candidates for the March state election. There has been some discussion about whether council members are required to take leave from their council position when running for state or federal elections. There is currently no legislative requirement for them to do so. A Bill was introduced into Parliament last year that would require leave to be taken in these instances, and while it was not debated before the end of the parliamentary session, the LGA was supportive of this Bill’s intent based on consultation with our members. The LGA’s position was that allowances of council members running for Parliament should cease while they take leave, and that leave should apply to all positions on the council held by the member (including committee appointments). An updated list of candidates is below: Lachlan Clyne • Liberal • Badcoe • lachlan.clyne@sa.liberal.org.au John Woodward • Independent • Badcoe • badcoe2018@gmail.com Jassmine Wood • SA Best • Colton • jassmine.wood@sabest.org.au Karen Hockley • SA Best • Davenport • karen.hockley@sabest.org.au Carol Martin • SA Best • Enfield • carol.martin@sabest.org.au Kendall Jackson • Liberal • Frome • kendall.jackson@sa.liberal.org.au Kris Hanna • SA Best • Gibson • kris.hanna@sabest.org.au Tom Antonio • SA Best • Giles • tom.antonio@sabest.org.au Lynton Vonow • Greens • Heysen • heysen@sa.greens.org.au Andrew Stratford • SA Best • Kavel • andrew.stratford@sabest.org.au Paula Luethen • Liberal • King • paula.luethen@sa.liberal.org.au Steven Rypp • Liberal • Lee • steven.rypp@sa.liberal.org.au Andy Legrand • SA Best • Lee • andy.legrand@sabest.org.au Karen McColl • Liberal • Light • karen.mccoll@sa.liberal.org.au Hazel Wainwright • SA Best • Mawson • hazel.wainwright@sabest.org.au Peter Field • Labor • Morialta • peter.field@alp.org.au Stephen Patterson • Liberal • Morphett • stephen.patterson@sa.liberal.org.au Gary Johanson • SA Best • Port Adelaide • gary.johanson@sabest.org.au Sam Johnson • SA Best • LegCo • sam.johnson@sabest.org.au |