Showcase & OGM | Mayors & Chairs Leadership Session | Where is the Levy going? No Images? Click here Vol 4: Issue 6 - Monday 18 March 2019 Last week I attended ALGA’s March 2019 Board meeting where I gave an update on the latest developments from SA in waste and recycling, and local government reform. We also discussed ALGA’s election campaign, as well as their Federal Budget submission which has been provided to all parties and will soon be publicly released. Our 2019 Council Showcase and Ordinary General Meeting will be held next month, and is an event you won’t want to miss. We’ve already secured a fantastic lineup of speakers and presenters including the War on Waste’s Craig Reucassel and former Attorney General the Hon Philip Ruddock, and the OGM on the Friday morning is an important opportunity for member councils to provide input into the strategic direction of the LGA, and advocacy priorities for our sector. I look forward to seeing you there and hearing your contributions to the discussion. LGA President Sam Telfer 2019 Showcase and LGA OGMThe 2019 Council Best Practice Showcase and LGA Ordinary General Meeting will be held at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Thursday 11 and Friday 12 April. This year’s Showcase will include a focus on waste and recycling – two areas in which we’ve experienced some challenges over the past twelve months, but also identified a lot of future opportunities. Craig Reucassel will deliver the keynote address on Thursday morning. Craig has played a key role in making waste and recycling a part of everyday thinking for many Australians through his ABC show War on Waste. After morning tea delegates will have a choice between two concurrent streams, with one focusing on best practice council projects, and the other on waste and recycling and the work that’s being done to establish a circular economy in SA. Our keynote speaker on Friday will be former Attorney General and Special Envoy to the Prime Minister, and now Mayor of Hornsby Shire, the Honourable Philip Ruddock. Mayor Ruddock will share some unique and valuable insights about an ideal working relationship between local and federal governments, as well as his views on the current national political landscape and what it means for local government into the future. The General Meeting brings member councils together to consider and vote on a range of emerging issues for our sector, and you can download the papers for this meeting here. We’re once again offering registration deals for councils who send more delegates than they have in the past. More information, including a copy of the draft program, can be found on our website. Mayors and Chairs Leadership SessionFollowing the success of the Mayors and Chairperson Leadership Session held in November 2018, we are looking to run an additional session in 2019. This one-day professional and personal leadership program provides Mayors and Chairs with the tools required to lead an effective council, and has been very well received by previous participants. We need a minimum of 20 registrations to run this event, and once we reach this number a date will be set and communicated to attendees. Mount Barker Mayor Ann Ferguson and West Torrens Mayor Michael Coxon both attended the session we ran last November, and here’s what they had to say: “This was one of the best sessions I’ve attended. It was a great opportunity to refresh my knowledge and share experiences with other Mayors. Times are changing and our ability to share ideas gives us greater confidence to lead. The program flowed well and the outcomes for me were most valuable. “Like many new Mayors, I am making the transition from being a Ward Councillor to a City Mayor. Whilst there are many skills and behaviours that are consistent in both roles, leadership of an Elected Member body is completely unique. Attending the Mayors Leadership Session last year clarified it for me. The session was not prescriptive but focussed on key behaviours that are crucial in being able to successfully undertake the role. Of the 21 Mayors attending, the majority were newly elected Mayors. Their input together with the insight of the returning Mayors was invaluable to me. I would definitely recommend the session to all newly elected Mayors.” Mayor Michael Coxon, City of West Torrens Where is the Levy going?Councils – and their ratepayers – will contribute around $34 million to the State Government’s Solid Waste Levy this year. However, only a fraction of the funds collected are being invested in waste and recycling projects. Today Tonight explored this issue last Thursday, revealing that much of the money being collected through the Levy is being used to fund one of the Government’s key election promises. China’s National Sword policy is costing our sector around $8.8 million per year, and the LGA will continue to push for more of the funding collected through the Solid Waste Levy (and sitting in the Green Industry Fund) to be released to councils to help shield ratepayers from increased waste and recycling costs, and drive downward pressure on council rates. Audit Committee trainingThe LGA is also offering Audit Committee training next month, with separate sessions for Audit Committee members and non-members. The non-members session will provide a broad overview of the legislative and practical responsibilities of an Audit Committee, and outline the function these committees play in ensuring good governance. The session for Audit Committee members will be a more in-depth discussion around being an effective Audit Committee member, including a practical and engaging walk through an Audit Committee Agenda Both sessions will be facilitated by David Powell, who is a Chartered Accountant and the Presiding Member of four different council audit committees, as well as for the Southern Region Waste Resource Authority. InfrastructureI’m pleased to announce that the LGA’s Director Policy Stephen Smith has been appointed to the Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) SA’s Infrastructure Committee for 2019/20. Our sector is three times more asset intensive than the State Government, and nine times more than Federal Government, so it’s important that we are strongly engaged with all sectors on the challenge of meeting infrastructure needs in a financially equitable way. Councils collect just 4% of taxation, and securing more Commonwealth funding for South Australian infrastructure is our key priority this Federal Election. We’re joining with ALGA to advocate for an increase in Financial Assistance Grants to 1% of Commonwealth taxation, a $300 million per year local government community infrastructure program, and the extension of supplementary road funding for SA. BiosecurityThe LGA has been invited to attend the 2019 South Australian Biosecurity Roundtable next month to discuss biosecurity issues with government agencies, the industry, and other environmental and community groups. The focus of this year’s roundtable is ‘Traceability, Partnerships and Surveillance’, and it will cover strengthening product traceability for the future, government, industry and community partnerships, general surveillance, and environmental biosecurity. If there are matters you would like us to raise at the roundtable on behalf of local government, could you please contact Stephen Smith at stephen.smith@lga.sa.gov.au by 8 April. For further information or to submit |