Conflicts of interest in Geelong

Geelong councillor Cameron Granger has faced court briefly over claims of failing to declare a conflict of interest and failing to leave the council chambers during a vote. Having traded in his former brown locks for a new strawberry-blond hairdo, Cr Granger appeared at Geelong Magistrates' Court yesterday for a contest mention.

The case was adjourned after prosecutors requested more time to gather evidence, but the court heard Cr Granger was keen to have the matter dealt with as soon as possible. Cr Granger and fellow councillor David Saunderson were charged in May after allegedly failing to declare they received donations for the 2004 council elections from Lascorp when a vote involving the developer was debated. They later reported the incident to Local Government Minister Richard Wynne and Local Government Victoria for investigation.

Cr Granger and Cr Saunderson stood down from their positions on the City of Greater Geelong council in June, pending the court case. "I have determined that the most responsible course of action is to take leave of absence from council until there is a resolution in relation to charges I face in the Magistrates' Court," Cr Granger said at the time. "I will, however, remain active in the community, as I always have." Cr Saunderson was listed to appear yesterday along with Cr Granger, but Magistrate Ron Saines heard that had been a clerical error, with Cr Saunderson already down to appear on a later date. Cr Granger will reappear in court on August 12, and Cr Saunderson on September 8, both for contest mentions.

Bundaberg introduces “smart” application process

Bundaberg’s new electronic development assessment system is set to speed up the application process and cut costs for councils and industry. Minister for Infrastructure and Planning Stirling Hinchliffe says Bundaberg is the second local government in Queensland to adopt the Smart eDA system. “The Smart eDA initiative has been developed by the State Government, in consultation with the Local Government Association of Queensland, councils and industry stakeholders, to streamline and speed up the development assessment system,” he says. “Paper-based development applications are generally difficult to handle, disperse and monitor and place significant demands on councils in terms of staff and costs.”

According to Hinchcliffe, the electronic system provides Queensland with a more efficient, transparent and consistent system. Redland City Council has reportedly already trialled the system, and is now using it successfully. “The Smart eDA website provides a single portal for industry and applicants to use across local government jurisdictions. Applicants can prepare and lodge their development applications online and also track their progress,” Hinchcliffe says. “It transforms the current paper-based Integrated Development Assessment System process into an intuitive and interactive, internet-based process. The system also enables the integration of council and State Government systems and helps to identify any applicable referral agencies.”

Officers from the Department of Infrastructure and Planning visited Bundaberg last week to deliver training for industry stakeholders before the system is rolled out in the next month.

Queensland local government amalgamation: dishonest or inept?

The State Government's forced amalgamation of Queensland local authorities looks like costing the best part of $200 million, many times the $27 million the state set aside for the exercise. The very reasonable argument for amalgamation was that it would make councils more financially secure. But regardless of any longer term benefits, the massive cost blowout of the exercise tells us one of two things; either the state was cynically misleading us from the beginning, or it was simply incompetent in calculating its cost/benefit equation.

More ...

The on-going Burnside Council saga

Burnside Council will face an independent probe into allegations of bullying, undue influence and defamation. Former auditor-general Ken MacPherson will investigate and report back to the South Australian Government by the end of October. The Government made preliminary enquiries into the council after its chief executive resigned last month over claims of an unsafe working environment. He is back in the job since then.

SA Local Government Minister Gail Gago says inquiry findings will be released publicly. She says the investigation is an important reminder to all councils.

More money for NSW councils?

The pricing regulator wants bigger increases in council rates and a four-year rate-setting term as part of an overhaul of the way they are determined. The proposals follow more than 30 years of rate capping in NSW, during which time there has been a continued shift of services from the federal and state governments to councils, leaving them hamstrung financially. Councils have turned increasingly to developer levies to fund their spending programs, which has made new homes more expensive in NSW than other states and slowed housing construction.

The chairman of the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal, Dr Michael Keating, said rate pegging had not checked council revenues, "partly because of the increased reliance on user charges and partly because of the many exemptions allowed". As a result, the tribunal said a more transparent rate-setting process was needed. Rates make up about a third of council revenues. They rose, on average, 4.4 per cent in 2008-9. Yesterday it outlined two alternatives: to maintain rate capping while implementing measures to assess council's costs, or alternatively, to exempt councils from rate pegging for four years if they can show strong support from ratepayers for the move. "We don't prefer one [option] over the other," Dr Keating said. "We see the two running in parallel, and the councils deciding which way to go. "Some councils may feel comfortable not having plans, and letting someone else set the rules, shifting the responsibility to the Government."

If implemented, the proposals would pave the way for councils to increase rates well above the present, in tandem with improved accountability to ratepayers. The president of the Local Government Association of NSW, Genia McCaffrey, said: "We would urge Premier [Nathan] Rees, who has said he is willing to review rate pegging, not to oppose these changes." The tribunal also wants councils to adopt longer-term planning such as a four-year financial plans as an "integral part of increased financial autonomy". As part of the proposed overhaul, the tribunal would develop an annual cost index for local government, reflecting changes in council costs and productivity. Under the first option, the annual rate cap set by the Government would be determined after reviewing this annual index. And councils that establish four-year planning and rate-setting program may be permitted to raise rates faster than the annual rate cap.

Over the past decade council revenue in NSW has risen at twice the rate of inflation, and earlier work by NSW Treasury found that between 1995-6 and 2003-4 rates in the state rose 29.2 per cent, less than half the 66.1 per cent rise in Victoria and well below the 55.6 per cent rise in Queensland. One thing "we want to test is the practicality of option B," Dr Keating said, which would give government the role of checking whether a council had support for its spending plans, before allowing them to raise rates. This could be done by having the plans put forward at council elections, with all councillors elected agreeing to them, indicating broad support for bigger rate rises than could be obtained otherwise.

Motorists pay for councils' rate losses

Sydney drivers with more parking tickets on their windshields lately may not have only themselves to blame. Cash-strapped councils are increasingly relying on parking fees and fines, developer charges and other sources of revenue to fill their coffers as rate-pegging limits the amount they can charge the old-fashioned way. Rates have plummeted as a proportion of council income in the past decade, a Herald analysis of council financial data reveals.

One of the most dramatic falls is in Waverley, where rates in the council area - which takes in Bondi, Bronte and Tamarama beaches - fell from more than half of revenue (55 per cent) in 1997-98 to less than a third (29 per cent) in 2007-08. The Mayor of Waverley, Sally Betts, said rate-pegging, where the State Government limits the amount by which councils can increase their annual rates, had forced councils to search for money elsewhere.

Mt Isa Water not for sale to SunWater

Mount Isa Water chief executive officer Ian Pascoe has denied the sale of the group to SunWater. Mr Pascoe described rumours of the sale as “speculation” and based on an old report, Brokering Balance: A Public Interest Map for Queensland Government Bodies. “This was something that came out of the Webbe/Weller report and there was an option that SunWater take it over as a subsidiary,” Mr Pascoe said. “Everything is a bit of speculation, nothing has been finalised.”

A Department of Environment and Resource Management spokesperson said the report recommended that category one water authorities should be retained as they were commercial entities which provide a regional approach to the management of water.

Giving data twice

It's no wonder that small business owners complain about the intrusion of government into their lives. Each and every quarter they have to provide business activity to the Tax Office and statistical activity to the Bureau of Statistics. Now Lithgow Council have decided that owners can answer these types of questions all over again. In June this year Lithgow Council officers commenced a major project surveying retailers and business support services within the Lithgow Local Government Area. To date Council officers have visited retailers in the Lithgow area collecting over 100 surveys.

“The response rate has been extremely high and it is a credit to the community for the level of support shown for this important project,” Mayor Neville Castle said. The survey will now be taken through the shopping areas of Wallerawang and Portland. Outlying villages will also be surveyed. Council officers will be visiting these areas in the week commencing July 20.

The survey asks a range of specific but brief questions ranging from how many employees businesses have and how tourism affects their trade, to suggestions as to what can be done to improve business prospects in Lithgow. The information provided by businesses will be used to provide further direction into the Economic Development Strategy, Tourism Strategy and Local Environmental Plan.

“The aggregated information will be of great value in solving local problems, planning for the future and general promotion of the community and region,” Cr Castle said. Business owners are asked for their continued support for this initiative by investing up to five minutes of their time to answer the survey questions with the assistance of Council officers when they arrive at their premises. If the appropriate person is not available at the time the Council officer will return when more convenient.

The Burnside saga

Adelaide businessman Rick Powers is accused of being the unelected influence behind the strife-torn Burnside City Council. With a ministerial inquiry underway, Melissa Mack and Farrin Foster investigate the man and his methods. Leafy eastern suburbs are the home of Adelaide’s rich and would-be famous. From the Adelaide foothills to the plains below, the Burnside Council administers one of the state’s highest income areas, with high ratepayer expectations. Now those expectations are shattered, along with reputations. Internal disputes have wracked the council to such an extent that the State Government may be forced to intervene – and if necessary, replace a democratically elected mayor and councillors with a government-appointed administrator.

In the midst of all this, a high-profile but only semi-public battle is waging over the role and influence of one seemingly ordinary ratepayer, Adelaide businessman Rick Powers. Powers first came to public notice last century, when he was named in a National Crime Authority investigation into Operation Hydra and the sex industry and vice trade in Adelaide. “There was an unfortunate incident that did occur 30 years ago,” Powers told The Independent Weekly. “I’m not going to talk about anything to do with 30 years ago.”

In 1983, Powers was convicted on a charge of keeping a “common bawdy house”. This followed a raid on a premises known as Caesars, described by Powers himself as a high-class swingers club, in Pulteney Street in the city. “I did own a building,” Powers said this week when asked about the episode. “Maybe I knew things were going on but it seemed like a good investment to me. I’m just not interested in talking about it. It comes back to bite you on the arse 30 years later.”

Shake-up in Tasmania

Tasmania's 29 councils would share services and purchasing as part of a proposed shake-up. Hobart City Council aldermen have supported Alderman Eva Ruzicka's move, which comes as anger grows statewide over a State Government takeover of services and planning.

Ald Ruzicka said if local government did not determine its own future, the State Government would continue takeover plans that hurt the community, as with water and sewerage reform. And as pressure grew for councils to merge, she said evidence showed clearly that forced amalgamations failed to deliver break-even services.

"Economic, regional and social inclusion issues such as procurement, insurance and regional co-operation funding, as well as demands that local government gets involved in health, ageing, affordable housing and drug management strategies, have changed the way we do business," Ald Ruzicka said. "It's urgent that aldermen in Hobart, as the leader capital city, make a start on determining the future of local government."

She said shared services and partnerships were vital if local government was to retain local democracy and community identity. "If Hobart City Council does not provide leadership on this now, there is a real and present threat of State Government-focused policies filling the void," she said.

Doubt cast over council recycling

The benefits to Queensland councils of recycling are under scrutiny as costs blow out and environmental returns come under question. The market for recyclable material collapsed last year and the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) believes the costs for many councils outweigh any return. There are also questions about the environmental impact of transporting the waste long distances and the carbon outputs created by the fuel used.

The LGAQ estimates about half of Queensland's councils are involved in some form of recycling. Acting chief executive Greg Hoffman says remote councils have never been able to make it viable. "Their economic base is so constrained they'll probably not go that direction anyway," he said. "It's becoming economically difficult and with the newer considerations when you look at the greenhouse gases involved it might be environmentally questionable." Mr Hoffman says councils need to make the figures public so communities can decide for themselves about the costs.

Greening the public sector

STUNG by criticism from the federal Auditor-General over the lack of progress in greening public offices, the Australian Government Information Management Office has rushed out a list of "quick wins" in energy savings for agencies to follow. Priority actions include automatic shutdown of desktops and laptops after hours, replacing active screensavers with black screens and metering hardware power consumption. "All agencies should implement the quick wins within their environments," an AGIMO spokesman said. "This is a first step towards reducing the impact of government ICT operations, and will build towards an integrated sustainability plan."

The new green targets mirror the recommendations of the Australian National Audit Office in its Green Office Procurement and Sustainability report. The report says the public sector has "considerable work to do" through procurement practices to achieve the government's goal of greater sustainability, with many issues identified in a 2005 audit still unresolved. It agrees with the Gershon Review's assessment that there is "a significant disconnect between the government's overall sustainability agenda, and its ability to understand and manage energy costs and the carbon footprint of its ICT estate".

On the positive side, the audit shows the Defence Department has identified savings of up to $5million a year after piloting an automatic after-hours shutdown of PCs, which slashed power use by 25 per cent. Medicare found an extra $100,000 a year in savings by cutting off monitors after 15minutes of non-use, on top of $237,000 savings from a PC shutdown policy. But only 48 per cent of agencies have adopted the policy.

The report says all agencies should require energy efficiency and environmental performance standards for new technology, and introduce power management policies, including the automatic shutdown of monitors and PCs when not in use. It calls for energy savings of up to 33 per cent in data centres through better design and upgraded infrastructure after a review found air-conditioning and power supply back-up used up to 78 per cent of data centre energy.

The report supports desktop virtualisation, which would replace traditional PCs with low-power thin client devices. An Environment Department server virtualisation trial cut power costs by $15,000 a year, but the real savings were in deployment costs. "The total cost of implementation was $116,000 cheaper than a physical server equivalent, at $524,000 compared with $640,000," the report says. "And the ability to easily expand or decrease system capacity is vastly improved, with the deployment of an additional virtual server costing around $2000, compared with at least $20,000 for a physical server."

The ANAO report notes the lack of progress in developing national standards for management of electronic waste, and calls on agencies to give it priority. "Around 100,000 desktop computers and laptops are replaced by federal agencies every year, and a significant proportion will end up in the waste stream," the report says. "Only one-quarter of the agencies surveyed reported their contracts included product stewardship or safe disposal requirements for obsolete equipment."

NT 'porn' workers get government jobs back

FIVE Territory public servants demoted for looking at porn on their taxpayer funded computers were reinstated in their old jobs within weeks. Department of Housing chief executive David Ritchie told the estimates committee last month that five staff members had faced "disciplinary action" for "improper use" of computers last year. But the Northern Territory News understands these employees were only demoted for a short time and then promoted back to their original jobs. Mr Ritchie refused to deny the claim and would not make any further comment.

He said the department needed to respect the "privacy" of its employees. "I'm sure you will appreciate and understand there are privacy issues around this and that it is an employment matter," he said. Mr Ritchie said "any disciplinary action" taken by the department was managed according to the legislation. "The department has recently provided information to the estimates committee. We have no further comment to make," he said.

But the Northern Territory News has been contacted by several Department of Housing public servants who said inappropriate use of email and the internet was "rife". "It is constant," one employee said. "I walk past the screens and I can see it on their computer." Another employee complained that the inappropriate activity took up "a large portion of their time". "(It) is bad for morale and embarrassing to other staff."

Mr Ritchie told the estimates committee last month that there were 28 reports of "improper use" of computers. He indicated the inappropriate material was intended to be a humorous email. "A lot of it is in what you would call the inappropriate use of what would be classed by some as humour," he said. He added the department was made aware of the email and tracked the material through the system, which implicated many more people.

Councils question NBN deployment

Minister for Communications Stephen Conroy yesterday said local councils were knocking down his door to get the NBN first, but president of the Australian Local Government Association says there were questions over how it is deployed and local council autonomy. "The tier of government that has got this the best over the past six years ... is local government. They are queued up, knocking down my door. They are desperate for us to roll out the network. They all want me to make them first," said Conroy yesterday. "Local government truly get it," he went on, adding that based on the response to a recent speech he delivered to over 600 local council employees, "they are very fired up."

This follows a recent story reported here. But there are several reasons why local councils are fired up, according to Geoff Lake, president Australian Local Government Association.

Lake recently told ZDNet.com.au there was "significant interest from local councils and communities" but that it was in "deployment issues associated with NBN". "At this stage we are optimistic and there are a multitude of logistical issues that will need to be navigated," Lake said. "We need to ensure [these] are dealt with in an appropriate way that will respect local council autonomy."

A key question behind the issue of autonomy was whether the network was deployed overhead or underfoot. It has been an issue with the potential to turn into a protracted battle as local councils seek to meet preferences of the communities each represents. "We understand that, from an economic perspective, deploying the cable underfoot may not be possible or practical in all areas," said Lake. "We're keen as a sector to work with the minister — council by council — the best deployment options, given localised community interests."

At the speech, Conroy had said where it was deployed overhead it would be as "unobtrusive as possible". But no matter how unobtrusive those cables turn out to be, when asked what deployment councils would prefer, Lake said: "There is a significant preference for underground where possible due to lack of visual disruption to urban environment."

Gentrack upgrade at North East Water

Victoria-based water utility company North East Water has successfully completed an overhaul of its IT systems including a key upgrade of the Gentrack billing, CRM and credit management solution. North East Water’s Gentrack Velocity project is one in a chain of recent successful Gentrack projects in the water and energy industries and further strengthens its position as a leading specialist water solutions vendor in Australia. Gentrack’s water billing and CRM solution provides the technology platform North East Water requires to implement a variety of complex water tariffs and innovative customer management strategies, while also running automated system processes for effective debt collection and asset tracking.

Readers can find the full story at http://www.cio.com.au/article/310687/north_east_water_transform_customer_experience_gentrack_velocity . However those who've had an involvement with Gentrack in the past will be saddened to hear of the recent death of national sales director, Bill Fisher, form a heart attack.

Council rates lifted across NSW

,p.Residents of 15 council areas in Sydney and regional New South Wales will face a hike in rates of up to 13.5 per cent, the ABC reports. The NSW Government approved a 3.5 per cent increase across the board as part of its annual determination of council rates earlier this year.

Most of the state's 152 councils decided that was enough but several sought a further rise. Fifteen have today been granted a special rate variation. Junee Shire Council is at the top of the list and will be allowed to charge ratepayers in the southern NSW area an extra 13.5 per cent. Liverpool City Council, in western Sydney, has had a 12.5 per cent increase approved and residents of Randwick, in Sydney's east, will have to pay 9.81 per cent more.

Local Government Association president Genia McCaffery says the 10 councils that had their applications for increased rates knocked back will have to cut back on services and lay off staff. She says Local Government Minister Barbara Perry has only approved a small number of temporary rate rises. "Every rate increase that the Minister has approved are only short-term rate increases that basically have a sunset clause," she said. "Most of them are only for about five years. Councils that applied for a special rate variation which would continue on - all of those applications were rejected by the Minister." Ms Perry says each application was considered on a case-by-case basis. "Councils who were approved were able to demonstrate a strong business case that detailed the program of work that the extra revenue would fund," she said. "They also showed that their community were behind the new work and that the community actually understood the impact of the rate increase."

More hardship relief in the West

The WA Hardship Utility Grant Scheme (HUGS) will now cover gas service provisions, as well as electricity and water provisions. Grant limits increased from $300 to $380 for most customers from July 1.

People experiencing genuine hardship and who are unable to pay a current account or are at risk of disconnection or restriction of supply should contact their provider to progress an application.

The Byron Bay argument continues

The previously reported problems at the Byron Bay beachfront continue to make headlines. Today's Weekend Australian newspaper reports that experts say erosion-prone houses in Byron Bay should never have been built and that the council should consider building groynes instead of a wall to protect them. Byron Bay began life as a whaling station in the late 1900s and then became a fishing village. Large-scale development only took place in the past 20 years.

Most of the early development occurred along the beachfront, with the first houses at Belongil Beach - the area particularly affected by the "planned retreat" policy being adopted by the Byron Shire Council - being built in the 1880s. While the beach in front of the houses has been as wide as 150m at various times throughout the 20th century, there is a creek at the back of the beach that inhibits development. While building a wall at the back of a beach is one way of stabilising the beach, another is to build a groyne of wood, concrete, or rock piles and placed at 90-degree angles to the beach.

Colin Woodroffe from the University of Wollongong said that building a wall was a crude way to solve the problem and that it would cause more erosion to other beaches. "Once people begin to interfere with putting in walls sand starts to accumulate and the flow is interrupted," Professor Woodroffe said. "This causes big problems for beaches further north, as less sand makes its way there, causing more erosion."

Professor Woodroffe said the council should look at large-scale engineering structures such as groynes to solve the issue of erosion. "This is something quite common in other parts of the world but I suspect it might be something we have to look into in the north coast and other places facing erosion". Rob Brander from the University of NSW said it was mistake to build houses in areas prone to erosion.

ASIC steps into case of councils v Lehman

From the Sydney Morning Herald comes the report that attempts by the collapsed investment bank Lehman Brothers to shield itself from an array of lawsuits taken by aggrieved investors face a challenge from the corporate regulator.

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission has intervened in the battle between local councils and Lehman Brothers Australia. It has asked the Federal Court judge hearing a dispute between councils and the bank for leave to make submissions in the case.

It wants the court to clarify the law surrounding deeds of company arrangement; specifically, whether a deed can compel creditors to release third parties, such as an international parent company, from liability.

Lehman Australia had sold billions of dollars worth of collateralised debt obligations to local councils and charities. Many of these complex financial instruments are now worth a fraction of their former value and some councils are seeking compensation.

Queenslanders pay more

The Courier Mail reports that Queensland councils rake in almost $800 more per person than local governments in any other state, Australian Council of Local Government figures show. Many ratepayers in Queensland face higher charges for rates, water and levies this year as a result of council budgets handed down in recent weeks, Rates rose by up to 10 per cent.

Councils argue the increases are necessary to pay for vital infrastructure and offset cuts to State Government subsidies, which smashed sudden holes in some council budgets. But figures prepared for the Australian Council of Local Government show Queensland council coffers were already in better shape than those interstate.

Queensland councils collected $1926 in revenue per person in 2007-08, including government grants, rates and charges, according to the Federal Government figures. That was $874 more than Victorian councils, $766 more than local governments in NSW and $778 per person above the Australian average. Collectively, Queensland's councils brought in more than $8 billion in revenue during 2007-08, just shy of NSW, and spent $6.6 billion of the cash collected, or $1584 per capita, higher than all states except the Northern Territory.

Fun and frolics in Adelaide

Democrat MP David Winderlich says the Burnside Council's reappointment of its chief executive is illegal. Neil Jacobs resigned earlier this month and then withdrew his resignation a week later. Mr Winderlich says the council's actions breach the Local Government Act.

"Which basically says that once the chief executive officer resigns by notice in writing to the principle member of the council, that's the mayor, then they have resigned," he said. "Once that happens the council can't just reappoint that person, they actually have to go out and advertise and go through the formal process."

Mr Winderlich says the investigation also needs to cover other concerns he has received from councillors. "There are serious allegations about maladministration, there are allegations about the influence of an external member of the community over the council," he said. "These are very, very concerning matters when it comes to the good governance of an important council in South Australia."

The Burnside Mayor, Wendy Greiner, says the council has legal advice that the Mr Jacob's notice of resignation was delivered in accordance with the Local Government Act and his contract of employment.

Macquarie problem cause determined

Following on from the previous DRP story, Sydney Water has admitted its maintenance crew shut off water supplies to Macquarie Telecom's data centre on Friday night by mistake, leading to an outage at the facility.

The utility said a crew fixed a leaking pipe connecting a shop to the mains in Pitt Street at the south end of the CBD. "The crew shut off the water to the business at 9pm Friday but inadvertently shut off water supplying Macquarie Telecom's data centre," the utility's spokeswoman said.

She confirmed Macquarie's account that it notified the utility of the problem on Saturday morning.

How useful is the federal money?

The president of the Local Government Association (LGA) of NSW, Genia McCaffery, says while the Rudd Government's $220 million stimulus package for councils is welcome, there are systemic funding issues which must be addressed to reverse this trend.

"If you're actually going to fix the issue of long-term under-resourcing of councils, what's really needed is real reform in how councils are funded," she said. "Combine that with rate pegging, the only state in Australia that has rate pegging, where every year councils are getting less revenue to meet rising costs, then it is absolutely not surprising that some councils are struggling to make ends meet and even the well resourced councils are still not adequately resourced."

Meanwhile, there is still no ruling from the State Government on applications by councils to lift rates above the rate pegging limit. Rate increases for the new financial year starting today are capped at 3.5 per cent. More than 25 councils in the state have made applications for special rate increases. They include Lithgow and Wellington. A spokeswoman for the Minister for Local Government says a determination will be made in the next couple of weeks.