The dead are not to blame

Litchfield Shire Council is confiscating blocks of land from members of the English aristocracy who have been dead for more than a century, the NT News reports.   The Council will auction off 12 properties in the rural area to recover more than $230,000 in unpaid rates.  But council president Mary Walsh said it was not the fault of the owners - they had been dead for more than a century. "The English gentry bought these parcels of land, sight unseen, back in the 1800s," she said.  "They are likely to have been passed down through six or seven generations since then.  They have been tied up in estates and the owners don't know that they own them."

Ms Walsh said many of the properties were from Southport.  "It was a thriving town in its day because the boats would come down."  When the council was formed in 1985 the owners of these blocks were obliged to pay rates.  These unpaid rates, plus more than 20 years of interest, have added up to more than $20,000 for each property.  "It's not like we are kicking anyone out of their homes," Ms Walsh said. "This is a piece of our history".

The council now plans to use powers in the Local Government Act for force the sale of the land to recover these rates. Last month, it published legal notices naming the dead owners - giving surviving descendants one month to come forward.  Otherwise, the remaining funds will go to the Territory Government's general revenue.

"Now we get all our rates returned," Ms Walsh said. "We always realised the price would only go up. We knew we would get our money back eventually."  The council also plans to deal with another 82 properties by mid next year.

West Australian confusion

The WA Minister for Local Government John Castrilli has hit back at Opposition claims he has created confusion surrounding council amalgamations, the ABC reports.  The Shires of Yilgarn and Westonia are among two of nine councils which have volunteered to amalgamate.  The State Opposition says Mr Castrilli has rejected the merger, leading to confusion amongst other councils.  Mr Castrilli says he never intended to created confusion.  "I haven't rejected the proposal, I support the proposal," he said.  "Basically the two shires want to amalgamate, I've accepted that, I appreciate it."

Mr Castrilli says he has not rejected the merger.  "All I merely asked the two shires to do, was say to them, thank you for amalgamating, is there a possibility of a larger pool?" he said.   "Just to consider it, that's all it is, just a consideration. If it's not then more than happy with the two."

Allowances: South Australia

Local government representatives are no longer able to set their own allowances in South Australia, ABC News reports.  From 15 January, allowances will be set by an independent tribunal.  SA Local Government Minister Gail Gago says the Remuneration Tribunal will make its decisions after consultation.  "The tribunal will take into consideration the size, population and revenue of the council, as well as any relevant economic, social, demographic and regional factors," she said.  "At least one public hearing is required by the tribunal before it sets allowances."

This is in contrast to NSW, where the Daily Telegraph reports that Councils have frittered away millions of ratepayer dollars on themselves - spending up on junkets, Blackberries and souvenirs.  Council expenses are now so out of control they are, in some cases, nearly double councillors' pays.  Clover Moore's Sydney City Council amassed $598,595 of expenses - almost twice its councillor wage bill of $309,260.

Dr Johnston in Tasmania?

The 18th century scholar Dr Johnston once remarked “a woman's preaching is like a dog's walking on his hind legs. It is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all.”  We have come a long way since then, to the point where in Tasmania a group from State and Federal Governments, the Local Government Association, and the Australian Local Government Women’s Association says there are now more women in councils across Tasmania.

Women’s Association president Cheryl Fuller has told ABC Local Radio that in 2007 there were 66 female councillors out of a total of 281.  Today there are 77 and she says many more are interested in nominating.  "We had 130 ladies that came along to five functions that were held around the state including King Island so out of those 130 people they were at a range of stages as far as their nominations were concerned," she said.  "There was a group of women that had already decided to stand, some were perhaps toying with the idea because they'd come in to contact with council recently, they were at a range of stages."

Ah yes – women are ladies but men are men.  The old shibboleths die hard.

The cost of waste

A Daily Telegraph investigation has found mulching garden waste boosted state-owned waste corporation WSN Solutions' profit by 94 per cent.  State government-owned waste dumps and councils are making millions,charging twice as much to recycle organic waste than it costs to dump it.  The waste company made a $25 million profit from recycling last financial year - up from $12 million the year before.  The NSW Government earned an $4.8 million dividend from WSN Solutions.  The profit comes from the fees ratepayers are charged to recycle green waste - from backyard grass clippings to tree branches.  A home organic waste bin costs between $90 and $130 on top of the standard annual council fee.  Taking rubbish to Sydney's tips has also jumped 38 per cent - from $158 to $219 - in two years, making it cheaper to throw plant matter into landfill rather than mulch it.

Red tape? Moi?

Councils have dismissed a survey by NSW businesses which suggests they’re the most disliked administrators of red tape.  Of 400 business owners who took part in a recent NSW Business Chamber survey, a quarter said red tape from all levels of government was preventing their businesses from growing and creating more job opportunities.  A further 33 per cent expressed concern about future growth.

“(The) survey shows that the costs of red tape on NSW businesses are growing not shrinking,” NSW Business Chamber CEO Stephen Cartwright said in a statement.  Local Government Association of NSW president Genia McCaffery said it was a common misconception that local government was an obstacle to business.  “Local government is only responsible for a small proportion of the requirements that new small businesses need to address,” she said.

Losing water

Specialised sound- testing equipment will be brought in to “listen” to pipes in the Tweed Heads area to detect any water leakage this month, the Tweed Daily News reports.  Tweed Shire Council has called in contractors to pinpoint any significant leaks as part of a plan to fix damaged pipes in the area.  According to the council, 11.5 per cent of all water produced every year on the Tweed “disappears”.  This equates to approximately 900 mega litres per year out of a total of 8700 mega litres.

Council’s water manager Anthony Burnham said water loss figures could be better.  “While that figure of 11.5 per cent is comparable to water loss in other local government areas, it certainly falls short of the target of seven per cent we are aiming for,” Mr Burnham said.  He explained that not all water leakage was due to leaks in the pipes.  “Other possible causes are uses such as firefighting and water theft,” he said.  “We have always checked for leaks, how-ever this is part of an intensified suite of strategic actions to ensure we have good integrated water cycle management in the Tweed.”

Accountability

Accountability, it seems, hurts.  Bruce Yarwood, the long-term mayor of Geelong, is yelping about it in an opinion piece in a recent Geelong Advertiser.  According to Bruce, elections are the main form of accountability, and it seems that all those social networking tools that allow constituents to spy on their Councillors are nothing more than opportunities “to record and express an opinion regardless of any examination of the facts”.  (Opinion pieces in local newspapers must be something else altogether).  Bruce is attempting to influence the direction of State government legislation on the subject and is miffed that “the Opposition didn't exactly do local government any favours here either”.

Meanwhile in Queensland new integrity laws came into effect on 1 January.  Lobbyists must be registered, and they can no longer receive success fees.  The Queensland Local Government Association (LGAQ) says councils will have to comply with the new integrity measures.  LGAQ spokesman Greg Hallam says local governments support the changes, but are awaiting detailed guidelines.  "There is certainly in the new Integrity Act some missing pieces as yet and there is yet to be a public sector ethics regulation that'll affect all councillor and employees and that could well go to the matter of how they deal with property developers," he said.