Welcome to your August edition of In Focus News; designed to keep you informed about our current programs and activities.

IT STARTS WITH US

Don’t delay! It's time to register for the LG Professionals annual conference at the new paranaple convention centre, Devonport from 16 – 18 October. Register Now.

This is the highlight of our calendar and October will be here before you know it!

Join delegates from across the industry to hear from leading speakers and celebrate the successes of your colleagues at the Gala Dinner.

Keep an eye out for the program that will be released soon.

Accommodation has been reserved at the Quality Inn Gateway Hotel. Download the brochure and book your accommodation here.

ELECTIONS

Nominations are now open for three positions on the LG Professionals Tasmania Board. These are three year positions, expiring at the AGM in 2022.

Any current financial Fellow, Ordinary Member or Life Member who has not retired from employment can nominate themselves or another member for these positions.

For a nomination to be accepted, it must have the support of one other current financial Fellow, Ordinary Member or Life Member who has not retired from employment.

The following is provided for your information:

• Nomination Form; and
• Board Information Sheet.

All nominations must be received via email addressed to the CEO by close of business on Friday 6 September.

VALE RON MARRIOTT OAM

The Board and members of LG Professionals Tasmania farewells the late Mr Ron Marriott OAM. Ron was a previous Tasmanian and National President of our organisation and served for more than 40 years in local government. He was the Council Clerk of the Municipality of Clarence from 1972 – 1985 and made a significant contribution to community life in Clarence. He will be sadly missed.

NATIONAL CONGRESS 

Congratulations to Erica McKinnell, Community Services Project Officer, Break O’Day Council for receiving a highly commended in the National Emerging Leader of the Year Award.

Well done to the regional Tasmanian Award winners who competed at the National Awards and the Kingborough Quolls who competed in the Australasian Management Challenge Final. The Quolls then presented to the delegates during Congress. Great job!

Best wishes to Katelyn Cragg, LGAT and Sandy Loring, Burnie City Council, who represented LG Professionals Tas with distinction at Congress. The awards were celebrated under the stars at Pee Wee’s at the Point where Katelyn and Sandy were acknowledged as the Tasmanian recipients of the Raymond West Scholarship.

Click here for the Congress photos and presentations.

HR SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP

Register now for the HR Special Interest Group on Tuesday 24 September at the Tamar Function Centre, Riverside from 9.30 am – 3.00 pm.

The agenda includes the following speakers:

Damian Peirce, Field Operations Manager – Tasmania, MEGT to discuss apprenticeship and traineeship pathways.

Anne Mcculloch, Associate Director and David Dilger, Director Edge Legal will provide updates on enterprise agreement making and superannuation compliance.

Heather Malerbi, Team Leader Adult Program North, Family Violence Counselling and Support Service (FVCSS), Communities Tasmania will speak about managing and supporting people who disclose matters relating to family violence.

Ekaterina Skalidis, Senior Associate, Dobson Mitchell Allport will focus her session on policies and the inclusion of Family Violence Clauses in EA's.

The Tasplan Super People & Culture representative will discuss best practice and the benefits of a holistic Health and Wellbeing program for employees.

Don't miss this opportunity. Click here to attend.

Proudly supported by

BRANCH MEETINGS

North West Branch Meeting & AGM

Date: Wednesday 11 September

Time: 10.00 am – 12 noon

Venue: Central Coast Council Chambers, 19 King Edward Street, Ulverstone.

RSVP: Please email Rose Titcombe.  

Southern Branch Meeting & AGM

Date: Thursday 19 September

Time: 11.30 am – 2.00 pm

Venue: Brighton Council Chambers, 1 Tivoli Road, Old Beach

RSVP: Click here.

Thanks to Nick Rossetto, Tasplan, Kaylene Allan-Kingborough Council, Nikki Brookman - Tas Cat Management Project and Rebecca Stevenson, Huon Valley Council for their excellent presentations at the last Southern meeting.

Northern Branch Meeting & AGM

The last meeting of the Northern Branch took place at the Meander Valley Council on 14 August. Presentations from Meander Valley Council’s Craig Plaisted, about the Bioenergy Plant and Lynette While about the Review of Tasmania’s Local Government’s Legislation Framework were greatly received.

Keep an eye out on the events page for the next Northern meeting and AGM date.

Thanks to all who have kindly completed the feedback forms to date. We are listening and taking your comments on board!

If you have any suggestions for speakers or topics you would like to hear about, please let us know by email.

MEMBER PROFILE - TRENT HENDERSON 

Each newsletter we aim to feature one of our current members. In this edition, we have interviewed member, Trent Henderson who is the Senior Planning Officer at the Huon Valley Council.

Trent, what do you do in your role and how long have you been doing it?

I have been Huon Valley Council’s Senior Planning Officer for just over three years, where I lead a dynamic team of Planners and a Development Engineer. Being a small Council, our responsibility is the entire breadth of planning and development; from community assistance to interpret the Planning Scheme, application assessment, permit compliance, manage planning appeals, strategic planning, and processing the Local Provisions Schedule (LPS) of the Tasmanian Planning Scheme. Prior to this role, I was a Planning Officer with Kingborough Council for just over ten years.

What made you want to work in Local Government?

Admittedly, Local Government was not really on my dream career path when I graduated from University. However, after completing an Honours Thesis that focused on how individuals form a sense of community and an attachment to a place, and how development can impact on this sense of place, I apparently knew something about planning. An opportunity for a cadetship with Kingborough Council became available shortly after graduating, and I thought it was a good idea at the time to apply. At the time it was a job; however, it was soon revealed just how important Local Government is in community building that a sense of being involved in something worthwhile and tangible has meant that the job has transformed into so much more.

What made you join LG Professionals Tasmania?

Whilst with Kingborough Council I was fortunate to have been a member of the first Tasmanian Team to win the Australasian Management Challenge. This was not only an amazing experience in its own right, but a revelation on the extent of responsibilities and opportunities within Local Government. My Manager at the time encouraged me to become a member to increase my understanding of the sector. I have found being a member of LG Professionals made me a better Local Government Planner, providing me with a greater understanding of the broader context of position within Council: not just seeing the world through the kaleidoscopic labyrinth of the Planning Scheme.

What interests do you have outside of work?

My family is my primary interest outside of work. Spending time with my two children, regardless of whether it is via the exhilaration found at Little Athletics, the euphoria on the edge of the soccer field, or the delight of a hot chocolate at the local café, it is always a much welcome escape from the realms of work. Alternatively, a philosophical ale with friends, or time with a good book, is a relished moment.

If you could give your 12-year-old self 1 piece of advice what would it be?

Find time to relax and have fun, things work out.

What is something most people don’t know about you?

I have struggled with this question, so my Wife has suggested I write here that, “I am kind and have a caring heart. I am not a grumpy planner all the time.”

What do you think are some of the biggest challenges facing the sector at the moment?

There are many big challenges I could list here, with many of them interwoven with the fact of having to do more with less. However, from my perspective as a Planner, a big challenge in Tasmania is planning reform fatigue. It feels the sector has been going through planning reform for my entire professional career, without doing any actual planning. As a result, I believe the community is tired of the process, being far from fairer, simpler, faster or by no means cheaper, venting frustrations at the local planner at either the lack of change or the lack of opportunity for local involvement. Therefore, the sector is facing the challenge of retaining and recruiting planners, whilst simultaneously losing social capital that is built through good planning and community engagement.

Biggest regret outside of work in the past 10 years?

Not making time for catching up with friends as often as I should. Finding opportunity to spend quality time with family is hard; however, finding quality time with old friends can be just as hard, yet just as important.

Anderson Morgan is a Tasmanian owned and operated IT company with offices in Hobart, Launceston and Ulverstone, and have been a proud sponsor of Local Government Professionals Tasmania for many years.

Founded in 1999, Anderson Morgan have been providing Tasmanian and interstate businesses, schools, local and state governments, and NFPs with professional IT services and strategic consultation for over two decades.

Our talented team cover all corners of the state, delivering tailor-made solutions to customers of all shapes and sizes - whether it be an:

• Outsourced IT service desk (or an onsite placement) to handle phone, remote and onsite support requests from your staff;
• A digital security audit to ensure your cyber security practices meet industry compliance and legislative requirements;
• Migrating to Office 365, or moving you existing on-premises infrastructure to the cloud;
• Rolling out public Wi-Fi for your constituents or internal Wi-Fi for your staff;
• Implementing a technical disaster recovery plan and business continuity platform to recover your IT environment in just minutes; or
• Upgrading your aging fleet of desktops/laptops, and core server and network infrastructure.

If you would like to ensure your business is never held back by technology, then we would love to hear from you.

We look forward to seeing everyone at the Local Government Professionals Conference in October!

LOCAL GOVERNMENT LEGISLATION REVIEW

The August edition of Tasmania's Local Government Legislation Review Newsletter – LG Review News is available here to view or download.

We are very interested to know if you have any ideas or requests for activities, programs or services you wish to have on offer this year.

You are welcome to call or send me an email if you have any specific requests or ideas.

Warm wishes

Mary Frost