November 2021  

BOARD NEWS

At the recent LG Professionals Tas AGM held on 28 October, Matthew Atkins, General Manager, Devonport City Council was returned to the Board for a further three years. Katrena Stephenson, Director Environment, Development and Community from Kingborough Council was elected for a three-year term.

Gary Arnold has stepped down from the Board after serving for six and half years and five as President. As Chair, he guided the Board on all governance and strategic matters and has been an inspiring leader. He is highly respected among his peers and during his tenure worked tirelessly to advance the programs and professional development opportunities provided by the association. His active contribution will be missed by the Board.

We are also farewelling our Deputy President, Leanne Hurst from the City of Launceston. Leanne has accepted a new role as the Director Planning and Development at Baw Baw Shire Council in Victoria. Leanne has served on the Board since March 2017 and last year was elected as the Deputy President. The Board thanked Leanne for her valued contribution during the past four and half years.

The new Board Executive has been elected. Congratulations to:

• President: Paul Jackson, Manager Legal & Governance | City Governance, City of Hobart
• Deputy President: Katrena Stephenson, Director Environment, Development and Community, Kingborough Council
• National Director: Matthew Atkins, General Manager, Devonport City Council

MEMBER CHRISTMAS NETWORKING EVENTS

Southern Branch Arena Tour & Networking Event

Date: Tuesday 23 November

Time: 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm

Venue: MyState Bank Arena, 601 Brooker Highway, Glenorchy

Northern Branch Presentation and Lunch

Date: Wednesday 24 November

Time: 11:30 am – 2:00 pm

Venue: City of Launceston, Town Hall Reception (upstairs), 18-28 St John Street, Launceston & Levee Food Co, Seaport

Presentation: Dean Cracknell, Town Team Movement - Placemaking

Cradle Coast Branch Meeting, Tour & Networking Event

Date: Thursday 2 December

Time: 3:00 pm – 5:30 pm

Venue: Room 241, UTAS West Park Campus, 8 Bass Highway, Burnie and Bayviews Restaurant, Level 1, 2 North Terrace, Burnie

Kindly sponsored by Cradle Coast Authority

MEMBER PROFILE - LEN BESTER

This month we have interviewed Len Bester, Infrastructure Manager from the Tasman Council. Len has recently joined LG Professionals Tasmania.  

Len, what do you do in your role and how long have you been doing it?
Since joining local government in 1986 I have worked my way up to senior management and Director roles in the fields of infrastructure, engineering and operations. I am now in a position to have a better work/life balance by working 4-day weeks (some weeks).

What made you want to work in Local Government?
At first, it was just a job. When I started, I had no idea what function Councils had.

Then I realised the opportunities to surround myself with a great network of people and opportunities to advance my career while doing important things for the community.

What made you join LG Professionals Tasmania?

Over my career, I have been involved in many associations including, AWA, WSAA, IPWEA and National Trade Waste Managers Group. These associations have been the focus throughout my career. Now that I am not as active in the water and sewage industry, LG Professionals was recommended to me to continue networking with like-minded people, learn and have the opportunity to pass on some of my learnings over the years.

What interests do you have outside of work?

Motorcycle racing and touring, camping, fishing, family and enjoying life with my partner.

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

Fasten your seatbelt! Life is going to be adventurous!

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

One thing in particular surprises people is that I race motorcycles on circuits like Baskerville and Symmons Plains Raceways. I am a lap record holder at Baskerville Raceway and winner of the 2020 State Road Racing Championship.

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

Climate change and the future of local government in Tasmania.

Biggest regret outside of work in the past 10 years?

Other than not buying property before the recent Real Estate boom, I have no regrets at all.

ANNUAL CONFERENCE

This year's annual conference was conducted at the Eastcoaster, Orford and the Spring Bay Mill, Triabunna in late October.

The conference was opened by the Deputy Mayor, Jenny Woods from the Glamorgan Spring Bay Council and our Platinum Partner, Andrew Ralph from JLT Public Sector and Dion Lester, LGAT spoke at the AGM. Thanks go to our Deputy President, Leanne Hurst who kindly officiated for the entire conference.

Thanks to our keynote speakers, Shane Gould AM MBE, Australian Olympic Swimming Champion and Bernadette Black AM, CEO & Founding Director, Brave Foundation who led a comprehensive list of Tasmanian speakers. They spoke on collaboration and related themes including Mark Nelson – SES | Alex Heroys - Destinations Southern Tasmania | Leigh Arnold - Leigh Arnold Communications | Brett Cassidy - Page Seager Lawyers | Ekaterina Skalidis - Dobson Mitchell Allport | Steve Willing - Growth in Mind | Dean Griggs - Derwent Valley Council and Jason Little - For the People.

Thanks to the local government panel, Tony McMullen and Erin McGoldrick from the Glenorchy City Council and Angela Barrington - Huon Valley Council for their interesting presentations on community collaboration and partnerships.

During the dinner, long-serving members of the association were recognised in front of their peers including Sandra Ayton who was awarded a Fellowship. Our warmest congratulations to Sandra.

As always, Kim Millar played a pivotal role as MC and thanks to our fantastic fines master, Craig Perkins, who raised approximately $550 for the Eastcoast Regional Development Organisation. They aim to establish an orchard for the community to continue a theme of Keep growing - connect, learn and have fun for school students and to encourage participation and ownership by the broader community.

Special thanks go to our corporate partners without whom our conference would not be possible: JLT Public Sector, Spirit Super, Commonwealth Bank, CouncilWise, MAV Insurance, Page Seager Lawyers, Edge Legal, CouncilJobs, Insight GIS, Document Management Tasmania, partnering with Preservica, River Road Consulting, FYB, Dobson Mitchell Allport, Statewide Novated Leasing, Work & Training and Red Piranha.

Finally, to the conference committee; Paul Jackson, Anna Holland, Janine Banks, Laura Eaton and Katrena Stephenson, thanks for your work in bringing the conference together.

FYB

FYB delivers the best Information Governance, Systems and Solutions to our customers. We are 100% Australian owned and we endeavour to support organisations and local businesses to harness the power of their information so they can provide excellent services to the community.

Some of our solutions include:

• 365|2CM – Microsoft365 and Content Manager Integration
• DocUControl – Document Control Solution
• Explorezel - Search platform to explore documents across Micro Focus' Content Manager and Microsoft 365
• Mediazel - Image Management
• Teams2CM Collaborate – An advanced integration providing an alternative interface to access Content Manager from within Microsoft Teams
• Micro Focus Content Manager - Information, Document and Records Management and Security

NATIONAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT VULNEREABILITY PROGRAM

The 2020 Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements identified a significant and serious lack of capacity and capability across Australia to respond to natural hazard events. The pace and extent of these over the past two years – and the pandemic – illustrates that preparedness is essential to effectively respond to the unexpected. The key to developing a better prepared, more capable nation is to build resilience.

Against a background of maintaining public trust and confidence in governments, changing community expectations and increasing potential for natural events to turn into disasters, JLT Public Sector has developed the National Local Government Vulnerability Program. In accord with the objectives of the National Recovery and Resilience Agency, the NLGVP is designed to collect new data to build a national vulnerability profile captured through the local government lens. The results will inform national leadership and strategic co-ordination to improve natural disaster resilience.

JLT Public Sector in its role as principal risk partner with local government has partnered with the National Recovery and Resilience Agency to develop the National Local Government Vulnerability Program.

We recognise the critically important role local government plays in building future community resilience through preparedness, post-disaster recovery and mitigation investment. Creating the program for councils and designing it to meet the NRRA objectives is a win-win for all stakeholders – and most importantly for local communities affected by natural disasters.

JLT PS will commence delivery of phase 1 of the NLGVP in Tasmania in November 2021 to an initial cohort of Councils.

TASMANIAN COUNCILS PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE OF VOLUNTEERS

Research shows that without change to the volunteering sector there will be a shortfall of 40% (demand for volunteers vs supply of volunteers) by 2030.

To address this, Volunteering Tasmania has partnered with three Tasmania local councils to develop volunteer sustainability strategies to safeguard and prepare for the future of volunteering in these communities.

Clarence, Devonport and Huon Valley councils and communities have been working with Volunteering Tasmania using a community co-design framework, to build strategies that are place-based and strategically focused to build a stronger and more sustainable future for volunteering.

Resources and tools have been developed as part of this project to support all local councils, organisations and communities to develop their own strategies.

You can access the resources below or email Amy Bailey, Strategic Manager Innovate and Lead directly here.

WHITE RIBBON – WORKPLACE ACCREDITATION

Workplaces hold an important role in driving social change and supporting people affected by gendered abuse.

The White Ribbon Australia Workplace Accreditation Program is an independent program that works collaboratively with employers to demonstrate a commitment to gender equality and creating safe a safe workplace for everyone.

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