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

ANNUAL CONFERENCE

Speaker Presentations

The speaker presentations listed below will be added to the conference page of our website next week. In the interim, view or download the presentations by clicking on the topics.

Survey

We really value your opinion and would greatly appreciate the delegates, speakers and corporate partners completing the 5-minute survey emailed last week. Your responses play an integral role in the development of next year's conference.

Corporate Partners

Our warmest thanks are extended to our corporate partners without whom our conference would not be possible:

JLT Public Sector - CBA - Tasplan Super - Edge Legal - Page Seager - LG Hub - LGAT - Azility - Anderson Morgan - Dobson Mitchell Allport - Cradle Coast Authority - Insight GIS

Counciljobs - Work & Training - MAS National - B4 Early Years Coalition

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

In August, nominations were called for 3 x three-year positions expiring at the AGM in 2022. At the AGM on 18 October at the paranaple convention centre, Leanne Hurst, City of Launceston and Anna Holland, City of Hobart were returned unopposed and Shane Power from the George Town Council was elected to the Board.

The Executive for 2019/20 were appointed:

Gary Arnold – President
Rolph Vos – Deputy President
Matthew Atkins – National Board Director

A copy of the 2018-2019 LG Professionals Tasmania Annual Report is found here.

BRANCH NEWS

Northern Tasmania

The AGM and Branch meeting will take place at the City of Launceston, Town Hall Reception Room (upstairs) on Wednesday 27 November from 11.00 am. The agenda will include a:

Presentation by Claudia Taylor and Sarah McCormack, City of Launceston - ABCDE Learning Centres
Tour of Riverbend Park
12.30 pm - Lunch at Rupert & Hound. Please ensure you RSVP to the Branch President, Jonathan Harmey by email. RSVP’s strictly close on Wednesday 20 November for catering purposes, thanks.

Southern Tasmania

Congrats and thanks to Laura Eaton, Kingborough Council for taking on the role of Southern Branch Secretary.

North West Branch

A meeting has been scheduled from 3.30 pm – 5.00 pm on Wed 4 December at the Aberdeen Room, paranaple centre, Devonport. Christmas drinks to follow. Please RSVP directly to Secretary Rose Titcombe at email.

MEMBER PROFILE

Our regular Member Profile introduces Cassie Sheehan from the Meander Valley Council.

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

I have been with Meander Valley Council for nearly 3 years and for the last 12 months I have been in the Human Resources & Payroll Officer role.

What made you want to work in Local Government?

I grew up in the Meander Valley and after 10 years living outside the area I settled back here. I love the sense of community that exists in smaller towns and the opportunity to work within my local community was a factor when I applied to work at Council.

What made you join LG Professionals Tasmania?

I recently became a member of LG Professionals as I feel it certainly provides excellent opportunities for learning. Over the last 12 months I have been able to participate in the Emerging Leaders program, as well as attending the Annual Conference and HR Special Interest Group. Attending these events has been wonderful, enabling me to learn more not just about items specific to my role but also the broader sector.

What interests do you have outside of work?

Outside of work I spend time with my family and friends. I also enjoy sport, playing netball and participating in parkrun and other running events.

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

Surround yourself with positive people, they will support and encourage you along the way.

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

I have a pen pal in Japan that I have been writing to since I was in high school. Over the years, she has made multiple visits to Tasmania and I have been lucky enough to visit and stay with her family in Japan.

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

I think that there are constantly many challenges facing the sector, some larger than others. From my experience in Customer Service, I believe one challenge that would affect everyone in local government, regardless of their role within the organisation, is managing the expectations of Council from customers and communities.

COMMONWEALTH BANK

Commonwealth Bank is Australia’s leading provider of integrated financial services. Our purpose is to improve the financial wellbeing of people, business and communities across Australia.

We are committed to local governments, by partnering to deliver customised financial solutions that recognise the valuable role councils play in the community and the pressures to deliver more from limited resources.

With our forward-looking approach, we’re continuing to transform and improve services and achieve efficiencies through technologies such as CommBiz Advanced Analytics, for better decision making and customer experience.

CBA have kindly provided the CommSec State of the State - Oct 2019 report for your interest.

NATIONAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT WORKFORCE SUMMIT

For the attention of HR Personnel

The Summit, a joint collaboration between LG associations and hosted by LGNSW, is taking place at Tweed Heads from Wednesday 13 to Friday 15 November.

It is a great opportunity to keep up to date with workforce trends and will feature expert local government, academic, corporate and government speakers, interactive workshops to exchange best practice across councils.

The Summit will provide a range of case studies, forums and workshops to encourage stronger networks and the opportunity to socialise with peers.

PRACTICAL ETHICS FOR MANAGERS COURSE

Date: Thursday 12 December

Time: 9:00 am – 4:00 am

Place: Devonport

Fee: Free

Course outline:

This one-day course takes a real-world perspective on the pressures that managers face (particularly middle managers) and the difficult decisions that emerge day to day. It provides practical guidance, tools and support to develop understandings to guide you when managing ethical issues.

Through group activities and real-world scenarios, this course aims to equip attendees with practical strategies for making ethical decisions with confidence. This is a highly interactive course, so come prepared!

The course is facilitated by experienced staff from the Integrity Commission

Further information is available here.

GLOBAL CYBER RISK PERCEPTION SURVEY REPORT 2019

Marsh has once again partnered with Microsoft to launch our 2019 Global Cyber Risk Perception Survey, which asked 1,500 business leaders around the world about their views and approach to managing cyber risk.

Find our more here.

Source: JLT Public Sector: In the Loop. The Latest News from Marsh

REVIEW OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT

Following a three-month consultation period, submissions to the Reforms Directions Paper closed on 30 September 2019. This marked the end of phase 2 of the review.

Approximately 800 survey responses were received by the Project Team in addition to 76 written submissions.

The feedback will inform the Government’s decision on the reforms and Legislation will be drafted and available for public consultation in mid-2020, before being introduced to Parliament.

Further information including the survey results may be found here.

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.

Best wishes

Mary Frost

LG Professionals Tasmania