Join us at Lachlan

THIS month's meeting of the Derwent Valley Council will be held at the Lachlan Community Hall this Thursday. A community forum will be held at 6.30pm, providing an informal opportunity for residents and ratepayers to ask questions or raise matters of concern. The council meeting will follow at 7pm. The agenda can be downloaded here.

The council meeting roster for the rest of the year is as follows:

• 20 June 2013 - Lachlan 7pm (community forum at 6.30pm)
• 18 July 2013 - New Norfolk 6.30pm
• 15 August 2013 - New Norfolk 6.30pm
• 19 September 2013 - New Norfolk 6.30pm
• 17 October 2013 - Molesworth 7pm (community forum at 6.30pm)
• 21 November 2013 - New Norfolk 6.30pm
• 19 December 2013 New Norfolk 6.30pm

Have your say on the new planning scheme

A SHORT but significant council meeting was held earlier tonight to approve the release of the draft Derwent Valley Council Interim Planning Scheme for public consultation. Once approved, this new document will replace the New Norfolk Planning Scheme of 1993. The new planning scheme is intended to be consistent with those of all other councils in southern Tasmania.

It is anticipated that all 12 southern Tasmanian councils will approve their new planning schemes for release this week, to be advertised in this Saturday's newspaper. Look out for it at the weekend, or check back here for the web link.

There will be six weeks of public consultation, during which time you can sign up to submit your comments online or alternatively send them in the old fashioned way. Two drop-in sessions with the council's planning officer will be held in June. This is an "informal" period of public consultation before the draft planning scheme is submitted to the Tasmanian Planning Commission for approval.

Council reforms passed - mostly

THE following media releases are reproduced here without alteration. The deputy premier's statement beats around the bush on the topic of compulsory voting at council elections, which was defeated in the Legislative Council.

Bryan Green
Deputy Premier
Thursday 23rd May 2013
Major Local Government Reforms Passed

The Deputy Premier Bryan Green tonight welcomed the passing of major local government reforms by the Legislative Council. “These are very important reforms that will help re-shape the future of local government in Tasmania,” Mr Green said. “We put the reforms forward in good faith and now we will deal with the amended legislation when it returns to the Lower House to give local government certainty.

“All-in, all-out council elections will enable councils to focus on delivering their policies over a fixed-term like all other levels of government. Rather than elections for half the council ever two years this will provide continuity for our leaders in local government and the communities they represent. These changes will help ensure councils are even more accountable and responsive to their communities, while also letting them get on with the job that voters have elected them to do.

Mr Green said preventing dual representation would ensure that elected representatives can focus all of their efforts on the interests of their local communities. “This will relieve elected representatives of conflicting demands on their time.

Mr Green said he recognised the move towards compulsory voting was not supported by all councils. “The aim of compulsory voting was to help lift participation and make local government more representative of the communities they represent,” Mr Green said.



Tim Morris MP
Greens Local Government spokesperson
Friday, 24 May 2013
LOCAL GOVERNMENT REFORMS DELIVER KEY GREENS’ POLICIES
But Failure on Compulsory Voting is Missed Opportunity

The Tasmanian Greens today welcomed the passage of major local government reforms through the Legislative Council saying they will strengthen Tasmania’s democracy, but said it is disappointing that the opportunity to introduce compulsory voting was not seized.

Greens Local Government spokesperson Tim Morris MP said that the Greens had long campaigned for these reforms including removing the dual representation capacity which allowed for an individual to be a local councillor and sit in the State Parliament at the same time.

“Abolishing dual representation delivers on long-held Greens’ policy, and is a win for the voter, and a win for a modern and accountable democracy,” Mr Morris said. “The voter deservers to have elected representatives prepared to provide that electorate their full time and energy, whether it is a local council seat or a state parliament electorate. Greens Member for Bass Kim Booth first tabled the Greens Bill to bring in this reform in 2002, and a decade later, we are finally seeing the rest of the Parliament catch-up and make this happen.”

“We also welcome the new all-in, all-out fixed terms provisions.  This reform will now assist providing greater certainty and accountability to local councillors and the community which they represent. This will also have the dual win of significantly reducing the cost of council elections which is a big win for the ratepayers, and should free up those funds to go into service delivery.”

“The Legislative Council’s refusal to accept compulsory voting is a missed opportunity. Local government is a very important tier with increased service delivery responsibilities, and the Greens believe that it needs to be treated as seriously as other government tiers through the adoption of compulsory voting.  This would also help to address declining community participation rates at local council elections.”

February question

AT the council's February meeting I asked the following question without notice:

Mr Mayor, can the council write to the Molesworth Recreation Reserve Committee thanking them for their support during the local bushfire?

The mayor advised that a letter will be forwarded to the Molesworth Recreation Reserve Committee.

January questions

THESE are the questions without notice I asked at the January council meeting, and the answers received.

Mr Mayor, how many disputes involving this council were resolved by confidential agreements in 2012?

The mayor advised that he would take this on notice. At a subsequent meeting the general manager advised that the answer was "one". No further details were provided.

Mr Mayor, can future agendas include a "business arising" section to enable progress to be detailed from the previous month's agenda?

The general manager answered "yes".

Mr Mayor, can the council make representation to the State and Federal Governments for all Derwent Valley and Central Highlands properties affected by the current bushfires to receive the same support and entitlements as those being made available to the Sorell, Tasman and Glamorgan-Spring Bay municipalities?

The mayor answered "yes".

Mr Mayor, can the council investigate whether a name is required for the laneway running off Pioneer Avenue and along behind St Matthew's Church?

The general manager said this would be investigated. 

Mr Mayor, may councillors have an up-to-date list of staff and their responsibilities?

The general manager answered "yes".

Council reforms announced

THE following media releases, issued yesterday, are reproduced here without alteration. I wonder whether the Deputy Premier and Local Government Minister is aware of the irony in his proposal to strengthen democracy by deferring this year's council elections and reducing the number of future elections by half.


Bryan Green
Deputy Premier
Sunday 17th Mar 2013
 
Major Local Government Reforms Announced

The Deputy Premier, Bryan Green MP, today announced that Local Government elections will be deferred until next year and voting for all councils will be compulsory. Mr Green said the Government had also decided on all-in, all-out four year terms for councils and popularly elected Mayors and Deputy Mayors. The changes will take affect at council elections in October next year.

"Introducing these reforms will minimise confusion while giving voters time to adjust to the changes," Mr Green said. "The Government wants to give everyone the opportunity to participate in our democracy and ensure councils are even more responsive to their communities. Rather than elections for half the council every two years these reforms will provide continuity for our leaders in local government and the communities they represent. All-in, all-out council elections, compulsory postal voting and an end to dual representation are about ensuring our democracy is strong and works well.

Mr Green said the Government had decided to proceed with the reforms following further public consultation. "Over the last few weeks I have received feedback from the Local Government sector and the public regarding the proposed changes to the electoral system for Local Government. It makes sense to introduce the reforms as soon as possible, and that is next year.

Mr Green said Mayors overwhelmingly supported postponing the elections. "Compulsory voting for all councils was always the State Government's preferred option and this was reinforced by concerns expressed about the proposed opt-in system. I appreciate all the comments received on the proposed changes and now look forward to delivering these important reforms.

Mr Green said he expected to introduce Legislation to Parliament next month and urged the Liberal Party to support the changes. "The Liberals have been negative about the reforms but they should not be fearful of more people participating in local government elections. It is encouraging to see widespread support across local government for these changes and the Liberal Party should now play a more positive and constructive role," Mr Green said.



Tim Morris MP
Greens Local Government Spokesperson
Sunday, 17 March, 2013

Compulsory voting for Local Governments will strengthen democracy

The Tasmanian Greens today welcomed the Minister for Local Government, Bryan Green MP’s announcements on local government reform, saying they are significant planks in strengthening Tasmania’s democracy.

Greens Local Government spokesperson Tim Morris MP said that less elections, with all councillors facing the voters at once, and an end to dual-representation would increase accountability as well as lead to more accurate representation and was a win for the Tasmanian community.

“The Greens have long advocated an end to dual representation, where one person holds a seat in both local council and State Parliament, and we successfully established in 2011 a Parliamentary Committee inquiry into introducing compulsory voting for local government,” Mr Morris said.

“Since then these important democracy reforms have been put through a thorough stakeholder consultation process, undertaken to ensure that all council’s have had the opportunity to feed in at every step of the way.” The Greens will continue to support the cooperative policy formation process that has begun between local governments and the State Government, but we are keen to ensure these reforms are implemented before the next round of elections.”

“Ultimately compulsory voting will provide the public with representation that corresponds more closely with community interests as well as increase accountability of those holding public offices. It should also turn around the worrying  low voter participation rates that we have seen in recent local government elections which shows a lack of engagement with this vital tier of government which is taking on increasing responsibilities for their ratepayers. People need to have their say over who is managing the money they pay towards municipal services, and how they want those services prioritised.”

“The Greens also welcome extending the terms between council elections to four years, this will allow aldermen to worry less about campaigning for their seat and more about delivering services to ratepayers.”

“Dual representation has always been a matter that the Greens have campaigned to have reformed, to ensure that voters get value for their vote. Holding a seat at any level of government is a demanding role and I can’t see how someone can commit the time and effort necessary to meet the standard that the public deserves if they are sitting on two levels of Government,” Mr Morris said.

Happy 150th

TODAY was the Derwent Valley Council's 150th birthday. The date marks the anniversary of the first election and first meeting of the then Rural Municipality of New Norfolk, both of which were held on March 18, 1863.

Events like this remind me again of the rich history of our part of the world and how much has been achieved in the 205 years since the first European settlers made their way up the River Derwent to what is now New Norfolk. Our council is not perfect but it is ours, and we have the people of 1863 to thank for that.

By sheer coincidence, today's anniversary coincided with a special council meeting for the purpose of determining the council's position on the agenda items for the next meeting of the Local Government Association of Tasmania. This in itself is one of the improvements made by the present council. Three years ago the mayor of the day decided on these matters himself.

Special meetings have a fixed agenda that do not provide much scope for events like a council's 150th anniversary, but with councillors' support I moved to suspend so much of standing orders as was necessary to permit the mayor to acknowledge the day's special significance. A cake was cut and shared with the public gallery, photos were taken and then it was down to business.

Cr James Graham, general manager Stephen Mackey, Deputy Mayor Barry Lathey, Cr Wayne Shoobridge, Cr Tony Nicholson, Cr Chris Lester, Mayor Martyn Evans and yours truly at tonight's 150th anniversary council meeting.