Local government gathers in Hobart to learn how to navigate Tasmania's shifting landscape at LGAT Annual Conference
We were thrilled to host Tasmanian elected representatives, General Managers and council staff in Hobart for our 2024 Annual Conference on 4 and 5 September.
When thinking of a theme for this year, our team recognised that the space in which our councils need to operate is rapidly changing. That’s how we ended up with Navigating a Shifting Landscape. Although as our Vice President Paula Wriedt mentioned in her closing speech, perhaps we should have gone with How to Dance on Quicksand!
To open this year’s conference, the President of the Australian Local Government Association Councillor Linda Scott shared what advocacy has been occurring at a national level. One of the major wins this year was securing a Parliamentary inquiry into local government sustainability. Linda thanked those councils who provided submissions to the Committee, highlighting local perspectives on some common themes such as cost shifting, federal grants not keeping pace with inflation, and jobs and skills shortages.
As you may have heard, Linda is stepping down from her role as ALGA President this month and we wish her tremendous success for her future endeavours. Linda has been a fierce advocate for the local government sector and has helped secure billions in funding for councils around Australia.
Dr Lisa Denny discussed the projected population change in Tasmania from a local government area (LGA) perspective. What was really clear from her presentation is that population ageing is with us to stay. She introduced the seven different population age structures projected for Tasmania’s LGAs by 2038 - pyramid, apple core, column, coffin, inverse coffin, middle-aged spread and the tornado. All of these have different characteristics and drivers of population change which need to be understood - and monitored - to effectively plan for their respective community needs. Lisa really highlighted importance of tracking population change against projections and inter-censal socio-demographic changes to inform strategic planning and policy development processes.
Our workshop streams this year were hosted by Frank Barta and the team from TasWater. Frank walked attendees through the essentials of financial management for local government. Tasmanian councils manage $13 billion in infrastructure assets, 14,000km of roads and 23% of operating expenses is depreciation. With long life assets that need to be managed, Frank highlighted how critical Asset Management Plans are for councils and how they connect to long term financial management plans, budgets and annual plans.
Meanwhile, TasWater shared how they have been navigating Tasmania’s shifting landscape. Their team has been looking to shape the future of water services in our state and trying to find the right balance of price and service that is fair for their over 456,000 customers. Attendees were split into their regional areas to look at what work TasWater has been undertaking.
Day 1 of conference closed with a sombre look at the state of Tasmania’s economy from Saul Eslake. Linking in with Lisa’s presentation, he identified how population growth has been the major difference between Tasmania and the rest of Australia over the past two years. Saul introduced the concept of fiscal sustainability and how it is important to build household, business and community group confidence. He spoke of why fiscal sustainability enhances inter-generational equity by reducing the likelihood that one generation of taxpayers and citizens will have to pay for the fiscal mistakes of previous generations. Saul also outlined the objectives of a strategy to return Tasmania’s finances to a sustainable position.
The Minister for Local Government, the Honourable Nic Street, opened proceedings on Day 2. He discussed numerous priority local government reforms based on the Future of Local Government Review. These included various amendments to the Local Government Act, a review of councillor allowances, improved education and training for elected representatives and the delivery of a contemporary, standalone Local Government Elections Act. We were pleased to hear the Minister mention two key priorities that LGAT has been advocating for – an investigation into the development of a new developer charges framework and a general review of the amount of Heavy Vehicle Motor Tax made available to councils in accordance with the roads related work councils are responsible for. We look forward to further detailed announcements from the Minister about local government reform in the coming weeks.
Ben and Nic from You Who inspired attendees to be better leaders and identified that being yourself as a leader, is the best approach to take. With climate change, economics, artificial intelligence, social media and misinformation, cost of living pressures and a housing crisis, there is a lot to consider for our leaders in local government. They asked our attendees to discuss in their groups what does being an authentic leader involve and if someone asked you ‘who are you?’, what would you say. Ben and Nic further went on to explain that the unique impact our elected representatives can have in their role is a result of their individual beliefs, strengths and passions. We hope that everyone enjoyed creating their Authentic Leadership Canvass and have a better understanding of allied, adaptive and authentic leadership qualities.
We closed our 2024 conference with a panel discussion on minority governments. Our Vice President moderated the panel and was joined on stage by Cath Hughes, Lara Giddings and Dr Michael Lester. They each brought with them their own unique insights about their experiences with minority governments. Our panel discussed the risks and opportunities that exist when our state is governed by one. Some of the positives are increased transparency and the opportunity for local government to lobby for key priorities for the sector. Tasmania is no stranger to minority government and our panel predicts that we will continue to see minority governments in the future.
As always, it was a pleasure to recognise the significant achievements of councils and elected representatives during our Conference Dinner on 4 September. Congratulations again to Peter Hollister from Devonport City Council for his outstanding commitment to local government. We also congratulate our Awards for Excellence winners Clarence City Council, Derwent Valley Council, Sorell Council and West Coast Council. Full details of these awards can be found in our media release.
We hope that those who joined us walked away with new learnings and connections. Our members can access the presentations on our Member Portal for continued reflection on the conversations and insights shared with us across the two day event.