Premier’s Local Government Council – Meeting Report

29 July 2003

The Premier’s Local Government Council (PLGC) held its eleventh meeting today. The Premier’s Local Government Council is the peak negotiating body between State and Local Government, chaired by the Premier.

The Council discussed a number of projects it oversees.

A key event for the meeting was the endorsement of a package of reforms to improve State and Local Government financial arrangements and make them more transparent and equitable. Members agreed that this is an important Partnership Agreement and a significant milestone in the relationship between the two levels of government. The Premier and the President of the Local Government Association of Tasmania signed the Partnership Agreement at the end of the meeting.

The PLGC also today endorsed the development of a statewide Agreement, which will focus on the youth-related Tasmania Together benchmarks and initiatives. It is expected the Agreement will cover a number of youth-related benchmarks in the areas of governance, training and education, community safety and healthy lifestyles. The Agreement will draw on successful programs already in place, involving both spheres of government, with significant potential to benefit young people.

The PLGC noted that significant progress has been made on a number of projects it oversees:

• Simplifying Planing Schemes – The Resource Planning and Development Commission is currently considering a report from the hearings on Phase One of the project. The Commission will be reporting to the Minister responsible for planning, the Hon Bryan Green MHA, who will determine whether to proceed with the planning directive. Phase Two of the project is progressing well. Consultation on the Strategic Planning and Planning Schemes discussion paper has been completed and a report is currently being prepared.
• Communication and Consultation - A draft Communication Strategy has been developed. The Strategy is designed to raise both agency and local government awareness of the Communication and Consultation Guidelines. A number of presentations on the Guidelines have been given to State Government agencies and Councils and more are planned.
• Waste Management – This Partnership Agreement has been in implementation stage for over a year. The PLGC agreed that a review of progress will be undertaken, and that it will be tabled at the December meeting of the PLGC.
• The PLGC noted progress on the Building & Construction Training Policy project and the Tasmania Emergency Risk Management project.
• The Hon Jim Cox, Minister for Infrastructure and Minister Assisting the Premier on Local Government briefed members of the PLGC on the Review of the Local Government Act 1993. The first phase of consultation on the review is now complete. In total, 330 amendment proposals and issues have already been raised for consideration as part of the review. The project’s Steering Committee is meeting on 30 July to finalise the process for consultation on the Working Groups’ findings and recommendations. There will be an eight-week consultation period, following which the Steering Committee will decide what amendments to the Local Government Act 1993 to recommend to the Government.

The next meeting of the PLGC is scheduled for Thursday 11 December 2003.

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