Weekly column from Council Courier e-newsletter by CEO Greg Hallam, Friday 15 January 2016.
My first week back after a lovely two week break and, sticking with the calendar theme, it’s only nine weeks this Saturday to the 19 March council elections.
By law, the Electoral Commission of Queensland has to commence the election legal process within the next few weeks. Game on.
What strikes me as we head toward the end of this term is how vastly different the mood of local government elected members and senior council executives has been since the last elections compared with the previous 2008-12 term.
That term was dominated by post-amalgamation issues and the devastating 2010-11 spate of floods and cyclones that affected the entire state.
It turned out to be costly and hectic and ultimately didn't end well at the ballot box, as we know. The quadrennial term just ending was again beset by natural disasters but also political upheaval at all levels of government, and was far more frugal and conservative. We will find out in just over two months’ time how that played out with the voters. That said, our very reliable Community Attitude Survey predicts a "normal election".
I dare not proffer a view on what the defining themes will be during the next term, ending in 2020. There are so many externally imposed factors no one can say. A major war, another GFC, digital disruption (you count on that one) - any of these could radically alter the political and policy landscape and community attitudes. Who knows other than it will be different from the past eight years of council administration in Queensland, that's for sure.
Times of rapid change require organisational flexibility and agility, but also steadfastness on really critical values. Guiding principles, if you like. To that end, the LGAQ is renewing its focus on and commitment to its credo Connect.Innovate.Achieve.
We completed our second Reimagining the Association process in deep consultation with members just before Christmas so we can better align our direction over the next four years with our councils’ views and aspirations. We will have all of ducks in a row when 19 March rolls around.
On the advocacy front it's been a relatively quiet time with both the State Parliament and Cabinet in recess. But it will heat up in coming weeks when the Supreme Court delivers its decision on the legality of the Industrial Relations Commission’s determination on the Local Government industrial award, the Government gets cracking on its foreshadowed IR reform and the new Planning Act, and resolution of the issue of the Government sharing the cost of the council elections by virtue of the imposition of the state referendum on four year terms on the same day.
Then, it the aftermath of the council election, it will be frenetic as we produce and distribute mayoral and councillor handbooks, run more than 50 new elected member induction courses around the state, conduct the LGAQ’s Policy Executive and Board elections, plan the Civic Leaders Summit and more.