The following message has been sent to members of NF2. It is not on the NF2 website. (http://ccnc.org.au/index.html)

“Dear NF2ers,

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Neighbourhood Forum 2 was held in April. (This forum meets monthly at the Coledale RSL Club to discuss and take action on many matters of interest to residents between Clifton and Coledale)

At this meeting no-one volunteered to take on the vacated positions of Convenor, Secretary, or Treasurer.

Consequently, the AGM was deferred until the May meeting, but again no-one volunteered for any of the vacated positions.

As our neighbourhood forum cannot function without this structure, it has been decided to advise Wollongong City Council that Neighbourhood Forum 2 will no longer continue to meet. So this is the end of NF2 in its current form.

The former NF2 convenor says ” I have advised WCC via email to Jodie Healey today & asked that she advise the necessary people in Council, & I have suggested in view of the situation Council should consider reviewing the NF boundaries.”

——————–

Comment by reformwcc

A better suggestion (rather than merging with NF1 and/or NF3) would be for WCC to find out what Council resources are necessary for such groups to be viable and to function effectively.

What can we learn from the long experience of what started out in 1993 as WCC Neighbourhood Committee Two?

These may include, for example, a paid part-time position for a Convenor, funds for carrying out the functions of Convenor and other costs of running an effective Neighbourhood Forum (not the least of which is having the resources to effectively engage with the local constituency.)

Council staff, based on previous performance, can be expected to show little real initative in such matters.

But what about all the candidates for Ward Councillors and Lord Mayor? What do they propose to do about properly resourcing and supporting this crucial end of the Council-Community engagement process?

Reconciliation Action Plan

“The RAP program turns “good intentions into action” by encouraging and supporting organisations, large and small, to engage within their sphere of influence in the national effort to close the 17-year gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and other Australians.”

For more:

http://www.reconciliation.org.au/home/reconciliation-action-plans

WCC draft Community Engagement Strategy

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Community Engagement is any process that involves the community in problem-solving or decision making and uses community input to assist in making decisions (International Association for Public Participation, 2006).

…

Council has based this Community Engagement Strategy on the engagement spectrum developed by the International Association of Public Participation (IAP2): Inform; Consult;Involve; and Collaborate; as recommended by the Department of Local Government.

From International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) Australasia website:

IAP2 Core Values

As an international leader in public participation, IAP2 has developed the “IAP2 Core Values for Public Participation” for use in the development and implementation of public participation processes.

These core values were developed over a two year period with broad international input to identify those aspects of public participation which cross national, cultural, and religious boundaries.

The purpose of these core values is to help organisations, decision makers and practitioners make better decisions which reflect the interests and concerns of potentially affected people and entities.

1. The public should have a say in decisions about actions that could affect their lives.

2. Public participation includes the promise that the public’s contribution will influence the decision.

3. Public participation promotes sustainable decisions by recognizing and communicating the needs and interests of all participants, including decision makers.

4. Public participation seeks out and facilitates the involvement of those potentially affected by or interested in a decision.

5. Public participation seeks input from participants in designing how they participate.

6. Public participation provides participants with the information they need to participate in a meaningful way.

7. Public participation communicates to participants how their input affected the decision.

http://www.iap2.org.au/resources/list/asset_id/3/cid/1/parent/0/t/resources/title/IAP2%20Core%20Values

Extracts from ATTACHMENT 1 – Draft Community Engagement Strategy for the Community Strategic Plan

ABOUT THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY

This Community Engagement Strategy outlines how Council is going to engage individuals,community groups, Government agencies and non-Government organisations in the formation of the Wollongong Community Strategic Plan.

WHO ARE OUR STAKEHOLDERS?

Stakeholders are all individuals and groups who have an interest in the future of Wollongong City including:
* residents
* community groups
* business
* advisory groups
* Government
* visitors.

…
It is intended that all stakeholders will be provided with the opportunity to be involved in all stages of the development of the Community Strategic Plan. A range of methods will be employed to maximise involvement. Consideration will also be given the diversity of the Wollongong community and those whose voices may not normally be heard in community discussions. This includes:

* people with disabilities
* Aboriginal communities
* people from culturally or linguistically diverse backgrounds
* children and young people
* people in geographically isolated areas
* single parents, and
* the elderly.

The following Table 1 highlights key demographic features of the Wollongong community and the strategies Council will carry out to ensure wide engagement of our diverse community

Table 1: Methods for Engaging Our Diverse Wollongong Community

Demographic Feature – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

Key Statistics – 1.7% of the population is Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

Strategies for Engagement

The Aboriginal Community Development worker will provide advice and information to ensure strategies are culturally appropriate and that all key groups have the opportunity to participate.

Extracted from:
http://www.wollongong.nsw.gov.au/council/meetings/BusinessPapers/Draft%20Community%20Engagement%20Strategy%20for%20the%20Community%20Strategic%20Plan.pdf

The question is “How can local indigenous people have an effective voice in the next Wollongong City Council?”

This is something which is long overdue in our local government. A new Wollongong requires that we move into the 21st century and ensure that our local First Peoples are recognised and included in the decision-making process.

In the past there was a WCC Aboriginal Liaison Committee. From the few Koories i have spoken to who were on this Committee, there was a real sense of being ignored and not listened to when they went to the trouble of attending the meetings. They felt that they were being discriminated against – a very undesirable situation.

But mind you, this is similar to the feeling of many non-indigenous people who regularly attended the WCC Neighbourhood Committees. Despite our best efforts, we were always given the flick by the ALP dominated Council and the invisible workings within Council’s senior staff.

So … i guess the question becomes “What would local indigenous people like to see by way of their involvement in the next Wollongong City Council?”

Good question. How do we get an answer?

OK you candidates for positions of Lord Mayor and Ward Councillors – it is up to you to seek out the views of the various parts of our local Koori community and, in a spirit of cultural partnership, form some new policies for effective Koori engagement with Council to be implemented early in the life of the new Council.

Here is a real chance (and a difficult challenge) for candidates for Lord Mayor and Ward Councillor positions to impress us with their abilities and fitness for the positions they seek.

What do the candidates have to say on this issue? How do they propose to go about finding out the answer either prior to the election or as soon as possible afterwards?

Reformwcc will be putting this question to the candidates as they emerge, and will report back here.

Bruce Reyburn
Sat 28 May – Reconciliation Week.

NATIONAL RECONCILIATION WEEK
- 27 MAY to 3 JUNE -
THEME FOR 2011 – LET’S TALK RECOGNITION

Question is: “How can the voices of Koories be part of local government in Wollongong?”

“Join us in a national conversation

The theme for National Reconciliation Week 2011 is Let’s talk recognition. How you interpret it is entirely up to you. You might like to hold an event that recognises the important contributions that Indigenous Australians are making to your community. Or perhaps engage students, staff or friends more deeply in a conversation about the value of recognition and why it is of particular importance for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Over the next couple of years recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in our Constitution will be on the agenda as the Federal Government has indicated that there will be a referendum on it, on or before the next election. When people go to vote, we want them to feel confident and capable of making an informed decision. To do this it is important to start the conversation about the value of recognition for us all and why it is important for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in particular.

But recognition isn’t just about the referendum, it’s much broader, and has a lot to do with reconciliation. During NRW 2011 we’re asking all Australians to think about the value of recognition, what it means to you personally and its importance to the nation. “

http://www.reconciliation.org.au/home/get-involved/national-reconciliation-week

WCC media release:

Wollongong City Council will begin a comprehensive community engagement process following the adoption of an engagement strategy for the City’s Community Strategic plan.

The NSW government has asked all local governments to develop a Community Strategic Plan for their area, with the plan encompassing social, economic, environmental and civic leadership and must be for the next 10 years.

In compiling a strategic plan the Council will begin engaging the community using a number of different and interesting strategies.

The draft Community Strategic Plan will be developed in conversations with citizens of the city and also in conjunction with business, social and community representatives, as well as government agencies.

Council Administrator Mr Robert McGregor AM said the engagement strategy is a vital tool in drafting a strategic plan that will include a vision for the city for the next decade.

“Council has begun its work on engagement through conversations with the Neighbourhood Forums and listening to advice from the Community Reference Panel,” Mr McGregor said.

“The engagement will continue in June with Council asking the community to contribute to their vision of a great city through a promotion called Draw, Write, Snap, Share. This will also include the use of social media and will be asking people to think about what they love about Wollongong. We will be asking our diverse community including students and children to contribute to the journey to help us frame a better future strategy.”

Further information on the engagement for the Community Strategic Plan will be available soon through Council’s website.

One of the first problems which will face our new Council when they are elected is likely to be from the senior staff who have been getting on very nicely thanks without Councillors since 2008.

All manner of new formal and informal power relations will have developed and strengthened within the staff organisation over that time.

All organisations have there own internal culture. WCC is no different, as ICAC found in relation to the Oxley effect.

It will be vitally important, during the initial years of the new Council, that important messages from our communities flow directly to the Councillors without being selectively screened by Council staff.

COUNCIL STAFF FILTER

One of the persistent problems with Council staff over the years has been the filtering role they have played in relation to what community based information they systematically leave out of reports and recommendations which are put to the Councillors.

I am thinking here of the many suggestions which have come from active and caring people in our communities regarding how to design, implement and improve community based Council-Community committees.

Under the Oxley years there was a discernible negativity from some Council staff in relation to the input into Council business from WCC Neighbourhood Committees.

Some key staff, it seemed, ‘knew’ they had to pay lip service to the role of Neighbourhood Committees but not to take any real action on anything major which originated from them.

As one Council officer told WCC Neighbourhood Committee 2 at a meeting – with real vehemency – “We don’t work for you!” Great! Try working with us.

“CONSIDERED” AND IGNORED

Staff also know that, lacking resources, the effective participation of our communities in Council business can mean more work for them in comparison with simply processing things as required within the office. It is in their interest, but not ours, for them to minimise real community involvement in raising real issues which have to be fully addressed.

Council reports on the design of community engagement strategies can say, for example, that all feedback and suggestions have been considered – and provide no reason as to why some true reform suggestions have been excluded from the recommendations going to Council for action. That is passed over in silence.

The fact they have been ‘considered’ by an unaccountable process is deemed to be sufficient in terms of matters of due process. But for us in community the more relevant fact is that these suggestions have been ignored without any reason provided.

Many people in our community have long given up on trying to get their message through to Council via the seemingly selectively deaf ears of some Council officers. And until relevant senior Council staff have regained and earned our confidence we cannot afford to leave our vital affairs in their hands.

DISSOLVING THE BLOCKAGE

In other words, in my experience, some staff can serve as a blockage rather than a conduit for messages which should flow from our communities to our elected Councillors. (There are also some very good staff who may shine with the opportunity to work closely with responsible community-based groups.)

I don’t think the solution to removing this blockage is simply to invoke some airy-fairy notion of ‘best practice’ from MBA qualified staff members seeking to preserve their form of organisation.

Rather, what we – ratepayers and taxpaying residents of WCC for whom staff do work – what we need is a new, direct and formal means of sending community messages to our elected Councillors which does not have to pass through the staff filtering device.

The notion of a Ward based Precinct Committee is one way of providing such a direct communication process.

Acting as a Community Advisory Group the Ward based Precinct Committee could report directly to the Ward Councillors on matters of concern.

COUNCILLORS TO BE ACCOUNTABLE

Of course, no group can tie the hands of the elected Councillors – nor should they be able to (unless there are areas of formally delegated responsibility from Council to Precinct Committees). Councillors have to take a wide range of matters, including staff advice, into account in order to come to a proper decision. That is how it should be.

But they could also be called upon to explain the reasons for their decisions when, presented with the views of the Ward (as communicated via such a Precinct Committee) they have decided otherwise. They will generally have good and valid reasons and we will all be the wiser for it.

Such a reform would ensure that the opportunities for corruption are minimised, and that Council would work much better in terms of being a true vehicle for community aspirations and concerns.

DRAFT COMMUNITY STRATEGIC PLAN

One of the reports going to “Council’s” May meeting (24 May 2011) is the Draft Community Engagement Strategy for the Community Strategic Plan (Ref:CN71:11).

That report, prepared by Council staff, details how WCC will go about complying with the State government requirement that Council’s develop a ten year Community Strategic Plan. In part, this report results from limited community consultation via a Community Reference Panel and Neighbourhood Forums.

You will not find 21st century community based thinking in that report. And for good reason – in the absence of elected Councillors it is up to us (as members of community) to put it in there. Council staff, left to themselves, will never innovate in this way.

It would be good, by way of feedback, to hear from people who were involved in that initial community consultation to learn what they think of the Council officers report. One comment I have heard was what started me thinking about the need for avoiding the staff filter as written about here.

SUMMIT COMING UP – NOVEMBER 2011

Once the draft Community Engagement Strategy for the Community Strategic Plan report is accepted by the Administrators, which it surely will be by the present rubber stamping bureaucratic procedure, the process of forming the Community Strategic Plan will move into Phase 2: Visioning and Creating.

There will be opportunities for people to be part of community conversation and to “start our journey and to frame future conversations about our aspirations and visions for the future of our City and our community.” There will be more info about this process from Council.

Phase 2 will lead into a Community Summit planned for November 2011. This is all very timely with the election of new Councillors in September.

But for real reform of Council we will need to make sure we do not leave the final recommendations in the hands of Council staff. We shall have to make sure that our recommendations go directly to the Councillors themselves.

That is – a condition of our participation has to be that the drafting and finalisation of our outcomes of the community consultation for our Community Strategic Plan must remain in our hands and go direct to the Councillors.

And no, you won’t find this kind of creative community thinking in the present Council officers’ report going to the Administrators.

Bruce Reyburn
May 2011

Climate Commission report
THE CRITICAL DECADE
Climate science, risks and responses
Chapter 2. Risks associated with a changing climate

“For coastal areas around Australia’s largest cities – Sydney and Melbourne – a rise of 0.5 m leads to very large increases in the
incidence of extreme events, by factors of 1000 or 10,000 for some locations. A multiplying factor of 100 means that an extreme event with a current probability of occurrence of 1-in-100 – the so-called one-in-a-hundred-year event – would occur every year. A multiplication factor of 1000 implies that the one-in-a-hundred-year inundation event would occur almost every month.” (page 26)

http://climatecommission.govspace.gov.au/files/2011/05/4108-CC-Science-Update-PRINT-CHANGES.pdf

Climate Commission – Key Messages:

“Over many decades thousands of scientists have painted an unambiguous picture: the global climate is changing and humanity is almost surely the primary cause. The risks have never been clearer and the case for action has never been more urgent.

…

4. This is the critical decade. Decisions we make from now to 2020 will determine the severity of climate change our children and grandchildren experience.

http://climatecommission.govspace.gov.au/files/2011/05/Climate-Commission-Science-Report-Key-Messages1.pdf

COMMENT by reformwcc:

The issues of rising sea levels is one which really impacts on our thin coastal strip.

Plans for places like the Headlands Hotel in Austinmer, which sits above a rapidly crumbling cliff, need to be properly assessed as to what is likely to happen over the next 50 years as the frequency of high sea events may increase by over 1,000 times.

One of our main concerns has to be that our Council does not approve the development schemes of others and we, the ratepayers and taxpayers, end up having to pay compensation for developments which should never have been approved.

Our new Councillors need to hit the ground running on these climate change issues and, unlike some previous Councillors, listen to those people in our communities who have been saying these things for years.