THE JOURNAL OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN WESTERN ... - walga

4. westerncouncillor
4.
COMMONWEALTH LOCAL
GOVERNMENT FORUM
Sector Representation at CHOGM
Perth will be hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in
October 2011, and will draw together 54 countries as diverse as India and
St Lucia, Australia and Lesotho, Nigeria and Kiribati.
COMMUNITY
SERVICE
Passing is a Loss
for Mukinbudin
The Shire of Mukinbudin recently
mourned the passing of long term
Councillor Paul (Barney) Jones JP
aged 51 years.
First elected to Council in 1994 Paul served
the Shire of Mukinbudin for a period of
seventeen years, the last four as Deputy
Shire President. He also served on the
North Eastern Wheatbelt Regional Council
from its inception in 1995, including a
term from 2009 to 2011 as NEWROC
President during a period where the ROC
investigated expanding into a number of
new regional service delivery roles and
also overseeing the first round of Royalties
for Regions expenditure.
Together with his wife Gaye, Paul ran
a local school bus contract, he was a
keen amateur thespian involving himself
in a number of productions with the
Mukinbudin Drama Club and he also
served on the board of numerous sporting
clubs in the Shire. He was passionate
about Mukinbudin and strengthening rural
communities and ensuring that children
in rural areas received the best possible
education.
As a keen golfer Paul was a member of
Mukinbudin teams that won the gross
event at the Municipal Golf tournaments
on two separate occasions. Unfortunately
it was winning the net event, and the right
to host the following year and showcase
Mukinbudin, that proved to be Paul’s
elusive goal. This was probably more the
fault of his teammates as Paul was the
winner of several Club and Wheatbelt Golf
Championships.
Paul had a strong sporting background
and as a long serving Chair of the
Mukinbudin Sports Council ensured that
the sporting facilities in the Shire were the
envy of the Wheatbelt.
He is survived by his wife Gaye, children
Gillam, Emily and Matt, daughter in law
Trudy and grandson Cooper.
westerncouncillor AUGUST 2011
The Commonwealth is a voluntary association
of nation states which act together in pursuit
of fundamental principles of democracy,
good governance and the rule of law. The
intergovernmental part of the Commonwealth is
of course central, but the wider Commonwealth
family reaches out and connects a whole network
of other Commonwealth organisations and groups.
The Commonwealth Local Government Forum,
or CLGF, is the Commonwealth organisation
representing Local Government. It brings
together ministries of Local Government and
Local Government associations, and individual
councils to promote local democracy and good
local governance. The very fact that CLGF will be
accredited to, and will participate in, CHOGM
reflects the importance placed on local democracy
to the health of democracy and good governance
across the Commonwealth.
In addition to maintaining an active network,
CLGF’s work focuses on promoting local democracy,
exchanging good practice and learning, and
provision of direct capacity building support to
strengthen Local Government and local democratic
structures. Its work in the Pacific provides a
microcosm of what a networked organisation
like CLGF can achieve, based on principles of
partnership, and using the skills and expertise of
experienced Local Government practitioners.
CLGF Pacific – CLGF’s project office based in Suva,
Fiji, coordinates three major capacity building
initiatives under one regional capacity building
umbrella, with support from AusAID, the New
Zealand Aid Programme and other development
partners. Local Government in the Pacific faces
a number of challenges, many of which will be
familiar to councillors and officials in Western
Australia including remoteness and vulnerability,
limited economic opportunities, the difficulties of
managing the effects of climate change, limited
capacity to plan and deliver services, lack of
adequate resources and managing the increasingly
high expectations of their communities. The
theme of resilience, adopted by the CHOGM
relates directly to the objective of CLGF’s work in
the region – “to ensure that Local Government
is a recognised and effective partner in building
and sustaining vibrant, inclusive and resilient local
economies and communities in the Pacific region”.
CLGF’s work covers five key areas:
• Advocacy and relationships: To raise
the profile of Local Government in the
Pacific region and establish effective Local
Government networks.
• Local Government structures, systems
and policies: To ensure Local Government
is appropriately positioned, recognised and
supported within the system of government
for each country.
• Local Government institutional strengthening:
To strengthen the institutional and service
delivery capacities of Local Governments to meet
the needs and priorities of their communities.
• Urban management: To identify and address
specific governance and capacity building
challenges facing capital cities and urban Local
Governments.
• Knowledge and Research: To improve Local
Government knowledge and exchange of
good practice to help address key issues and
challenges facing Local Government in the
Pacific region.
CLGF Pacific runs an elected leaders programme
and has already trained a network of 35 trainers
in the different countries of the region, who
have delivered the programme to around 2,000
elected representatives. It is also rolling out
targeted training on strategic planning, financial
management and gender in Local Government.
CLGF is working at national level in places like
Samoa to deliver its village governance programme,
and with the Government of Vanuatu to take
forward their programme on decentralisation. It
has promoted local/central dialogues in Kiribati and
Tuvalu to promote cooperation between spheres of
government and under its current programme will
also have the provision to take forward and pilot/
test new approaches at the local level with a view
to scaling up. In many countries in the region Local
Government is starting to establish Local Government
associations, with the support of the program.
CLGF also supports partnerships between
Australian councils and their partner councils in
Papua New Guinea. Projects focus on improving
capacity to deliver key services, for example
Orange City Council (NSW) has supported Mt
Hagen to consult the community and to develop
a new city plan, whilst Townsville (Qld) and Port
Moresby are improving regulatory services – they
have radically streamlined the planning and
licensing processes, making it much easier for
businesses and local people to operate in the city.
CLGF Pacific has been working closely with Honiara
City Council in the Solomon Islands since 2006 to
improve the governance and basic service delivery
capacity of the council to support sustainable urban
development and the maintenance of peace and
stability. Through the support of the project the
council has increased its revenue collection by 300%
and is now self-sufficient with no debts, it has
undertaken a full revaluation process of property
in the city and completed an annual audit. With
a firmer financial foundation the newly elected
councillors have developed a strategic plan and
have been able to deliver essential services including
refurbishing and building new health facilities,
regular waste collection and disposal and improved
market facilities. Honiara city council demonstrates
the difference that a functioning council can make
to the social and economic fabric of people’s lives.
If you or your council would be interested in
finding out more about CLGF and its work, or
getting involved, particularly in the Pacific region
please contact info@clgf.org.uk