Governing the City State - Chief Minister and Treasury Directorate ...

Offices for …A number of consultations raised questions about the location of various “Offices for” in thecurrent ACTPS structure, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs; Children,Youth and Family Support; Multicultural Affairs; and Women. Much of the basis for theestablishment of such bodies is to ensure particular constituencies’ voices are heard withinthe ACTPS, and that those constituencies have a clear point of contact in their dealings withthe Government. Arguments were advanced that these offices should be located at the centre,but the Review was not convinced there was a pressing need to change current approaches.Clearly there is a need for close and collaborative work across government in these spheres,but this would appear to be an area where current structures on the whole work, and there isas much risk of harm in change as there might be potential benefit.Tourism, Events and the ArtsThe management of ACT festivals and events was recently reviewed by Peter Loxton andAssociates Pty Ltd (the Loxton Review). While the majority of the recommendations of theLoxton review will be dealt with through a separate process, recommendations going tostructural arrangements are more appropriately dealt with here. The Review endorses therecommendation that responsibility for coordination of events be centralised and small unitsin various departments responsible for events be amalgamated. The Review endorses therecent decision to transfer the TAMS events team to CMD and locate them in the SpecialEvents Unit, alongside the team responsible for the Centenary of Canberra. The Reviewrecommends this team be expanded by the inclusion of all other events teams, including fromDHCS (i.e. including the Multicultural Festival).While there are clearly synergies in collocation with the Centenary team, the Reviewquestions whether there is a need to make the Creative Director responsible for all events asproposed by Loxton. The logic lies in sharing experience and skills, building a flexiblecritical mass of staff, and in coordination and alignment of effort. It does not lie in thetakeover of a range of functions by one existing group.In its Submission to the Review, the Canberra Business Council suggested:Government-funded events, or at least the major events, should be brought togetherinto a new ACT Events Directorate or Unit and prioritised according to benefit andresources available. This would lift event management expertise by bringing togetherevent managers into one larger unit. Currently funding is going into too many eventswhich are never evaluated.In its submission to the Loxton Review of the Arts in the ACT, the Council supportedthe consolidation of events expertise but acknowledged the fundamental differencebetween smaller community-focused and run events and festivals and major events.Provided this fundamental difference is recognized, there is no particular reason whyAdministrative Arrangements Changes: 123