LGAT News September 201162

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Improved Local Government services will result from a $17.1 million program announced by the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy.

Addressing the National General Assembly of Local Government in Canberra, Senator Conroy said the Digital Local Government program would help local councils take full advantage of the National Broadband Network (NBN) through the development and upgrade of innovative online service delivery to homes and businesses.

The Digital Local Government program is a key component of the National Digital Economy Strategy which was unveiled mid-year, and builds on the $23.8m Digital Communities and $12.4m Digital Enterprise programs.

The Government’s National Digital Economy Strategy set a goal that by 2020, four out of five Australians will choose to engage with the government through the internet, or by other types of online service. The program aims to develop solutions that can be adopted by other councils and rolled out across the country as the NBN rolls out, leading to a step change in the quality, availability and speed of Local Government services.

The Federal Government will provide $17.1 million to assist local government organisations in the

40 communities to first benefit from the National Broadband Network (NBN) with the three-year program providing grants of up to $375,000 (excluding GST) to eligible councils. Grants will initially be available for eight councils throughout Australia including Circular Head, Dorset and Sorell Councils.

Councils can apply individually but are encouraged to partner with private sector vendors and/or form partnerships with other councils.

“Industry has an important role to play in working with local governments to develop innovative applications made possible by the NBN – ultimately enhancing the quality, accessibility and responsiveness of local government services,” Senator Conroy said.

For more information, visit www.dbcde.gov.au/digitallocalgov.

Local Government to Benefit from the NBN

LGAT News September 201162

The Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government (ACELG) has launched a new, online, interactive forum known as IKEN – the Innovation and Knowledge Exchange Network, to provide a platform for Local Government practitioners, researchers and other stakeholders to exchange information and ideas, showcase innovation and provide useful links to resources, research opportunities, collaboration and support.

Innovation and better practice can be found across Local Government regardless of size and capacity, from larger urban centres through to rural-remote communities.

The IKEN initiative and website is a critical part of ACELG’s ‘Innovation and Best Practice’ Program, hosted by the University of Canberra.

One of the main features of IKEN is its eight ‘Communities of Practice’. Each features a practitioners forum, new case studies of innovation and better practice commissioned by ACELG and its partners, resources and events, and access to full

stories of leading edge and award winning projects and programs.

Once registered, council staff will have access to these and other features to facilitate knowledge exchange within the Local Government sector, such as links to resources, research opportunities, collaboration and support. Site users are also able to submit policy, program or project initiatives for review or comment by peers and other experts.

Another web-based portal for Local Government has also been launched, called the Local Government Researchers Network. The aim of this resource is to assist councils to learn about, identify and collaborate with researchers in addressing needs within their council area, region or state.

To get involved in IKEN, visit www.iken.net.au. The Local Government Researchers Network is accessible via the new IKEN site at www.iken.net.au/research-network.

New Online Knowledge Resource Now Live

63September 2011 LGAT News

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220 councils in Australia are ready to act on the Census results – are you?

On Tuesday 9 August you completed your Census form. Now it’s time for your council to get ready for the results.

It’s one thing to complete the Census – and even see the overall Census results. But - how do you make the Census results available to your staff and elected members so they can fully understand the population trends happening in your City – and more importantly, so they can develop the most appropriate allocation of resources, strategic plans, community service delivery levels and asset management for the years to come?

The magnitude of demographic change in the last five years has been significant. Here are just some of the trends that will have an impact in your community:

• Record population growth across Australia - throughout all states, both city and country. • Record births - the increase in the birth rate has taken many people by surprise. There have been 120,000 births over

and above the long term average since 2006 in Australia. Think of the impact on childcare and schools over the next 10 years.

• Rural Revival - preliminary numbers hint that the decline of some rural towns has been halted and many are now increasing in population due to sea change and treechange phenomena.

• Changing housing choices - price pressures, the boomerang generation (kids who never leave home) and the baby boomer generation (as they reach retirement age) are affecting the housing market.

How will these trends impact on your Local Government Area – and not just overall, but by suburb or neighbourhood?

What impacts will they have on your service delivery, housing strategies, asset management and resource allocation?

Do you have the skills in-house to mine the rich strategic resource which is the Census?

We do! Informed Decisions (.id) currently works with more than 220 councils across Australia to answer these questions. We convert Census data into knowledge about places and how they are changing.

We deliver the information online as an interactive resource that all council staff, elected members and the community can access. We back it up with comprehensive training.

When the Census data is released in June 2012, our clients will have the new data analysed and online in a decision ready format within three months.

Meander Valley Council, a recent subscriber to the service, used .id’s demographic evidence to advocate against the closure of 4 primary schools within their municipality. Using profile.id’s births, age structure and household information, they could show that the recent downward trend in the number of school age children was likely to reverse in some parts of the district, and these were areas without easy access to other schools. They also utilised .id’s expertise in sourcing additional datasets (support and training comes standard with the tools) to validate this case.

We invite you to join the .id community and get ready for the Census. But you need to get on board now so that we can include you in our Census program. Contact us on (03) 9417 2205 or at info@id.com.au for more information.

  www.id.com.au

LGAT News September 201164

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Social Media and your EmployeesDIXIE EMMERTON, MANAGING DIRECTORCentre for Tasmanian Industry

In this age of technology there are many social networks for people to access and in many cases, this is having a direct effect on employment relationships.

Your internet and communication policies and procedures should clearly outline the obligations and conduct you require of your employees. These policies should state an agreed code of conduct, what social media is prohibited at work, access to workplace systems and the sanctions for breaching the policy. Criticism of you or your business using social media may breach the contractual duty of employees not to damage the necessary confidence and trust that forms part of the employment relationship.

In a recent unfair dismissal case, Fair Work agreed that a dismissal was unfair and the employee was reinstated because it believed that the posting on Facebook, while an inaccurate unwise outburst, did not damage the employer’s business. This was on the basis that it did not name the employer and was only accessible to the employee’s friends. In another case, an employee posted a blog on MySpace regarding his employers’

investigation into a sexual harassment and email misuse. Fair Work ruled the dismissal was fair in this case as it was publicly accessible though a Google search and attacked the integrity of the employer.

If you feel the relationship has been damaged and you want to discipline your employees for their statements, you will need to be able to show that their behaviour was inappropriate and damaging to your business. Remember that social networks can be used to bully, harass and intimidate others, therefore it is important to regulate your employees’ social media usage to manage your workplace duty of care responsibilities under OHS and discrimination laws.

The line between work and social may become blurred, therefore you provide your business with better protection by ensuring that employees sign and date when they have read or been trained in your company policies and procedures. Don’t forget employment policies, procedures and training are an important risk management tool for your business!

To contact the Centre for Tasmanian Industry, phone (03) 6231 3100.

LGAT News September 201164

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Acrodata recently converted all of Devonport City Council's property files to digital. The project took 11 weeks to complete and came in on time and within budget. It was comprised of 326,649 A3 or smaller pages and 19,485 A0/A1 plans.

The team at Acrodata did an excellent job with this project. We are now able to provide a better service to our customers and I also have peace of mind that all our historical building files are backed-up!Rebecca Wilson Manager Development Services Devonport City Council

Are Your Critical Hard Copy Records

If you would like to know more about how Acrodata can work with you to plan the protection of your council’s vital records, contact

us on (03) 6224 8011www.acrodata.com.au

BACKED UP..?

It’s just better when things are said in plain English. So MAV Insurance is renaming Civic Mutual Plus (mutual public liability and professional indemnity insurance cover) to… liability mutual insurance.

No fancy names, no logos. Not exactly creative, but a lot easier to understand.

www.mav.asn.au/insurance

Manual earth-moving device.

Centre for TasmanianIndustry

‘one stop shop for business’

Dixie EmmertonMANAGING DIRECTOR

We provide HR, IR OHS, Performance Management, Training, Compensation, Mediation and Counselling.

We work with Business Management to help maximize personnel output and minimize issues and cost.

We have Links with: Australian Human Resources Institute, LeadR and the

Industrial Relations Society of Tasmania

Helping business manage personnel and risk with effective business solutions

t: 03 6231 3100t: 03 6231 3311

Centre for Tasmanian Industry (CTI)19 Brisbane St, Hobart 7000

f: 03 6234 3500 e: admin@centretasindustry.com

w: centretasindustry.com

65September 2011 LGAT News

business and finance

It’s just better when things are said in plain English. So MAV Insurance is renaming Civic Mutual Plus (mutual public liability and professional indemnity insurance cover) to… liability mutual insurance.

No fancy names, no logos. Not exactly creative, but a lot easier to understand.

www.mav.asn.au/insurance

Manual earth-moving device.