2001
Workshops, Seminars and Short Courses
A seminar was scheduled for May/June 2001 at Uralla on the Northern Tablelands dealing with Business Models for Local Government. This has now been incorporated in the conference "The Cutting Edge of Change".
A Four-day Short Course on Performance Based Codes. In April a four day short-course was run on "The Performance-Based Approach to Development Codes". The short course was practical, hands-on, and based on the National User's Guide to Performance Based Codes.
A Four-day Short Course on Contemporary Regional Development Practice. Over the last five years regional development has become one of the hot policy issues in Australia across all three tiers of government. Many regions are increasingly concerned with how to stem population decline, energise local economies, or build on local growth prospects. Local government has been playing a growing role in this complex, fast-moving and difficult arena for the last 20 years but many are unsure of the development options they confront and where they fit into the overall public policy picture. This short-course on contemporary regional development practice clarified current thinking on these matters.
Submissions, etc.
1. Submission to the Sproats Enquiry into inner Sydney Local Government. Prepared by Witherby, this was part of a broader submission by South Sydney Council.
2. Planning Hearing into the Bruderhof Community village proposal at Inverell. Witherby chaired the planning hearing which reported to Council and the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning on the feasibility of rezoning a rural property for an integrated village.
Research
1. The community outcomes project. Compared outcomes of local government reform processes. The study involved a selection of council in NSW and Victoria and was being undertaken in collaboration with RMIT.
2. E-commerce in regional and rural NSW. Dollery and McNeill secured Aust. Bus. Foundation research grant of $56,000 to investigate e-commerce in regional and rural NSW.
3. Regional Organisations of Councils - a Review. Marshall and Witherby secured UNE Research Grant to examine regional organisations of councils throughout Australia.
4. Modelling a New State. Marshall, Dollery and Witherby secured a UNE Research Grant to financially model a new state in north-east NSW. The project was designed to provide sound information to inform the re-activated debate on a new state.
A Visiting Fellow from Indonesia, Dr Hanafi S Guciano, was with the Centre for 5 months from October, 2001.