2004
Workshops, Seminars and Short Courses
A Four-day Short Course on Performance Based Codes. In April each year a four day short-course is run on "The Performance-Based Approach to Development Codes". Dates for the next Armidale Course for 2005 will be in Mid-April. The short course is 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 clarifies current thinking on these matters.
The course was held in Armidale in Mid April. It examined the dimensions of Australia?s regional problems and their causes, before focusing on current thinking about best practice responses by local government and other agencies.
Submissions, etc.
Tony Sorensen prepared the submission to the Minister for Local Government, Tony Kelly, in connection with the proposed amalgamation of Glen Innes and Severn Councils.
Angus Witherby reviewed and developed the submission by Gilgandra Shire on the Combined Business Model as an alternative to amalgamations.
Research
The main focus of research in 2004 was the development of a joint ARC linkage project with the Catchment Management Authorities, DIPNR and local government in Northern NSW.
Given the present financial and other pressures on Australian local government, there was an urgent need for policy-orientated research into several important questions:
- Cost shifting in Australian local government, especially its causes, consequences, magnitude, and policy implications. PhD research into Unfunded Intergovernmental Mandates by Centre member Andrew Johnson was tackling this problem.
- Structural reform and an examination alternative models of local government to the present policy of amalgamation was being investigated by Centre Director Brian Dollery.
- An evaluation of the economics of municipal amalgamations in Australia was being undertaken by Brian Dollery and Dr Lin Crase.
- Local government failure and the use of performance indicators and other diagnostic tools to try to predict and reduce the incidence of failed councils was being investigated by Centre member David Murray.
- An evaluation of private sector provision of local government infrastructure in Australia was being conducted by John Cannadi and Brian Dollery.
Grants
The commissioned report on the Riverina East Regional Organisation of Councils (REROC) entitled Regional Capacity Building: How Effective is REROC? prepared under contract from REROC by the Centre for Local Government for $27,5000.
Secured $11,000 grant from the Commonwealth DOTARS for a contracted book under contract and preparation for UNSW Press, scheduled for publication in 2005.
Dollery, B. E., Johnson, A. K. and Worthington, A. C. Australian Local Government Economics (completed transcript due to UNSW Press by March 2005).
Other Activities
Professor Brian Dollery played a high profile role in the 2003/2004 NSW local government restructuring process, preparing reports for numerous councils, including Guyra, Uralla, Walcha, Maclean Shire, Barraba Shire, Murrirundi Shire, and Culcairn Shire, advising other councils, appearing on dozens of radio shows, acting as a keynote speaker at the NSW Shires Association Annual Conference in Sydney on 1 June 2004, and writing articles for the press, including the Australian Financial Review.