Robert Dobrzynski’s parting words

The reform of local governments and amalgamations should be the next focus of the state government, outgoing City of Launceston general manager Robert Dobrzynski declared....... Hours before boarding a plane for retirement on Wednesday afternoon, Mr Dobrzynski spoke publicly for the final time as general manager....... Tasmania has 29 councils for a population of about 520,000....... Mr Dobrzynski acknowledged amalgamations were not likely to happen voluntarily and called on state politicians to secure a mandate for change....... “The state government at the moment is addressing a very important issue and that’s the future of TasWater,” he said. ...... “I think the next cab off the rank should be local government reform.”...... Mr Dobrzynski questioned the sustainability of several Tasmanian councils “that rely upon TasWater dividends and grants-commission funding to remain viable”....... He made the comments during an extensive Q&A at the end of his seven-year reign as general manager....... Since 2010 Mr Dobrzynski oversaw the council’s budget and he believes the region would be better served with fewer local government boundaries. ...... “It is enormously difficult to run a sustainable regional centre of national significance with the fragmented local government framework we have,” he said.  ...... “There’s going to be all sorts of parochial politics at play at this – but we’ve got people either side of the road that are in different municipalities....... We have a city council that provides – proudly provides – a range of high-cost regional facilities which this community deserves, but are largely being paid for by two-thirds of the population....... “That’s not equitable – it never will be equitable.”...... Local Government Minister Peter Gutwein has promised no forced amalgamations of councils....... Mr Dobrzynski said any change would need to be mandated. ...... “Show me an example in Australia where local government reform has been done voluntarily – there’s very few of them,” he said. ...... “It’s enormously difficult – people don’t like change, it really does need to be mandated after a period of consultation.”...... Mr Dobrzynski said people could be convinced of the benefits of amalgamation....... “You can mandate ward structures to ensure political representation is there – you can come up with service level agreements to ensure that services aren’t dropped below acceptable levels,” he said. ...... “There’s ways of doing things that ensure people aren’t lost in this.”  ...... http://www.examiner.com.au/story/4889844/mandate-amalgamations/

Thanks to The Examiner for the quotes and let's hope that the long suffering people of northern Tasmania get to see some real change now that the fly has flicked itself out of the ointment even if it should have never found its way there.

The new GM http://www.examiner.com.au/story/4800581/city-of-launceston-announces-gm/

The UK is rethinking university degrees and Australia [7 TASMANIA] should too

CLICK HERE TO GO TO SOURCE

There are growing calls for a debate about the role of post-school in society, both in Australia and overseas. ............. After 30 years of constant expansion, some complain that universities have become too vocational in nature – too focused on jobs, not enough on the art of inquiry. ............. At the same time, the vocational education sector is reeling from 15 years of funding cuts and the aftershocks of failed free-market experiments. Numbers in trade apprenticeships and traineeships are plummeting. Less than 30% of vocational students in Australia work in the areas in which they studied. ............. The same is true of higher education. An annual survey of university graduates from 2014 shows that 54% of all bachelor’s degree holders said their qualification was a formal requirement for their job. But the proportion ranged from one in four humanities graduates to 96% of medical graduates. The more regulated the profession, the more degree and career path are likely to be correlated. ............. The British higher education system is rolling out an alternative education route. Degree apprenticeships were launched in the UK in 2015. These are designed to bridge the gap between technical skills, employment and higher education. ............. They’re part of a larger scheme intended to reinvigorate apprenticeships more broadly. A 0.5% levy on corporations with an income of more than £3 million (A$4.8 million) funds the system. ............. Supporters say the initiative is good for employers and good for students, especially for disadvantaged students. They not only struggle to get into higher education (despite an uncapped system) but are also much more likely to drop out of it. ............. Degree apprenticeships work a lot like traditional trade apprenticeships: students work in a related job with their education strapped on around their employment. ............. Traditional degrees are steeped in theory and deliver practical experience through internships, practicums or other work-based experiences. In contrast, degree apprenticeships deliver a skill and a qualification simultaneously. Students work four days a week and study for one. ............. Crucially, the apprenticeship levy covers tuition fees, so students don’t graduate with a debt. If adopted here, this could enable Australia to avoid the distress over rising debts seen in the UK, where it is expected 80% of students will never fully repay their loans. ............. In the last UK election, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn rode a rising tide of anger among younger voters over student debt with his promise of a return to free higher education. ............. Even Andrew Adonis, Tony Blair’s former adviser and architect of the current loans scheme, has switched camps. He described the income-contingent loans scheme that resulted in a tripling of fees in 2012 as a Frankenstein’s monster and “a Ponzi scheme”. ............. While Australia doesn’t have the same immediate crisis, several factors suggest higher education could be heading slowly towards a tipping point. Government plans to increase university fees and introduce more rigorous parameters for the Higher Education Loans Program (formerly HECS) have sparked furious debate. ............. Meanwhile, graduates face a declining employment market. Just 69% of graduates in 2014 held a full-time job four months after graduation, compared to 81% a decade earlier.............. Part-time work, casualisation and under-employment are widespread. Graduate salaries have been more or less static for years. Increasingly, students, particularly the most advantaged, turn to postgraduate education to boost their chances in an overcrowded jobs market, raising questions over credentialism.............. Having larger numbers of people with a higher degree produces public benefits, including better health, better parenting, higher rates of volunteering and lower rates of incarceration. But all of this comes at a cost to the taxpayer and does little to correct an imbalance in skills entering the jobs market. Too many lawyers does not balance out a shortage in IT experts or agricultural scientists. ............. The question is whether new pathways need to be created to help young people straddle the gap between education and work. ............. Work is under way on this issue in Australia. The University of Tasmania, for example, is adding associate degrees, which are shorter, cheaper and more vocationally focused on local industries than full bachelor degrees. ............. Perhaps other institutions, particularly those in regional and outer-metropolitan areas, should consider the possibilities offered by the UK-style degree apprenticeship model. These are the universities, after all, that educate by far the greatest proportion of disadvantaged students. ............. Ironically, degree apprenticeships are a modern, more work-intensive version of the associate degrees that colleges of advanced education offered before the higher education system was unified under the Hawke government in 1989. ............. Perhaps part of the emerging discussion should include a return to a tripartite public education and training system, which includes TAFE, teaching-only polytechnics and research-intensive universities. ............. The post-secondary education sector may have a limited appetite for more structural reform. However, as a society, we do need to tackle the question of whether a higher education system devised 30 years ago, onto which uncapped student places have been glued, is still fit for purpose. Times have changed and education systems must surely move with them. ............. This article was prepared with the help of Julie Hare, Associate Director, KPMG Australia.

CLICK HERE TO GO OPEN LETTER TO PM

QUESTIONS ON NOTICE: Launceston City Council ­ QVMAG Governance, Accountability & Cultural Tourism

Following correspondence from Launceston’s General Manager demonstrating his disinclination to field questions from me, a Launceston constituent, cultural researcher and cultural producer, I have submitted the questions below to Launceston City Council. I think the questions are self explanatory and I look forward to the Aldermen’s response and any information that may come to light as a consequence of these questions.

Message
From: Ray Norman 7250 <raynorman7250@bigpond.com>
Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2017 15:10:15 +1000

Dear Mayor and Aldermen,

Despite the General Manager’s disinclination to address the issues I raised in my earlier correspondence to Council there remain a series of questions I wish to put on the record and specifically to you as aldermen, the elected representative, in your capacity as the ‘default trustees‘ for the QVMAG.

The General Manager has made a number of assertions and presumably relying upon the provisions of SECTION 62 of the Local Govt. Act, namely that he has the authority “to manage all assets and human resources of the Council and to do anything necessary or convenient to affect such purpose.”  I believe that he now makes assertions that are contestable and that should be tested.

Question 1.
Context: The General Manager has advised me that, “Trustees to manage the QVMAG could only occur if the Council transferred all its QVMAG assets to such trustees. Failing this occurring, all QVMAG assets fall under the authority of the General Manager.” He does not say who has provided this advice nor, apparently, does he accept that it is what it is “advice and only advice”. I have received alternative advice that suggests that there is a range of options open to Council to establish a purposeful standalone entity to govern and manage the QVMAG. That is, something Council determined that it wished to do August 2015.

Questions:

• Have you as aldermen in your roles as community representatives and the ‘default trustees’ tested the advice that has apparently been provided to you by the General Manager under the provisions of SECTION 65 of the Local Govt Act?
• Have you as aldermen in your ‘trusteeship’ roles sought independent advice in regard to these roles given all that is at risk and at stake?
• Have you as aldermen in your ‘trusteeship’ roles been given direct access to the advice the General Manager apparently relies upon under SECTIONS 65 & 62 of the Local Govt. Act?
  

Question 2.
Context: There is no longer any real doubt in Tasmania in regard to ‘cultural tourism’ and the value it represents in regard to employment and income opportunities for communities across the State. The TMAG, MONA and the many ‘musingplaces’ across Tasmania have demonstrated that there is almost no part of local economies that cultural tourism doesn’t impact upon – and it importance.

Questions:

• Have you as aldermen considered cultural tourism’s impact upon and the importance to the Tamar region, and Launceston specifically, and in an ongoing way, to the economic, social and cultural wellbeing of your constituencies?
• If you have either individually or collectively  done so, what form has it taken and how has it manifested itself in the ‘policy settings’ you as aldermen have put in place and/or championed?
• Indeed, how often, when and in what context have you as aldermen and default trustees made determinations that have been acted upon, and are there to be acted upon, in accord with Council’s purpose – namely, to provide for the health, safety and welfare of the community; to represent the interests of the community; to provide for the peace, order and good government of the municipal area?
  

Question 3.
Context: There is some evidence, albeit scant, that the General Manager is developing “Cultural Strategy” and that this is taking place in virtual isolation from the ‘constituency’. There is little doubt that such an exercise is significant, relevant and timely. Moreover Launceston and the Tamar region arguably exists within a ‘cultural reality’ that is distinct in both a Tasmanian and national context.

Questions:

• Have you as aldermen been involved in developing the brief for the consultant/s(?) and if so to what extent and at what point?
• Has there been a ‘unit’ of some kind established and if so what is its specific purpose and objectives and what personnel have been employed from within what budget? Moreover, what are the duty statements for personnel thus far engaged?
• Have you as aldermen either provided or endorsed a project budget for this initiative?
• When and how is it intended that there will be community consultation given that it is Launceston’s ‘communities cultures’ that are the subject of any research involved and them who will be funding the process?
• When did the process commence and when is it due to be completed?
• If any of the information relative to the questions above are confidential, why would that be?
  

Question 4.
Context: There is increasing evidence that corporations, organisations, institutions, etc. are coming under closer scrutiny and especially so in regard to their governance and management. Nationally and intrastate most recently Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum and the Australian Olympic Committee stand out. Likewise the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery’s governance and management won the critical attention of Tasmania’s Auditor General and this has brought about major changes in that institution’s personnel, operation and performance.  It is clear that past ‘bureaucratic elasticities’ abided in these quasi ‘public’ organisations isn’t being tolerated in the ways it has been in the past.
 
Questions:

• Have you as aldermen initiated any kind reporting protocols to enable you to effectively review the QVMAG as a component of Council’s operation given the value/s of, and the nature of, its collections and the significance of the QVMAG’s recurrent expenditures?
• Are you as aldermen completely satisfied that QVMAG operation is fulfilling its strategic purpose and has been adequately resourced to succeed as vital cultural institution with ‘social license’ to deliver the social, cultural and ‘trickle down’ fiscal dividends it has the potential to do?
• Are you as aldermen completely satisfied that the QVMAG’s metrics reflect the appropriate outcomes for such an institution in a 21st C context given the levels of public investment in it over an extended period?
  

            

Reference links

1.  Auditor Generals report March 2015 … http://www.audit.tas.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/TMAG.pdf <http://www.audit.tas.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/TMAG.pdf>
2.  MERCURY: Auditor-General calls on Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery to lift its game … http://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania/auditorgeneral-calls-on-tasmanian-museum-and-art-gallery-to-lift-its-game/news-story/6316b08ef7d56988d1cf4d5a2ce1a7c <http://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania/auditorgeneral-calls-on-tasmanian-museum-and-art-gallery-to-lift-its-game/news-story/6316b08ef7d56988d1cf4d5a2ce1a7c> 1
3.  QVMAG Community of Ownership & Interest … http://qv7250ownership.blogspot.com.au/2010/11/qvmags-community-of-ownership-and_14.html <http://qv7250ownership.blogspot.com.au/2010/11/qvmags-community-of-ownership-and_14.html>
4.  Local Govt. purpose … https://www.lgat.tas.gov.au/page.aspx?u=226
5.     Australian Olympic Committee told to overhaul culture following review … http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-24/aoc-told-to-overhaul-culture-following-review/8838546
 

Ray Norman
<zingHOUSEunlimited>
The lifestyle design enterprise and research network

CLICK HERE: http://www.launceston.tas.gov.au/lcc/index.php?c=69
CLICK HERE: http://www.dpac.tas.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/271170/Good_Governance_Guide_May_2016.pdf
“A body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody.” Thomas Paine
“The standard you walk past is the standard you accept ”  David Morrison

City of Launceston GM announces retirement date

CLICK HERE:  http://www.examiner.com.au/story/4874592/city-of-launceston-gm-announces-retirement-date/

More than four months after announcing he will retire, City of Launceston general manager Robert Dobrzynski has confirmed he will leave the role next week. .............. Mr Dobrzynski was encouraged by Launceston Mayor Albert van Zetten to stay on as the city’s general manager until his replacement, Michael Stretton, took over in October. .............. "We urged Robert to delay his retirement for several months, but we have probably come to the point where we've imposed enough on his good nature," Mayor van Zetten said. .............. "I'm pleased we've been able to convince him to stay on for these extra months as we recruited a replacement general manager,” he said. .............. “However, I'm also well aware that Robert announced his retirement in order to spend more time with his family on the mainland, and so far he hasn't been able to do much of that.” .............. The general manager is responsible for implementing policy decisions made by aldermen, as well as enforcing the strategic direction and overseeing the daily operations of the council. .............. "It is a high-pressure, high responsibility, 24/7 job,” Mayor van Zetten said. .............. Mayor van Zetten said the outgoing general manager has played a vital role in securing a number of major projects for the city, with $800 million worth of projects now on the books for Launceston over the next few years. .............. “I can think of no greater compliment than that Robert worked tirelessly for the City of Launceston. He consistently acted with the best interests of Launceston and its residents at heart,” Mayor van Zetten said. .............. The council’s director of corporate services, Michael Tidey, will step into the role of acting general manager until Mr Stretton starts in October.

MEDIA RELEASE: Basil Fitch

Basil Fitch will be holding a PRESS CONFERENCE Monday August 21 

on Launceston’s Town Hall steps at 12 noon.

Mr. Fitch has announced his candidacy for alderman at next years Council Elections and he has done so early in order that he can build a team of eleven independent candidates to stand with him.

By way of background, Mr. Fitch has written to the Premier calling upon him to initiate a thorough and meaningful inquiry into the operation of Launceston City Council. SEE: ttps://basilfitchopenletter.blogspot.com.au

The purpose of Monday’s event is to answer questions in regard to Mr. Fitch’s candidacy and question related to issues concerning him in regard to Local Govt. in Tasmania.

Mr. Fitch said today that it was “important that people stand up to the kind of dysfunction and unaccountability going on in Tasmanian Council that is costing ratepayers way too much.”

A prime example of this lack of accountability can be found on the agenda of Monday August 21st Launceston City Council’s meeting.

There is an agenda item that will be discussed in closed council. It is proposed that $250,000 of ratepayer funds be spent without going to tender. Mr. Fitch says that ‘this is outrageous and unacceptable behaviour.”

Mr. Fitch will be on the Town Hall steps at 12 noon next to the city’s Coat of Arms that bears the motto “Progress With Prudence”.

For more information:  Phone: 03 – 6344 2688

RELATED INFORMATION:

1. https://tasratepayers.blogspot.com.au/2017/08/media-release-basil-fitch.html
2. https://tasratepayers.blogspot.com.au/2017/08/council-asked-to-approvemajor-turf.html
3. https://tasratepayers.blogspot.com.au/2017/08/local-government-division-releases.html
4. https://basilfitchopenletter.blogspot.com.au Letter to the Premier

LAUNCESTON PR
EMAIL LauncestonPR@bigpond.com
“A body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody.”
Thomas Paine

ABC News: Mayor defends himself on Facebook after probe into council business

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-19/martyn-evans-derwent-valley-mayor-face
book-defence-after-report/8823178

The mayor of a Tasmanian municipality at the centre of an investigation
into management of council funds has defended himself against the findings
and announced he will not be standing for re-election again.

Local Government Division releases results of investigation into Derwent Valley Council Mercury article

http://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania

Local Government Division releases results of investigation into Derwent Valley Council SIMEON THOMAS-WILSON, Urban Affairs Reporter, Mercury August 19, 2017 12:00am

DERWENT Valley Mayor Martyn Evans says he won’t stand for council again in the wake of an investigation in which he and general manager Greg Winton were reprimanded for a loan from the council for Cr Evans’ car.

The loan of nearly $7000 to Cr Evans was authorised by Mr Winton without the wider approval of elected members — one of a number of findings in an investigation by Local Government Director Alex Tay.

It followed a number of complaints about the governance and operational performance of the council in October to December last year and was made public yesterday. Mr Winton and the council also received a reprimand from the Local Government Division for a $100,000 loan to the Derwent Valley PCYC — also without consulting elected members.

The investigation, revealed by the Mercury in March, looked at issues such as the management of council funds, the implementation of and adherence to council policies and a failure to adopt the Local Government Division’s model for code of conduct and the management of relationships.
Mr Tay found:

THAT a loan of $6852.73 of ratepayers’ money to a councillor in January last year was made to Cr Evans and authorised by Mr Winton without wider approval from the council’s elected members.

MR WINTON also made a $100,000 loan to the PCYC without the appropriate approval by council, notwithstanding that the mayor and Deputy Mayor Ben Shaw were aware of it.

THERE was a lack of transparency in council decisions.
The report made 15 recommendations and Cr Evans said he was happy with them but described the reprimands as a farce.

“I’m happy the report was done, we’ve already started on some of the recommendations,” he said. “But there are definitely things in the report that I refute, I’m not happy with all the reprimands.

“I think the loan to the mayor was a farce. It’s my car, it’s my personal vehicle and the engine blew on the way to a TasWater meeting when I was going there on council business. I must have driven around 150,000km in that car for council business. I didn’t have a council car.”

Cr Evans said he would not stand in next year’s local government elections. “I definitely won’t be involved,” he said.

“As much as I love the community and representing it, some people make it so hard to do so and want to drag the council through the mud.”

In a statement Mr Winton said he and councillors welcomed the report recommendations and would make council operations more effective and transparent.

END

TASMANIAN TIMES REPORT: “Already underway is an organisational study of the Council’s administrative processes and  the relationship between senior managers and elected Councillors. ...The study and subsequent report will be conducted by UTAS and will be framed on the
department of Premier and Cabinet’s Good Governance Guide for Local Government in  Tasmania (2016)............” CLICK HERE – http://tasmaniantimes.com/index.php?/pr-article/derwent-valley-council-takes-action-/        

END

EDITORIAL NOTE: Whatever the rights and wrongs here its clear that there’s been some shonkiness in play given the 15 undisclosed recommendations. An old bureaucrat in another field has said off the record that all this is more dumb than shonky which actually says a lot about fiscal accountability. Anyway Cr. Evans has had enough and he’s heading for the hills next time round.

The possibility here is that good old SECTION 62 of the Local Government Act has come into play and its turned out that it is in fact out of order. Also its on the cards that there is more of this sort of stuff going on around the state. If it’s only say $10,000 per annum per council on average ( 29 councils) that’s a swag of Tasmanians’ money being applied inappropriately or less than ideally.

These stories tend to be too hard to report on, or they fail the interest test, but this one this time comes at a time when Local Government accountability is somewhat in the spotlight not to mention the impending State Government election and next year being a Local Government election year.

Increasingly ratepayers are wondering about the ability of Local Government to meet community needs and the standards of accountably. When councils hide behind closed doors to make decisions this inevitably raises questions. When it is totally mystifying as to why this sort of thing might happen people worry.

Likewise when arguments arise against the rationalisation of Local Government in favour of the status quo this too is worrying .Its been said that in the area of Local Government there is about $2Billion over 29 council that could spent more effectively. Why are councils so resistant to change that is real and meaningful change. 

Council asked to approved major turf replacement at UTAS stadium

http://www.examiner.com.au/story/4862345/utas-stadiums-turf-replacement-project/

Council asked to approved major turf replacement at UTAS stadium  Holly Monery 

The University of Tasmania Stadium playing field is in need of a complete reconstruction and the council will vote on the purchase of turf stabliser at Monday’s meeting...............  The exact cost of the project is being discussed in a closed session of council but it will be at least $250,000............... The council is being asked to waive the requirement to call public tenders for the supply of materials associated with the reconstruction of the playing surface “based on the unavailability of competitive alternate suppliers able to provide the required product”............... About 22,000 square metres of turf stabiliser is required as a reinforcement material which acts as a binding sub-structure holding large turf segments together. .............. It will form part of a turf farm project to be run by the City of Launceston, which minimises the venue’s downtime while the reconstruction takes place............... The turf stabiliser will allow a new grass sporting surfaces to be grown remotely and then be harvested in sections to be transported and placed on site while maintaining healthy and viable turf............... Using the proposed approach, the field can be used within days of the new playing surface being laid............... According to Monday’s council agenda, by the time the University of Tasmania Stadium surface reconstruction is complete the current playing surface will have been in use for 20 years.

QESTIONS ARISING
Some question’s the aldermen attending next Monday’s meeting will need to be able to answer for themselves or anyone investigating Launceston City Councils operations down the track,

1.  What is the actual need to carry out this and why hasn’t been articulated anywhere? 
2. What is the actual need to divert from best practice tendering process on this occasion?
3. Are there any inferences, uncomfortable inferences, that can be drawn in regard to this proposal?
4. Is there any substance to rumours circulating in the community surrounding ‘council contracts’ being “unattractive to tender for”
5. Which contractor(s?) is under consideration in this instance and what relationship do they have with Council or Council staff?
6. Does this contractor have a track record with Council as a suppliers and what is their known capacity to fulfill the requirements of this contract? 
7. Is there anyone on Council (Aldermen or staffer) who might have some kind of conflict of interest? If so what and in what context? 
8. How competitive is the projected $250K cost and how has it been tested? 
9. What are the actual benefits to ratepayers in regard to Council operating a “turf farm” in competition with an competitive outside operator or farmer? 
10. Who is operating, or is intending to operate, Council’s turf farm and what expertise do they bring to the operation? 
11. What risks are involved in Council running a turf farm and how have they been assessed and by whom? 
12. When and how does Council intend to provide answers to the questions? 
13. Can or will Council guarantee that it will continue to make decisions that raise serious concerns in the wider community in camera and behind closed doors?

Presumably this state of affairs comes about as a consequence of SECTION 62 of Tasmania’s Local Govt. Act that states, “The general manager may do anything necessary or convenient to perform his or her functions under this or any other Act.” The implementation of this provision in this instance at least raises serious concerns as there are strong accountability arguments that ratepayers are not being dealt with fairly or in an open and transparent way.

If that matter proceeds in the way indicated by the press report it would be more tan reasonable that serious independent inquiry be set up along the lines indicated by Basil Fitch in his Open Letter to the Premier.

DEVELOPMENT, ACCOUNTABILITY AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

CONTEXT Bureaucratically coming up against Launceston City Council can be a rather negative experience and it need not be. There was a time when people were proud to call themselves ‘public servants’ because they knew that were delivering services to the public.

In regard to ‘council planning matters’ and the lack of transparency it is all very interesting. So far as pecuniary interests go and the matters outlined in the following messages, they background not only the content of an email to aldermen/council, the whole issue of accountability comes into focus. 

This all came to attention through several Speak Up Launceston chats some time ago.

How timely is it that Launceston’s Council comes under scrutiny

 ...................

XY Aug from A: “Thanks. LCC response was if owner and council address Section 13.0 in Planning Scheme no need for DA etc. I am just amazed by this. ................... Council has no concerns re discharge into Creek which goes directly into Tamar and adjacent to a breeding habitat!! ................... Sorry the more I am forced to deal with the Council the more I feel like moving. I’m about to ask them why they pruned my trees -yes were overhanging fence onto nature strip -but we have no footpaths and we all walk on the road when out and walking. LCC spent a week in street pruning trees from Council nature strips and did a good job then they used a excavator to clean out gutters and decided that an excavator would be a great way to prune several of my trees and that of my neighbours. ................... Typical LCC no indication of planned or current works on their works website and no letter boxing to say “hey we are in your area and will be working and might prune overhanging vegetation’. Even Aurora had curtsy to letterbox us to say please trip a tree under a powerlines and here is a list of approved tree trimers. 

XU Aug from X to A. “You are not alone re needing to get rid of the grime after dealings with the Council. So many people are so disillusioned, to put it mildly. And who cares about the environment? The white gum die back is really serious, even blind Freddy can see that, not to mention loss of habitat. ................... How sad to see the Grey Goss hawk nest go. ................... I have a friend who is an ALP member and they have just set up a group called LEAN, something to do with the environment and [this person] is going to the first meeting of this new group in Canberra on Friday. ................... [They] asked if [this person] could have a chat about any enviro issues that I might think of. I have a couple, and I will add this one to the list - i.e the attitude and disregard of local govt planners to environment and habitat, and Gutwein's state planning scheme. ................... Apart from the effects on your property, if that development has house and property water running off into [xx] creek, that means storm water, fresh water. Is the creek salt water? What will be the enviro damage of increased water flow, especially in wet weather like this week. ................... So two points - no opportunity provided anywhere to have a say or any input; and what are the enviro effects. (Another planning - enviro matter for Wilderness Society and now LEAN). My poor friend, I already give [this person] a hard time about Ross Hart being conned and wishy-washy just to get pre-selection, because why else would a lawyer allow himself to be fooled. [This person] is opposed to the Utas move, and says so and her partner is particularly vocal about it. ................... And then there is still that matter of aldermen and/or council staff pecuniary interests and conflicts of interest. As we know there is currently no list of aldermen's pecuniary interests. At least one former alderman agreed there is probably a need for one. ................... Might be something for Launceston Concerned Citizens blog and the whole issue of governance. ................... X 

16 Aug Hi, Just had to BCC you into that. I'm amazed that you can build a house and Council doesn't have to advertise or subject application to a DA. ................... Two other houses in same street had to do DA's. But not this one ?? I must link Wilderness Society in as this subdivision has disturbed soil and increased White Gum die back in this section. Not to mention the Grey Goss Hawk who lost her nest when tree chopped down. ................... More I have to deal with LCC the more showers I need ! 

X to D XS Aug 2017: This is shocking. People are being treated so shabbily. What to do? One just feels so helpless in the face of all of this. The Wilderness Society held public meetings a while back about the new state planning scheme and warning about this kind of thing. ................... Also, if less than three representations (ie only one or two or none) are made about a DA, it doesn't go to council, the planner can make the decision. So if you are the only one who puts in a submission, it also doesn't mean anything. If you want it to go to council and you're not sure whether anyone else is putting in a submission, it pays to write three separate submissions, and send them in either under different names or companies or groups. ................... If I get time today I might have to write something up on this for Speak Up Launceston and for Launceston Concerned Citizens. ................... They are currently very busy on the matter of councils and planning type issues in general. They are less than impressed with Peter Gutwein's behaviour in such matters and that Gutwein was having too much to say over councils. X.

Aug D I M, Town Planner: Dear TP, Thank-you for the reply. Am I reading this correctly I can build a house and if the Council believes the plans meet the Scheme no one needs to be informed on adjoining properties nor a planning application made? ................... So is this why I can not locate an application on the LCC property eTracker? ................... So this development will be discharging house and property water runoff into the [XYZ] Creek which will increase the flow rate and volume of the creek which will have a direct impact upon my property and I do not need to be consulted? ................... So if no Development Application has to be made how does one object to a building if no development application made? ................... On what grounds (specifically) was it decided that no development application had to be made? 

XAug 2017, City Council Planning Queries wrote: Hi D, I am emailing further to your enquiry regarding [XYZ] ABC. A building approval was issued [AA} June 2017. The plans met the residential requirements under the Rural Living Zone in the Planning Scheme and as such no planning permit was required. As no permit was required, it was not necessary to inform adjoining land owners. Regards, ...................Town Planner  City of Launceston 

From D to Council planner .......... Dear Council, We are wondering if a Development Application as been approved or made for possibly [XYZ] ABC, that is behind our property. ................... The reason we ask is a house is being built by [BBB] Builders and we do not recall receiving a DA notification or it being posted on the Council website . . . The house is adjacent to the approved DA00KK/2017 ................... We know about DA00KK/2017as we saw the DA application sign on the property fence but that is not the location of the house currently being built. Regards, D 

BASIL FITCH: Media Release

Today I announce that I have written an OPEN LETTER to the premier of Tasmania in regard to my deep concerns to  do Launceston City Council's accountability. CLICK HERE

I have placed my letter on the Internet and I ask anyone reading it, and who shares my concerns, to also write to the Premier telling him of their own issues to do with Local Govt. in Tasmania and Launceston's Council.

I have come to the position that Local Govt in Tasmania is at a crisis point and that no council more than Launceston City Council is in deeper trouble when it comes to accountability.

As a consequence of my arriving at this understanding, and having discussed the issues with people around me, I am persuaded that Imust either put up for election for the next council election in 2018 or shut up. 

I have decided to stand even though I will be 81 at the time of the election. If elected I will donate my council allowance to charity. 

In the meantime, I will start work on putting together a team of independent candidates and mentors who will stand alongside me. Also, I will be working with anyone who wishes to become a part of this exercise torecruit people to work on the team.

Over the coming days, weeks and months I will be sending out more information about my concerns and my candidacy.

For more information:

• Phone: 03 – 6344 2688
• eMail: fitchbasil@gmail.com

Accountability And Performance ­ St John Street bus stop vote not supported by all City of Launceston aldermen and more still

ALSO SEE: https://lcc63.blogspot.com.au/2017/08/st-john-street-bus-stop-vote-not.html

From the Examiner .... Moving the St John Street bus stop is still possible according to City of Launceston Alderman Hugh McKenzie. “Clearly, we currently have ended nearly back where we started and whilst I see some benefits in the pedestrian linkage from the Quadrant and the sense of moving that alignment away from the current bus stop I haven't given up on looking at other options,” he said. ...... Ald McKenzie was one of four council representatives absent from last week’s meeting, when the council voted 6-2 to reaffirm its plan to move the bus stops closer to York Street. ...... If any of the four aldermen had been present, and voted against the motion, the council would have been forced to find a new solution regarding a petition submitted by retailers in the area. ......  “I have championed the moving of the bus stops –http://www.examiner.com.au/story/2088215/mckenzies-push-to-relocate-city-bus-stops/ –  from there current location [and] initially I pushed for the move to Civic Square in front of St Andrews Church, which met some resistance from the church due to access issues for funerals and weddings,” Ald McKenzie said. ...... “The redevelopment of Civic Square would also give active space for those waiting for a bus to utilise the public open space and library. ......  “I also pushed for Patterson Street but again this met resistance from Pilgrim Launceston Uniting Church.”......  Deputy Mayor Rob Soward, who did not attend the meeting, could not confirm how he would have voted. ...... "Had I been there last week I would have asked questions in open council to ensure all consultations had occurred and obviously if speakers were present to hear concerns ... before I finalised my view,” he said....... Ald Soward said he had previously suggested moving the stops to opposite St John's Anglican Church or near the public buildings and Civic Square.

So this is the news after Ald. McKenzie get back to Launceston after his holiday in paradise. The fact that he wasn’t present for the decision making and the punters have ‘gone all ugly on him’ while he was looking the other way is, it seems, a bit of a shock. But as he says “I haven't given up on looking at other options” .

Ald. McKenzie wasn’t alone in his absenteeism and Ald. Soward suggests that despite supporting a different location for the bus stops he would have needed to be around the table to get a sense of where the decision should go. He makes no comment about consulting with the community or stakeholders and maybe it’d be superfluous. It begs the question, who among the aldermen were (and are) engaged with their constituency on this (or any other) issue?

It’s now known that the Mayor received a petition from a number of business people and that after the horse had apparently bolted he was advocating a decision shift on the strength of what was apparently a  rather small number of petitioners. In contrast over a thousand petitioners called a public meeting and moved a motion that council shouldn’t be gifting public land to the university to enable it to move four kilometres. The Mayor on that occasion, in concert with the aldermen and the General Manager, decided to ignore that meeting’s advice and went ahead as if it didn’t matter, In fact that meeting mattered as much as if it never happened.
    
When it comes down to it what is at issue here right now, its quite apparent that the lack meaningful and appropriate consultation processes capped of by a disinclination to be accountable to council’s constituency is increasingly front of mind. In fact the proposition that aldermen might be allergic to the very idea of accountability increasingly has currency.

The issue is not about the location of a few bus stops actually. It is in fact just on of the details that haven’t been given the appropriate level of consultative planning involved in the expenditure of $20million borrowed on behalf of ratepayers. More to the point this money needs to, apparently, be spent very quickly. It is little wonder that corners might need to be cut and that all manner of shonkiness might expose itself along the way.

The argument seems to be that, quite aside from ratepayers needing to look out for a rate hike down the track, some of this money is destined to stick somewhere, or rub off, or fall someone’s way, whatever. The question does have to be asked, just who are the expected beneficiaries here and where do they live? If it is supposed to be the ratepayers, just how ands over what timeframe?

It appears as if the Minister somehow has ‘something at stake’ here. However, Launceston’s ratepayers may well find themselves paying higher rates for less or lesser services and there’ll be little or nothing that they’ll be able to do about it except to pay up. Where does the Minister’s interests reside? Is it to do with the assurance of accountable and transparent local governance? Is it to do state-wide politics? Would it be unreasonable to expect that the Minister’s interest might be here with Launceston’s ratepayers capacity to meet the commitments he, in concert with council, have visited upon them?

There are other questions arising here, given the level of expenditure, that beg an answer. Firstly, just how does this $20million expenditure fit within council’s strategic plan? Flowing from that, where can ratepayers get access to the project plan informing this expenditure? Consequent to that, where can ratepayers gain access to the business case for this additional and significant expenditure on the city’s infrastructure?

The level of background dysfunctionalism at Launceston City Council is concerning. It might well be the equal to the kind of disquiet that brought Huon and Glenorchy Councils to the Minister’s attention and ultimately undone. However, it appears as if the Minster is engaged with Launceston’s council much more deeply than either of these councils which, superficially at least, suggests that Launceston’s council might well avoid the kind of disquiet he has for the affairs of  Huon and Glenorchy Councils.

St John Street bus stop vote not supported by all City of Launceston aldermen and more still

http://www.examiner.com.au/story/4851176/bus-stop-vote-could-have-been-different/?cs=95

Moving the St John Street bus stop is still possible according to City of Launceston Alderman Hugh McKenzie. “Clearly, we currently have ended nearly back where we started and whilst I see some benefits in the pedestrian linkage from the Quadrant and the sense of moving that alignment away from the current bus stop I haven't given up on looking at other options,” he said.

Ald McKenzie was one of four council representatives absent from last week’s meeting, when the council voted 6-2 to reaffirm its plan to move the bus stops closer to York Street. http://www.examiner.com.au/story/4840173/mayor-speaks-out-over-st-john-street-bus-stops/

• Previous  ... http://www.examiner.com.au/story/4851176/bus-stop-vote-could-have-been-different/?cs=95#
  

If any of the four aldermen had been present, and voted against the motion, the council would have been forced to find a new solution regarding a petition submitted by retailers in the area.

“I have championed the moving of the bus stops – http://www.examiner.com.au/story/2088215/mckenzies-push-to-relocate-city-bus-stops/ –  from there current location [and] initially I pushed for the move to Civic Square in front of St Andrews Church, which met some resistance from the church due to access issues for funerals and weddings,” Ald McKenzie said.

RELATED: Peter Gutwein slams council's bus stop project ... http://www.examiner.com.au/story/4850474/gutwein-slams-bus-project/

“The redevelopment of Civic Square would also give active space for those waiting for a bus to utilise the public open space and library. 

“I also pushed for Patterson Street but again this met resistance from Pilgrim Launceston Uniting Church.”

Deputy Mayor Rob Soward, who did not attend the meeting, could not confirm how he would have voted.

"Had I been there last week I would have asked questions in open council to ensure all consultations had occurred and obviously if speakers were present to hear concerns ... before I finalised my view,” he said.

Ald Soward said he had previously suggested moving the stops to opposite St John's Anglican Church or near the public buildings and Civic Square.

RELATED STORIES:

• St John streetscape changes endorsed | Photos ... http://www.examiner.com.au/story/4623199/st-john-streetscape-changes-endorsed-photos/

• Business owners angry at council's bus stop plan ... http://www.examiner.com.au/story/4711304/owners-bus-stop-fury/

• Launceston mayor calls for a re-design of St John Street bus stops ... http://www.examiner.com.au/story/4840173/mayor-speaks-out-over-st-john-street-bus-stops/
  

EDITORS NOTE: Well you do have to wonder, and worry, where aldermen get to when the chips are down. Ald. McKenzie wasn’t only missing for the meeting that missed an opportunity to listen more carefully to his constituents but along with others he has been present when the Council has made a whole bunch of decisions that will no doubt cost ratepayers when it comes to paying their rates down the track.

Launceston’s rates are already about $500 over the odds in Tasmania. Now that’s in a city where approx 50% of residents and ratepayers are in receipt of a social security payment. It’s the same jurisdiction where youth unemployment and under employment is at crisis levels. It’s in a State where we now know that about 75,000 people live on or below the poverty line and great many of them will found in Launceston.

The Mayor has been out and about talking up the debt level he and the aldermen have led the council, and thus the ratepayers, into. The Minister it seems has held out the money bag and the aldermen it seems have said ‘all right’. It now looks like the General Manager had done all the cutting and drying for that decision – and quite probably on his own or possibly telling the Mayor sometime before the meeting. Rolling over in this way is as they say “a bad look.”

The city has taken on extraordinary debt without, it seems, meaningful aldermanic consultation. However the aldermen have agreed and their decisions are upon their head but their constituency must ‘pay up’. A long look needs to be taken at their performance individually and collectively. When they take on loans for projects, and expenditures, that need to completed quickly one has to worry about fiscal decision making at Launceston’s Town Hall.

Ald. McKenzie can kick and scream all he likes but if he and other absentee aldermen want to be taken seriously they need to get their act together and be accountable and more accountable than they’ve held themselves in the life of this council elected three years or so ago.

If the Minister was not so deeply implicated in the funding of projects being talked up by the Mayor he might well be visiting the kind of discipline on Launceston Council as he has done for Huon and Glenorchy Councils. It would seem that there’s more to come here.

INFORMATION ALERT: Launceston City Deal Document

This existence of this document has just been drawn to the attention of a
ratepayer but the Ratepayers Association has not received a copy. 

                                        • Is it a confidential in-house document? IF so why so?
                                        • IF not where and how might a ratepayer get a copy?

WATCH THIS SPACE

Why move UTAS: UTAS answers your relocation questions

http://www.examiner.com.au/

Why move UTAS: UTAS answers your relocation questions
Hayden Johnson 14 Aug 2017, 10:01 a.m.

When will UTAS release consultation details?

Professor Adams: The community consultation process around Inveresk is underway at the moment following the release of the masterplan and the final reports are likely to come out early or mid-October.
What does the parking model look like?

Mr McKee: We’ve been working now for over 18 months with our key partners, particularly the Launceston City Council because of the significance of this issue.

That’s included some quite significant traffic flow and parking studies.

We can say there will be an increase, an overall increase in parking capability around the broader site precinct.

Part of that is thinking about it rather than a traditional, providing just enough parks in a development application – how do we think of this as a precinct and actually develop a parking strategy that helps alleviate some of the potential traffic congestion and possibly even existing traffic congestion.

There’s a piece of work at the moment that’s underway to finalise what David talked about in terms of those studies that have been going quite some time.

How do we manage parking as a precinct, not just as a university?

That takes into account events and where we might not need parkings on weekends then that is able to be utilised in event mode.

It’s really maximising parking.

Professor Adams: It’s really quite important to think that most of the world's best practice university campuses tend to have a much higher proportion of people walking, bicycling, using shared transport options, public transport options.

We need to build in the appropriate incentives and facilities so that we don’t think of it primarily as a carparking issue but how can we create a campus that is much more attuned to where we’re heading in terms of sustainability, in terms of connectivity to the city.

Is there a time on the development application?

Professor Adams: Not yet.

We’re looking for the feedback on the masterplan <http://www.examiner.com.au/story/4797352/sneak-peek-at-utas-master-plan/>  at the moment – that’s our key priority.

That will then inform the design process which then sits alongside the development of the development application.

So we’re focussed on the masterplan feedback and that’s what we’re really encouraging people and looking for other people to encourage people to look at the information that’s out there.

UTAS $300m Plans unveiled  ... http://www.examiner.com.au/story/3784825/utas-300m-plans-unveiled/

How much of the construction work will go to Tasmanian firms?

Mr McKee: We don’t have a predetermined figure around that but suffice to say we’re working hard. It’s part of our grant deeds with both the federal and state government. It’s part of our commitment to the community here that we will work in the interests with this community and do our best to create the environment where local providers will have the best chance to participate.

Why didn’t UTAS use a Tasmanian architecture firm for the concept plan?

Mr McKee: It went to open market and we chose the best tenderer. We still have to comply with procurement requirements – at all levels. Even though it’s a Melbourne-based firm, part of them coming here has been a commitment to helping engage with local firms. At the blunt edge it sounds like it was all about an external firm and that was done on a procurement basis and the best tender but we’ve tried to manage that so there’s a local outcome as well. It is that challenge for us. Experience and excellence and local procurement, and trying to find the best possible match of those so that we don’t compromise either too much.

Do you envisage that will be an issue through construction?

Mr McKee: It’s a balancing act.

Professor Adams: It’s also probably useful to note it’s a balancing act within what we’re doing because we have fairly significant builds bother here at Inveresk, at West Park and in Hobart. Whilst people expect us to move ahead quickly on all three fronts – we have to stage that, particularly if we want to maximise opportunities for Tasmanian involvement. If we tried to do all three at once we simply wouldn’t have within our Tasmanian industries the capability.

How will the move improve student education?

Professor Adams: By providing literally the world’s best facilities students are likely to be attracted here and have the best teaching and research facilities and importantly the best staff. In terms of the facility itself, it will attract the staff and the infrastructure that will enhance learning. Part of the want to come here is having a campus that is open, friendly, linked to the city doesn’t look like a traditional university but a place they want to spend time. It’s about a different way of teaching, it’s about world’s best practice capus, it’s about the connectivity to the city and about focusing at all times on the student experience. The best way to explain our masterplan is the primary principle driving it is; what will create the best student experience?

State government transfers UTAS $10 million for university's relocation ... http://www.examiner.com.au/story/4761474/utas-receives-first-of-state-government-funding-for-relocation/

What has the feedback been like?

Professor Adams: Most of the feedback we’re getting at the moment is really constructive. The opportunity to really articulate this has been helpful because people still are struggling to understand the, why move? That has been the key bit of feedback that’s come through the last couple of weeks.
Give your feedback

Engagement sessions will be held on August 18 from 11am to 2pm at the Brisbane Street Mall and on August 19 from 10am to 1pm at Alexandra Walk, Seaport, outside Peppers Resort.