1. Make Our Town Centres More Inviting
Councillors and Council Management should meet regularly with local business owners, managers and shop assistants to determine priorities for making our towns' commercial centres more inviting to residents, tourists and goods and services providers.
While we all have a stake in our town centres, it is the business communities that have the on-the-ground insight and commitment that make them either ordinary or extraordinary. So we should value their assessment of priorities for practical development, whether that be for public toilets, sidewalk improvements, tree planting, signage, or whatever it is that will make our towns' commercial centres more appealing and successful.
Who Benefits: Local Businesses; Residents' Lifestyle;
Tourism; Better Expendature of Limited Council Resources
2. Fresh Food Farmers’ Markets (3FM)
There are two major components stimulating the rise of food prices today. The first is the high cost of debt, which recently taken over food distribution companies now have to service. And, the second relates to higher cost of produce caused by higher petroleum prices for transport and agricultural inputs. As these prices rise disproportionally to community wages, our prosperity declines.
To a large extent, these rising prices can be combated through the establishment of organised, viable and meaningfully sized fresh food farmers’ markets. Presently our farmers would not be in a position to provide produce for whole towns, but I’d argue that is more a fact of there not having been a local marketplace for our farmers to sell such goods, than their ability to produce enough food. It’s been a ‘Catch 22’.
Accordingly, I’d suggest that a volunteer committee be commenced to bring about fresh food farmer’s markets initially in Braidwood and Bungendore, by mid-2010 on a funding basis of grants, endowments, sponsorships and co-op units that would be cost neutral to rate payers.
As well as increasing prosperity in the pockets of the local shoppers through lower food prices, 3FMs would keep money in the community that is presently exported to Queanbeyan, Canberra and elsewhere for food. This will lead to more local farm employment, new speciality farmers coming into the shire and greater community prosperity and social cohesion overall.
Who Benefits: Rural Farm Economy; Residents - Higher Quality of Food and Lower Cost of Food; Local Employment; Residents' Lifestyle; The Environment - Low Food Miles; Tourism.
3. Palerang Employment Parks (PEP)
While commuter transportation is part of a local energy and economic conservation strategy, the core of any such strategy must be to create jobs in the local communities. Not just circular intra-locality service jobs, but jobs that bring new revenue into the community from sources outside of it.
To create jobs in the local communities there needs to be leveraged workplaces for jobs where many people can work together. It would be well within the scope of Council’s mission to earmark and potentially develop a central employment park near one of the transportation hubs and lease space to new employers.
I believe the types of employment well suited to our area would include: a public administration serviced office, scientific research, software development, product development, light fabrication, and allied agricultural services. In light of climate change and emissions reductions, state and federal government employees might be able to do their daily tasks closer to home and commute into the city just on an as needs basis.
Who Benefits: Local Employment; Local Businesses; Residents - Less Cost and Time Commuting, and More
Income and Time for Family; The Environment - Less
Petrol Usage and Greenhouse Gases
4. Commuter Public Transportation
In the 2006 Visioning Workshops, public commuter transport from the localities to Canberra and Queanbeyan was often mentioned. In the ensuing two years fuel prices have risen significantly more than wages have. As a result, community prosperity is sliding backwards.
While it cannot be expected that Council provide Public Transportation itself, it can be expected, as the locally elected community body, to amplify the community’s voice for commuter transport. In doing so, it should establish a proactive committee to work with other governments and private enterprise to bring reliable commuter public transportation hubs initially to Braidwood, Bungendore, Bywong and Wamboin, and then to other shire localities.
Such facilities can have further positive implications for the hub community economies by transporting day-tourist on the backloads.
Who Benefits: The Environment - Less Petrol Usage and Greenhouse Gases; Residents - Less Cost Commuting and More Productive and Relaxing Commuting Time;
Tourism and Local Employment
5. Experts Committee To Develop Local Employment Expansion Initiatives
Whether a PEP is developed or not, we should commence a community based experts committee to seek out governmental and private employers who would set up workplaces in the shire, that could employ meaningful numbers of residents in satisfying and fulfilling employment.
The committee would research what untapped potential presently resides within our community (whether presently commuting workers, family carers able to work part-time, unemployed people, young people coming into the workforce or active retirees who would like to do a little more work ) and match up that resource with a recruitment pitch to bring employers into the shire who would value our people resources. The committee might also assist current local employers find their way around the many government grants that are available to small business.
For every 100 new jobs created in the shire, an estimated $3,000,000 per annum in new economic prosperity would flow through the community.
Like the Chambers of Commerce, this committee could be composed of volunteers with expertise in such matters, who do it as a community service rather than expensive consultants who are normally paid from Rates.
Who Benefits: Local Employment; Local Businesses; Residents - Less Cost and Time Commuting, and More
Income and Time for Family; The Environment - Less
Petrol Usage and Greenhouse Gases
6. Determine Council’s Vulnerability to Rises in Fuel and Energy Costs
Council is a petroleum dependent enterprise. Its plant and equipment can’t operate without it, its sealed road maintenance depends on it, and many of the chemicals it needs to perform its services are derived from it.
In recent months we have seen the price of oil rise beyond all expectation, with the concept of ‘peak oil’ continuing to put upward pressure on the commodity. Emission Taxation will soon add further cost. Accordingly, the new board of councillors and the community need to understand from Management what our Council’s financial sensitivities are when it comes to energy exposure. Where the analysis results in scenarios needing either higher Rates or reductions in services, this needs to be discussed openly and with all stakeholders, so that effective solutions and priorities can be found.
Who Benefits: Ratepayers, Council, and Council Personnel - Advanced Financial Planning & Preparation, Avoidance of
Crisis Mentality, and Avoidance of Viability Tipping Point
7. Webcast Council Meetings
In a large rural shire such as ours, it is simply not practical for people to attend many local government meetings and feel part of the process. They can’t hear the debate of issues or understand the consideration that went into matters before the councillors. Neither the Minutes nor the abridged media reports can convey that effectively to the residents.
With the new and low cost technology of webcasting / podcasting all residents can attend council meetings from the comfort of their homes either live, while the meeting is happening, or at a later time when it might be more convenient for them. In this way, the most accessible form of government – Local Government – begins to actually feel accessible and participatory all the time and not just when there is an election.
Who Benefits: Residents - Community Cohesion, Local Government Transparency and Accountability;
Councillors - Improved Meeting Protocol
8. Cinema / Performing Arts Centre and Art Museum
Genuine community identity doesn’t come as a result of geographical boundaries, but rather from shared community experiences through Art, Education, Enterprise and Sport.
For that reason, I would propose that we commence an expert community committee to bring about a cinema / performing arts centre and a fine art museum satellite by 2014, on a funding basis of grants, endowments, donations, sponsorships and co-op units. One facility might be in Braidwood while the other could be in Bungendore.
By 2014, I’d assert that rising energy costs will make travelling out of the shire for cultural experiences more costly. These proposed facilities will create jobs, capture entertainment expenditures presently spent outside of the shire, provide our youth with local cultural and entertainment venues and bring tourists and conferences to Palerang along with their associated economic inflows.
Who Benefits: Local Employment; Local Businesses; Residents - Lifestyle Improvement, Community Cohesion,
Safe Venue for Local Youth, Less Cost and Time Commuting for Entertainment and Culture; Local Schools;
The Environment -Less Petrol Usage and Greenhouse Gases; Tourism |
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