Ramroc Annual Report 2014-2015

RAMROC ANNUAL REPORT 2014-2015

CHAIRMANS FOREWORD

I am very pleased to present this foreword to the 2014-2015 Annual Report of activities, which covers the period to the 31st October 2015.

The three key issues of greatest significance during the year have been:-

1. The NSW Government's Fit for the Future program, involving the potential merger of some Councils in our region, together with the proposed establishment of one or more Joint Organisations across the region

2. The Commonwealth Water Act 2007 and the Murray Darling Basin Plan

3. The ongoing Commonwealth freeze on Commonwealth Financial Assistance Grants, instituted at the time of the 2014 Commonwealth Budget

The Executive Officer will report on these issues in more detail However, I would like to make the following observations:-

It is very evident that following the October IPART Report on its assessment of FFTF submissions lodged by Councils at the end of June 2015, that the Government certainly intends to proceed with significant numbers of Council mergers, which will likely be announced before the end of December 2015.

Of greatest concern is the fact that the Government is using the Independent Local Government Review Panel's report and recommendations as the benchmark, despite the merger proposals only being one part of an overall package of measures recommended by the Panel to achieve long term improvements to Local Government in New South Wales

Using the Independent Panel's merger suggestions as the benchmark is fraught with danger, because they have never been subjected to any independent Business Case or credible due diligence. Furthermore, when Councils have commissioned independent studies of those proposals, it has been found that they would not in fact achieve significant financial savings, nor would they necessarily improve the quality of service levels to ratepayers and residents of the affected Councils’ areas.

Arising from the IPART report, Councils are currently being requested to inform the Government by 18th November 2015 of their merger option preferences, still without any prior opportunity to undertake an adequate due diligence process.

RAMROC Councils are certainly not opposed to change, but such changes must be based on sound principles and certainty they need to be for the good of communities. We all know that change for change sake generally proves to be fruitless and damaging.

Part of the FFTF reform proposals are the establishment of Joint Organisations, which will be legislated and have core functions of strategic planning and priority setting, intergovernmental relations and advocacy.

RAMROC Councils have worked extensively on developing the best possible option for a Joint Organisation within our region. Essentially the new Joint Organisation will replace our ROC and we are keen to ensure that the new JO will be effective and efficient and will be able to provide at least the same quality of functions and services that our Member Councils have enjoyed in the past.

Essentially, the preferred option is to establish a new Murray and Murrumbidgee Joint Organisation (MAMJO), which would generally comprise the same Member Councils as RAMROC, whilst accepting the Government's intention to move Balranald and Wentworth Shires to a new Western Region Authority and noting that Greater Hume and Urana Shires have a preference to be part of an eastern Riverina Joint Organisation.

The MAMJO proposal has been drawn to the attention of the Minister for Local Government and the Office of Local Government. However, OLG has indicated that the final boundaries of Joint Organisations across the State will not be determined until around March 2016, after the FFTF Council merger decisions have been finalised. In relation to the Water Act and Murray Darling Basin Plan, RAMROC has continued to press for changes to be made to the Commonwealth Water Act, so as to enshrine a triple bottom line balance between environmental, economic and social outcomes.

Over recent months, a Senate Select Committee has been established to review the effectiveness of the Murray Darling Basin Plan and the Committee is scheduled to report back to Government by early 2016. RAMROC has participated in this review and by presenting, initially in submission form and subsequently at a public Hearing in Griffith on 27th October 2015.

During the year RAMROC Councils have met with the Chair and Chief Executive of Murray Darling Basin Authority, together with the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder, on two separate occasions. At those meetings we have canvassed the key issues of importance, being the need for a triple bottom line balance of environmental, economic and social outcomes, as well as the region’s concerns regarding the potential adverse impacts of the proposed Constraints Management Strategy.

On a more positive note, it is pleasing that the Commonwealth Government has legislated a cap of 1500 gigalitres on water entitlement buybacks and has placed responsibility for water resource matters within the Minister for Agriculture portfolio, which is a commonsense decision because of the importance of water to the nation’s food and fibre production.

Local Government Councils throughout Australia have continued to be hard hit by the freeze on Commonwealth Financial Assistance Grants and it is critical that the three year freeze be reversed as a matter of urgency and that the grant base and levels be fully restored . RAMROC will continue to work with the Australian Local Government Association and LGNSW in this matter, because the indexation freeze is now costing our region some $10 million annually.

At this stage, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the Deputy Chairman Cr Kevin Mack, who has provided outstanding support during the past year. I also thank the Honorary Secretary Treasurer Margot Stork for her contribution to the RAMROC Executive Committee.

Special thanks go to all Mayors, Councillors and General Managers for their contribution to the range of RAMROC activities during the year. I also extend a warm welcome to the newly elected Mayors and Delegates who will be joining RAMROC in the coming year, being Cr Henk van der Ven Albury City, Cr Paul Miegel Corowa Shire, Cr John Pocklington Murray Shire and Cr Ashley Hall Deniliquin Council.

I also pay special tribute to outgoing Mayors, Cr Kevin Mack from Albury City, Cr Fred Longmire from Corowa Shire, Cr Tom Weyrich from Murray Shire and Cr Lindsay Renwick from Deniliquin Council, particularly for their valuable and forthright contributions to RAMROC's activities - they have all been outstanding delegates.

It is with deep regret that in recent months the highly respected General Manager of Carrathool Shire Council Ken Croskell passed away. Ken's vast experience, pleasing personality and dry humour will be sadly missed by RAMROC Councils and indeed throughout the New South Wales Local Government industry.

The former long serving General Manager of Leeton Shire John Batchelor retired during the year and we wish John all the very best for a long and happy retirement. We also welcome the new Leeton General Manager Jackie Kruger and wish her well in her new role.

Our region's Federal Members the Hon Sussan Ley MP Minister for Health and the Hon Michael McCormack, Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister, have provided strong support to our representations to Government, as have our local State Members the Hon Adrian Piccoli MP Minister for Education, Greg Aplin MP and Katrina Hodgkinson MP.

Special appreciation is extended to Albury City Council and Murray Shire Council respectively for the valuable assistance which they continue to provide in the provision of quality office accommodation and equipment and for the first class administration and financial management services.

The professional officer Working Groups have enthusiastically carried out their specific activities and projects throughout the year. They are very much the foundation stone of our ROC and their contribution to the overall functioning of RAMROC continues to be outstanding. Finally, I express my sincere thanks to RAMROC's Executive Officer Ray Stubbs for his ongoing contribution to the success of our ROC. Ray's extensive experience in Local Government over a period of more than fifty years now has proved invaluable since he took over this role in 2004 and we really appreciate the expertise and wise counsel that he continues to bring to the position.

At this critical stage of the Fit for the Future processes, we are all somewhat unsure as to what the future holds for our Council and communities. We hope that any changes that finally are made will prove beneficial and as such we need to face the future with optimism and determination, to make sure that our towns and communities will continue to receive ongoing and outstanding quality of infrastructure and services.

In conclusion, I thank Mayors, Councillors and General Managers one and all for your outstanding contribution to RAMROC and to your communities and wish you all the best for the challenging times ahead

Cr Terry Hogan AM Chairman

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS REPORT

1. LOCAL GOVERNMENT REFORM – “FIT FOR THE FUTURE”

Following the release of the Final Report by the Independent Local Government Review Panel in late 2014, the State Government has progressed the reform processes by announcing a package of financial incentives for voluntary mergers, the development of the Rural Council concept and the establishment of five Pilot Joint Organisations across the State.

RAMROC’s proposal for a Pilot Joint Organisation was not successful, but this has not prevented RAMROC continuing to develop its preferred JO concept for the region. In this regard, the Government announced that Balranald and Wentworth Shires have been included in the Far Western Regional Authority, which envisages a collaborative Commonwealth/State and Local Government approach to the rationalisation and delivery of a wide range of direct services to communities in western parts of the State.

In addition, Greater Hume and Urana Shires have currently been included in the Pilot Riverina Joint Organisation, which generally encompasses the existing REROC Member Councils based in Wagga and which extends from Bland Shire in the north to Tumbarumba Shire in the south east.

RAMROC Councils have resolved to endorse a Joint Organisation model which comprises an overarching JO of 14 Member Councils, with provision for establishment of three sub groups (Upper Murray, Mid Murray and Murrumbidgee) and which also offers Associate Member status to Balranald, Wentworth, Greater Hume and Urana Shires and which has the flexibility to accommodate any mergers of Councils that may take place under the FFTF reform program.

In May 2015, the Government commissioned IPART to undertake a comprehensive assessment of all Councils in the State (except for those in the Western Region Authority), the purpose being to determine whether each Council possesses the requisite scale and capacity and long term financial sustainability to be classified as “Fit for the Future”

The IPRT Assessment Report was submitted to the Government in mid October. As a result, all Councils have now been invited to comment by 18th November on the IPART assessments and they have also been given a final opportunity to inform the Government of their “Merger Preferences”. The Government has also re-affirmed its offer of financial incentives for voluntary mergers of two or more Councils.

It has been indicated that the Government will be making significant announcements in relation to its reform proposals before the end of 2015.

During the year, a NSW Legislative Council Standing Committee was formed to inquire into the “Fit for the Future” Local Government Reform program and the Final Report of the Standing Committee was released in late October 2015. RAMROC made a submission to the Committee and presented evidence at a Hearing in Wagga on 17th August 2015. Whether or not that Standing Committee Report has the potential to change the course of action that the Government seems determined to pursue is uncertain at this stage. The Government is required to respond to the Standing Committee Report with 6 months of the Report’s release. 2. THE 2007 COMMONWEALTH WATER ACT AND MURRAY DARLING BASIN PLAN

As reported last year, the Commonwealth Government appointed an Independent Expert Panel in early 2014 to undertake a comprehensive review of the provisions of the Commonwealth Water Act. RAMROC has proposed that the current Act be amended to enshrine a fair and equitable balance of environmental, social and economic considerations.

RAMROC also recommended that the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder be granted greater autonomy and be delegated further authority to temporarily trade its surplus water allocations, especially to achieve increased levels of food and fibre production.

At this point of time, the Report of the Expert Panel is still under review by the Commonwealth Government and no date has yet been scheduled for a response.

However, in the meantime, the Commonwealth Parliament has legislated to place a cap of 1500 GL on the purchase of water entitlements. This is an important step to mitigate further adverse impacts on irrigation based communities, bearing in mind that at this point of time purchases of some 1165 GL have already been finalised.

Because of ongoing concerns regarding implementation of the Murray Darling Basin Plan, a Commonwealth Senate Select Committee was established under the Chairmanship of Senator David Leyonhjelm, to inquire into a wide range of issues relating to the Murray Darling Basin Plan and its implementation stages.

RAMROC made a submission to the Select Committee and presented evidence at a Public Inquiry held in Griffith on 27th October 2015.

In April and October 2015, the RAMROC Executive and Council representatives held meetings with the Chairman and Chief Executive of the Murray Darling Basin Authority, which canvassed a range of issues and concerns about the Basin Plan, with particular focus on economic and social impacts on the region, as well as concerns regarding potential adverse impacts associated with the Constraints Management Strategy. These regular meetings with MDBA are positive outcomes of the engagement agreement processes which were previously agreed upon in 2013.

Productive meetings have also been held with the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder and liaison has been maintained with the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage’s Murray and Murrumbidgee Environmental Watering Advisory Groups.

3. COMMONWEALTH GOVERNMENT THREE YEAR FREEZE ON FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE GRANTS

During 2014-2015, RAMROC has continued its representations regarding the very serious impacts of the Commonwealth Government’s freeze on the indexation of Commonwealth Financial Assistance Grants to Local Government.

These representations are principally being pursued through the Australian Local Government Association and LGNSW. RAMROC has also advocated on the issue to the NSW Minister for Local Government because of the importance of FAGs to the long term financial sustainability of Councils. However, it is extremely disappointing that minimal support has been forthcoming from the State Government,

The indexation freeze is now costing RAMROC Councils and communities some $10 million annually and this funding shortfall will continue grow exponentially, until such time as the freeze is removed and the grant base levels and annual indexation increases are restored.

It is of real concern however that the 3 year indexation freeze may in fact be extended, in light of the Commonwealth’s current budgetary constraints.

On a positive note, it is pleasing that increased fund have become available to Councils across the RAMROC region under the Commonwealth Government’s recently increased fuel excise and annual Roads to Recovery Program. 4. GRANT PROGRAMS

During the year, RAMROC has continued to attract a number of State Government grants for specific projects that benefit Councils and communities. These are briefly summarised as follows:-

a. Roadside Vegetation Improvement Program

This $350,000 RAMROC / Murray Local Land Services program, which attracted State Government funding of $250,000, was completed in September 2014 and received a favourable 4 day evaluation assessment from the NSW Natural Resources Commission.

It is also pleasing that the RAMROC project was subsequently announced as both the Category and Overall State winner in the LGNSW Roadside Environmental Management Awards in December 2014.

b. Waste Management Programs

The Murray Waste Management Group and the Riverina Waste Management Group have both continued to attract substantial funding allocations from the NSW Environment Protection Authority.

As previously reported, the Murray Group has received a 3 year funding package of $869,790 and the Riverina Group a 3 year funding package of $621,474, which will provide a substantial package of regional waste projects throughout the RAMROC region.

In addition, both groups have received significant additional grants for the establishment of Community Recycling Centres, Landfill Environmental Improvements, Illegal Dumping, Household Hazardous Waste Collection and Litter Prevention programs. More details on these programs are set out later in the reports by the two Waste Project Co-ordinators.

The NSW State Government has announced that it will be implementing Container Deposit Legislation to apply as from July 2017. In this regard, I represent RAMROC on a Local Government Working Group formed by EPA to advise the Government on a range of issues associated with implementation of the CDS program across the State. The Working Group has met on two occasions and EPA will shortly be releasing a Discussion Paper seeking community feedback on the best ways to implement the program.

c. Contaminated Land Management Program.

In October 2014, a joint RAMROC and REROC application for an EPA grant of $450,000 over three years ($150,000 per annum) was approved to implement a joint ROC Regional Capacity Building Project to assist 26 Councils develop their Contaminated Land Strategic Policies and Management Plans.

The Project Officer Jacqui Bright commenced work on the program in January 2015 and considerable progress has already been made with all of the participating Councils.

Jacqui is based in the Albury City Council offices and works under the direction of a RAMROC/REROC Steering Committee and with a multi council Project Committee and with Albury City’s Sustainability Team. This project will continue through to June 2017.

5. PRESENTATION TO RAMROC MEETINGS

During 2014-2015, the following presentations were made to RAMROC Meetings by invited guests:- a. Graeme Brittenden – re proposal for permanent change to Australian Eastern Standard Time zones b. Cr. Keith Rhoades AFSM – President LGNSW c. Graeme Enders Regional Manager and Senior Officers NSW Department of Environment and Heritage – re progress on environmental watering projects in the Murray and Murrumbidgee river systems d. MDBA Chairman Neil Andrew, Chief Executive Rhondda Dickson and senior officers of the Basin Authority e. Alison Morgan and Jason Collins Senior Regional Co-ordinators NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet – re the Fit for the Future reform program and State/Local Governments collaboration f. John Pocius Western Regional Manager Australian Red Cross – re the new Australian Government’s Refugee legislation and Safe Haven Enterprise Visas applicable to regional Australia g. Tony Gibbs NBN Fixed Wireless Community Relations Adviser – re NBN rollout program for regions. 6. EXTERNAL ORGANISATIONS – EXECUTIVE OFFICER REPRESENTATION

The Executive Officer represents the interests of RAMROC Councils and communities on a number of external organisations, including:-

a. Murray Hume and Riverina Business Enterprise Centres – Board Member b. NSW Regional Organisation of Councils Network – Executive Officers Group c. Regional Leadership Network of NSW Government Agencies for the Riverina Murray region d. NSW Local Government Advisory Working Group – NSW Container Deposit Legislation e. Murray Local Land Services – Connected Corridors Steering Committee f. Murray Local Land Services – Travelling Stock Reserves Steering Committee g. Red Gum Timber Industry Taskforce h. Murray and Murrumbidgee Environmental Watering Advisory Committees (EWAGs)

7. PROFESSIONAL OFFICER WORKING GROUPS

The Professional Officer Working Groups have continued to operate very effectively during the year. They are in effect the engine room for a wide range of RAMROC activities.

During 2014-2015, a new RAMROC Procurement Working Group was established in partnership with Local Government Procurement (LGP) which is an independent company operating under the auspices of LGNSW. LGP has established an extensive portfolio of purchasing contracts for NSW Councils.

The Working Group is working directly with LGP to implement a program of collaborative procurement projects across the region, which will generate significant financial savings for individual Councils and also attract additional rebates from LGP through purchases of products and services available to Councils under the LGP contracts.

Currently, the following Working Groups are making strong contributions to benefit both RAMROC and the individual Member Councils:-

a. General Managers Group b. Engineers Group c. Planners Group d. Integrated Planning and Reporting Group e. Records Management Group f. Murray Waste Group g. Riverina Waste Group h. Procurement Working Group i. Contaminated Land Management Project Steering Committee j. Riverina West Risk Management Group ( this is part of the Statewide Mutual South West Group)

The technical Working Groups report quarterly to both the General Managers Group and in turn through to RAMROC Board meetings. The following Group reports provide a brief summary of their activities during the year:-

A. Engineers Group

November 2014  RAMROC / Infrastructure Project update.

 Return water for Credit (Underground Water / return of unused water to Bores / Aquifer.)

 Traffic Operations Manager Mr Col Honeyman and Jonathan Crocker / South West Region RMS discussion on Incident Management Process, Traffic Management, Response Plan, and Salvage at Incident sites.  National Heavy Vehicle Regulator NHVR Discussion re Route Assessments / workshop 17th Nov 2014 Wagga.

 RMS Heavy Vehicle Coordinator Mr Craig Gibbins attended meeting for detailed discussions.

 Grain Harvest Management Scheme 2014/2016

 RMS Network and Safety Manager Karin Summerfield explained new funding for PAMP’s and Cycle ways (Active Transport Program)

February 2015  RAMROC / Infrastructure Project Update.  Chris Nisbet / Compliance Office Byford Equip - Presentation on the release of a new PBS 20m Tanker combination for Council’s information.

 Peter Ledwos Regional Manager / Urban Water Branch Office of Water , discussion with Engineers Group regarding Integrated Water Cycle Management Plans (IWCM)

 Jessica Jones and Marie Talevska / Local Government Procurement P/L (LGP) Tendering.

 Ron Dillon and Mike Skeen / Senior Mine Safety Officers, outlined the changes to the Mining Legislation. The New Work Health and Safety (Mines) Bill and Regulations became effective from 1st Feb 2015.

May 2015  Irrigation Structure / Crossings. Discussion re Decommissioning, Transferring to property owners, Council’s responsibilities re Road network, maintenance issues.  Street Lighting / Council’s submissions.

 James Allwood and Tony Burns / NSW Health Department , Drinking Water Management Plans, Review / Audit and Supporting projects. Public Health role in Emergency Management.

 Michael Wills RMS Heavy Vehicle Section (Sydney) explained the process for PBS Vehicles, approving PBS Vehicles and PBS Network.

 RAMROC Infrastructure Project Update.

 Presentations to retiring Engineers Penny Craig (Urana Shire) and Brian Ebery ( Wakool Shire)

 Discussion re Jeff Rorda and Associates / Asset Management Workshop 19th May 2015.

August 2015  RAMROC / Infrastructure Project Final Report.

 Performance Based Standards (PBS) Heavy Vehicle / RMS Brett Graham (Senior Officer Network Development) and Craig Gibbins, discussion RMS PBS proposals and Road Managers Consent Forms.

 Local Government Procurement / RAMROC Group presentation by Ray Stubbs.

 RMS / RMCC Project Specific Plans (PSP) Performance Management Framework Rev4 Comments and System Performance Report (SPR) re RMCC ( Maintenance and Ordered Works)

 NSW Grain Harvest Management Scheme, overall report released on scheme to date. B. Planners Group

Access to Regional Office of Department of Planning and Infrastructure During the year the Regional Director and various departmental staff from the Western Region office in Dubbo attended meetings of the Planners’ group to update the members on policies of the Department of Planning and infrastructure.

Draft Murray Regional Strategy RAMROC Planners continued to lobby for an improved Regional Strategy for the Murray region, including an updating of the population projects and the transport options for the region. The Department is working on the Murray Murrumbidgee Regional Growth Infrastructure Plan as a replacement document to the Draft Murray Regional Strategy and this is expected to be released in late 2015 or early 2016.

Land Contamination – Regional Capacity Building Program

RAMROC Planners Group have been involved in the Program which aims for councils to improve the management of contaminated land and increase local knowledge and expertise in identifying and dealing with contaminated land issues.

Government Agencies The Planners Group has been utilised by several government agencies as a conduit to provide information to member councils in regards to changes. An example included a presentation by Murrumbidgee Local Health District providing an outline of the Healthy Built Environment Panel and how it may be utilised by local councils.

Local Government Planning Directors Group

RAMROC was represented on this group by Michael Keys. This group provided a direct conduit to the Minster for Planning and senior executive staff of the Department of Planning to raise concerns and issues relevant to RAMROC Councils.

Orders Workshop

A workshop was organised for the RAMROC Planners Group in regards to process for issuing notices and orders as well as some of the common errors and obstacles in regards to enforcement. The workshop was held in Albury in February and was presented by Kell Moore Lawyers

Overall Function

RAMROC Planners’ Group continues to be an important means for the council planners and building officers to maintain up-to-date information, consider regional issues, meet with the regional officers from state agencies and work together on submissions to the benefit of the ROC and the individual Councils.

C. Murray Waste Group

Waste group funding: RAMROC Murray Voluntary Waste Management Group has received the second instalment under its three-year funding agreement with the NSW EPA. This agreement provides $870,000 (ex- GST) for the period September 2014 to September 2017.

Community Recycling Centres: Construction is about to commence on six Community Recycling Centres in the region to divert non-hazardous household materials from landfill. They will be constructed at Albury, Deniliquin, Corowa, Berrigan, Blighty and Moama with grants totalling $568,000.

Illegal dumping database: RAMROC Murray and Riverina Waste Groups have each successfully applied for a $20,000 grant to roll out the RIDonline project, an online portal that will streamline the reporting and management of illegal dumping incidents across NSW. The two groups have combined to engage a Project Officer to work with member councils to deliver this project across the RAMROC region. Litter strategy development: An application is being developed for a $20,000 grant under the Litter Regional Implementation Program (L-RIP) to develop and deliver a multi-year litter implementation plan to achieve the litter goals outlined in each Regional Waste Avoidance and Recovery Strategy. The RAMROC Regional Waste Strategy commits member councils to a 40 per cent reduction in the number of litter items by 2016-2017 compared with 2011-12 levels.

Landfill environmental improvements: Member councils successfully applied for grants totalling almost $400,000 to carry out environmental improvements at selected landfills. The grants will fund projects at the Albury Waste Management Centre, Greater Hume Shire’s Henty waste site and four Conargo landfills. Household Hazardous Chemical Collection: A successful application to the EPA for $43,000 in funding saw a free Household Hazardous Chemical Collection conducted across the region in late November 2014. Four councils – Albury, Murray, Corowa and Greater Hume - took part in the collection. A total of 239 residents dropped off 6.948 tonnes of household hazardous chemicals for diversion from landfill for reprocessing and recycling. Landfill operator training course: The 2015 Landfill Operator Training Course, a partnership between RAMROC Murray and Riverina TAFE, was conducted at the Thurgoona Campus of the National Environment Centre in May. A successful application for $5000 in sponsorship from the EPA was used to offset the course registration fee. The course attracted 20 participants, including EPA representatives and from across NSW. Four staff members from RAMROC Murray member councils Albury, Deniliquin and Urana attended. EnviroMentors school education: This year’s Keep Australia Beautiful EnviroMentors school education program was conducted across the region in August and September. Educators delivered workshops to 17 schools across the 20-day program. Host councils this year were: Albury, Greater Hume, Corowa, Berrigan, Deniliquin, Hay and Wentworth. RAMROC Murray Waste Group met the full cost of the program.

RAMROC Murray Action Plan 2015-16: Seven of the nine projects listed in the RAMROC Murray waste group action plan for 2014-15 are being, or have been, delivered. They are: community recycling satellite centres; landfill consolidation and environmental improvements; school education; landfill operator training; household hazardous chemical collection; regional illegal dumping register; and regional scrap metal collection. The two other projects identified, regional used tyres collection and the rollout of the Halve Waste community education campaign across region, will be pursued during 2016.

Regional e-waste collection: Negotiations are under way to re-establish a regional collection of electronic waste following the collapse of the previous arrangements.

Regional scrap metal collection: RAMROC Murray and RAMROC Riverina Waste Groups will partner to introduce a regional scrap metal collection across all 18 councils in early 2016.

D. Riverina Waste Group

The following list provides an outline of the projects undertaken by the group which improved diversion of material from landfill or aided the sustainability of the region.

1. Assistance to councils to apply for and obtain grants from the NSW EPA to provide six Community Recycling Centres to collect semi-hazardous material at their waste depots. The grant is valued at $222,000. Approvals have been granted and quotations are in the process of being considered. The education and communication plan for this project has been completed and we are expecting funding for that element. We are yet to make application for our signage grant.

2. Regional Litter project - a $60,000 “Hey Tosser” litter grant project has been completed and acquitted. It involved projects in 3 Leeton Griffith and Narrandera and included - radio advertisements, media releases, 2500 stickers, 2500 car deodorant tags, litter bags, face-to-face engagement of schools students, promotional shirts, audit of the site and condition of each public litter bin, replacement of key litter bins, enforcement training for staff, production of large outdoor banners and tidying some areas and working with local groups

3. Mass mortality of chickens - Investigation and collaboration to ensure there is a solution to the issue of mass mortality of chickens. There is an ever increasing number of growing sheds in our region. We are aware that approximately 200-300 new grower sheds will be developed in the region over the next few years to cater for the proposed expansion of a large processor. The expansion will result in the production of an extra 1.5 million birds a week. The Department of Primary Industries and the EPA are partners to develop a more strategic approach to ensure there is a procedure and infrastructure in place to deal with the sudden death of a large numbers of chickens.

4. Applications for funding under the Landfill Consolidation and Environmental Improvements grants have been submitted for 3 sites within the region. One was successful and we await the outcome of the other 2. The successful application was in the region of $130,000 and if the other 2 applications are in the order of $150,000 each.

5. An application to the NSW EPA to provide regional a regional approach to illegal dumping. We have a grant of $20,000 to ensure base line data is available from councils. RAMROC Murray was successful with a similar grant and we are collaborating on the implementation of the project which will utilise the RIDonline application.

6. Green Waste Diversion and Composting - This project involving Griffith/Leeton/Narrandera has been progressing slowly. Two of the participating councils (Griffith/Leeton) have now agreed that further investigation is warranted. A consultant is to be engaged to assist with the progression of the possible introduction of a food and organics collection system. A parallel investigation will be undertaken to ensure the viability of a composting system to treat the collected material. This study is a precursor to the councils deciding if they desire to implement such a scheme.

7. Education Program – the EnviroMentors program was rolled out across the region’s schools with 16 schools participating. They have been engaged again for 2016. We also utilise the Riverina Environment Centre and they have rolled out their program to the 2 public schools and 1 private school. Assessment by the schools was very positive. They have been engaged again for 2016 and will roll another shire into their project.

8. Love Food, Hate Waste Program – This project aims to reduce waste by helping the community to understand how to prevent food wastage. To date we have conducted 4 events and will conduct 2 more across the region in 2015.

9. Waste Minimisation Training - The EPA supported 2015 Landfill Operator Training Course was held in May at the Thurgoona campus of the National Environment Centre, Riverina TAFE. Four staff from councils within the Riverina Waste Group attended and the course was appreciated.

10. In an effort to provide industry specific recycling solutions a third annual waste diversion forum was held in Griffith with many of the large producers in the area attending. Another forum is planned for 2015.

E. Integrated Planning and Reporting Group

The significant activity undertaken by this network that meets on an as needed basis was a workshop held 21 November 2014 conducted by Martin Bass. Martin has 20+-years’ experience in community engagement and strategic planning in Local and State Government. In recent years, he has worked extensively with councils in regional NSW, providing guidance and assistance in strategic planning and community engagement in response to legislative requirements.

This workshop was attended by Council Officers responsible for or involved in designing, developing, reviewing and reporting on a Council’s Integrated Plans and its preparation for Fit for the Future The program covered two themes

1. Integrated Planning and Reporting (Rural & Regional) 2. Fit For the Future

The professional development issues identified and discussed by theme included: IPR  CSP review - when engaging the community are we reviewing the CSP or starting from scratch?  Community engagement for CSP and SRV - ideas and examples of meaningful and informed consultation with our communities?  Internal Engagement and Reporting – how to move managers from compliance and toward meaningful targets and reporting?  Delivery Program – four-year program for the term of the Council, or is it a four-year rolling program?  How can CSP inform or guide the Fit for the Future process?

Fit for the Future

 How can the CSP & IPR processes inform and direct JO decision-making and planning?  Benchmarks for assessing scale and capacity - what are the conditions that promote or support these benchmarks?  Case studies that provide opportunities for learning re achievement of FFTF benchmarks

F. Records Management Group

1. A busy and productive period for the Records Group, with 3 meetings held during the past 12 months to discuss issues such as :

-digital signatures and legally admissible scanned documents -Vital Records Registers -Shredding -Certificate IV Records -State Records NSW New Standard as well as accessing the current version of GA39

2. Roger Fraser from Albury presented a brief report on the Chapter Seminar which was held in Albury in 2014.

Topics covered included:-

-Social Media, Risk Management & Records -GIPA -Update from NSW State Records

3. CSU Regional Archives in Wagga provided a very informative presentation on where government records are stored and the role they play in managing these records for various departments across regional NSW as well as private enterprise.

4. Staff from the Office of the Information & Privacy Commissioner provided a Powerpoint presentation in relation to the various privacy and information legislation and in particular how this affects Local Government.

END OF ANNUAL REPORT