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Working towards a professional partnership

Thursday, 23 February 2012

Minister for Local Government Jeanette Powell has used her opening address to the annual LGPro conference to outline a series of Victorian Coalition Government initiatives that will assist local government to deliver better outcomes for residents and ratepayers.

The Minister addressed the Building Site Management project, the Local Government Reform Fund and the draft Green Light Plan whilst advocating for greater consultation and cooperation between the two arms of government.

"State and local governments have many inter-related responsibilities and the task of improving the delivery of those services to the community is an ongoing obligation for both arms of government," Mrs Powell said.

"The Building Site Management project is just one example of the Coalition Government. assisting individual councils to minimise unnecessary regulatory costs in the building industry.

"An audit of local government laws found widespread inconsistency and complexity between councils and differences in compliance and enforcement.

"The fact different councils have different regulations regarding the provision of safety fencing, hours of work, on-site-bins, council asset protection, litter prevention and other matters creates an unnecessary burden on the building industry and on consumers.

"Local Government Victoria has issued a discussion paper that will inform the process of harmonising the local laws and reducing costs for builders and consumers," Mrs Powell said.

The Minister also acknowledged the tireless efforts of many of the local government officials present in assisting their communities with the disaster recovery effort.

"I know many people working in the local government put the interests of their community before their personal interests in the aftermath of the devastating bush fires of 2009 and the more recent floods," Mrs Powell said.

"Local government has an integral role in dealing with the immediate threat of flood and fire and delivering the programs that deal with the long term damage.

"The response to such events highlights the professional capacity of local government and I was pleased to be able to thank the sector for their outstanding efforts," Mrs Powell said.

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