Leadership on the agenda at local government forum
Almost 150 of Victoria's senior local government representatives came together in Melbourne today at the annual Local Government Ministerial and Mayors Forum for discussions on the theme, 'Leading Now for Our Future'.
Opening the 2012 forum, Minister for Local Government Jeanette Powell encouraged the Mayors and Chief Executives from the 79 councils and peak sector bodies in Victoria to take the opportunity to show strong leadership within their communities during difficult times.
"I'm confident that today's discussions will help us deliver on our shared priority of building prosperous and sustainable communities across Victoria," Mrs Powell said.
Forum participants heard from and discussed issues with Deputy Premier Peter Ryan; Minister for Health and Ageing David Davis; Minister for Mental Health, Women's Affairs and Community Services Mary Wooldridge and the keynote speaker, entrepreneur Mark Bouris.
"A broad range of topics were considered – including transport; economic and social development; health and population growth – which have enormous impacts on local communities.
"The local government sector is crucial to providing the services and infrastructure people need, and Victoria's Mayors and Chief Executives must provide the strong leadership that will ensure the sector remains responsive to those needs," Mrs Powell said.
Mrs Powell said the annual forum provides opportunities for state and local decision-makers to come together to listen and learn from each other.
"With the world changing so rapidly, it's important that we have these opportunities to talk about what others are doing and find ways to share their knowledge and experiences for the betterment of our own communities," Mrs Powell said.
"As we continue the negotiation for the new Victorian State-Local Government Agreement it's important that we work together to ensure the state's social, economic and environmental progress.
"As a result of today's forum I'm encouraged that we have the leaders in the sector to help us do that together," Mrs Powell said.
