2. 2016 National Future of Local Government Summit

3. Let’s Make Local Government Great!

4. Let’s Make Local Government Great!
‘Local Government should be the most powerful lobby group in Australia’
Graham Richardson
Paul Lyneham

5. A quick decision for you to make
Please stand

6. A quick decision for you to make
If you are happy with the current position local government finds itself in, please remain standing.

7. FOLG
Why FOLG?
No game plan for the sector (LG is ‘nuclear’): LG is trying to do too much with too little
LG does many great things
LG is the most complex service business on earth
Councils have plans (spaghetti) but where does LG sector want to go in the future?
LG: where the urgent crowds out the important: no LT strategic directions
LG often seen as blocker or regulator
There is often lack of confidence in LG (and a lack of knowledge of what LG does)
Primary role of LG is community governance rather then service delivery: facilitate strategic alliances to deliver agreed community outcomes
Other levels of government have made all the key decisions about LG
Rapidly escalating community expectations
Fundamental change now occurring: world is going ‘local’: networked society: transformative shift to digital government
LG needs to embrace change and reform rather than have it imposed
Opportunity of a lifetime for LG: but will not be ‘business as usual’
FOLG: Smart Councils, Strong communities

10. The ongoing cycle Amalgamations
Funding cuts (Federal Govt ‘decades of deficits’)
Legislative review
Increased scrutiny
Media attacks
Why is LG the soft target?
Image issues?
2030: will it be the same? > No

11. LG share of the national public sector pie
Tax: %
Employment: % (190,000)
Assets: % ($354 bill.)
Spending: % ($33 bill. pa)
Conclusion: LG is doing the heavy lifting

12. Other ongoing cycles Government is not up to the task anymore:
19th century public sector structures: silos galore
Rapidly growing complexity and inter-dependence of problems (eg. obesity, congestion, climate change)
Silo command and control (and spin): not delivering
Trust in government is declining
Needs collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach with real citizen involvement in transparent decision-making (co-design)

13. Change: The language is changing
Modernisation
Transformation
Monumental change
Seismic change
And …………….

14. Change
Humanity will change more in the next 20 years than in all of human history.
Thomas Frey

15. Change
Uber has a market capitalisation of $62 billion which is more than Ford or General Motors but it makes nothing, owns no cars and employs hardly anyone!

16. The challenge is to respond ahead of the curve
If local government don’t respond, other levels of government will –and hasn’t that always been the issue?

17. Change
The advent of the connected Network Society will transform government in the near future
Services will be driven by user needs: people powered public services = people helping people
One citizen view of government
Distributed governance models (voting once every 4 years will be a relic of history)
Data-driven decision-making
Co-created policy and service delivery
Distributed problem-solving

18. So: blurring of boundaries
Citizen diagnosed with diabetes: identify relevant support services in his/her place
Road planning/Funding: one network approach

19. =
No more local government as we know it (every Council doing its own thing)
Moving to joined up, connected government
Siloed approaches to transformation don’t work: reinventing the wheel every single time we build a service has led to far too much duplication and waste.
Government as a platform: build it once, many use it (interoperability):

20. = Opportunity for LG (‘can do’)
The Federation is under pressure
The Connected Future
The (French) Digital Revolution: citizens in control
Public services = people helping people (not people needing government)
Place-based decision-making context
Subsidiarity: localism
Innovation and collaboration: LG most capable level of government

21. Options for LG Business as Usual Cut back to basics
Transform via collaboration and innovation
(plan for the Connected Future)

22. LG needs to promote and plan for a different future (= leadership)
Rewire public services via principles of devolution, subsidiarity and localism
Identify things best organised at National, State, Regional and Local levels
Advocate for flexible, place-based funding arrangements that deliver on local priorities
Develop a collaborative LG transformation strategy to slash transaction costs, build non-rate revenue and re-negotiate its relationship with the community: citizens are the best inventors of a better future

23. So……..
We don’t want to be here in 2020 or 2030 still discussing ‘poor old local government’
We need LG to organise and mobilise itself to take a leadership role: is this possible? Is LG capable of doing this? Does it want to do it? OR
Does LG just want to be continue to be told what to do? It’s all too hard.

24. Some things to do: ideas needed
Identify opportunities/strategies for LG/public sector in the future ( = a better way)
Identify challenges to be overcome by LG
How can LG organise itself to transform?
Identify which public sector services are best organised at which level:
National (eg. LG data standards )
State (procurement)
Regional (eg. Tourism, road network planning, service contracts)
Local (levels of service delivery)
How can we improve the image of Local Government?

25. Things to do: participate
Participate in a pilot
Australian ABCD Learning Sites Program
Exploring Community Boards in the Australian context

26. End of Day 2
Harvest your input: thought leadership position > Take back to your Council