Item No.	Item Title	Page No.
1	Environmental Weed Control Rebate Update	8
2	Nature Conservation Grants Review	18
3	Environment and Sustainability Grants Round 2 2018–2019	36
4	Proposed 2019 Environment and Sustainability Events	44
5	Water Supply (Safety and Reliability) Act 2008 Delegation	54

Environment Committee NO. 5

14 May 2019

AGENDA

1. Environmental Weed Control Rebate Update

With reference to a report concerning the Environmental Weed Control Rebate (EWCR). This report is proposing that Council cease providing the EWCR.

Recommendation

That the Interim Administrator of Ipswich City Council resolve:

That the Environmental Weed Control Rebate be discontinued from the 1 July 2019 and that the Nature Conservation Grants program continue to provide funding support for landholders engaged in strategic conservation management in accordance with the Ipswich Enviroplan Program and Levy Policy.

2. Nature Conservation Grants Review

With reference to a report concerning the Nature Conservation Grants Program Review. The Nature Conservation Grants (NCG) is one of the on-ground delivery mechanisms under the Nature Conservation Strategy 2015, Waterway Health Strategy 2009 and Ipswich Enviroplan Program and Levy Policy.

A review of the Nature Conservation Grants program guidelines and assessment criteria has been undertaken to provide consistency with other Council grant programs and ensure applicants have access to a transparent and streamlined grant application process.

Recommendation

That the Interim Administrator of Ipswich City Council resolve:

That the review and update of the Nature Conservation Grant Guidelines and assessment criteria as outlined in the report by the Program Officer (Natural Environment) dated 1 April 2019, are to take effect from 1 July 2019.

3. Environment and Sustainability Grants Round 2 2018-2019.

With reference to a report concerning applications received under the Environment and Sustainability Community Grant Program, Round 2 of 2018-2019.

Recommendation

That the Interim Administrator of Ipswich City Council resolve:

That Council provide funding of $7,811.40 (incl GST) through the Environment and Sustainability Community Grant program to the applicants outlined in the report by the Partnerships Officer for Round 2 of the 2018-2019 program.

4. Proposed 2019 Environment and Sustainability Events

With reference to a report concerning proposed community environment and sustainability events to be held during the 2019 year. The events have been held in previous years and it is proposed to host the events again in 2019. The events include:

· EnviroForum

· Youth Sustainability Summit

· Sustainable Ipswich Week

· Ipswich Enviro Awards

Recommendation

That the Interim Administrator of Ipswich City Council resolve:

That the proposed EnviroForum, Youth Sustainability Summit, Sustainable Ipswich Week and Ipswich Enviro Awards community events outlined in the report by the Partnerships Officer dated 16 April 2019 be approved to proceed in 2019.

5. Water Supply (Safety and Reliability) Act 2008 Delegation

With reference to a report concerning the delegation of Council’s powers under the Water Supply (Safety and Reliability) Act 2008 (the “Act”)

Recommendation

That pursuant to section 257(1) of the Local Government Act 2009, Council delegate to the Chief Executive Officer, Council's powers in its capacity as a local government under the Water Supply (Safety and Reliability) Act 2008 and any subordinate legislation under that Act.

Conditions:

This delegation is subject to the following conditions:

Whenever this power is exercised, a record of the exercise of the power shall be made in writing at the time of exercising such power, and a copy thereof shall be kept in such format as determined from time to time by the CEO.

** Item includes confidential papers

and any other items as considered necessary.

Environment Committee

Meeting Agenda

14 May

2019

Doc ID No: A5444109

1 April 2019

COMMITTEE: ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE

AUTHOR: Program Officer (Natural Environment)

SUBJECT: Environmental Weed Control Rebate Update

Introduction

This is a report concerning the Environmental Weed Control Rebate (EWCR). This report is proposing that Council cease providing the EWCR.

RELATED PARTIES

All landholders in the Ipswich City Council area, including residents, businesses and non-for profit organisations who have previously received the EWCR, or would potentially apply for the EWCR in the future.

Advance Ipswich Theme Linkage

Caring for the environment

Purpose of Report/Background

The Environmental Weed Control Program (the EWCR) was introduced in the late 1990’s. Funded by the Ipswich Enviroplan Levy, the EWCR was introduced to support landholders across the city with removal of environmental weeds from their land that threaten the broader City’s natural areas. The EWCR provides landholders with a rebate on weed removal, to the value of $600 - $1,000 per rates assessment number, per financial year. The rebate covers up to 50% of the cost of contractor works or herbicide purchase up to the eligible rebate amount.

Since its introduction, the EWCR has predominately provided support for residents with removal of large single trees (e.g. Chinese elms) located in urban areas. This often has poor alignment with the strategic objectives of the Nature Conservation Strategy and the outcomes of the Enviroplan Policy. Since July 2015, approximately $316,500 in rebates have been distributed. The budget allocation over this period was $120,000.

There are existing incentives that support landholders with weed removal activities within the Landholder Partnerships Program, including the Nature Conservation Grants. These incentives are available to Voluntary Conservation Agreement landholders who have a demonstrated commitment to conservation on their property and reside in strategic areas as identified in the Nature Conservation Strategy.

Landholders can receive up to $6,000 per financial year in grant funds to go towards conservation works, which includes weed removal activities. The Nature Conservation Grant supports best-practice land management to achieve a more holistic and sustainable approach to land management, in comparison to the EWCR. As landholders with Voluntary Conservation Agreements have a strong commitment to conservation on their property, Ipswich City Council’s investment is secure and utilised in an efficient and effective manner.

It is proposed that Council discontinues the EWCR from the 1 July 2019. This will allow the funds identified in the 2019-2020 operational budget to be reallocated to the Nature Conservation Grants; increasing the funds available for landholders within strategic areas which will achieve improved ecological outcomes, and improved use of Enviroplan funds. This is in line with the Ipswich Enviroplan Program and Levy Policy (Attachment 1.).

RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS

The removal of the Environmental Weed Control Rebate will redirect Enviroplan funding into other conservation programs, therefore, there will be no net budget implications. The removal of the EWCR will reduce the workload of staff from the Applications team (Finance and Corporate Services Department) who assess the EWCR applications, and the Program Officers (Natural Environment) who are the program owners and provide advice and guidance on issues pertaining to Rebate applications. It has been estimated that the proposed change will result in additional staff time of 0.2FTE which support greater efficiency and effectiveness in delivering the Conservation Program.

RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS

As over 1000 applications for the EWCR have been received since the 2015-2016 Financial Year, the risk of implementing the recommendations proposed in this report is community concern and reputational damage. Various residents have utilised this rebate to fund their weed removal projects for a number of years and would potentially be dissatisfied with the decision to remove this incentive from the Landholder Partnerships Program. To mitigate this risk a factsheet will be developed and made available to the customer service centre to provide to customers explaining the amendments to the EWCR and other potential funding avenues through Council’s Landholder Partnership Program. It will also detail the clear alignment required between Council grants and rebates and the Ipswich Enviroplan Program and Levy Policy.

The risk of not implementing the recommendations proposed in the report is the risk of poor alignment with the relevant Policy and Nature Conservation Strategy, continued and unmitigated over-budget expenditure of the EWCR annual budget, and inefficient use of Enviroplan funds.

Legal/Policy Basis

This report and its recommendations are consistent with the following legislative provisions:

Local Government Act 2009

COMMUNITY and OTHER CONSULTATION

Consultation occurred between the relevant officers within the Works, Parks and Recreation Department and the Applications Team on the proposed changes to the Landholder Partnership Program.

Some informal consultation has been undertaken between the Program Officers (Natural Environment) and the community through the Landholder Partnerships Program during meetings and site visits.

Conclusion

The Environmental Weed Control Rebate has distributed funds to landholders in non-strategic areas within Ipswich, which provides minimal ecological benefits at a large cost to Council. This report proposes that the EWCR is discontinued and funds for the EWCR are reinvested into other programs within the Landholder Partnerships Program, including the Nature Conservation Grants.

Attachments and Confidential Background Papers

1.	Ipswich Enviroplan Program and Levy Policy ⇩

Recommendation

That the Interim Administrator of Ipswich City Council resolve:

Danielle Andlemac

Program Officer (Natural Environment)

I concur with the recommendations contained in this report.

Kaye Cavanagh

Acting Sport Recreation and Natural Resources Manager

I concur with the recommendations contained in this report.

Bryce Hines

Chief Operating Officer (Works, Parks and Recreation)

I concur with the recommendations contained in this report.

Ben Walker

Waterway Improvement Officer

“Together, we proudly enhance the quality of life for our community”

Environment Committee

Meeting Agenda

14 May

2019

Doc ID No: A5451070

5 April 2019

COMMITTEE: ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE

AUTHOR: Program Officer (Natural Environment)

SUBJECT: Nature Conservation Grants Review

Introduction

This is a report concerning the Nature Conservation Grants Program Review. The Nature Conservation Grants (NCG) is one of the on-ground delivery mechanisms under the Nature Conservation Strategy 2015, Waterway Health Strategy 2009 and Ipswich Enviroplan Program and Levy Policy.

RELATED PARTIES

Private landholders registered with a Voluntary Conservation Agreement who are eligible to apply for the NCG are the major stakeholders.

Advance Ipswich Theme Linkage

Caring for the environment

Purpose of Report/Background

The Nature Conservation Grants Program is funded via Council’s EnviroPlan Levy to assist landowners who have a Voluntary Conservation or Partnering Agreement registered with Council for their property. It is an extension of the Conservation Partnerships Program aiming to provide financial support for projects with direct short and long term environmental benefits on private land.

On-ground activities that are supported include the rehabilitation of degraded conservation landscapes, protection and improvement of habitat and biodiversity, and improvement of climate resilience of Ipswich’s natural environment.

Objectives of the Nature Conservation Grants are to:

· Build a resilient natural environment

· Improve and maintain biodiversity

· Invest in nature conservation, and

· Promote community participation and capacity building.

A review of the grants program revealed a number of areas to be improved to support the on-going success of the program. These included:

· improvements to the availability and clarity of the grant guidelines

· removing Program Officers from the assessment process to allow them to provide up-front support to landholders with applications

· providing separate assessment criteria for terrestrial and waterway projects to give them an equal platform for assessment, as the previous criteria were heavily weighted towards terrestrial projects

· improved scoring and weighting of the assessment criteria

Identified issues and proposed solutions are referred to in table 1.

Table 1 Identified issues and proposed solutions

Issues and solutions identified in the review process
Issue	Solution
*Transparency of grant process*
The assessment criteria is not clearly available to applicants and applicants are unable to address specific criteria.	Include specific criteria in the guidelines that need to be addressed in the application. Refer to Attachment 1.
Program Officers are unable to support landholders throughout the Grant application process as a result of their position with assessing applications.	Program Officers remain separate from the assessment of applications and the assessment panel members should have an impartial relationship with applicants.
*Separation of terrestrial and waterway assessment criteria*
Criteria currently uses broad environmental values and is biased towards terrestrial outcomes with limited consideration for waterway values. This conflicts with community desires for the program, as a large proportion of grant applications are of a waterway nature.	Establish two separate assessment criteria categories based on project outcomes: · Outcome 1 – sustainable natural resource management with primarily terrestrial outcomes; and · Outcome 2 – sustainable natural resource management with primarily waterway outcomes. Criteria addressed in either category is informed by the NCG objectives. Outcome 1 has direct linkage to the Nature Conservation Strategy 2015 with the intent to assess terrestrial outcomes. Outcome 2 has linkages with the Nature Conservation Strategy 2015 and the Waterway Health Strategy 2009 with the intent to capture waterway values. Part A assesses strategic alignment with Council strategies Part B assesses the value for money of the project. Refer to Attachment 2 in the Attachment section of this report.
*Scoring and weighting of assessment criteria*
Scoring of assessment criteria is not weighted efficiently	Implement a percentage scoring method using presence and absence of specific environmental values. This is a tested method where some assessment criteria has higher weighting, depending on priorities defined in Council’s strategies. If applicants score below 50% in both Part A and Part B, based on this method, the application will be deemed unsuccessful.

RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS

The 2018–2019 budget was underspent by $56,741 as a result of criteria with limited consideration for waterway values. Based on the potential solutions, the risk of underspending funds is low as all applicants will be given a fair assessment.

RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS

The risks associated with not approving the recommendations will have implications on the transparency of grant criteria and landholder expectations as well as meeting Council’s obligations to support the extension delivery of the Conservation Partnerships Program. Separating assessment criteria to capture waterway values reduces inconsistency associated with grant assessments. The proposed scoring and weighting method provides rigour around a process of elimination as a result of budget constraints or project quality.

Legal/Policy Basis

This report and its recommendations are consistent with the following legislative provisions:

Local Government Act 2009

COMMUNITY and OTHER CONSULTATION

Voluntary Conservation Agreement partners have been consulted with during the review process and have been made aware of future changes to the NCG. This consultation has occurred via the monthly Partnerships update and through personal communications.

Relevant staff have been consulted with for strategic and subject matter guidance.

Conclusion

The Nature Conservation Grants program has been reviewed to ensure a more transparent and streamlined process, and alignment with Council’s relevant strategies and policy outcomes. The review identified solutions which will enable a more efficient approach and provide accountability for Grant applicants and assessors.

The assessment criteria will be made visible to conservation partners to allow for an easier assessment of applications and fair justification or feedback to applicants. The separation of assessment criteria will ensure equal opportunities for all applicants applying for different project outcomes.

Attachments and Confidential Background Papers

1.	Nature Conservation Grant Guidelines ⇩
2.	Nature Conservation Grant Assessment Criteria ⇩

Recommendation

That the Interim Administrator of Ipswich City Council resolve:

Stephani Macarthur

Program Officer (Natural Environment)

I concur with the recommendations contained in this report.

Ben Walker

Waterway Improvement Officer

I concur with the recommendations contained in this report.

Kaye Cavanagh

Acting Sport Recreation and Natural Resources Manager

I concur with the recommendations contained in this report.

Bryce Hines

Chief Operating Officer (Works, Parks and Recreation)

“Together, we proudly enhance the quality of life for our community”

Environment Committee

Meeting Agenda

14 May

2019

Doc ID No: A5463884

12 April 2019

COMMITTEE: ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE

AUTHOR: Partnerships Officer

SUBJECT: Environment and Sustainability Grants Round 2 2018–2019

Introduction

This is a report concerning applications received under the Environment and Sustainability Community Grant Program, Round 2 of 2018-2019.

RELATED PARTIES

Applicant Organisation	Related Party
Good Shepherd Catholic Primary School	Anita Gabbett – Grant Applicant Judith Seery – School Principal
Ipswich Girls Grammar School	Trisha Hansen – Grant Applicant Peter Britton – School Principal
Queensland Pathways State College	Natalie Willcocks – Grant Applicant Kelly Houston – Head of Department
Bellbird Park State Secondary College	Jana Major – Grant Applicant Michael West - Principal
Birdlife Australia	Robert Clemens - BSQ Branch Project Officer

Advance Ipswich Theme Linkage

Caring for the environment

Purpose of Report/Background

The Environment and Sustainability Community Grant Program provides funding assistance for community led projects that contribute to the protection, enhancement and sustainability of the environment within the Ipswich City Council area. Overall, environmental and liveability benefits will be achieved.

Community groups, schools and child care centres are able to apply for grant funding up to $2,000.00 including GST. Individual wildlife carers are able to apply for grant funding up to $1,000.00 including GST. Each successful applicant must contribute at least 50% of the total project cost.

Council received five eligible applications and one ineligible application. Eligible applications are detailed in the table below. The ineligible application was deemed ineligible as the application’s budget was not succinct for the amount of funding requested which is a requirement of the eligibility criteria.

Applicant	Project	Funding Amount Requested	Total Project Cost	Funding Amount Recommended
Good Shepherd Catholic Primary School	An ongoing generation of sustainable gardeners	$1,999.00	$5,804.00	$1,000.00
Ipswich Girls Grammar School	Grammar Greenies - Operation Goose (Growing our own sustainable environment)	$1,994.00	$5,858.00	$1,994.00
Queensland Pathways State College	Sustainable Garden	$932.00	$1,864.00	$932.00
Bellbird Park State Secondary College	Start up Recycling and Sustainability Program	$2,000.00	$4,480.00	$2,000.00
Birdlife Australia	Powerful Owl Project Southeast Queensland	$1,885.40	$21,385.00	$1885.40
Total		$10,810.40	$39,391.00	$7,811.40

Applications were assessed against the set assessment criteria to determine the recommended funding amount. An overview of the applications, extracted from Smarty Grants, can be seen in Attachment 1.

RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS

A total of $10,000.00 in funding is available for the second round of 2018–2019 applications. A total of $20,000.00 is available for the grant program within the Sport, Recreation and Natural Resources 2018–2019 financial year budget. The total recommended funding amount for Round 2 of 2018–2019 is $7,811.40 which is within the allocation.

RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS

There are no risk management implications associated with this report.

Legal/Policy Basis

This report and its recommendations are consistent with the following legislative provisions:

Local Government Act 2009

Local Government Regulation 2012

COMMUNITY and OTHER CONSULTATION

Community consultation was undertaken in the development of the Environment and Sustainability Grant program. For each round which is available to the community for funding, information on the grants and Grant Guidelines are provided to the community to assist them in submitting applications.

Conclusion

Round 2 of Council’s 2018–2019 Environment and Sustainability Grant program has been completed with five eligible applications received and assessed. It is recommended to provide grant funding to these applications in support of environment and sustainable activities across the city for community benefit.

Attachments and Confidential Background Papers

1.	Application and Assessment Overview ⇩

Recommendation

That the Interim Administrator of Ipswich City Council resolve:

Vada Hoger

Partnerships Officer

I concur with the recommendations contained in this report.

Marnie Dunne

Sport and Recreation Officer (Physical Activity)

I concur with the recommendations contained in this report.

Kaye Cavanagh

Acting Sport Recreation and Natural Resources Manager

I concur with the recommendations contained in this report.

Bryce Hines

Chief Operating Officer (Works, Parks and Recreation)

“Together, we proudly enhance the quality of life for our community”

Environment Committee

Meeting Agenda

14 May

2019

Doc ID No: A5471088

16 April 2019

COMMITTEE: ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE

AUTHOR: Partnerships Officer

SUBJECT: Proposed 2019 Environment and Sustainability Events

Introduction

This is a report concerning proposed community environment and sustainability events to be held during the 2019 year. The events have been held in previous years and it is proposed to host the events again in 2019. The events include:

· EnviroForum

· Youth Sustainability Summit

· Sustainable Ipswich Week

· Ipswich Enviro Awards

RELATED PARTIES

Wildlife Queensland Representative, Matt Cecil – Speaker at EnviroForum
EnviroDNA Representative, Josh Griffiths (TBC) – Speaker at EnviroForum
Local Environment Groups – Invited to attend EnviroForum
SEQ Council Representatives – Invited to attend EnviroForum
Costa Georgiadis – Guest Speaker at Youth Sustainability Summit
Arlian Ecker (Plastic Free Boy) – Guest Speaker at Youth Sustainability Summit
Reverse Garbage Facilitators – Session Facilitator at Youth Sustainability Summit
Ipswich Youth Advisory Council – Session Facilitator at Youth Sustainability Summit
All Ipswich Schools – Invited to attend Youth Sustainability Summit
Multiple local Ipswich businesses – local Ipswich businesses will be invited to be involved with Sustainable Ipswich Week

Advance Ipswich Theme Linkage

Caring for the environment

Caring for the community

Purpose of Report/Background

The proposed environment and sustainability events provide an avenue to assist with increasing community engagement, capacity and connectivity with the natural environment in accordance with the Nature Conservation Strategy and achieving Pathway 1 within the Sustainability Strategy – ‘promotion of city wide sustainability through education, awareness and community involvement’. The events will offer residents, local businesses and visitors the opportunity to participate in multiple activities which have educational, informative and social benefits.

The events have been held previously in Ipswich and are further outlined below.

EnviroForum

· Is an environmental forum attracting between 100 – 150 attendees and has been held annually since 2014

· Aims to increase awareness of current and emerging environmental projects and trends

· Aims to strengthen the environmental network by bringing like-minded individuals/groups together to exchange information, innovative ideas and experiences

· Has a number of speakers presenting on the yearly theme

2019 Proposal

· Theme to be based on “wildlife and land management – preservation and discovery”

· To be held on 22 August at the Ipswich Civic Centre

· To invite a number of speakers to present on the theme

· To include invitations to Ipswich high schools for student representatives to attend

Youth Sustainability Summit

· Provides an informative and interactive excursion for Ipswich School students to attend and learn about living sustainably

· Has been held annually since 2017

· Has reached the target outlined in Council’s Sustainability Strategy of 20 schools attending the Summit

2019 Proposal

· Theme to be “zero waste”

· To be held on 21 August at the Ipswich Civic Centre

· A number of guest speakers and session facilitators to be invited to present on the zero waste theme

· Students in years 4 and 5 at Ipswich schools to be invited to attend

Sustainable Ipswich Week

· The inaugural Sustainable Ipswich Week was held in 2018

· Daily sustainable themes and activities were promoted to encourage the Ipswich community to learn about and undertake sustainable living practices

· Residents, businesses and local groups participated in the weekly activities

2019 Proposal

· To be held from Monday, 19 August to Sunday 25 August

· The EnviroForum and Youth Sustainability Summit events to be included during the week

· To invite local businesses and groups to host an event or activity during the week

· To have a social media campaign encouraging the community to implement sustainable living practices

Ipswich Enviro Awards

· The Environment and Sustainability award categories were previously included as part of the Planning and Development Heritage and Design Awards for Excellence

· Individuals, schools, groups and organisations could nominate to be considered for an award and were recognised at the awards ceremony

· These awards aim to recognise those in the community who have contributed to improve environment and sustainable outcomes for the city

2019 Proposal

· The environment and sustainability categories under the Heritage and Design Awards for Excellence will now be the Ipswich Enviro Awards

· Award categories to be

o Environmental Hero Award – Individual and/or organisation

§ Nominees in this category have undertaken action to improve or enhance the natural environment

o Sustainable Leadership Award – Individual and/or organisation

§ Nominees in this category have actioned new and creative solutions taking a holistic view of sustainability to reduce the communities environmental footprint

o Young Enviro Champion Award

§ Individuals under the age of 25 who have made an outstanding contribution to the protection of the environment or have committed to action a sustainability initiative can be nominated for this award

o Enviro Organisation Award

§ Open to businesses, groups or schools which have implemented activities to improve and protect the natural environment or improve sustainability through actions or design

· That the awards presentations be undertaken on 22 August 2019 as part of the EnviroForum event

With the new award categories for 2019, an outline of the nomination and assessment criteria of the awards is provided in Attachment 1.

A concept of the above proposed environmental and sustainable events, activities and themes are outlined in Attachment 2.

RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS

Budget for the proposed events has been included in Council’s 2019/2020 budget submission. It is proposed that the events will require the below budgets:

Youth Sustainability Summit    $15,000
EnviroForum                                  $10,000
Sustainable Ipswich Week         $5,000
Ipswich Enviro Awards                $5,000
Total Budget                                  $35,000

RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS

A site risk assessment will need to be completed for Council hosted events prior to the events proceeding.

These events provide an opportunity for Council to engage with the community regarding environment and sustainability initiatives. Previously, at completion of these events, a review has been undertaken on the success of the events in achieving set objectives. At this stage, the events have been deemed to be successful and worth undertaking in 2019, therefore there may be a risk in not undertaking the events. This would reduce Council’s opportunity to educate and engage with the community on environment and sustainability initiatives.

After the 2019 events, another review will be undertaken to ensure that the events are still providing the best alternative to engage with the community on environment and sustainability initiatives.

Legal/Policy Basis

This report and its recommendations are consistent with the following legislative provisions:

Local Government Act 2009

COMMUNITY and OTHER CONSULTATION

Community consultation has been undertaken as part of the annual review process for these events. This consultation has included:

· Attendees/Participants – through face-to-face communications at the events, post event surveys to gain feedback on the individual events and general feedback through social media

· Speakers/Facilitators – through face-to-face communications at the events and post event surveys to gain feedback on the Youth Sustainability Summit and EnviroForum

· Internal – all relevant departments within Council have been consulted on the continuation of the events and direction of the events to continue meeting set objectives. Specifically,

o Health, Security and Regulatory who coordinated the Youth Sustainability Summit in 2017 and 2018

o Economic Development and Marketing in regards to marketing plans and event management plans

o Ipswich Waste in regards to waste resourcing objectives

o Planning and Development in the review of the Ipswich Enviro Awards and Heritage and Design Awards for Excellence

Conclusion

Council aims to increase education and awareness of environment and sustainability initiatives in the community through a number of proposed community events and activities in 2019, the Youth Sustainability Summit, EnviroForum, Sustainable Ipswich Week and the Ipswich Enviro Awards. These events will provide a number of activities for the community to participate in, recognise those in the community who are working towards improving our environment and encourage behaviour change to enhance the liveability of Ipswich.

Attachments and Confidential Background Papers

1.	Ipswich Enviro Awards Outline ⇩
2.	2019 Environment and Sustainability Events Concept ⇩

Recommendation

That the Interim Administrator of Ipswich City Council resolve:

Vada Hoger

Partnerships Officer

I concur with the recommendations contained in this report.

Marnie Dunne

Sport and Recreation Officer (Physical Activity)

I concur with the recommendations contained in this report.

Kaye Cavanagh

Acting Sport Recreation and Natural Resources Manager

I concur with the recommendations contained in this report.

Bryce Hines

Chief Operating Officer (Works, Parks and Recreation)

“Together, we proudly enhance the quality of life for our community”

Environment Committee

Meeting Agenda

14 May

2019

Doc ID No: A5474575

ITEM: 5

SUBJECT: Water Supply (Safety and Reliability) Act 2008 Delegation

AUTHOR: Principal Officer (Emergency Management)

DATE: 18 April 2019

Executive Summary

This is a report concerning the delegation of Council’s powers under the Water Supply (Safety and Reliability) Act 2008 (the “Act”).

Recommendation/s

Conditions:

This delegation is subject to the following conditions:

RELATED PARTIES

There are no identified related parties.

Advance Ipswich Theme Linkage

Listening, leading and financial management

Purpose of Report/Background

The Water Supply (Safety and Reliability) Act 2008 provides that the owner of a referable dam must have an approved Emergency Action Plan (EAP) and that the owner of the dam must give a copy of the EAP to each local government before giving it to the Chief Executive of the Act.

Section 352HB of the Act states that if a local government is given a copy of an EAP, the local government must assess it for consistency with its disaster management plan. Further the local government must provide a formal ‘notice response’ within 30 days and may provide a written response.

In light of Council’s renewed focus on governance, legal advice was sought to determine an approach to issuance of this notice. Based on this advice and the principles of good governance it is determined that a formal delegation be sought in order to issue the formal notice.

Under section 257(1) of the Local Government Act 2009, a local government may, by resolution, delegate powers under the Local Government Act or another Act or to the Chief Executive Officer. To enable Council to continue exercising powers relating to the assessment of an EAP for consistency with its disaster management plan and providing a formal notice and/or written response, it is requested that these powers be delegated to the CEO.

Financial/RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS

There are no financial or resource implications

RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS

Risks associated with not approving the recommendation include Council being unlikely to meet the legislated obligations in a timely and meaningful manner.

Legal/Policy Basis

This report and its recommendations are consistent with the following legislative provisions:

Water Supply (Safety and Reliability) Act 2008

Section 257(1) of the Local Government Act 2009

COMMUNITY and OTHER CONSULTATION

Community consultation has not been undertaken.

Conclusion

For reasons of operational efficiency, Council should delegate to the CEO the powers under Water Supply (Safety and Reliability) Act 2008. It is recommended that Council consider and adopt the delegation to the CEO outlined in the recommendations.

Matthew Pinder

Principal Officer (Emergency Management)

I concur with the recommendations contained in this report.

Kaye Cavanagh

Acting Sport Recreation and Natural Resources Manager

I concur with the recommendations contained in this report.

Bryce Hines

Chief Operating Officer (Works, Parks and Recreation)

“Together, we proudly enhance the quality of life for our community”