Since 2004 I have been the President of the Local Government Association of New South Wales. The greatest challenge I have, as Mayor of North Sydney or President of the LGA – is ensuring that whatever we do in Local Government genuinely represents our communities’ informed wishes about where we want to go. Because when we go to the ballot box to have our performance assessed, the community delivers a verdict on how well they were engaged at a local level.
Only Local Government can engage the community at the level at which we can all truly make an informed judgement about what we want and whether we have achieved it.
When we at North Sydney Council developed our new Local Environment Plan (LEP), North Sydney LEP 2000, we did so based on extensive community consultation. The process was transparent, interactive, understandable and most of all, asked the community at the local level ‘what kind of place do you want to live in?’
We only have to consider the alternatives to community engagement to prove my point.
For full paper, click on the following link
Power and Politics in Local Planning
