Mayoral Minutes

New residents discover Dubbo and Barden Park plans impress Deputy Premier

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:00:00 GMT

Calling all new residents! Our biannual New Residents Night is on this Thursday from 6pm at the Western Plains Cultural Centre. If you have moved to Dubbo in the past year and you haven’t yet been to this event, please come along. It is a great way to learn more about our City and I particularly enjoy speaking with new residents about what brought them here. I find this ‘ground truth’ anecdotal information useful to combine with official data to establish the myriad reasons why people choose Dubbo as their home. I look forward to meeting many new residents on Thursday night.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Marina Prior and David Hobson last week. They were in the City for two sold-out shows and spoke very highly of the quality of our Theatre. Although it was the first visit to Dubbo for both talented artists, David has a particularly soft spot for our City. David's wife was born here when the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) collected his mother-in-law and stopped at Dubbo for an emergency birth. The RFDS celebrates its 85th anniversary with a cocktail function tomorrow night so I am sure they would be pleased to hear of the difference they made to David’s life.

Our Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner was in Dubbo last week for the launch of the Regional Achievement and Community Awards. Andrew has been very supportive of the Barden Park project that Council is undertaking so it was a great chance to show him the latest plans (which you can view on the Mayor Of Dubbo Facebook page). Not only was he impressed with the plans but he was also impressed with the progress made so far.

Yesterday morning I had the chance to inspect some of the 80 cars that are part of the Variety Newcastle AHA Bash this year. They stayed in Dubbo on Sunday night and then headed off to Bourke yesterday. There will be some sore heads by the time the 260 participants arrive back in Newcastle on Saturday.

Tomorrow is National Simultaneous Reading Day so I will have the fun of reading ‘The Wrong Book’ at 11am at the Macquarie Regional Library. This book will be read at the same time across the nation in more than 2000 libraries, classrooms and other locations with more than 380,000 children listening intently. Whether you are a child or an adult, you are invited to be a part of the fun.

Tell me your favourite book from your childhood at mayor@dubbo.nsw.gov.au.

Housing initiative, community plan and showgirls to benefit Dubbo

Mon, 06 May 2013 14:00:00 GMT

Today we are two-thirds through our first year of the new Council and the enthusiasm and commitment of our current group has not waned. In fact, it has continued to strengthen. I attended a meeting yesterday morning that was a case in point. One of our new Councillors, Bill Kelly, had knowledge of a housing scheme that he believed could be deliver benefits to Dubbo. To his credit, he performed the research, spoke to several stakeholders, then brought his ideas forward to fellow Councillors and our Economic Development Branch. Yesterday's meeting, attended by more than 40 people in the Dubbo building industry, was a direct result of the enthusiasm and commitment from one Councillor. If you missed yesterday’s meeting and would like more information on the National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS), contact Council's Manager Economic Development Dirk Dowling.

We held an Extraordinary Council meeting last week to put our Dubbo 2036 Integrated Plan on display. This Plan includes our draft 2013/2014 Operational Plan and Revenue Policy and draft 2013-2017 Delivery Program. One area in which I believe this Council has improved dramatically in recent years is in the area of communication and community engagement. That engagement is a two-way street. Council can do everything possible to encourage their communities to engage, but it relies on those communities to make the effort also. With our current draft Integrated Plan on display, I strongly encourage our community to review the Plan and make a submission before the end of the month.

I was at the Dubbo Show on the weekend and had the pleasure of speaking to the winner and runner-up of the 2013 Dubbo Showgirl competition, Jessica Noot and Rebecca Griffiths. I also caught up with Kennedy Tourle, the winner of the 2013 The Land Sydney Royal Showgirl competition. These were three very impressive individuals who will make excellent ambassadors for Dubbo over the next year and beyond. What most impressed me was the maturity and confidence shown by all three ladies at such a young age.

The NBN construction starts in Dubbo this month which is incredibly exciting. As you are reading this over your breakfast I am sitting in a meeting with our Federal Member Mark Coulton to impress upon the Coalition the importance of completing Dubbo if they do win government and then make a change to the NBN. I will also be speaking at an NBN conference in Sydney this week about the impact that the NBN can have on a regional community.

Let me know your thoughts on the NBN at mayor@dubbo.nsw.gov.au.

Why leaf-blowers are not the solution to all our problems

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 14:00:00 GMT

As I was driving down one of the beautiful streets in Dubbo last week, with autumn leaves dropping from the trees, I noticed one house as being particularly clean and tidy. I immediately thought of the work this resident must have put in to their general yard and house upkeep. Several days later I was driving down the same street and saw a resident from the house out on the driveway with the ubiquitous leaf-blower. This resident was making his place look fantastic – by blowing dirt and leaves from their yard onto the street and onto the yards of his neighbours. Some leaves stayed in the same yard, but were just blown to areas unseen.

This got me thinking: is the leaf-blower the problem or is the leaf-blower just a symptom of the society we currently live in? When I was a young boy growing up in leafy south Dubbo, a regular autumn activity was raking, sweeping, and collecting leaves from the garden and driveway. The leaves would be used as compost or put in the rubbish. The thought would never have occurred to me to rake the leaves together and then drop them on the neighbour’s lawn or on the street. But this is exactly what happens in yards all over the world when a leaf-blower is pull-started into action. What used to be some gentle exercise with a useful outcome for the leaves has now turned into a lazy exercise of moving the problem somewhere else.

My guess was that leaf-blowers must have been a fairly recent invention, as I certainly can’t remember them existing when I was growing up (I am talking about the mid-70s and early 80s here), but a little bit of research shows that they date as far back as the 50s. They were originally sold as a chemical spray, but consumers removed the chemical dispensing components and started using just the blower. They started being sold in higher volumes in the US in the 70s - actually marketed as leaf-blowers - gained widespread popularity during the 80s, and reached over a million sales annually in the early 90s.

The time of this explosion of popularity in the leaf-blower is a microcosm of the wider view of society that the best way to deal with a problem was to inconsiderately blast it away and make it someone else’s problem. As a fan of Douglas Adams, I enjoyed immensely his science fiction series Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The third book in that series, Life, The Universe and Everything, was published in 1982 and introduced the concept of an invisibility field known as a SEP (Somebody Else’s Problem). The theory was that a SEP field relies on a person’s natural predisposition not to see anything they don’t want to see. It is a very clever dig at society and I agree entirely with the concept. Adams concludes his explanation of the SEP filed with, “Professor John Wettlaufer (of Yale University) has apparently observed that it is very important for physicists working outside the mainstream ‘to have a genuine interest in learning about someone else's problem.’ However, he admitted that 'not many people want to do this'.”

One of my only disappointments in my nine years on Council is seeing how prevalent the NIMBY (not-in-my-backyard) syndrome is. It is interesting that the earliest use of the acronym is traced back to a similar time. In 1980 it was used in the Christian Science Monitor but is probably more commonly used in development and land-use circles now. During my time on Council there have been numerous occasions where I have received a call or email from a resident who starts the conversation with: “I am not against [insert project name] in principle but…” and usually goes on to tell me how it is in the wrong location or another location would be better or any of a number of other reasons. When the truth finally comes out, the reality is this person simply lives near [insert project name]. One of the great challenges for councils and governments across the land is to balance the greater need of society against the specific individual needs of one resident. This balance is not easy and, with strong indicators in society like leaf-blowers showing that most people are just happy to move a problem away from themselves, it is an area that councils often receive extreme criticism (from the few people near any development).

Tell me if you think the NIMBY concept is alive and well or if you think people in our society are becoming more tolerant of minor inconveniences at mayor@dubbo.nsw.gov.au

Development, financial sustainability and artists' impressions make for a busy week

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 14:00:00 GMT

The quarterly Mayor’s Developers Forum recorded its highest attendance figures last Wednesday evening - evidence that the informal meetings are continuing to prove a fantastic opportunity for members of Dubbo building and development industries. More than 40 people attended the Forum, where Mark Andrews from Hibbards Homes spoke about its wonderful value and said he had asked other councils if they could do the same. When I became Mayor one of my objectives was to open communication between Council and the community. The quarterly Mayor’s Developers Forum aimed to provide local builders and developers the opportunity to meet with Council's Planning and Development Branch staff in an informal setting to discuss legislative requirements, processes and keep up-to-date with industry-related news. The continued and growing support of these Forums shows how valuable they are and I thank the development community for supporting them.

Photo: Mark Andrew, Councillor Kevin Parker and I at the Developers Forum on Wednesday, 17 April 2013.

I attended an OROC meeting last Friday and there was certainly discussion about the TCorp Report and how various councils in our region fared. As a member of OROC (Orana Regional Origination of Councils), Dubbo City Council has been working with several other councils and shires within the region since 1997 to achieve greater efficiencies through the coordination and consolidation of efforts. Sustainability of councils is a big issue that is not going to go away, but we are proactively seeking to address the issue. A full review of Council’s asset management practices and processes; a review of current service provisions; examination of budgetary practices; and a capital works prioritisation project are five actions Council is already undertaking to address its financial sustainability.

Photo: OROC on a tour of the Council-owned quarry in Coonamble.

Speaking of sustainability, I will be at Sandy Beach on Wednesday from 11am to 1pm for the inaugural Plein-Air event where dozens of artists will converge to highlight the natural beauty of rivers and draw attention to the need for us to reduce our river 'footprint'. Come down if you want to see the difference between an untalented painter (me) and lots of talented painters.

Photo: Brett Garling giving me some much-needed brief tuition before the Plein-Air event along the Macquarie River.

Another event that I encourage all residents to attend is one of the two Anzac Day services this Thursday. Anzac Day is not about celebrating war but acknowledging the sacrifices our ancestors made for the preservation of our nation's freedom. The crowds at both the dawn and 11am services seem to be growing each year and it is fantastic to see such strong support in the community.

One night in Dubbo will stand to make a lasting impression

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 05:11:00 GMT

The overwhelming success of Saturday night’s One Night Stand was 10 years in the making. That might sound a little over-dramatic but I believe that if Dubbo had been chosen for this event instead of Natimuk in 2004, it would have been nowhere near as successful as it was on the weekend.

Dubbo has changed over the last 10 years - both culturally and musically. Our self-confidence as a City has improved and the weekend gave us a massive boost in that department. To hear triple j mention Dubbo in every song break and talk about what a great place we live in, even the most hardened cynic couldn’t help but puff out a chest and say proudly that Dubbo was their home.

I received fantastic feedback on Dubbo from people all across the nation and, not only have our Council staff performed extremely well – from our Marketing and Communications Services Branch through to the crews cleaning up on Sunday morning – but everyone in Dubbo deserves a pat on the back. The cafés and restaurants were ready to cope with the increased demand, service clubs manned food stalls all night, hotels put on extra activities, accommodation providers were ready for the influx and, most importantly, all of our residents welcomed the youth of Australia with open arms. There was a real spirit of co-operation across all areas of our City, and this was a concert created with an incredibly limited timeframe. I only received the call from triple j to start the bid process on 24 January this year. We had a short time to put together a bid and the announcement was made on 6 March. That left only 38 days to prepare for an influx of 18,000 people. But prepare we did and, for 12 months at least, we now have the title of hosting the biggest ever One Night Stand.

The enthusiasm for the event went down to every last resident. I heard one story where a local resident found a ONS attendee asleep in the tray of his ute. Rather than be angry, he gave the person a lift back to be reunited with his mates. This is the sort of story that will be remembered by people who graced our City over the weekend.

This event showed the maturity and capacity we have. We were exposed to the nation – and came through with flying colours. It was quite easy to convince Sam from Ball Park Music that Dubbo was such a great place that he should wear an ‘I Love Dubbo’ t-shirt – which he did on stage exposing the brand to a nationwide ABC2 audience.

Well done to Dubbo! Onto the next big event – next Monday and Tuesday RDA Orana will be hosting the Digital Texpo. Visit www.oranatexpo.com.au to register for the event.

Healthy dose of green space makes Dubbo the City of Smiles

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:00:00 GMT

With lots of exciting development happening in Dubbo at the moment – both with lodged DAs and potential developments on the horizon, one of the challenges for any Council is to have a balance between concrete and grass. Sometimes I hear suggestions from developers that we should sell them a nice big green area (like Barden Park or Victoria Park) so they can build offices or commercial premises on that location. The argument from the developer is sound – an injection of funds into the Council coffers and more commercial development for Dubbo.

However, there is always much more to consider than just money. Council’s role is not only to ensure we have a balanced budget and are financially sustainable. We are also expected to create and develop a City in which people love to live. We promote the fact that Dubbo is the City of Smiles and I constantly talk about the friendliness of our residents. Dubbo's vast amounts and quality of open space, parks and gardens might have something to do with that.
Several studies have built the case for nature as a stress buffer and promoter of healthy residents. The benefits a brush with nature can have on people's mental health is particularly noteworthy. Researchers from the UK, Japan, China and the US have connected parks, gardens, green areas and forests with lower mortality from cancers, circulatory diseases, stroke and other causes.

When we held the Local Government Association conference in October last year, I heard constant feedback that attendees were impressed with our parks, gardens and general open space. In our local government area, we currently maintain 116 parks, 22 sporting facilities and 56 reserves covering 476 hectares. We have more projects on the boil with master plans underway for Regand Park, Wiradjuri Park, and the Dubbo Regional Botanical Gardens.
In balancing all of these niceties, it is relevant to remember that each time we inherit or create new green space, it needs to be maintained and we normally don’t receive money directly to maintain that new parcel. That is one of our challenges and one that many councils face.

Keep in mind that it wasn’t so long ago that humans lived in small rural communities where access to nature was literally on their doorstep. Now, in a highly urbanised and global community, people have a thousand ‘friends’ on Facebook but don’t know the name of their neighbour.

As we start to dig deeper into the health benefits, the case for more greenery becomes obvious. Firstly the cost of depression-related illnesses (depression is not the only form of mental health issue but the most common) to the Australian economy is $3.3 billion annually. Keep that figure as a backdrop. A study of 11,000 adults showed that individuals living more than 1km from any green space were 42 per cent more likely to report high stress and had the worst scores on evaluations of general health, vitality, mental health and bodily pain. Those with 10 per cent less green space had a 25 per cent greater risk of depression and a 30 per cent greater risk of anxiety disorders compared to those with green space near their home. A separate study of 4,500 urban adults revealed those living in closest proximity to areas containing a high amount of green space were less likely to experience negative health impacts of stress.

The data isn’t restricted to adults. A considerable bank of evidence also supports the benefits of green spaces to children suffering from Attention Deficit /Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). One study showed that children undertaking nature-based activities exhibited reduced ADHD symptoms by up to 30 per cent compared to urban outdoor activities and a threefold reduction in symptoms where the same nature-based activity was carried out indoors. We are all only too aware of the growing trend of obesity in our society. The difference in weight gain between children living near green areas against those who lived in a more urbanised setting was 5.1kg for girls and 5.9kg for boys.

It would therefore appear that across all ages, across all socio-economic groups, across many nations, the case is very strong for a progressive Council to plan large useable areas of green space in modern urban designs. It doesn’t appear specifically to be the presence of buildings and other modern elements in our environment that is detrimental to our health – but the absence of natural elements, such as grass, trees and open space. I love the look on the faces of Chinese exchange students who come to Dubbo – they sometimes just stare into open areas with a dazed look as they trying to comprehend the open space. Having spent time in our sister-city in China last year, I probably had a similar dazed look on my face when I stared at the concrete and the smog!

The success of our Tracker Riley extensions last year bears testament to the desire of humans to be outdoors and we will continue to develop open space for our residents. We want Dubbonians to be happy, smiling, healthy residents. The challenge for Dubbo City Council – and all councils – is to balance the expense of the construction and maintenance of open green space with the need to have a sustainable Council.

Tell me if you will be joining 15,000 other people and enjoying the great outdoors at the One Night Stand in Dubbo today at mayor@dubbo.nsw.gov.au

Photography competition sees Dubbo man make his mark on the world

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 22:37:00 GMT

I had to sit down as I wrote this column as the amount of chocolate I consumed over Easter made it quite difficult to be mobile. I am not quite sure when the most significant event on the Christian calendar became a calorific consumption contest but I vote that we should experiment with making carrots the food of choice for next Easter. Apart from the bloated choccie feeling, I hope you all had a wonderful Easter and had the opportunity to have a break and catch up with your family.

On Easter Saturday I was fortunate enough to open the Macquarie Photography Prize and witness the announcement of the winners. There are 100 brilliant photographs on display until this Sunday at St. Brigid’s Hall and I encourage everyone to visit and browse the exhibition. This is yet another example of a Dubbo resident making their mark on the world scene. Now in its third year, Mike Coward organises this photography prize and receives thousands of entries from across the world. This is in addition to the Mortimore Art Prize, the Cowley Literary Award, the Inglis Equine Art Prize and other international competitions he organises. It is another example of someone outstanding choosing to live in Dubbo and follow their passions across the world.

I am a huge advocate of building relationships among people and organisations. You never know what will come of interactions with like-minded people. The Chamber of Commerce and Council have similar aims in trying to improve Dubbo so next Monday night the board of the Chamber of Commerce will be attending an informal meeting with Councillors and senior staff. This meeting is designed to improve communications between the two organisations and may even develop into a regular gathering. Stay tuned for more information from this event.

I was fortunate enough to attend the TAFE NSW – Western Institute award ceremony last Wednesday evening. Our TAFE is one of the unsung heroes of our community. Across the three Dubbo campuses there are 8300 students adding to the educational and economical drivers in our City. I become very excited about our university presence in Dubbo but the raw fact remains that there are 20 times as many students at TAFE as there are at university in Dubbo.

With only 11 more sleeps to go until the triple j One Night Stand, the excitement is building – especially for the members of People’s Palace. Let me know the favourite song you will hear on the night at mayor@dubbo.nsw.gov.au

One Night Stand not a last minute effort

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 13:00:00 GMT

I spoke last weekend to two busloads of Year 2 medical students from the University of Sydney who were considering where they might like to live during their third year of study – and Dubbo was a popular choice. In trying to convince them they should nominate Dubbo as their number one choice, I told the group I had arranged free tickets for them to an upcoming concert in Dubbo. Their excitement was evident, but stifled laughter quickly spread throughout the group when I invited them to Dubbo on 13 April with free entry to the triple j One Night Stand. They were all immediately aware that everyone had free entry to the One Night Stand (ONS). What has amazed me in the past 24 days is that, no matter where I have travelled, I have not come across a single person in the 15-30 age bracket who wasn’t aware of the ONS and the fact it will be held in Dubbo on 13 April.

I have previously written about the bid process that went from the first phone call I received on 24 January this year through to the announcement by triple j on 6 March. Those 41 days were extremely busy for our staff, in particular our Marketing and Communications Services Branch. It was a real team effort and there was a huge amount of excitement across the City when the announcement was made.

Of course for many people at Council - and throughout the community - the announcement date was the signal for the beginning – not the end - of the work required. I often attend events and think of just how much work goes on behind the scenes and the ONS will be no different. With only 38 days from the day of the announcement to the concert, Council staff, along with many organisations, will be incredibly busy.

Councils across the state are often involved behind the scenes in an event to benefit their community. In the case of the ONS, there are a range of items that need to be organised. Council is already coordinating a range of community organisations and developing various opportunities so the benefits will flow through the community. We have involved the Local Emergency Management Committee, the Police, the Ambulance, Fire and Rescue NSW, the Hospital, the Show Society, accommodation providers, The Harness Racing Club, the Youth Council and more.

There are several logistical aspects that are often taken for granted when we attend events of this magnitude. At the moment there is a traffic management plan being created to allow for additional traffic expected at the event. There are skip bins, toilets, fencing and other services to organise. Cleaning crews for the night of the event and again the next morning are being engaged. In conjunction with the Dubbo Show Society, the catering around the event is being organised. We will need to communicate the scale of the event to the restaurants and cafes so they have time to prepare rosters and be ready for the influx of visitors. A ‘Play and Stay’ program (supported by 42 businesses) has been created to try and keep the visitors in our City for an additional night.

During the week we had our first of many visits by a production crew to gather information about our City. These visits are being coordinated by our staff to ensure the very best aspects of Dubbo are shown to triple j and ABC2.
We have had planning and information days attended by many of the organisations that will be in any way involved.
The interest in Dubbo at the moment is unbelievable. Our website has experienced a 403 per cent increase in accommodation searches and attractions have increased by 161 per cent.

With the event being streamed via triple j and, for the latter part of the concert, on ABC2, there will be millions of people focused on Dubbo for that day.

It is fair to say that when 13 April arrives, there will be some exhausted people in our community who will be very keen to sit back and listen to Flume pump out Sleepless and more of their hits across the Showground.
This event – albeit a large one – is an example of a Council investing in something (not in payment to triple j but in the organisation of logistics) that, although impacting its bottom line, will pay back the community many times over in terms of increased opportunity for financial return for local business and exposure for the City. The expected injection into the economy is a minimum of $1.32 million and the advertising value of the event for Dubbo is worth more than a million dollars. None of this would be possible without an organisation such as Council to facilitate and coordinate all of the hidden, behind-the-scenes components that are essential to make an event like this work.

Tell me how you are involved in getting ready for the ONS at mayor@dubbo.nsw.gov.au

Dubbo and universities strengthen ties for mutual benefit

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 13:00:00 GMT

The university presence in our City is a vital component of our future growth and prosperity. Both Charles Sturt University and The University of Sydney have campuses at Dubbo and, although small in number (just over 300 students and 32 students respectively), the regional impact is significant. Last week I signed an MOU with CSU for both our organisations to work together for parallel promotion of the university and the City. Through the growth of Dubbo and the university we will see additional professionals and talented youth in our City.

On Sunday I caught up with the School of Rural Health Discovery Bus Tour, which allows medical students from The University of Sydney to visit Orange and Dubbo before deciding where to study medicine in Year 3 or 4 of their degrees. Dubbo impressed so much last year that it was over-subscribed and some students missed out. After speaking with students on Sunday, I am quite confident our City will be the number one pick for the majority.

As previously mentioned, Deputy Mayor Ben Shields, Council's Director Corporate Development, and I last week met with Virgin and JETGO. JETGO is an impressive small operation but still some time away from securing its RPT license and considering Dubbo as a RPT route. While it noted Dubbo was well-serviced by two airlines on the Dubbo-Sydney route, JETGO is still considering that route along with other ports. In my opinion, the JETGO option is a medium-term solution. The meeting with Virgin proved promising for the short-term. The meeting was a follow-up to one held last year (Council has regular discussions with airlines in relation to flights to other ports). Since then, Virgin has been doing its homework. Its representatives knew very detailed stats and data in relation to Dubbo and we have been featuring in several internal discussions around new ports. Virgin is also very interested in the Dubbo-Sydney route. We will continue to work with Virgin - and all airlines - to illustrate the viability of servicing additional ports. However, ultimately, an airline will make decisions based on the commercial viability of a route.

With only 18 more sleeps to go until the triple j One Night Stand, accommodation in Dubbo and surrounding areas is becoming scarce. Let me know if you have some additional people sleeping at your place on 13 April at mayor@dubbo.nsw.gov.au

Viewing Dubbo through the eyes of an ex-pat

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 13:00:00 GMT

After finishing his university education and working for a time in Sydney, my eldest brother left Australia in 1979 to pursue his heart and career in the US. Unfortunately I don’t see him as much as I would like, with busy lives and distance being barriers, but he and his family visited us in Dubbo this weekend.
It had been four years since he was last in Dubbo, so I played the tour guide and directed he and his family to a range of attractions. They visited the zoo, the Cultural Centre, the Theatre and Shoyoen (it was a shame they flew out yesterday as Oasis Valley – the next stage of our Botanical Gardens – officially opens on Thursday). For a family that keeps an eye on Dubbo, it would be fair to say they were very impressed. They had heard of the progress the City was making, but to see it was a different story. The general feeling was that Dubbo is fast growing up and maturing. The Cultural Centre afforded a trip down memory lane while showing off modern art and was an attraction that was foreign to my brother as he grew up in Dubbo. I have previously asked Dubbo to boost our tourism by promoting the City to the VFR (Visiting Friends and Relatives) market. My brother’s experience over the weekend is a perfect example of how rewarding this can be for both the tourist and the Dubbonian.
Speaking of growing up and maturing, there has been just a little bit of discussion over our security screening at the Airport. One of the statements I have made is that this is a sign of our City maturing and, possibly, losing a little of its innocence. I still think this is the case. The world lost a lot of its innocence after 9/11.
Tomorrow I will be visiting Virgin and Jetgo in Brisbane with our Deputy Mayor Ben Shields and Council's Director Corporate Development Ken Rogers. Whilst I don’t expect the meetings to result in both airlines starting flights from Dubbo next week, I believe it is important to maintain communications with businesses that could service Dubbo – in the same way we will continue to have discussions with Rex and QantasLink. I will report any significant outcomes from the meetings.
Tell me your best experience attracting people in the VFR market. There is a perfect opportunity coming up, with only 25 more sleeps to go until the triple j One Night Stand!

Dilemmas of aged care planning in an aging age

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 13:00:00 GMT

My favourite expression at the moment with my kids, who I think live an incredibly privileged life, is ‘that sounds like a first-world problem’. I am sure you know the sort of thing I mean; problems that many people in the world would dream of having. “I can’t believe I can’t sit near the window on my flight to Paris” or “It is so annoying when data speeds drop from LTE to 3G when I get in a lift to my 30th floor motel room” or “It is so inconvenient when I have to use my sprinklers in two segments because my fresh potable water does not have enough pressure to drive all 20 sprinklers at once”. You get the idea; there are people in the world who dream of potable water, mobile phone reception and flying on planes. We get to the stage where we are accustomed to a certain level of lifestyle and amenity, and anything less seems intolerable.

I attended an Aged Care forum recently and I believe part of planning for an aging population is in first considering ourselves lucky to live in an age where we will age. If you were born in 1890, you had a very low life expectancy. You could expect to live to 47.2 years if you were male and 50.8 years if you were female (obviously males spoiled and looked after their wives). You really only had enough time to start having children in your late teens or early 20s, raise them to a similar age, then die. When the Deakin government passed the Invalid and Old-Aged Pensions Act to take effect from 1 July 1909, it was seen as fairly safe to set a pension age of 65. The pension started at £26 per annum and to receive it you had to have resided in Australia for at least 25 years and be of ‘good character’.
Fast forward to today and males born in 2007 have a life expectancy of 79.3 years and women 83.9. On average, as every three-and-a-half-years passes, our life expectancy increases by a year. At that rate, the monarch of England had better start increasing the budget for centurion letters, because by the year 2064 the average female life expectancy would be 100 years of age (for those born in 2064).

Australia is in a wonderful position on the world scale. We are seventh in the world for life expectancy – behind Japan, Hong Kong, France, Switzerland, Italy and Spain. While we might sit back and say how lucky we are to expect to live so long, it presents issues for governments.

In our region we face significant challenges. The median age for a person in NSW is 38. In Warren the median is 45, in Cobar it is 44 and in Brewarrina is it 42. At 35, Dubbo is below the state average, but only eight years ago the average age of a Dubbonian was 33.

The first issue a government has to deal with is economic. The aged pension is now up to $18,575.57 per year (slightly higher than the initial £26) and received by almost 2.5 million people (excluding disability, unemployment, etc.). The sums are at the point where it won’t be long before the total budget hits $50 billion per year - just in the cost of pensions!

The second major issue that needs to be addressed is in how we treat the elderly in our society. A hundred years ago most people were lucky to see the birth of their first grandchild. Many grandparents lived with one of their children until they passed away without any great burden to the family. Now most people can reasonably expect to see the birth of several great-grandchildren. It is now seen by many as too difficult for the family to care for their aged forebears, so as a collective we have asked ‘the government’ to fix the problem for us. And therein lies one of the great challenges of all levels of government – as a society we are very quick to criticise the government of the day, but when there is a problem to be solved we all look to ‘the government’ to solve it.
Although it would seem that much of this lies at the feet of the federal government, councils such as Gilgandra Shire have found they have had to create a new business unit (Cooee Lodge Retirement Village) to meet the essential needs of their residents.

The aged care dilemma we are facing in this nation is a classic example of the flexibility and ingenuity required by all governments to continue to address the changing needs of society. Just as in business, governments need to be dynamic and flexible to ensure they continue to be relevant as time marches forward.

Tell me how old you want to live to at mayor@dubbo.nsw.gov.au

Hopes for One Night Stand in Dubbo to leave a lasting impression

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 13:00:00 GMT

I remember the day well. It was 24 January this year when I received a somewhat random phone call. Meagan from triple j introduced herself as a Content Director and asked if I would be interested in a One Night Stand in Dubbo in April. I quickly explained that I had a wife and kids – I am joking of course. I admitted I had no idea what she was talking about, so she explained the annual music event that she thought Dubbo might be interested in bidding for. What was immediately apparent to me was the potential exposure that Dubbo could benefit from by hosting an event run by a radio station with 1.5 million listeners. It had me very excited and I was convinced that we simply had to have this for Dubbo.

I made a few phone calls to various staff at Council and explained what I saw as the potential. I then handed the project to our excellent Marketing and Communications Services Branch who, through its City Promotions and Events function, picked up the ball and ran with it. The staff liaised with various Divisions of Council and the General Manager to put together a bid in a short timeframe that was both reasonable from an economic cost to Dubbo and impressive enough to win.

The bid involved an on-site visit by the triple j team and negotiations about Council's level of support. The event is put on for free by triple j and Council does not pay to have the event in Dubbo. Rather, Council's contribution to hosting One Night Stand at Dubbo includes showground hire and costs related to the provision of that service.

The final result is incredibly exciting, with one of the largest events ever hosted in Dubbo here on Saturday, 13 April 2013. We will have 15,000 people at a drug- and alcohol-free concert listening to the likes of Flume and The Rubens. We approximate 10,000 people will visit Dubbo, injecting some $1.32 million into the economy. The event will expose Dubbo to 1.5 million listeners on triple j and feature on ABC2 for the first time, providing additional exposure for our City.

While I congratulate the entire team at Council for winning this bid, I also congratulate Dubbo for being part of a community that can attract an event of this scale. Only 32 more sleeps to go and I can hardly wait!

Local businesses on board road safety program to drive fatigue awareness

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 13:00:00 GMT

I was at the cricket earlier this year and caught up with some old Dubbo school friends. I asked one friend, who I hadn’t seen for some time, about his eldest brother. He had been killed in a car accident when we were in Year 8. Although the accident happened about 30 years ago, within 30 seconds my friend had tears in his eyes as he relived the painful memories. I thought I had made a mistake even asking about it, but he assured me it was therapeutic to talk about it. A day hasn’t gone past when he doesn’t think about his brother and, to this day, his parents still can’t talk to the driver.

The impacts of a car accident can be long and far-reaching. It is with this backdrop that I fully applaud two initiatives currently being undertaken in our area. Last Friday I had the pleasure of launching the ‘Free Cuppa for the Driver’ program. Created by several Road Safety Officers from 13 local government areas across our region, the program enlisted 63 businesses to give a driver passing through their town or city a free cup of coffee. Not only will it will encourage drivers to take a break and therefore reduce the possibility of fatigue-related accidents (15 per cent of accidents in our region are fatigue-related), but I am sure the businesses too will benefit from additional sales of items to eat with the free coffee.

I also had the pleasure this morning of welcoming students to the annual Rotary Youth Driver Awareness (RYDA) program. This is a program that educates senior school students about the dangers of driving a car. It is another example of the leadership shown by Rotary and I hope this education will help to avoid as many accidents as possible.

I met with NSW Treasurer the Hon. Mike Baird at Parliament House last week to discuss the future of Cobbora Mine. My advice to Mike was to say either yes (preferably) or no - but not maybe. When someone says maybe it creates fear, uncertainty and doubt, and that can be crippling to a small economy.

Also at Parliament House I met with the Decentralisation Taskforce and gave them several ideas and initiatives to encourage more people to move from Sydney to Dubbo. What captured their imagination was when I coined an acronym for them – CATO. It stands for Combined Agency Teleworker Office and reflects my view that a regional office manned by multiple agencies would be a significant population driver.

Tell me how you think we could encourage more people to move from Sydney to Dubbo at mayor@dubbo.nsw.gov.au

No flying solo: Airport secuity upgrades ensure safety and equity

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 13:00:00 GMT

Several years ago I took my mother to visit my brother in Boston. As we passed through one of the many airport security checks, a very large security guard confronted my mother and instructed her (in a way only a security guard can ‘instruct’) to remove her shoes before she passed through the screening.

My mother started to protest and told the security guard that it was ridiculous to think that a little old lady would be carrying a bomb (small hint - never say the B word). I calmed my mother down and convinced her to hand her shoes to the nice security guard so we could continue our travels.

The events of 11 September 2001 changed the face of air travel forever. I agree with my mother that at times the screening process seems ridiculous but unfortunately we now have a world where everyone passing through an airport is seen as a potential terrorist. We can like it or hate it – but it is reality.

From 4 March 2013, the process of boarding a plane at Dubbo City Regional Airport will change forever as security screening will start for all passengers boarding scheduled flights in accordance with Australian Government regulations. In essence, if an airport in Australia is serviced by RPT aircraft weighing greater than 20 tonnes, the airport must have security screening systems in place. Qantaslink will begin flying the 74-seat Q400 to and from Dubbo. The proposal by Dubbo City Council is to have all passengers screened no matter which plane and no matter which airline they will be using. This is to ensure the continued safety and security of ALL passengers and to ensure we don’t discriminate against any airline.

The security screening equipment has been funded by the Australian Government and it is proposed that the ongoing cost of the operation will be funded by both RPT airlines on a pro rata basis. As an example, this year so far, Qantaslink has flown 72.6 per cent of all passengers through our airport therefore would pay 72.6 per cent of the operational costs on that basis. Rex flies the Saab 340 which has a MTO weight of 13.15 tonnes and can carry 3220 litres of fuel so it falls outside of the regulations but for the safety of all passengers – not just Qantaslink passengers – all passengers will be screened.

Council will be hosting an information session at the airport from 5.30pm this Thursday where you can explore the process more fully.

Let me know if you feel safer boarding an aircraft that has screened passengers at mayor@dubbo.nsw.gov.au

Dubbo's leaders keen to continue community meetings

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 13:00:00 GMT

Thank you to the residents of Dubbo who turned up in large numbers at our first Community Leaders Breakfast for 2013. I and my fellow Councillors, together with senior Council staff, and our State and Federal Members Troy Grant and Mark Coulton were on-hand to answer questions from residents. It was pleasing to be able to address various questions from our residents and take on-board a variety of ideas that people presented. The number of people that attended on the day will ensure the three levels of government continue with this unique concept.
As I have said many times during my term as Mayor, I want to continue to improve communications within and external to Council. This communication needs to extend through all components of Council. To continue on this theme of communication, Council is hosting an information session in relation to the roundabout construction on the corner of Brisbane and Talbragar Streets tomorrow night at 5.30pm (at the Council offices) to explain the exact processes that will take place from 4 March to the end of September. The final product will see better traffic flow and some initial beautification works. There has been constant communication with businesses and stakeholders in the vicinity of this work but we are keen to ensure that everyone hears a consistent message and address any queries you have. If you are interested in this project, I encourage you to attend.

Prime7 recently filmed a short piece with me to look at the plans ahead for 2013. You can have a look at this video at http://tinyurl.com/Mayor2013 and give me your comments on some of the items you see of importance in the coming year.

Finally it was a pleasure to attend the University of the Third Age (U3A) AGM yesterday. One of the exciting little roles I fulfil as Mayor is as patron of various organisations and U3A is one of those organisations. It currently has more than 400 active members and runs 26 different classes or courses. Colin Jones was re-elected as President and it was a great pleasure for myself to be on-hand to present Lloyd Giffin with life membership for all his efforts.

Tell me the most important project you see coming in up 2013 at mayor@dubbo.nsw.gov.au