A happy community
Improving
the amenity of the Townsville area and inviting the community to become
involved will improve the feeling of well being of the broader community
and promote a greater sense of ownership of greening programs and projects.
Benefits are also likely to accrue from increased commercial and tourism
activity encouraged by attractive surroundings and happy service providers.
Greater capacity and understanding
Council staff
are learning from past experience and subsequently have a better understanding
of the Dry Tropics environment and the requirements associated with establishment
and maintenance of vegetation in the Townsville region. This knowledge
is now being channelled into initiatives such as Greening Townsville to
ensure successful greening. Another investment in capacity building involves
the engagement of external expertise to assist Council with greening projects.
This will add to the skill level of Council staff and lead to improved
outcomes. This in turn increases the credibility of Council and its staff
within the community, as success becomes a more regular feature of Council
business.
With an increase
in capacity and understanding comes a desire to do things better. Planning
revegetation works has an increased focus on matching the physical conditions
to the species being planted to ensure a greater success rate and to reduce
the maintenance burden. Areas that have been planted previously using
an ad hoc approach are being reviewed and, where necessary, improved.
Use of a tractor attachment known as a Roto Cult to improve soil conditions
and encourage tree growth is a good example of the revitalisation of past
works.
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Increased responsibility
Recent trends
have seen a greater amount of responsibility vested in local government
particularly at the interface between Council controlled activities and
the environment. This covers a wide range of activities including;
·
waste management
·
open space and natural area management
·
stormwater quality and maintenance of drainage systems
·
establishment of new, and maintenance of existing, infrastructure
·
Integrated Planning Act planning scheme development
·
development assessment, and
·
‘soft system’ community services
In many cases
the activities undertaken by Council are subject to new and amended legislation
however there is an increasing acknowledgement of better ways of doing
business through cooperative and coordinated approaches involving community
partnerships. Depending on circumstances the best results may be achieved
by working ‘with’ the community rather than maintaining the traditional
role of working ‘for’ the community, often at a distance.
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Triple bottom line (the 3 Ps)
There are
a variety of situations where sometimes-separate activities overlap requiring
a system approach to achieve successful outcomes, especially where community
perceptions are involved. The ‘triple bottom line’ needs to be considered
when planning and carrying out Council ‘business’ as the economic factors
don’t operate in a vacuum. People are involved (social/cultural)
in a place (environment) with a view to maintaining or increasing
their prosperity (economic). The triple bottom line therefore involves
people, place and prosperity. A system approach will ensure all the factors
are taken into account when developing or adopting processes to achieve
desired outcomes.
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