June Newsletter 2022

In the spirit of reconciliation, The Australian Local Government Women’s Association WA Branch acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples as the Traditional Custodians of this land. We acknowledge and respects their unique ability to care for Country, and their deep spiritual connection to it. We pay our respects to their Elders, past, present, and emerging.

Can you believe it is June already! I expect everyone is in the middle of setting budgets and working out rate increases for the next Financial Year. Its always a challenge having to balance the insatiable desires of our community with the limited funding achievable under the current economic conditions. With rising building costs putting pressure on Long Term Financial Plans, it’s certainly a time for all Councils to reflect on it’s priorities and expectations.

To give a quick update on what the WAWAs have been doing over the past few months:

February - We submitted our response to the Local Government Act reforms, thanks to everyone for providing your feedback.

March - We sent a letter to the Minister requesting mandatory Workplace Bullying & Harassment training for Elected Members to address concerns from members.

April - We joined a national panel discussing the role of Local Government has in preventing violence against women.

May - We have been putting the finishing touches on MentorNet, our online mentoring program and are gearing up tp launch in JULY!!

Looking ahead, we have some amazing networking opportunities for women in Local Government coming soon, with the launch of MentorNet happening next month and our annual breakfast at the Local Government Convention soon after. We also hope to launch our new ‘Monthly Member forums’ soon, a new initiative to connect women in Local Government and share stories about some of the amazing things happening right here in WA led by Local Government women.

We are also super excited to have a strong delegation of WAWA members attending the National General Assembly in Canberra in a few weeks time. If you are travelling to Canberra, we would love to see you at the ALGWA National breakfast on the Monday morning, and make sure to pop past the ALGWA stand and say hi to our Eastern States counterparts.

Cr Chontelle Stone ALGWA WA President

LG Act Reforms

As the peak women's group in Local Government, it is critical for us to ensure the proposed Local Government Act reforms are not going to negatively impact nor discourage women in their roles either now, or in the future. Read our submission here.

SEE SUBMISSION

MentorNet Launch

Friday July 15th 6:30pm

MentorNet is an exciting new mentoring program for women elected to Local Government in WA. Facilitated by AIM WA, this 12 month professional development program will build leadership skills and influence.

We hope you can join us for the launch of this program!

GET TICKETS

Workplace Bullying & Harassment

Over the last few months, we have noticed a significant rise in the number of our members indicating that they have been subjected to incidents of workplace bullying and harassment when performing their roles on Council since the October 2021 elections.

To address the concerns raised by our members, the WAWAs have resolved to advocate for legislative reform to afford better protections for Local Government Elected Members affected by bullying and harassment, through mandatory Workplace Bullying and Harassment training for all Elected Members and adding a penalty for non complience.

supported by both our National President and Vice President. e have also provided comments to WA Today about this issue, as

LINK TO ARTICLE

ALGWA National AGM

The ALGWA National AGM will be held on Sunday 19 June 2022 at the National Convention Centre, Canberra at 2.00pm. Members are welcome to attend as observers, but only Branch delegates are able to vote. If you would like to see the agenda, please email us algwawa@outlook.com.

DV Prevention Toolkit

As the closest level of government to the community, we are uniquely placed to help influence and drive change to prevent violence against women.

Check out the resources and tools available to help Local Governments in this toolkit by ‘Our Watch’.

DV TOOLKIT

Join the WAWAs

Membership to ALGWA WA is open to all people involved in Local Government including Councillors, officers and executive staff, former and prospective councillors. To join our community of empowering, supportive women in Local Government, just click on the button below and sign up using our easy online form.

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