Friday, 24 July
6:30pm
Cocktail function
Drinks, substantial canapés and grazing dishes served
7:00pm
Official welcome
 Welcome to country, Uncle Bryon Powell, Wadawurrung Traditional Owner and Elder
 Cr Bill McArthur, President, Municipal Association of Victoria
 Cr Margot Smith, Mayor, Surf Coast Shire Council
Saturday, 25 July
8:00am
Registration and Workshop allocations
8:55am
Welcome
Cr Bill McArthur, President, Municipal Association of Victoria
9:00am
Minister’s address
Daniel Mulino, MP representing the Minister for Local Government, The Hon Natalie Hutchins
9:30am
Challenges for modern leadership
HOLLY RANSOM
Holly was handpicked by Rio Tinto CEO Sam Walsh at the age of 21 to support him in creating effective
change through the organisation. She was also handpicked by Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott to work on the
World Y 20 and B20 conferences in Australia in July and September 2014, and was a 2013 finalist for the
Young Australian of the Year. The Financial Review named her one of the 100 Most Influential Women in
Australia.
She recently completed a six-month contract to launch Australia’s largest youth oriented non-profit, the
Foundation for Young Australians, in Western Australia. Holly is a regular op-ed contributor to Australian
newspapers and serves as a regular guest on ABC and other AM radio stations.
As a challenge strategist, Holly employs big-picture thinking to take a global perspective to the most crucial
challenges facing leadership today.
10:15am Morning tea
10:30am Concurrent Workshops – round one
Keeping your eye on the ball - better, faster, lower cost - private sector efficiency in the public sector
DAVID BARRY, CEO, Alpine Shire Council
With increasing service expectations and reduced funding, there is a way for councils to do more with less. By
using a simple toolkit to fully understand our business we can rapidly transform it by eliminating wasted
expenditure and putting every dollar where it makes a real difference. This workshop will explore how one
small rural council has achieved well over $3.3million in recurring savings, the lowest rate increase in 15 years
and funded a series of transformative infrastructure projects.
Dave focuses on delivering outcomes better, faster and at much lower cost. Dave believes that innovation and
technology are at the core of being able achieving this. His private sector background, primarily in software
development, enables him to lead teams to quickly identify areas of financial waste and work with Councillors
to put every dollar where it makes a real difference.
Getting it right - ethical decision making in a complex world
STEVE COOPER, Senior Consultant, Managing Values Australia
Councillors face the challenges of making good decisions as a constant part of their lives. Decisions are often
based on fairness, priority, popularity, finance, legal advice, history, pressure, political imperatives, consensus,
compromise and values. But what makes for ethical decisions? What sort of frameworks can you apply? How
can I test my gut feeling?
This workshop will focus directly on ethical decision making. It will explore difficult conundrums through
hypotheticals and examples. This workshop will also allow you to examine practical and useful tools to assist
you in the complexity of decisions in a councillor’s life.
Steve works in ethics and governance, especially supporting local and state government entities. Steve has a
deep understanding of the dynamics and interactions of local government, having held senior roles in
governance, communication, compliance, risk and corporate planning. He is a graduate of the AICD, an
accredited mediator and a lively facilitator.
Keeping your balance - Are you being lobbied and what can you do about it?
GEOFF POTTS, Managing Director, Potts and Associates
This session provides an insight into how to manage people and organisations who are lobbying your council
and you as a councillor. We will look at strategies to manage external and internal lobbying efforts that are
used by governments at the state and national level. The session will also investigate how you and your
council can manage complex and changing issues in a way that delivers outcomes that will achieve the
community’s and council’s aims with the least social disruption possible.
This workshop will give you the tools and frameworks to be able to manage the effects of campaigns aimed at
your council and yourselves.
Geoff has 25 years’ experience in Government Relations and Public Affairs. Starting his career as the Army
Aide-de-Camp for the Governor of NSW, Geoff moved on to become a Senior Policy and Media Advisor and
Chief of Staff in NSW for several State Government Ministers. He worked across several portfolio areas such
as Finance, Roads, Police, Fair Trading, The Arts, Community Services and Disability. He has also worked in
the corporate space in Recycling, Manufacturing, Energy, and Defence industries.
Cohesive communities - Council’s role in building social cohesion in diverse communities
MARIA DIMOPOULOS, Managing Director, Myriad consultants
To achieve true social cohesion, governments need to foster intercommunity relationships and respond to
racism and other factors that diminish people’s potential for active citizenship. As the closest level of
government to the community, councils play a critical role in addressing barriers that limit the equal
participation of all community members.
This highly interactive session will highlight the benefits of social cohesion in diverse communities’, workshop
ways to address and mitigate conflict, equip councillors to better meet the needs of all the people they
represent, and explore engagement processes.
Maria is nationally and internationally recognised as an expert specialising in the intersections of diversity,
equality and the law. She is an outstanding communicator and facilitator and possesses an extraordinary
ability to captivate her audience. She has had extensive experience in policy formulation for the Government
sector, research for social planning and in community education. Maria was a member of the Access and
Equity Inquiry Panel which reported to Government in 2012 on the accessibility of government services to
multicultural Australia.
11:55pm Concurrent Workshops – round two - facilitators as detailed above
1:15pm
Lunch
2:15pm
Concurrent Workshops – round three – facilitators as detailed above
3:30pm
Afternoon tea
4:00pm
MAV Insurance
Anne Murphy, Chair, MAV Insurance Committee
4:15pm
Resilience, Courage, Inspiration and Making a Difference
ROSIE BATTY - 2015 Australian of the Year
Rosie is the ‘2015 Australian of the Year’. Rosie’s name has become synonymous with the words courage and
resilience.
A tireless family violence campaigner, Rosie established The Luke Batty Foundation to support women and
children affected by the trauma of family violence.
Rosie has also been named as the founding member of an advisory panel for preventing violence against
women, and in 2015 she also received the Pride of Australia’s National Courage Medal
Rosie will share her remarkable story of resilience, courage, inspiration and making a difference.
5:15pm
Day one concludes
6:00pm
Pre-dinner drinks
6:30pm
Dinner
Sunday, 26 July
9:00am
Welcome
Cr Bill McArthur, President, Municipal Association of Victoria
9:15am
Shadow ministerial address
David Davis MP, Shadow Minister for Local Government
9:45am
McArthur local government fellowship presentation
Cr. Lenka Thompson, Moreland City Council
10:15am Morning tea
10:30am Interactive Morning with Dr Karl, Future challenges and directions
DR KARL KRUSZELNICKI
Whenever the announcer gives out the phone number for Karl Kruszelnicki's famous Science Talkback show
on Triple J, on Thursday mornings - so many calls come in that the ABC switchboard crashes!
Karl's media career began in 1981, when he started presenting 'Great Moments In Science ' on Double J to
pay his way through medical school. Since then, his media career has exploded from radio to include TV,
books, newspapers, magazines, scripting, professional speaking, and of course, the internet.
Karl made his TV debut in 1985 as the presenter of the first series of Quantum. Since 1986 he has reported
science on the Midday Show, Good Morning Australia (including a full-time stint in 1991-2 as the TV
weatherman and science reporter), the Today Show and Channel 7's breakfast program Sunrise. Alongside his
fellow geek Adam Spencer, he has written and co-produced two series of Sleek Geeks. Karl also popularises
science on ABC radio stations across Australia and, on the BBC, for several hours each week. Karl has written
34 books to date, and has received the Member of the Order of Australia Award in the 2006 Australia Day
Honours list. In March 2012, Dr Karl was declared one of Australia's 100 National Living Treasures.
In recent years, Dr Karl has been appearing on TV segments on Channel 7's Sunrise and ABC News 24. His
weekly podcasts are also available on the ABC website.
12:00pm Conference wrap up and close
Cr Bill McArthur, President, Municipal Association of Victoria
12:15pm
Lunch
Note: The program is subject to change without notice