The central concern of many of the presenters focused on the need for collaboration between business, community, and all levels of government to find solutions to problems caused by climate change and water scarcity.

Speakers at the conference included the Victorian Minister for Environment and Climate Change Gavin Jennings, City of Melbourne CEO Dr Kathy Alexander, Adjunct Professor Alan Pears, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Sustainability and Environment Kevin Love and CEO of Growth Areas Authority Peter Seamer.

Minister Jennings is implementing policy to reduce Victoria’s ecological footprint. He said that particular issues addressed in the Victorian Government’s ‘Our Environment, Our Future’ plan that also concern local government include waste, coastal management, biodiversity and land management.

Mr Love engaged delegates on the topics of land and biodiversity, the subjects of the Victorian Government’s White Paper. He identified the many challenges facing Victoria, including population change, climate change and landscape health. Mr Love said that issues identified as facing local governments in particular include balancing local issues with regional and state wide priorities; the capacity for natural resource management (NRM) to make informed decisions and the availability of information; the lack of consistency in the approach to catchment and NRM management issues; and unclear roles and responsibilities across different levels of government.

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Mr Love said that the goal of the White Paper and of the Department was to address these challenges by working across all levels of government to clarify the role of local government in NRM programs, to embed NRM issues in statutory planning, and to provide co-ordinated and useful advice to local governments.

Dr Alexander encouraged councils to engage and collaborate with their constituents, demonstrating the success of Future Melbourne and ambitious plans to promote sustainable growth in Melbourne whilst curbing urban sprawl. A range of public forums resulted in a set of clear goals for the City of Melbourne; a city that is creative, inclusive, prosperous, connected and sustainable with a vision that is bold, inspirational and sustainable.

The final presentation of the morning, delivered by Chief Executive of Parks Victoria Mark Stone, was an entertaining summary of the successful drought proofing of Albert Park. The redirection of stormwater drains, installation of water tanks and other simple measures mean that for every 1 mm of rain, Albert Park Lake receives the equivalent of 4 mm.

Conclusion

The inaugural Sustainable Councils Conference attracted a dynamic group of delegates interested in sustainability and governance. The attendees appreciated the high quality and diverse speakers, as well as the opportunity to network. One delegate commented “[it was] good to see senior speakers, very engaged in sustainability.”

EcoGeneration was a proud sponsor of the event and looks forward to future opportunities to discuss sustainability, solutions and goals for the future.

For an in-depth review of Sustainable Councils 2009 and to keep up to date with the latest in local government sustainability, visit the website.