Ruth LePla

Author's Posts

Cyber security Risk Management

Cyber security

As more local bodies introduce technology to reduce costs and improve community engagement, their vulnerability to cybersecurity breaches is increasing. As Patricia Moore reports, those threats are very real. Are local authorities increasingly aware of the potential for damage from cybersecurity breaches? In late 2017, Paul Ash, head of...
Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn Local Government 101

Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn

ELIZABETH HUGHES / ELIZABETH HUGHES COMMUNICATION. Let me pinch myself. Is it really 2019 or are we still in 1919? Look around your council chamber. Ask yourself whether this group of people comes close to representing the diversity of people who live in your city, district or region. (Notwithstanding that it may well indeed be...
GIS to the rescue GIS

GIS to the rescue

Wellington City Council can now provide, at a glance, data on buildings in six pre-1930s character areas. It’s all thanks to a new GIS initiative. Character assessments and similar stock-taking reports have typically been time-intensive and expensive undertakings for local councils. It was challenging to quickly and comprehensively...
Yet more power to the people Governance

Yet more power to the people

Localism now A citizens’ jury in action The Victorian Health Promotion Foundation VicHealth is a statutory authority in the Australian state of Victoria. Last year it used a citizens’ jury to investigate young adults’ mental wellbeing and work. Its ‘Staying on Track’ process, which ran from May 28 to June 24, 2018,...
Carrying the can – Who pays for waste? Waste Management

Carrying the can – Who pays for waste?

Marlborough District Council is looking at the opportunities for waste and cost reduction through product stewardship. Alec McNeil says the larger question is, who should pay? Like other territorial authorities, Marlborough District Council (MDC) is required by law to promote effective and efficient waste management and minimisation...
IOBY – In Our Back Yards Planning

IOBY – In Our Back Yards

US crowdfunding initiative IOBY is the antithesis of NIMBYism. It looks for the positive in communities, one tiny project at a time. What’s more, it may tap into much deeper currents to help build civic participation and long-term community resilience. Ruth Le Pla reports. After September 11 in New York, nonprofit organisation New...
Orderly conduct & LGOIMA Legal

Orderly conduct & LGOIMA

Trespass and the right to attend council meetings. By Linda O'Reilly, partner, Brookfields Lawyers. When controversial issues come before local authorities, members and senior managers are often made uncomfortably aware of the provisions of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA). Among other things,...
Silos – the hidden cost of not working together Local Government 101

Silos – the hidden cost of not working together

Silos are evidenced when teams are inwardly focused. By Elizabeth Hughes. The other day a client said to me, “Our team has done our bit but because the organisation is so siloed, I think you’ll find the project is a bit of a mess.” While the irony of this was lost on the person who said it, it did lead me to consider the...
Smart solutions: Laboratory testing 3 Waters

Smart solutions: Laboratory testing

Reassurance on the quality of water supply is just one factor behind higher demand for faster and more accurate laboratory testing services. Patricia Moore talks with four specialists driving innovative solutions for councils. Increasing public concern and legislative demands for improved environmental management and safer drinking...
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