Simplifying local government – nonsense
By Elizabeth Hughes, strategy and policy delivery expert. ‘The time has come,’ the Walrus said, ‘To talk of many things; Of shoes – and ships...
Category : Elizabeth Hughes
Properly ‘engaged’ takes more than a ring
Elizabeth Hughes discusses the question around elected members making the right collective commitment required to get engagement right, or even half right. “We didn’t...
Feeling it in your waters
By Elizabeth Hughes. Some would say councils are wastefully spending rates on nice-to-have pet projects instead of the basics. While councils invested $7 billion in...
Winning the war with words
Local government – you’re losing. And for those who know me, you know how much it pains me to say this. Elizabeth Hughes. Let’s face...
Communication unleashed
Elizabeth Hughes says she was told off by a colleague recently for saying “communicating is not rocket science” because she was “undermining the profession”. However,...
The holy grail of ‘trust and confidence’
‘Communication’: Every council wants it; every council measures it; and every council is disappointed by it. By Elizabeth Hughes. Every elected member and chief executive...
From the bottom up – giving it a sniff
By Elizabeth Hughes. This might be an understatement, but change is in the wind for local government. Obviously, the entire sector is fully engaged in...
A quiz for council prospects
Welcome to election year [2022] and here’s a quiz for anyone thinking of standing. By Elizabeth Hughes. It really doesn’t seem that long ago that...
So, what do you actually do all day?
By Elizabeth Hughes. You do media releases – right? You write the mayor’s [chair’s] speeches – right? You put adverts in the paper for shut...
The public knowledge gap
By Elizabeth Hughes. There are millions of ‘how to’ clips on YouTube covering everything from how to tie your shoelaces to how to make a...