Australian Local Government Association

How can councils participate?

Background to the Trust

Under National Heritage Trust 2 (NHT2), the majority of funding will be invested in Natural Resource Management (NRM) outcomes at the regional level through regional NRM Boards. These Boards are responsible for consulting with the community, preparing a regional NRM plan and then prioritising activities into an investment strategy. NHT2 funding is invested in high priority actions identified in the Investment Strategy.

Council of Australian Governments (COAG) have stipulated that local government must be involved in this process. Local governments involvement in regional arrangements is critical to achieving long term sustainable NRM outcomes. It is essential that this invovement is more than token involvement.

Councils need to become involved in their region. If they do not, priorities in local and regional plans may not match and councils are less likely to leverage further funding for the many NRM programs and activities they already undertake.

What should councils do to get involved?

Get involved in developing your regional plan! You may not have the resources to attend every Board meeting and you may not have a member sitting on the regional Board, but you can still be actively involved.

• Know who is on your regional Board
• Get to know the staff of the regional body
• Get a copy of the regional plan
• The regional Board will undertake a series of community consultations, participate!
• If you have a councillor or staff member on the Board, ensure they feedback to council what is happening
• Study the regional plan to see how your local issues are integrated into it. If they are not, meet with a representative of the Board or with the NRM facilitator for the region
• Talk to the other councils in your region. Can you work together to achieve the outcomes that are common to you all?
• Assist community groups to apply for Envirofund grants.

Who are the NRM facilitators?

Under NHT2, the Australian Government has invested in an NRM Facilitator Network - with facilitators operating at the statewide and regional scales. The regional NRM facilitators form part of this network and they are largely based in regional bodies. These people can assist you to become involved in the regional processes. It is a good idea to get to know who your regional facilitator is.

Another component of the NRM facilitator network is the local government facilitators in each state (link to page 8), hosted and employed by the local government associations. If you need assistance in engaging in the regional processes, call your local government facilitator.

Contact details for the local government facilitators are listed below. Contact details for NRM regional facilitators, Coastcare, Bushcare, Landcare and Rivercare facilitators can be found on the NRM website.

More information can be found at NHT website or NRM website