• Charles Sturt University with Central NSW Joint Organisation of local governments have launched a Local Government Policy Lab to address key policy challenges in New South Wales

Charles Sturt University’s inaugural ‘policy lab’, in partnership with the Central NSW Joint Organisation, has assessed the quality of regional local government and its contribution to Australian democracy as outlined in the Democratic Audit of Australia.

The Central NSW Joint Organisation (CNSWJO) is a local government network comprised of 11 regional NSW councils, including Lithgow City Council, Blayney Shire Council, Oberon Council, Bathurst Regional Council, Orange City Council, Cabonne Shire Council, Forbes Shire Council, Parkes Shire Council, Cowra Shire Council, Weddin Shire Council and Lachlan Shire Council, along with the Central West Water Authority.

Charles Sturt joined the CNSWJO’s mission to improve opportunities for collaborative problem-solving by creating the Local Government Lab Policy Working Group (LGLPWG), which met for the second time and first ever policy lab on Thursday 28 September at Charles Sturt in Orange.

Co-Chair of the LGLPWG and Working Group, coordinator of the Democratic Audit of Australia and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research at Charles Sturt University Professor Mark Evans, facilitated the policy lab.

The lab was geared towards tackling the question ‘What can we do in this region to strengthen the role of local democracy in delivering positive social, economic and environmental outcomes for regional communities?’

“This lab brought together leading experts in Australian and British local government and social media with local councillors and policy officers to unlock the potential of local democracy for delivering better outcomes for regional communities,” Professor Evans said.

“In Professor Graham Sansom (UTS) and Professor Gerry Stoker (University of Southampton, UK) we had access to two of the leading thinkers on local government reform in the world.

“Policy labs are also planned to address three further regional policy problems over the next six months, being healthcare workforce shortages, and water security issues as we move into drought and the affordable housing crisis.

“Charles Sturt University has a social responsibility to use its expertise to support and enable collaborative problem-solving to address pressing issues facing regional Australia and we are very proud to partner with Central NSW Joint Organisation on this critical project.”

A key part of the policy lab was evaluating how social media can be used to foster responsible democratic dialogue and enable quality policy debate.

Central NSW Joint Organisation Executive Officer Ms Jenny Bennett said the lab featured a special afternoon workshop by experienced communications specialist Mr Les White on social media optimisation.

“Les has provided social media support to politicians at the federal level through all sorts of challenges, so it is a pleasure to be able to share in his knowledge through this workshop,” Ms Bennett said.

“It is also wonderful to have Charles Sturt University’s involvement in these workshops moving forward as an anchor institution for a large part of NSW, extending into Victoria.

“Each of our local councils and their communities have seen improvements in local employment and services through the close working relations with the University over the years.”

Panellists supporting the policy lab included:

• The Hon Stephen Lawrence, MLC and former Mayor of Dubbo
• Cr Kevin Beatty, Chairperson of CNSWJO and Mayor of Cabonne
• Cr Bill West, Mayor of Cowra and Portfolio Mayor for Regional Development for the JO
• Cr Gerald Power, Deputy Mayor of Orange current Acting Mayor
• Ms Noreen Vu, General Manager Weddin Shire Council

ENDS