Council wins three awards for excellence and innovation

Date: Thursday, 27th August 2009

Townsville has reinforced its reputation as a leader in local government with a string of State awards recognising excellence and innovation.

Returning from the LGAQ Conference in Brisbane today, Townsville Mayor Les Tyrell was bearing an armful of awards that he had accepted on behalf of the city.

In the Queensland Tidy Towns competition, Townsville won Ergon Energy’s Energy Conservation Champions Award for innovative measures to reduce energy consumption. The prize includes 12 months’ clean energy supply for a community building.

The council received the award for its promotion and use of solar power and other renewable energy options. It is also purchasing a solar energy panel to turn its Walker St administration building into a Citisolar ‘learnscape’ in the CBD.

At the LGAQ Conference, the council also won the Local Government Risk Management Excellence Award for its strategies towards risk minimisation.

After amalgamation, the council adopted corporate and operational plans, and senior staff held workshops to identify risks associated with each strategic plan. They then formulated risk management plans that are monitored every three months.

The risk management policy also applies to all major projects, such as the upgrade of the Townsville Civic Theatre, to forecast potential risks, manage resources well, and prevent unexpected loss.

The final award received this week was a high commendation in the Healthy Queensland Awards for council creating and promoting a supportive environment for healthier lifestyle choices for employees.

Council is working towards guidelines for healthy catering at its meetings, functions and the events that it sponsors. The $25,000 award will help the Health Programs Unit implement the policy and engage staff in making healthy choices.

Speaking at the launch of the second stage of Honeycombe’s Central development in Flinders Street West today, Cr Tyrell said he was proud to be returning to Townsville with the awards.

“Three awards in one week – this just goes to prove that we really are leading the way for local government in regional Queensland,” Cr Tyrell said.

“Right across the spectrum, from renewable energy to risk management and enabling healthy choices, we are at the forefront of local government, encouraging our staff to think in terms of excellence an innovation. And we are leading by example, implementing these policies within our organisation, as well as promoting them to the broader community.”