Next Stop, Tasmania

 

In March, Capire staff headed across the waters for some fresh air and to meet and greet Tasmanians. Our purpose: to talk to the community about local councils. Their feedback will inform the Future of Local Government Review which is currently underway.

The Tasmanian Government has commissioned the Local Government Board to undertake a Review of the role, function, and design of local government in Tasmania. The objective of the Review is to create a more robust and capable system of local government, for the benefit of all Tasmanians.

Capire is thrilled to be working on this project and bring our engagement lens to help build understanding of local government and ensure voices are heard from across Tasmania.

We ran Pop Ups in various public spaces, inviting locals to talk with us about the project. Pop-ups are a great way to identify opportunities with participants that may not otherwise know about the project

We spoke to over 600 Tasmanians and distributed (almost) 1000 postcards and badges in 20 locations including Hobart, Launceston, Campbell Town, Strahan, Bicheno and Devonport.

Capire successfully:

  • Raised awareness of the project and provided opportunities for Tassies to get involved.
  • Encouraged people to visit the Future of Local Government Review engagement website and complete an online survey or register for a workshop.
  • Signed locals up to workshops.
  • Asked Tasmanians what is working well and not working well with local government, and any ideas for the future that should be considered during the review.

Generally, people were happy to say hello and take a postcard and spend a few moments sharing their views and experiences. Several people at some of the locations were highly engaged and interested. We loved chatting to them all.

Here are some overarching trends we discovered:

Tasmanians were excited about the future and had lots of items they believe are vital for local councils moving forward including:

  • Environmental protection and conservation.
  • Climate change adaptation and preparing for extreme weather events.
  • Making sure councils don’t over develop.
  • Improving the credibility and legitimacy of local council in elections and with representation.
  • Making sure communication and engagement is effective – listening to the community and acting on what is being said.
  • Better Indigenous representation.

For more information on this project, visit www.futurelocal.tas.gov.au