Minutes (Open Portion)

City Infrastructure Committee Meeting

Page 2

30/5/2018

Minutes (Open Portion)

City Infrastructure Committee Meeting

Page 3

30/05/2018

HARVEY

The minutes of the Open Portion of the City Infrastructure Committee meeting held on Thursday, 26 April 2018 and the Special City Infrastructure Committee meeting held on Monday, 19 March 2018 are submitted for confirming as an accurate record.

MOTION CARRIED

VOTING RECORD

The minutes were signed.

AYES

NOES

Burnet

Lord Mayor Christie

Reynolds

Harvey

6.1      Land Above McRobies Gully Landfill Site, South Hobart - Approval to Lodge a 'Proposal for a Conservation Covenant'

REYNOLDS

That the recommendation contained in the report of the Cleansing & Solid Waste Policy Coordinator, the Manager Cleansing and Solid Waste and the Director Parks and City Amenity of 23 May 2018, be adopted, as amended by the addition of the following sub-clause to read as follows:

“(i)  A further report be provided to the Council, on a bi-annual basis (in approximately September of each reporting year) providing the Council with an update of the progress of the planting program.”   

MOTION CARRIED

VOTING RECORD

COMMITTEE RESOLUTION:

That:  1.     Approval be provided for the lodgement of a ‘Proposal for a Conservation Covenant’ in accordance with the Nature Conservation Act 2002, for City-owned land above the McRobies Gully Landfill site, South Hobart.

2.    The Blue Gum Offset Planting Program to be undertaken by the City be noted.

(i)    A further report be provided to the Council, on a bi-annual basis (in approximately September of each reporting year) providing the Council with an update of the progress of the planting program.

6.2      New Town Retail Precinct - Proposed Streetscape Concept

HARVEY

That the recommendation contained in the report of the Manager Traffic Engineering and the Director City Infrastructure of 25 May 2018, be adopted.

MOTION CARRIED

VOTING RECORD

COMMITTEE RESOLUTION:

That:   1.    The Council receive and note the draft streetscape plan for the New Town retail precinct, attached to item 6.2 of the Open City Infrastructure Committee agenda of 30 May 2018, which has been prepared in response to the recommendations of the New Town community’s Project Action Team.

2.    The Council receive and note the results of the consultation which has been undertaken to test the concept designs with the wider community, attached to item 6.2 of the Open City Infrastructure Committee agenda of 30 May 2018.

3.    The streetscape upgrade be implemented, based on the concept design proposal, with detailed design to be undertaken in 2018 and construction to commence in early 2019.

6.3      Hobart Bicycle Advisory Committee Meeting Notes

HARVEY

That the recommendation contained in the memorandum of the Director City Infrastructure of 23 May 2018, be adopted.

MOTION CARRIED

VOTING RECORD

COMMITTEE RESOLUTION:

That the draft notes of the Hobart Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting of

18 April 2018 be received and noted.

7.1      City of Hobart Support for the Establishment of a Cooperative Research Centre – Waste and Plastic Pollution

HARVEY

That in accordance with Council’s policy, the following Notice of Motion which was adopted by the City Infrastructure Committee , be considered by the Council.

MOTION CARRIED

VOTING RECORD

COMMITTEE RESOLUTION:

Motion:

“That:  1.    A report be prepared detailing how Council can support the establishment of a Waste and Plastic Pollution, Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) in Hobart under the auspices of the University of Tasmania, IMAS or CSIRO;

2.    The Council engage with the Vice Chancellor urging his support to fund a bid for a CRC focusing on solutions to the waste and plastic pollution crisis effecting local governments, industry, communities and marine environment.”

Rationale:

“There is now a considerable body of evidence and understanding of the impacts of waste and plastic pollution. A comprehensive summary of the issue is available at the following link to a Senate Enquiry into marine plastics:

https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/Marine_plastics/Report/c02

Waste management, litter and recycling are core responsibilities of LG and it is clear that there is increasing pressure on councils across the country and community expectations to tackle waste issues.

On the mainland, recycling services are under stress in some local government areas, while the cost of collection is rising. The cost of recycling is expected to increase in Tasmania also and domestic solutions to deal with recyclate need to be explored and developed. This evolving situation is due to changes in China’s policy to no longer accept the worlds contaminated and unsorted waste.

It is with growing urgency that innovative national and state based solutions are investigated through a collaborative model which would be created through the establishment of a CRC. The objective of a CRC is to bring together industry, local government, the community and an established research institution.

Hobart is perfectly placed to host a CRC focused on waste and plastic pollution.  IMAS, CSIRO and UTas already have established researchers working in this field. The City of Hobart is now well recognised as a leader in waste management. There is strong community support for action on plastic pollution and industry is also looking for solutions and assistance with research and development.

A successful bid would benefit the city economically with multiple millions of dollars directed into research and commercialisation investment. Local government nationally needs to take a research and development approach working with industry to find solutions to the national waste and plastic pollution crisis.

This motion is not seeking funding from Council, but is seeking Council’s support for the establishment a CRC and to encourage UTas to support the preparation of a CRC bid. The level of local government involvement and potential financial commitment should also be explored.

Overview of a CRC

Establishing a CRC is a competitive process and requires considerable effort to establish a bid for funding. The cost of creating a bid is in the order of $150K. A successful bid would guarantee a Commonwealth financial commitment of $5m per year for ten years and would require matching funds in cash or in-kind from industry and other partners.

The following information is from:

https://www.business.gov.au/Assistance/Cooperative-Research-Centres-Programme/Cooperative-Research-Centres-CRCs-Grants

The Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) Program supports industry-led collaborations between industry, researchers and the community. It’s a proven model for linking researchers with industry to focus on research and development towards use and commercialisation.

It aims to:

• Improve the competitiveness, productivity and sustainability of Australian industries, especially where Australia has a competitive strength and in line with government priorities.
• Foster high quality research to solve industry-identified problems through industry-led and outcome-focused collaborative research partnerships between industry entities and research organisations.
• Encourage and facilitate small and medium enterprise (SME) participation in collaborative research.

The overarching CRC Program offers support to industry, research and the community through two elements:

• Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) grants – to support medium to long term industry-led collaborative research, up to 10 years.
• Cooperative Research Centres Projects (CRC-P) grants – to support short term, industry-led collaborative research, up to 3 years.

Innovation and Science Australia and its CRC Advisory Committee, provide strategic oversight of the Program. They also provide advice to the Minister on matters including application assessments and recommendations in relation to selection processes.

Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) grants support medium to long term industry-led collaborations to solve industry problems and deliver tangible outcomes.

To support the overall aims of the CRC Program, CRCs undertake the following essential activities:

• Medium to long term industry-led high quality collaborative research to solve industry-identified problems and deliver outcomes consistent with Government Priorities, improving the competitiveness, productivity and sustainability of Australian industries.
• An industry-focused education and training program. This must include, but is not limited to, a PhD program that complements the research program and that increases engagement, technology development, skilled employees and R&D capacity within industry entities.
• Implementation of strategies that build the R&D capacity within SMEs.
• Deployment of research outputs and encouragement of take-up by industry.

CRC grants provide CRCs with up to 50% of the resources with no specified limit to funding available for each CRC. The CRC collaboration must at least match the amount of grant funding sought through cash and/or in-kind contributions. In-kind contributions are non-cash resources provided by participants in the CRC to conduct the activities of the CRC. They may be staff or non-staff resources.

You can use the funding to support the costs of:

• Research;
• Salaries;
• Student placements;
• Commercialisation;
• Capital items, such as equipment.

You cannot use CRC Program Funding for the same activities or project previously or currently financed through any other funding scheme.

CRCs will receive funding for a single, specified term to undertake the Activities in the Funding Agreement.

Eligibility criteria

Applications are open to all industry sectors and research disciplines. To be eligible for a CRC grant, applications must:

• Be submitted by a group of applicants who have agreed to collaborate;
• The collaboration must, at a minimum, include one Australian industry organisation and one Australian research organisation;
• Demonstrate the ability to at least match the grant funding sought;
• Demonstrate the ability to undertake essential activities of a CRC as outlined in the CRC Program Guidelines.

For more information on eligibility please refer to the Program Guidelines.

Merit criteria

The CRC Advisory Committee assesses CRC applications separately through a competitive, merit based process.

The selection criteria and weightings are:

1. The expected industry outcomes (30%).
2. The proposed research activities (30%).
3. Demonstrated governance and management capability (10%).
4. The proposed education and/or training program (10%).
5. Value for money (10%).
6. Expected national benefits (10%).

For more information on merit criteria please refer to the Program Guidelines.

https://www.governmentnews.com.au/2018/04/crisis-at-the-kerbside-groups-seek-federal-action-on-waste-recycling/.”

The General Manager reports:

“In line with the Council’s policy in relation to Notices of Motion, I advise that the matter is considered to be within the jurisdiction of the Hobart City Council as it relates to The City of Hobart Waste Management Strategy 2015-2030.”

8.1      Committee Actions - Status Report

HARVEY

That the information be received and noted.

MOTION CARRIED

VOTING RECORD

9.1      Alderman Harvey - Re-Sheeting of Macquarie Street - The Removal of Sensors

Question:    Could the Director please advise if the new sensors were removed from Macquarie Street to prevent damage when the recent works were undertaken and the road was re-sheeted?

Answer:       The Director City Infrastructure advised that installation of the sensors was deferred to prevent any damage occurring and they will be installed once the works have been completed.  

9.2      Alderman Reynolds - Re-Sheeting of Murray Street

Question:    Could the Director please advise of the necessity to re-sheet to portion of Murray Street, as the road appeared to be in good order?

Answer:       The Director City Infrastructure advised that the re-sheeting of Murray Street was required due to pavement requiring  resurfacing.  This ensures that the road network within the City of Hobart is kept in good order and re-sheeting should be conducted at least every 20 years.

9.3      Alderman Harvey - Tram Tracks

Question:    Due to the recent road works and tram tracks being recovered and removed, could the Director please advise what has happened to these tram tracks?

Answer:       The Director Parks and City Amenity advised that the tram tracks that could be salvaged have been recovered and are being assessed after which the material suitable for re-purposing will be stored (for future use) at the Domain quarry.

11.      Macquarie Street and Davey Street, Hobart
Transferring Control and Ownership to the State Government

REYNOLDS

That the recommendation contained in the memorandum of the Director City Infrastructure of 29 May 2018, be adopted.

MOTION CARRIED

VOTING RECORD

COMMITTEE RESOLUTION:

That the information be received and noted.