Agenda of Council Meeting - Monday, 16 September 2024

Item No. 10

Agenda (Open Portion)

Council Meeting

Page 1

16/9/2024

REPORT TITLE: 2040 Climate Ready Hobart Strategy

REPORT PROVIDED BY: Climate Futures Lead

Manager Policy Lab

Acting Head of Intergovernmental Relations & Partnerships

1. Report Summary

1.1. This report seeks Council’s endorsement of the 2040 Climate Ready Hobart Strategy.

1.2. The report summarises the approach to develop the 2040 Climate Ready Hobart Strategy and shares the reports that form the evidence-base to the Strategy.

2. Key Issues

2.1. The 2040 Climate Ready Hobart Strategy is a guide to what the City of Hobart and the community can do together to respond to the climate and biodiversity emergency.

2.2. The strategy responds to Council direction to have a more integrated and holistic approach to climate change in line with the urgency of the climate science.

2.3. The strategy sets out a clear direction for the City to lead by example and to enable the community to act.

2.4. The strategy acknowledges that responding to climate change requires a shared responsibility. The strategy provides clear and measurable goals, targets and priorities for the City of Hobart and community.

2.5. Recognising the future is uncertain, the strategy provides principles and guidelines for decision making to navigate our journey together.

2.6. The strategy will be complemented by five-year action plans to guide implementation to be assessed through the standard annual planning and budget process.

3. Recommendation

That:

1. Council endorse the 2040 Climate Ready Hobart Strategy included at Attachment A to this report.

2. Council notes the reports that form the evidence-base to the 2040 Climate Ready Hobart Strategy included at Attachment B to F.

4. Background

4.1. Climate change is one of the most urgent and defining challenges of our time. It requires bold and immediate action from all sectors of society.

4.2. Our community has already felt the impacts of climate change – from increasingly severe weather events to rising temperatures and shifting ecosystems. These changes not only threaten our natural environment but also our economy, infrastructure and quality of life. The need for decisive action is clear.

4.3. The City recognised early that responding to climate change was necessary to achieve a core function of local government, as defined in the Local Government Act 1993, ‘to provide for the health, safety and welfare of the community’. In 1999, the City of Hobart became the first Tasmanian council to commit to climate action and started tracking organisational emissions.

4.4. Previous climate strategies: In the twenty-years that followed, several strategies have been endorsed by Council to guide climate action. These strategies have included:

4.4.1. Corporate and Community Greenhouse Local Action Plan 2001-2008.

4.4.2. Hobart Climate Change Strategies 2008 to 2013 and the Hobart Climate Change Policy.

4.4.3. Hobart City Council Climate Change Adaptation Plan 2013-2016.

4.4.4. Sustainable Hobart Action Plan 2020 to 2025.

4.5. Climate milestones: The City of Hobart has achieved milestones that have resulted in emissions reductions and cost savings to the organisation. Key milestones include:

4.5.1. 2010: Achieved first decade City emissions reduction targets of 75% reduction on 2010 levels.

4.5.2. 2017: Resolved to divest from financial institutions who support the fossil fuel industry.

4.5.3. 2020: Achieved second decade City emissions reduction targets of 20%, exceeding 17% target on 2010 levels.

4.6. Sustainable Hobart Action Plan milestones: Since 2020, the City’s climate response has been guided by the Sustainable Hobart Action Plan 2020 to 2025. Examples of progress includes:

4.6.1. Resilient Hobart: The City of Hobart delivered six community recovery and resilience projects following the May 2018 flooding. In 2020 the City was awarded the national Resilient Australia Local Government for this program.

4.6.2. Introduced micromobility options.

4.6.3. Introduced a Single Use Plastic By-Law designed to reduce plastic litter and waste going to landfill. Hobart was the first Council in Tasmania to introduce this.

4.6.4. Established in 2021, Hobart Rivulet Bushcare has planted over 3,500 native trees, shrubs, and grasses. It is one of 15 City of Hobart Bushcare groups that have been restoring bushlands and waterways for over 30 years, with many affiliated with Landcare Tasmania.

4.6.5. Green corridors such as the Hobart Rivulet have been restored and improved enhancing biodiversity, recreation and water quality.

4.6.6. 8 public EV chargers: 7 in carparks, 1 on-street super-fast charger, 2 e-bike chargers.

4.7. Regional collaboration: The City of Hobart has prioritised working collaboratively with local governments in Tasmania on climate change. In 2010 the Regional Climate Change Initiative auspiced by the Southern Tasmanian Councils Authority to support greater collaboration on climate change in the region.

4.8. Throughout this history of action, the City has prioritised:

4.8.1. Leading by example.

4.8.2. Dual focus on mitigation and adaptation.

4.8.3. Transparent reporting on progress.

4.8.4. Collaboration across the community, local governments and with state and federal governments.

4.9. These priorities have been retained and strengthened as key parts of the new climate strategy.

4.10. Responding to Council direction: In the past five years, Council has recognised through a series of resolutions that more needs to be done by the City of Hobart to have a harmonised response across the organisation, to act with the urgency in line with the climate science, to meet growing community concerns and expectation as well as to reduce risk to the City of Hobart and the Hobart community.

4.11. The 2040 Climate Ready Hobart Strategy responds to the following resolutions of Council:

4.11.1. July 2019 Declaration of ‘A Global Climate and Biodiversity Emergency’ affirming the City of Hobart’s commitment to future generations in addressing catastrophic climate change and biodiversity loss through its on-going policies, strategies and leadership.

4.11.2. 2019 Sustainable Hobart Action Plan 2020 to 2025. Delivers on the Hobart community greenhouse gas target to support the community to identify targets and actions by 2022 to reduce local greenhouse gas emissions.

4.11.3. October 2021 Council Resolution on Climate Action that: (i) requests the CEO undertake an assessment and provide recommendations on how the City will prepare for and strengthen its existing strategies, targets, practices and policies so that the City can assist in meeting this zero by 2030 target, (ii) that this assessment look broadly to harmonise and standardise our organisation’s approach and consider our role operationally and as a policy-maker including in planning, community development, waste, transport, corporate energy efficiencies and natural resources management.

4.11.4. August 2022 City of Hobart Internal Audit: Climate Change Review commissioned by the Risk and Audit Panel. The new Strategy responds to the recommendations: a) align mitigation and adaptation plans with the City’s climate strategy; b) understand and plan for economic impacts; c) establish an organisation-wide climate governance framework; and e) enhance the climate risk assessment when it is updated.

4.11.5. May 2023, Approach to the Climate Strategy Council noted the CEO’s response to this resolution: that the City develop a new Climate Strategy that will enable an evidence-based and integrated response to climate change by the City and with the community; and a community engagement process to engage a representative sample of the City of Hobart community to generate ideas to Council on potential targets, strategic priorities and preferred actions for the community.

4.11.6. August 2023, Council Resolution on Climate Change Leadership: Transport Emissions that acknowledged the alarming news about accelerating climate impacts, and importance of leadership on reducing emissions.

4.11.7. September 2023, Capital City Strategic Plan Climate action is primarily in Pillar 6, Outcome 6.4: ‘Hobart is a leader on climate change moving toward a zero emissions and climate-resilient city.’ Climate action is vital to all pillars and contributing to our mission ‘working together to make Hobart a better place for the community.

4.12. The role of local government in climate change: The role of local governments in climate action is not legislated. However, this landscape is evolving. It is becoming more widely recognised responding to climate change is necessary for local governments 'to provide for the health, safety and welfare of the community’.

4.12.1. The Future of Local Government Review states that 'the future role of local government is to… ‘promote the social, economic, and environmental sustainability of local communities, including by planning for and mitigating climate change impacts’.

4.12.2. The Tasmanian Climate Change Action Plan (2023 to 2025) prioritises the Tasmanian Climate Change Capability Program that aims to build the capacity of the local government sector in Tasmania to respond to the impacts of a changing climate and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

4.12.3. The Australian Government has outlined the roles and responsibilities of local government in climate change adaptation. This role will become clearer with development of national strategies including the Net Zero Sectoral Plans as well as the national adaptation and resilience plans.

4.13. Climate change as a risk to local government: Climate change presents as both a risk and opportunity to local government.

4.13.1. The City of Hobart Strategic Risk and Resilience Register categorises climate change 'Failure to adequately plan and prepare for the potential and known impacts of climate change' as an extreme risk.

4.13.2. In December 2021, MinterEllison briefed the Finance Governance Committee, citing that:

a) climate change has evolved as an issue that presents material risk and opportunities within mainstream investment horizons;

b) financial and legal imperatives underpin the need for proactivity in both climate change adaptation and mitigation (emissions reductions).

4.13.3. In 2023, the City of Hobart undertook a Climate Risk Assessment led by SGS Economics that has noted that possible liability risks stem from the failure to mitigate (reduce emissions), adapt (reduce vulnerability) or disclose climate-related risks.

4.13.4. The strategy anticipates alignment to emerging legislation such as the Australian Government's 'Mandatory climate-related financial disclosure’. The proposed requirements will broadly require entities to report and disclose on:

a) physical and transitional climate risks and opportunities;

b) arrangements to manage these risks and opportunities, as well as;

c) progress towards climate targets and towards reducing its risk profile. While not immediately impacting local government, climate-related financial disclosure is becoming increasingly expected and required.

4.14. Aligning to national and international standards: The strategy aligns to national and international standards for cities including:

4.14.1. Science-Based Targets for cities: a methodology for cities to ensure their emissions reduction targets are in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

4.14.2. Global Common Reporting Framework for signatories to the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy.

4.14.3. Development of emissions inventories aligned to the Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Inventories (GHG Protocol for Cities) and the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Scheme.

5. Legal, Risk and Legislative Considerations

5.1. Other than reputational and normal project management risk considerations, no specific legal, risk and legislative issues apply to the 2040 Climate Ready Hobart Strategy. Ongoing reporting will be undertaken. The established internal steering group will be responsible for overseeing implementation of the strategy.

5.2. It is noted that endorsement of the strategy and process to develop it, are evidence of proactive efforts to address climate change and can help to reduce liability risk of City of Hobart. Specifically: research on zero emissions pathways as well as undertaking a climate risk assessment.

6. Discussion

6.1. As noted by Council in May 2023, the 2040 Climate Ready Hobart Strategy employed an evidence-based and community-informed approach. This involved:

6.1.1. Understanding zero emissions pathways - Research was undertaken to understand the sources of emissions. This research also identified priorities and practical actions to achieve zero emissions, and recommended guidelines for making decisions. (Refer to Attachment B - Zero emissions pathways report)

6.1.2. Climate risk assessment - to understand how future climate scenarios might impact Hobart. The assessment made recommendations on priorities and actions to build climate resilience. (Attachment C - Climate Risk Assessment First Pass Report)

6.1.3. Collaboration with the Hobart community - As a strategy for the City and community it was important the community was deeply involved in determining what they wanted to see happen. This involved more than 1000 face-to-face conversations including 120 young people at schools and youth groups, 300+ survey response, 9 hours of co-design workshops, 240 attendees across staff and community workshops, all informing this process. This involved climate leaders from government, university, businesses and community organisations, as well as youth and palawa leaders, to co-design principles, identify gaps and opportunities and prioritise actions. (Attachment D - Climate Ready Hobart Collaboration Report)

6.1.4. Hobart Climate Assembly - Tasmania's first citizens jury on climate change. This Assembly convened a representative sample of the Hobart community to deliberate on what we've learnt throughout this process and deliver a set of community recommendations to inform priorities and action. (Attachment E - Hobart Climate Assembly Members Report; Attachment F - Hobart Climate Assembly Engagement Outputs Report)

6.2. The message from the Hobart community is clear:

6.2.1. The Hobart community is concerned about climate change.

6.2.2. They want the City of Hobart to be highly ambitious in climate action.

6.2.3. The community want to work together for a climate ready Hobart.

6.3. The Hobart Climate Assembly reaffirmed this message stating: "We want the Council to have the highest level of ambition. We want the Council to lead on climate locally and become an international example of positive climate action."

6.4. The 2040 Climate Ready Hobart Strategy considers the evidence, responds to community priorities as well as the recommendations of the Hobart Climate Assembly.

6.5. The 2040 Climate Ready Hobart Strategy is a guide to what the City of Hobart and the community can do together to respond to the climate and biodiversity emergency.

6.6. The strategy sets a clear direction for the City to lead by example, aligned to its core business and services. The integration of emissions reduction and climate resilience goals provides a framework for a whole-of-organisation approach to climate change. This will support more coordinated decision-making, resourcing and reporting.

6.7. Responding to climate change requires everyone to act. The 2040 Climate Ready Hobart Strategy sets out ambitious goals, targets and priorities for the Hobart community, that are a shared responsibility.

6.8. The 2040 Climate Ready Hobart Strategy provides the City of Hobart and Hobart community with:

· Clear and measurable goals to track and report on progress priorities for responding to climate change.

· A set of priorities for responding to climate change and making the biggest impact where it matters most.

· Principles that guide decision making and utilisation of resources that are flexible and adaptable in the face of an uncertain future.

· A clear way of bringing climate change priorities into one integrated strategy in a way that values nature, community, and economy.

· An evidence-based approach that aligns with the climate science and with national and international standards on climate change.

· A strategy that is guided by collaboration with the community and responds to the recommendations of the Hobart Climate Assembly.

· A roadmap to do our part locally to contribute to the United Nations Paris Agreement on climate change and the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

6.9. The vision and call to action of the strategy is for the City of Hobart and Hobart community to be climate ready.

The strategy sets out a number of high-level goals:

6.9.1. ‘Mobilise Hobart - Households, organisations and communities are climate leaders taking practical actions to reduce risks and leverage opportunities with benefits extending to all.’ Mobilise Hobart is an enabling goal to reinforce the importance of shared responsibility and action across all efforts. Mobilise Hobart has four directions:

· Be informed.

· Build capability to act.

· Amplify Hobart’s climate leaders.

· Foster collaboration for collective impact in Tasmania.

6.9.2. Goal 1. Zero emissions Hobart - The Hobart community will achieve at least a 70% reduction in emissions across Hobart by 2030 (from a 2020 baseline) and zero emissions by 2040. This goal has four priorities:

· Zero emissions transport.

· Zero emissions buildings and energy.

· Zero emissions waste.

· Zero emissions City of Hobart.

6.9.3. Goal 2. Build climate resilience - People, nature and economy thrive in a changing climate enhancing security and wellbeing for all. This goal has four priorities:

· Green city where nature and people thrive.

· Climate ready built environment.

· Connected and cohesive community.

· Disaster prepared and recovery ready.

6.9.4. Goal 3. Lead as a capital city – A world leading local government in climate action. This goal has four priorities for the City to deliver:

· Effective climate governance.

· Capability to deliver.

· Climate ready workplace.

· Impactful advocacy.

6.10. The strategy will be complemented by succinct five-year climate action plans. Council will guide the implementation of the strategy and action plan via the standard annual planning and budgetary process. A report on progress will be provided at least twice annually.

7. Hobart: A Community Vision For Our Island Capital

7.1. The 2040 Climate Ready Hobart Strategy supports Pillar 6: Natural Environment.

8. Capital City Strategic Plan

8.1. The 2040 Climate Ready Hobart Strategy is a top tier strategy to inform and deliver on the Capital City Strategic Plan. The key strategic outcomes supported by the strategy are:

8.1.1. Outcome 6.4 Hobart is a leader on climate change moving toward a zero emissions and climate-resilient city.

8.1.2. Outcome 8.1 Hobart is a city that is well governed that recognises the community as an active partner that informs decisions.

8.2. Climate change presents risks and opportunities against all strategic pillars and effective, coordinated action is central to achieve our mission.

9. Regional, State and National Plans and Policies

9.1. The 2040 Climate Ready Hobart Strategy informs how the City of Hobart and Hobart community can collectively contribute to state, national and global commitments to address climate change including:

9.1.1. The Tasmanian Government's Climate Change (State Action) Amendment Act 2022 and the target to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions, or lower, in Tasmania by 2030; as well as support to the implementation of the Tasmanian Climate Change Action Plan (2023 to 2025).

9.1.2. The Australian Climate Change Act 2022 including Australia's greenhouse gas emissions target to reduce Australia's net emissions to 43% below 2005 levels by 2030; as well as support to the implementation of national strategies on climate change mitigation and adaptation.

9.2. The 2040 Climate Ready Hobart Strategy guides how we can do our part locally to contribute to:

9.2.1. The United Nations Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

9.2.2. The United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, known as the Global Goals.

10. Financial Viability

10.1. Funding Source and Impact on Current Year Operating Result

10.1.1. Funding to support implementation of the 2040 Climate Ready Hobart Strategy was provided within both the 2023-24 operating budget and the current 2024-25 operating budget, within the Policy Lab.

10.2. Impact on Future Years’ Financial Result

10.2.1. The strategy will require a climate lens to be applied to the standard budget and planning to cycles to identify the range of programs and projects being implemented across the organisation. This will then be report to Council twice annually.

10.3. Asset Related Implications

10.3.1. The financial implications for assets will be addressed in implementation of specific relevant projects identified in future years.

11. Sustainability Considerations

11.1. The 2040 Climate Ready Hobart Strategy sets clear and measurable goals and targets to reduce emissions across the City of Hobart, as well as across the Hobart community. Emissions reductions reduce climate pollution and unlock benefits such as cost savings, improved thermal comfort of buildings and homes. Priority emissions reduction efforts are: transport, buildings and energy as well as waste.

12. Community Engagement

12.1. The 2040 Climate Ready Hobart Strategy is a guide for the City of Hobart and Hobart community. Climate change is an important issue to the community, and is a shared responsibility. It was important that the community were engaged in the development of this this strategy.

12.2. The approach to collaboration with the community was an opportunity to apply the 2023 City of Hobart Community Engagement Framework to collaborate and empower the community in deliberation on a matter of concern.

12.3. In 2023 the City of Hobart embarked on an ambitious program to discover what, why and how people, businesses and communities are preparing for the impacts of climate change in Hobart.

12.4. Community engagement purpose: Deliver an evidence-based, community-informed climate strategy for the City of Hobart and community to respond to the global climate and biodiversity emergency together.

12.5. Community engagement goals:

12.5.1. Understand perspectives and priorities on climate change.

12.5.2. Mobilise and amplify a citywide network of climate leaders to drive ongoing collaboration and implementation of the climate strategy.

12.5.3. Engage a representative sample of Hobart community to deliberate on goals, priorities and actions.

12.6. What we heard from the community:

12.6.1. 87% of survey respondents were concerned about the effects of climate change on Hobart - 62% very concerned, 25% somewhat concerned.

12.6.2. 79% of community respondents want the City of Hobart to be highly ambitious in reducing emissions to address climate change.

12.6.3. 79% of community respondents want the City of Hobart to be highly ambitious in reducing emissions to address climate change.

12.7. What the community wants prioritised in Hobart's Climate strategy:

12.7.1. Moving around the city - active transport, walking, reduce reliance on cars.

12.7.2. City of Hobart to be a climate leader - policies, zero emissions fleet, advocacy, influencing high emitters.

12.7.3. Support community - incentives, education, funding, equitable support.

12.7.4. Green space and nature - more green space, care for nature, wildlife.

12.7.5. Reduce emissions - solar, electrify, divest.

12.8. The Hobart Climate Assembly was the pinnacle of the City of Hobart’s collaboration with the Hobart community in understanding what matters to them in a climate strategy. The assembly was convened by the City of Hobart on 17 to 18 February and 16 to 17 March 2024.

12.9. The Hobart Climate Assembly brought together 33 members who were independently selected, and represented a small sample of Hobart’s diverse population. The assembly deliberated over four days to provide a clear set of community priorities to address climate change.

12.10. The Assembly made ten recommendations for action including:

· Develop a network of connected and safe walkways, cycleways to encourage active transport (incl. footpath upgrades, pathways, trails and cycleways.

· Develop a network of green corridors throughout the city to increase tree cover, cool the city, improve liveability and movement.

· Stop selling offsets and giving someone else permission to pollute.

· Phase out fossil fuels from Council operations, including through assets, supply chains and investments.

· Develop a network of waterways, wetlands and blue corridors to improve irrigation and manage runoff from heavy rainfalls, reduce pollution/flooding.

· Implement fire management programs that improve biodiversity and bushland health.

· Advocate to develop a zero emissions public transport system that encourages usage through increased availability and better user experience.

· Provide safe and inclusive publicly accessible spaces for extreme climate-related events for priority communities and those who require support.

· Use planning, legislation and regulatory controls to reduce risk; and assess and improve critical infrastructure across the city to be climate ready.

· Provide support and financial incentives to households, businesses and neighbourhoods to electrify and retrofit.

13. Communications Strategy

13.1. How we communicate and engage with our community about climate change is central to building a climate ready Hobart. ‘Mobilise Hobart’ is an enabling goal across the strategy to emphasise the need for us to help the community to, be informed and build capacity to take action. The City of Hobart will lead a comprehensive communications campaign to encourage the community to get involved as well as initiate implementation of the strategy.

14. Collaboration

14.1. Collaboration is central to climate readiness. Enabling engagement of the community in the strategy was important to setting the foundation for ongoing collaboration. Collaboration is prioritised as an enabling goal in ‘Mobilise Hobart’ as well as ‘Lead as a capital city’. ‘Mobilise Hobart’ prioritises horizontal collaboration in Tasmania through amplifying climate leaders in Hobart as well as collaboration with local governments and other stakeholders for a climate ready Tasmania. ‘Lead as a capital city’ emphasis the need for vertical collaboration across all tiers of government and joint advocacy with local governments nationally and globally.

As signatory to this report, I certify that, pursuant to Section 55(1) of the Local Government Act 1993, I hold no interest, as referred to in Section 49 of the Local Government Act 1993, in matters contained in this report.

Jessica Robbins

Climate Futures Lead

David McIver

Manager Policy Lab

Laura Eaton

Acting Head of Intergovernmental Relations & Partnerships

Date: 10 September 2024

File Reference: F24/78138

Attachment a: Climate Ready Hobart Strategy (Supporting information)

Attachment b: Report from Hobart Climate Assembly Members (Supporting information)

Attachment c: Hobart Climate Assembly Engagement Outputs Report (Supporting information)

Attachment d: Climate Ready Hobart Collaboration Report (Supporting information)

Attachment e: Emissions reduction pathways for Hobart report (Supporting information)

Attachment f: Climate Risk Assessment First Pass Assessment Report (Supporting information)

Item No. 11

Agenda (Open Portion)

Council Meeting

Page 1

16/9/2024

REPORT TITLE: Collins Street Tactical Bicycle Infrastructure Trial - to Inform a Collins Street Vision

REPORT PROVIDED BY: Manager City Mobility

Acting Director City Futures

1. Report Summary

1.1. This report seeks Council endorsement of the final design for the tactical trial of bicycle infrastructure and streetscape improvements for Collins Street, and to proceed to construction detail design and tactical installation in early 2025. This trial will inform a longer-term Vision for Collins Street. The final design is included at Attachment A.

1.2. This report provides detail on the following:

1.2.1. Strategic significance of Collins Street for bicycle infrastructure, pedestrian infrastructure and its role in supporting future city development as outlined in the Central Hobart Plan,

1.2.2. The design process and analysis undertaken, including alternative design options that have been considered, Attachment B,

1.2.3. A traffic modelling of the modified traffic environment as indicated in the concept design undertaken by engineering consultants Pitt and Sherry. The report is provided as Attachment C,

1.2.4. Engagement undertaken on the project to date, Attachment D,

1.2.5. An overview of the next steps for the project through to delivery in 2025, and

1.2.6. Planned monitoring and evaluation for the duration of the tactical installation period.

2. Key Issues

2.1. Collins Street is identified in key bicycle network planning documents published and accepted by Council since 2008, with the most recent being the Greater Hobart Cycling Plan (2021) which identifies (inter alia) Collins Street as a key route for All Ages and Abilities infrastructure, which provides a high degree of perceived comfort and safety for riders and contributes to growing ridership.

2.2. The City of Hobart has been progressively implementing projects to achieve the goal of creating a “joined up network” of bicycle facilities, in line with previously plans and strategies to provide choice in the available means of access to the city.

2.3. The current state of the network is shown in the diagram below, with the proposed intervention in Collins Street shown in yellow.

2.4. As with all network development in a constrained resource and budget environment, the individual parts which are implemented over time can appear fragmented. The Collins Street linkage will assist greatly in providing the “east-west” linkage the network requires to improve its connectedness.

2.5. Collins Street is the natural extension of the Hobart Rivulet which was recognised in the Hobart Rivulet Park Strategic Masterplan (2011).

2.6. As shown in above map taken from the Surveyor Generals map of 1811, the connection of a Capital City CBD to its adjacent mountain backdrop, alongside a natural watercourse, and through an urban area which is adjacent to the original line of the watercourse is a powerful and highly unique place signifier.

2.7. In recent years the City has acquired strategic land parcels, completed significant path improvements and associated public realm investments along the Hobart Rivulet Park corridor from the Molle Street junction on the edge of the Hobart CBD to the Cascade Brewery, strengthening a valued connection between kunanyi/Mount Wellington / South Hobart and the CBD (and beyond) for people walking, riding bikes and for mobility device users.

2.8. Continuation of this corridor towards the CBD will enable Collins Street to become a truly vibrant street for people, to connect the mountain and the CBD, and support further development.

2.9. The Central Hobart Plan (2023) identifies Collins Street as a key street linkage for bicycle and micromobility facilities (A.55) and notes as part of further improving pedestrian linages and other aspects of street amenity the action for the creation of a vision for Collins Street (A.63) and associated urban realm improvements. Additionally, the recently approved Hobart Transport Strategy (2024) endorses the connecting of key strategic bicycle routes, including Collins Street (A39).

2.10. This project is for the tactical installation of bicycle infrastructure and other streetscape improvements on Collins Street, is for a period of 24 months, pending further consideration by the Council.

2.11. ‘Tactical installation’ refers to installation with lower-cost, adjustable street interventions to incorporate bicycle infrastructure. For this project, it includes line marking, signage, bollards and other temporary materials that can be quickly installed, adapted and adjusted as required during the life of the project.

2.12. The City of Hobart has received grant funding for delivery through the Tasmanian Government’s Better Active Transport in Greater Hobart grant program.

2.13. The City of Hobart engaged expert transport consultants WSP to prepare designs in accordance with project objectives. WSP have been involved in the design and implementation of similar projects throughout Australia.

2.14. Stakeholder engagement for this project has and will continue occur in three parts.

2.14.1. Part one has already occurred with extensive community engagement on endorsed strategic documents identifying Collins Street as an important cycling corridor.

2.14.2. Part two included targeted engagement on functional elements of the concept design with key stakeholders including bus operators, City of Hobart Access Advisory Committee, Collins Street business owners and operators. This occurred between May and July 2024

2.14.3. Part three will be ongoing monitoring pre- and post-installation to enable measurement of project impacts to inform modifications to design and ultimate future state.

2.15. Further details of the engagement approach are included at section 12 of this report, and the Stakeholder Engagement Report is available at Attachment D.

2.16. Monitoring and evaluation of the tactical infrastructure is planned pre- and post-install and throughout the 24-month tactical phase of the project to inform a future Collins Street vision project and the ultimate street space allocation on this section of Collins Street. Ongoing monitoring of the tactical infrastructure will also enable changes to be made as necessary during the 24-month installation on the basis of key considerations e.g. safety. Details of the proposed monitoring and evaluation are included at section 6 of this report.

3. Recommendation

That:

1. The Council endorse the tactical bicycle infrastructure and streetscape improvements trial for Collins Street from Molle Street to Murray Street for implementation in general accordance with the final design provided at Attachment A.

2. An application be made to the Transport Commission requesting a change to the speed limit on Collins Street between Molle Street and Murray Street and Victoria Street between Collins Street and Harrington Street to 30km/h.

3. The Council note the Engagement Summary Report provided at Attachment D to this report.

4. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation be undertaken at 1 month, 3 months and 12 months intervals post-installation, and updates provided to Elected Members via the Elected Member Bulletin.

5. A report be provided to the Council on the outcomes of the trial after 24 months of the installation of the bicycle infrastructure.

4. Background

4.1. Collins Street is identified as a key corridor for bicycles across a number of strategic and operational documents, over a number of years:

4.1.1. The Hobart City Council Principal Bicycle Network Plan (endorsed by Council in 2008) identified The Hobart Rivulet and Collins Street as a key route. The natural advantages of parkland corridors to provide for walking and cycling (natural environment, calm surroundings, ability to provide for all ages and abilities etc) for both transport functions and recreation were identified as factors which would support use and uptake along this corridor.

4.1.2. Supporting active transport usage from a suburban area to the centre of a CBD along with providing a corridor to access parkland for intensified land use on this side of the CBD supported the identification of Collins Street and the Hobart Rivulet as best corridor to develop and support for active transport use.

4.1.3. The Hobart Rivulet masterplan (2011) identified the importance of the linkage of the City to kunanyi/Mt Wellington by way of the Hobart Rivulet and Collins Street.

4.1.4. Previous and the current CoH Transport Strategies (2009), (2018) and (2024) have endorsed the need for the City of Hobart to develop a connected arterial bicycle network to support further uptake of bicycle riding and mobility devices as a viable means for city access for a wider range of Hobart’s residents – and to achieve a range of goals including emissions reduction, transport cost reductions and supporting further intensive land use development in the Hobart CBD.

4.1.5. Collins Street is identified as a key route for active travel improvements including pedestrian, cycling and micromobility in the Central Hobart Plan, endorsed by Council at its meeting in September 2023.

4.1.6. Further as detailed in the Central Hobart Plan Implementation Program - Year One adopted by the Council in May 2024

4.1.7. Priority Action 2: Street Improvement Plans:

4.1.7.1. Description: Street Vision Plans are movement and place corridors plans to transform Elizabeth Street and Collins Street into more vibrant, green and cycle and walk friendly places as catalysts for the whole the city centre.

4.1.8. Priority Action 4 : Enhance Movement Choices:

4.1.8.1. Description: Implement the movement and place hierarchy and level of service from the Transport Network Operation Plan Inner Hobart (TNOP) and identify the future desired movement and place approaches to better manage the streets in the city centre. In addition, continue the implementation of the Greater Hobart Commuter Cycling Network Plan, 2021.

Key Tasks:

4.3. Design and deliver improved bicycle/ micro mobility paths within the city centre, as well as connecting to surrounding areas with Collins Street being a priority.

4.1.9. The Southern Regional Land Use Strategy (2010-2035) supports the provision of cycling infrastructure (LUTI 1.11) and supports higher density residential and mixed-use developments within 400m of integrated transport corridors (LUTI 1.2).

4.1.10. The Inner-City Action Plan (ICAP), produced in response to the 2010 Gehl Architects report, ‘Hobart 2010 Public Spaces and Public Life – a city with people in mind.’ Cycling infrastructure for Collins Street is one of a small number of remaining recommended projects from the ICAP yet to be implemented.

4.1.11. The Greater Hobart Cycling Plan for All Ages and Abilities (2021), a key output of the Hobart City Deal and the Greater Hobart Transport Vision. The Greater Hobart Cycling Plan identifies Collins Street for All Ages and Abilities infrastructure.

4.1.12. Collins Street is identified as a ‘strategic’ walking and cycling route in the Transport Network Operations Plan, jointly developed by the Department of State Growth and the City of Hobart.

4.2. This project has been informed by draft Urban Tasmania Tactical Cycling Infrastructure Guidance material by the Department of State Growth, which provides guidance on design, communications and engagement and monitoring and evaluation of tactical cycling infrastructure projects.

4.3. Elected Members attended a briefing session with City Mobility officers on 8 May 2024 where the concept design was presented and key details of the project where discussed. These included:

4.3.1. Project purpose and strategic alignment.

4.3.2. Key streetscape design features including protected bicycle lanes, streetside dining opportunities, urban greening opportunities and bike/scooter parking opportunities.

4.3.3. Vehicle access and parking provision, including loading and accessible parking.

4.3.4. Early project communications and engagement completed to date and further planned communications and engagement.

4.3.5. How project success will be measured and monitored.

4.4. At its meeting on 27 May 2024, Council received and noted a petition from Alison Hetherington, Public Affairs Manager Bicycle Network, Hobart, calling for the Council to commence work on the tactical trial for an active transport link in Collins Street.

4.5. At its meeting on 27 May 2024, Council resolved that:

1. The Council endorse the concept plan for tactical bicycle lanes on Collins Street, between Molle Street and Murray Street, to proceed to further project communications and engagement, and detailed design.

2. Following implementation of the above recommendation, an Engagement Summary Report be provided to the Council for consideration, and approval sought for the installation of the Collins Street Tactical Bicycle Infrastructure.

4.6. This report is provided to Council in response to the above resolution.

4.7. Elected Members attended a Council workshop with City Mobility officers on 26 August 2024 where key details of the proposal were discussed. These included:

4.7.1. The approach and outcomes of stakeholder engagement.

4.7.2. Analysis undertaken by the City to inform the project including responses to what was heard during the engagement, traffic modelling and options analysis.

4.8. At its meeting on 22 July 2024, Council received and noted a petition from Mr Edwin Johnstone, calling on the Council to 1) stop current planned changes to Collins Street and 2) locate future northbound and southbound bike lanes in separate streets to minimise disruption.

4.9. This report is provided to Council in response to the above. Item 2) regarding the location of bike lanes is addressed in section 6.2 of this report. Item 1) will be determined by the decision of Council in relation to this report.

5. Legal, Risk and Legislative Considerations

5.1. The proposed tactical streetscape improvements comprise a range of road and traffic management devices, which seek to improve safety and amenity for vulnerable road users.

5.2. The City of Hobart has delegation to install various traffic management devices and has undertaken a risk assessment of proposed treatments against AustRoads guidance and against the City’s risk assessment template at the planning stage.

5.3. Further risk assessments will occur prior to installation of the tactical infrastructure.

5.4. Some aspects of the project will require a direction from the Transport Commission, such as the change in speed limit to 30km/h, and approval by the DSG Traffic Signals branch for modifications to traffic signals.

6. Discussion

6.1. Project objectives

6.1.1. Implement a tactical solution for All Ages and Abilities bicycle infrastructure in Collins Street as identified in the Greater Hobart Cycling Plan (2021).

6.1.2. Deliver improved pedestrian amenity and safety and streetscape improvement for Collins Street as a first step in developing a vision for and achieving further urban realm improvements on this key Hobart Street.

6.2. Infrastructure treatment – options analysis

6.2.1. The City engaged WSP, expert transport consultants to prepare a design for the tactical infrastructure. Baseline assessment of Collins Street to determine a suitable All Ages and Abilities treatment included observation of Level of Service for bicycles, traffic volumes, as well as an assessment of key features of the street.

6.2.2. The Greater Hobart Cycling Plan outlines three design options to achieve All Ages and Abilities infrastructure:

· Local Street Bikeway: vehicle speeds should not exceed 30km/h and traffic volumes should be below 500 vehicles per day. Traffic speeds over 30km/h significantly increase the probability of fatal injury in the event of a crash so on higher speed roads separation from motor vehicles is desired.

· Protected Bicycle Lane(s): provides physical barrier separation from motor vehicles on higher speeds and traffic volume roads, as well as separation from pedestrians particularly in locations where foot traffic is high.

· Off Road Pathway: this is shared with pedestrians and needs to be a minimum of 3.0m wide. Road crossings need careful consideration and grades should be minimised as much as possible.

6.2.3. An options analysis is included at Attachment B. This includes ‘local street bikeway’ and ‘protected bicycle lanes’ as well as other options that were presented to the project team during the engagement period. It does not include ‘off road pathway’ given converting a portion of Collins Street to an off-road pathway would require extensive civil construction works to expand the existing footpath and is not considered a tactical approach.

6.2.4. As outlined in the Options Analysis protected bicycle lanes in both directions from Molle to Murray Street was identified as the preferred solution to meet the project objectives. This treatment enables an All Ages and Abilities route to then achieve the subsidiary aims of the project:

· Increased ridership

· Increased diversity

· Increased pedestrian safety

· Tactical delivery method

· Low cost.

6.2.5. A portion of the project area (Harrington to Victoria streets) has been designed as a shared zone with opportunities for streetside dining. This has been achieved to further meet additional project objectives to improve pedestrian amenity and streetscape improvement.

6.3. Traffic modelling

6.3.1. The City engaged Pitt and Sherry to undertake modelling of the modified traffic environment as indicated in the concept design using the Northern Suburbs Traffic Model (NSTC model). The report is provided as Attachment C.

6.3.2. The NSTC model is designed to test the Greater Hobart Traffic network including the Hobart CBD under AM and PM peak conditions. It is noted that for most of the day the impacts of changes on the network will be negligible.

6.3.3. The traffic modelling findings suggest the proposed scheme will not have significant impacts on travel delay times. Delays accrue from:

i) changes to the speed limit (50km/h to 30km/h);

ii) minor additional delays in clearing junction queues; and

iii) intermittent delays due to the in-lane bus stop between Victoria Street and Murray Street.

6.3.4. The modelling suggests negligible delays in AM peak performance. PM peak delays are more pronounced at the Collins Street junction with Barrack Street on the Westbound approach. This junction currently experiences delays in the PM peak due in part to the unloading of carparks in the area during the PM peak and the priority given to Macquarie and Davey Street, which loads the Barrack Street block to capacity (saturation) and prevents further acceptance of traffic from Collins Street.

6.3.5. When the operational modelled performance during peak conditions are assessed against the Level of Service (LOS) criteria within the Inner Hobart TNOP for Collins Street the proposed scheme is found to be in almost complete alignment.

6.3.5.1. I.E. The LOS or operational delays are what should be reasonably expected for travel at peak time in the centre of a Capital City.

6.4. Engagement

6.4.1. The engagement approach was informed by the Department of State Growth’s draft Tactical Cycling Infrastructure guidance material, in particular Communications and Engagement Guidance document.

6.4.2. Stakeholder engagement for this project has and will occur in three parts.

6.4.2.1. Part one has already occurred with extensive community engagement on endorsed strategic documents identifying Collins Street as an important cycling corridor.

6.4.2.2. Part two included targeted engagement on functional elements of the concept design with key stakeholders including bus operators, City of Hobart Access Advisory Committee, Collins Street business owners and operators. This occurred between May and July 2024

6.4.2.3. Part three will be ongoing monitoring pre- and post-installation to enable measurement of project impacts to inform modifications to design and ultimate future state.

6.4.3. Details of the engagement undertaken and key findings are included at section 12 of this report, and an Engagement Report is provided at Attachment D.

6.4.4. A summary of the changes to the design that have been made to the proposal following the engagement process is shown below.

What we heard

How we’re responding

Loading zones for service vehicles are a priority kerbside use

· Prioritising loading zones over general parking across all street blocks.

Disability access is a priority kerbside use, particularly in the central block from Barrack to Harrington Streets

	Existing	Proposed
Molle to Barrack	0 accessible bays	0 accessible bays
Barrack to Harrington	1 accessible bay	2 accessible bays
Harrington to Murray	1 accessible bay	1 accessible bay (additional bay being considered in the vicinity of 174 Collins Street), subsequent to engagement and Elected Member workshop
In proximity to Collins Street	n/a	2 accessible bays under investigation: · 1x on Murray Street closest to Collins Street General Practice. Currently a 1/2P zone. Located within same street block as existing Harrington to Murray bay, no additional road crossings would be required. · 1x on Victoria Street west. Located adjacent to existing accessible bay outside Equal Opportunity Tasmania.
Total	2 accessible bays	Up to 5 accessible bays

Loss of on-street parking is a concern for many businesses

· Revising concept plan to retain 3 spaces on Collins Street between Harrington and Victoria streets and 2 spaces between Barrack and Harrington streets.

· Retaining parking spaces on Victoria Street (7 spaces) – revision of parking removal from 59 to 49 spaces.

· Modifying timings for on-street parking spaces on Collins Street and cross streets to optimise availability and parking turnover – between 1/2P to 1P, as well as pick up and drop off.

· Investigating extension of opening hours for Centrepoint car park to support businesses after hours.

· Supporting alternative transport to the CBD during busy Christmas period, including additional ferry services and re-instating city shuttle.

· Additional bicycle parking to support access to businesses.

· Launch an app-based Parking Availability function, targeting to be operational from January 2025.

Concerns regarding the impacts on general vehicle traffic for Collins Street and surrounding streets

· Pitt and Sherry engaged to model the modified traffic environment – findings suggest the impact on travel delay are consistent with strategic intent of the Inner Hobart Transport Network Operations Plan.

Concerns regarding the impacts of two way Victoria Street proposal, including restricting right turn access to Collins Street from Victoria Street.

· Victoria Street: revised design does not include ‘two way’ Victoria Street configuration in response to feedback and analysis of safety impacts.

Collins Street is an important route for bus services, including Metro buses, Skybus and Red Decker.

· Early engagement indicated rerouting bus services would not be feasible as part of the tactical project.

· A bus ‘superstop’ is proposed to consolidate bus services at Stop No. 119 Collins Street, with bus access retained along Collins Street.

Community support for activation of the central city area and reallocation of street space to support activity (Central Hobart Plan, Hobart Transport Strategy 2024)

· Reallocation of street space for active transport, streetside dining and pedestrian amenity.

Developer, community and Council support for intensification of development in Hobart CBD (Central Hobart Plan)

· More active options to support movement in high density areas, access recreation areas, reducing need for car parking in new developments.

Improved bicycle facilities and connectivity (Hobart Transport Strategy 2024)

· The proposed route and design is a key component of the Hobart bicycle network as identified in the Greater Hobart Cycling Plan.

Support for the implementation of the Greater Hobart Cycling Plan (including Transport Commissioner, Department of State Growth, RACT, Metro Tasmania, Tasmanian Small Business Council and the Hobart Chamber of Commerce).

· The proposed design includes an All Ages and Abilities route for the project extent.

6.5. Design

6.5.1. To accommodate All Ages and Abilities bicycle infrastructure, pedestrian amenity and other streetscape improvements, the following modifications to the existing streetscape are included in the design:

6.5.1.1. Kerbside protected bicycle lanes for the project extent, with the exception of the section between Harrington and Victoria streets where a shared bicycle/general traffic lane is indicated with ‘sharrows’ where on street business orientated ‘dinning decks’ are proposed.

6.5.1.2. This will be supported by a ‘bike priority phase’ at the traffic signals at Collin and Harrington Streets, to allow additional time for cyclists to cross the intersection and enter the shared zone before the traffic is provided green.

6.5.1.3. Reduction in the speed limit to 30km/h for the project extent.

6.5.1.4. In combination, these two facets of the project enable an ‘All Ages and Abilities’ route which supports the greatest number and diversity of riders, creating a low-stress and inclusive route and aligns with the project objective and with best practice road safety.

6.5.1.5. Consolidation of bus stops on Collins Street to Stop No. 119 Collins Street, with a tactical ‘bus boarder’ design to enable pedestrian movement across bicycle lanes to board buses.

6.5.1.6. A pedestrian crossing across Collins Street at the intersection of Victoria and Collins streets subject to final design considerations.

6.5.1.7. Re-configuration of vehicle lanes at intersections from separated to shared straight-through and turning lane arrangements.

6.5.1.8. Removal of 49 parking bays between Molle Street and Murray Street, including Victoria Street, with 34 total bays retained. Commentary on this is provided below.

6.6. Parking

6.6.1. Analysis undertaken by WSP and the City of Hobart indicates the removal of parking bays will not have significant impacts on parking availability in the immediate vicinity of the project, and therefore on businesses within the CBD, on the basis of the following:

6.6.1.1. Priority kerbside functions were identified as being 1) loading and deliveries and 2) disability access. These priority functions are proposed to be retained through the project area, with a commitment to increase the total number of accessible bays across the project area from 2 to 4.

6.6.1.2. The conversion of a parking space to a further accessible bay in parking retained in the block between Victoria Street and Harrington Street will be considered in the final detail design, subject to the physical works required and budget capacity to achieve a space approaching compliance with appropriate standards. This will deliver up to 5 access spaces across the project area.

6.6.1.3. Existing on-street demand: City of Hobart parking occupancy data (Collins Street between Molle St and Murray St, May 2022 to April 2023) shows weekday average occupancy between Molle and Murray streets at 58%, indicating existing supply exceeds demand. Parking demand varies across blocks, with weekday occupancy highest in the Harrington to Murray block (79%).

6.6.1.4. Existing off-street supply and demand: there are 1,843 off-street parking bays within 200m of the project. This includes 782 available at Centrepoint car park with weekday peak occupancy at approximately 83% (April 2024), meaning at least 130 spaces are generally available at any given time to absorb demand. Modifications to Centrepoint opening hours are being finalised for the busier “Christmas” trading period as a result of feedback received during the engagement period – refer Attachment D.

6.6.1.5. Offset opportunities: the City of Hobart will carefully monitor parking occupancy and traffic impacts as part of its monitoring and evaluation of the project. A number of offset opportunities for on-street parking within the vicinity of Collins Street have been identified for further investigation and can be repurposed to support short-stay parking as needed.

6.6.2. The City is pleased to announce the implementation of live on-street parking availability data through the Easypark app, which will be made available to the public from January 2025, in time for the installation of the bike lanes. This service will offer evidence based real-time advice to motorists on where available parking is located within the city.

6.6.3. Feedback received during the engagement phase indicated the busy December period is a key concern for businesses regarding parking availability. The City is seeking to implement a park and ride service from the Hobart regatta grounds during the December trading period and working with the Tasmanian Government and the River Derwent ferry operator to increase services during this period.

6.6.4. Feedback received and considered during the engagement phase has resulted in the proposal no longer including reconfiguration of Victoria Street and instead retaining its current one-way configuration. As a result, 7 short stay bays will be retained on Victoria Street.

6.7. Other features of the proposal

6.7.1. A number of additional opportunities to enhance Collins Street as part of this project have been identified. These include:

6.7.2. The opportunity for extended footpath areas located between 143 and 149 Collins Street, and between 184 and 186 Collins Street to support local businesses and encourage street activation through outdoor dining. Direct engagement with businesses on this opportunity is ongoing and any installation will align with relevant road safety and City policies, with installation beyond a 24-month trial phase subject to further Council approval. It is proposed that these areas will operate in a similar way to the Midtown outdoor dining precinct, where the spaces function as outdoor dining areas during the traders’ opening hours, reverting to public amenity/seating at other times.

6.7.3. Street greening opportunities, to include planter boxes forming part of outdoor dining opportunities and as an entrance statement to the precinct towards the Molle/Collins intersection.

6.7.4. Bicycle and scooter parking to support riders parking in proximity to Collins Street businesses, to encourage rides to park and dwell on Collins Street.

6.8. Monitoring and evaluation

6.8.1. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation both pre- and post-installation is planned to enable measurement of project benefits, impacts and where necessary, modifications to be made to the design.

6.8.2. The approach to monitoring and evaluation has been informed by the Department of State Growth’s draft Tactical Cycling Infrastructure guidance material, in particular the Monitoring and Evaluation Framework document.

6.8.3. The following metrics will be used both pre-installation as well as 1 month, 3 months and 12 months post-installation, with updates in line with this timing being provided to Elected Members via the Elected Member Bulletin:

6.8.3.1. Number of bike and micromobility riders, targeting an increase in riders.

6.8.3.2. Diversity of users, targeting an increase in the proportion of women and children and types of bicycles (e.g. road bikes, cargo bikes, mountain bikes) indicating the perceived safety and accessibility of the infrastructure.

6.8.3.3. Increased access for people walking, targeting increases in people crossing mid-block indicating perceived safety.

6.8.3.4. Road safety, targeting reduced vehicle speeds.

6.8.3.5. User confidence, targeting increased perceptions of safety for people walking and riding.

6.8.3.6. Feedback from local stakeholders, including users of the street, nearby properties and businesses. Targeting net positive sentiment towards the project.

6.8.3.7. Feedback from broader stakeholders, targeting net positive sentiment towards the project.

7. Hobart: A Community Vision For Our Island Capital

7.1. The project supports Pillar 5: Movement and Connectivity of the Community Vision.

8. Capital City Strategic Plan

8.1. The key strategic outcome of the Capital City Strategic Plan supported by the project is:

8.1.1. Pillar 5. Movement and Connectivity

Outcome 5.1 An accessible and connected city environment helps maintain Hobart’s pace of life.

Outcome 5.2 Hobart has effective and environmentally sustainable transport systems.

8.2. The project also supports the following pillars:

8.2.1. Pillar 1. Sense of Place

8.2.2. Pillar 4. City Economies

9. Regional, State and National Plans and Policies

9.1. Collins Street is identified in the Greater Hobart Cycling Plan (2021) as a key route for All Ages and Abilities. This plan has been endorsed by the City of Hobart as part of the City Deal.

10. Financial Viability

10.1. Funding Source and Impact on Current Year Operating Result

10.1.1. The City has received funding for implementation through the Better Active Transport in Greater Hobart grant program. This funding is matched with funds from the City’s capital works program (Priority 1) for 2024/25, with the total funding available $340 000.

10.2. Impact on Future Years’ Financial Result

10.2.1. Provision will be sought as part of the 2025-26 Capital Works Program to undertake any required alterations to the tactical infrastructure that may be identified during the monitoring and evaluation of the project.

10.2.2. Should the Council decide to un-install or significantly alter the tactical infrastructure following the 24 month report, further costings can be produced at that time depending on the changes required. Reversion of the street to its current arrangements is estimated to cost in the order of $50,000 per block for tactical equipment removal and line marking reinstatement.

10.2.3. It is anticipated parking demand and utilisation will generally shift to other available locations in nearby streets. As such, while it is not anticipated that there will be a material impact on parking revenue as a result of this project, there may be some income foregone from parking fines.

10.2.4. This however needs to be considered in the context of City’s recently adopted Parking and Kerbside Management Plan 2024, which states:

“Parking space generates important income for the City of Hobart, which needs to be balanced against the access needs of all users and against other transport, place and liveability objectives.”

10.2.5. In addition, evidence from other similar projects in other jurisdictions have shown significant economic benefits for businesses and residents, as well as social capital, social inclusion and social equity value uplift generated through the creation of desirable places, where the identity and reputation of the city is enhanced.

10.3. Asset Related Implications

10.3.1. Tactical bicycle infrastructure and streetscape improvements, as with all transport infrastructure (roads, line-marking, etc) deteriorate and require maintenance over time.

10.3.2. Noting the 24-month tactical implementation period for this design, it is not anticipated that significant deterioration will occur during this time requiring maintenance.

11. Sustainability Considerations

11.1. The project will support greater uptake of bicycle riding on this important commuter and recreational corridor. Bicycle riding, whether pedal-powered or electric, and the use of other micromobility devices such as e-scooters, are low emissions forms of transport which will contribute to lowering community transport emissions.

11.2. The project is therefore aligned with the overarching theme ‘Climate ready transport’ in the City’s Hobart Transport Strategy 2024.

12. Community Engagement

12.1. The engagement approach was informed by the Department of State Growth’s draft Tactical Cycling Infrastructure guidance material, in particular Communications and Engagement Guidance document.

12.2. The following stakeholders were directly engaged to contribute feedback on the project:

· Bus operators and emergency services

· Business community on Collins Street including landowners and tenants

· The City of Hobart’s Access Advisory Committee.

12.3. The engagement objectives underpinning the engagement approach were as follows:

· To build community awareness of the project

· To inform stakeholders of the proposed changes including the impacts and benefits relevant to them

· To seek feedback from stakeholders on key elements of the design.

12.4. Given the considerable interest in this project via the City’s social media channels, members if the public were directed to submit their feedback via the project page and City of Hobart email. Some 44 emails and 9 formal written submissions were received during the engagement period.

12.5. Given the strategic alignment of the project, its scale and tactical nature, broad community engagement and seeking feedback on the chosen design for the bike lanes was not identified as an objective for this project.

12.6. Stakeholder feedback was sought on the following key components of the design:

· Bus operator and emergency services operations, and any changes required to manage impacts of the project.

· Loading functions for Collins Street businesses, and accessible bays have been identified as priority kerbside functions for Collins Street. On this basis we sought feedback on the following:

o Suitable locations for loading zones within the precinct

o Suitable locations for accessible bays within the precinct, noting a project objective to double the total number of accessible bays within the precinct from 2 to 4, noting that an additional access parking space has been identified and is being investigated.

o Suitable timing for remaining kerbside general parking bays to suit Collins Street business and community needs.

12.7. Summary engagement findings:

What we heard	How we’re responding
Collins Street is an important route for bus services including metro/commuter services and tourist services (Skybus and Red Decker). Important to retain bus services and stops on Collins Street. Some stops on Collins Street are underutilised and there is potential for consolidation.	· A bus ‘superstop’ will be included at Stop No. 119 Collins Street, with some routes retained on Collins Street.
The Department of State Growth supports the implementation of the Greater Hobart Cycling Plan, which identifies Collins Street as part of the All Ages and Abilities cycling network.	· An All Ages and Abilities treatment is pursued for the project extent.
Loading for service vehicles is a priority kerbside use.	· Loading has been prioritised over general parking across all street blocks, with additional loading provided in some sections and extended loading areas. Loading timings are subject to further discussions with key stakeholders.
Disability access is a priority kerbside use.	· Removal of the existing accessible bay in the Harrington to Murray streets block is required to facilitate the All Ages and Abilities infrastructure. An additional bay is included in the Barrack to Harrington block to offset this, and an additional two accessible bays are being investigated within the same street block. · It is our intention to convert a parking space to a further accessible bay between Victoria Street and Harrington Street, subject to the physical works required and budget capacity to achieve a space approaching compliance with appropriate standards.
Loss of on-street parking is a concern for many businesses.	· Retention of 3 existing parking bays between 174 and 178 Collins Street and retention of 7 existing bays on Victoria Street (central) in the current scheme. · Modification of timing for on-street parking to remain on Collins Street to support turnover and business needs. · Modification of timing for on-street parking on cross-streets (e.g. Molle Street) to support turnover and business needs. · Extension of Centrepoint opening hours is currently being investigated. · Dedicated parking bays in Centrepoint for Seniors and Parents with Prams.
Concerns regarding the traffic impacts of the proposal to Collins and surrounding streets.	· Traffic modelling undertaken by Pitt and Sherry (Transport Model Consultants) shows that the overall impacts of the current proposal are relatively minor across the day. We are currently undertaking minor additional traffic modelling to determine the likely impacts of minor modifications to the proposed configuration on traffic within the project area which have arisen from considering feedback received to date. · Specific concerns regarding the proposal to make Victoria Street two-way and have vehicles exiting Centrepoint directly onto Harrington Street have been considered in traffic modelling and as a result this aspect of the concept design has been removed.

12.8. Broader community engagement and continued stakeholder engagement is planned for the monitoring and engagement phase of the project.

12.9. The Engagement Summary Report is provided at Attachment D.

13. Communications Strategy

13.1. A project mailing list has been established for subscribers to receive regular project updates. Members of the public are able to sign up for this mailing list on the City’s website.

13.2. Broad communications are planned to coincide with the launch of the new infrastructure for early 2024. This will include information on how the changed streetscape environment will function for all road users, with an emphasis on road safety. Communications will also highlight opportunities for feedback on the project, in accordance with monitoring and evaluation activities.

14. Innovation and Continuous Improvement

14.1. This project will be the first of its kind in a Tasmanian City CBD. Tactical delivery of bicycle infrastructure has been implemented in many Australian cities, particularly following the 2019 COVID epidemic and resulting opportunities for changing travel behaviour and use of city space.

14.2. The project includes ongoing monitoring and evaluation to inform modifications and improvements to the design as required throughout the life of the project.

Daniel Verdouw

Manager City Mobility

Philip Holliday

Acting Director City Futures

Date: 11 September 2024

File Reference: F24/43113

Attachment a: Collins Street Final Design (Supporting information)

Attachment b: Options Analysis (Supporting information)

Attachment c: Traffic Modelling (Supporting information)

Attachment d: Stakeholder Engagement Report (Supporting information)

Item No. 12

Agenda (Open Portion)

Council Meeting

Page 1

16/9/2024

REPORT TITLE: Business Events Tasmania Annual Funding Submission 2024-25

REPORT PROVIDED BY: Project Manager Smart Economy

Acting Director Connected City

1. Report Summary

1.1. This report has three purposes:

1.1.1. To present not-for-profit organisation Business Events Tasmania’s performance during 2023-24 financial year (FY), against the terms of the 2023-24 Grant Agreement.

1.1.2. To provide Business Events Tasmania’s funding submission for the 2024-25 FY (Attachment A).

1.1.3. To seek endorsement of grant funding of $80,000 (excluding GST) via the creation of a Grant Agreement to govern the relationship between the City of Hobart and Business Events Tasmania (BET) for the 2024-25 FY.

1.2. BET’s activities provide far reaching benefits, including:

· Boost to the local economy via spending power of delegates.

· Economic activity beyond measurable metrics, including knowledge creation and exchange, as well as future investment.

· Increasing activity within valuable trade sectors, delivering economic benefits beyond visitation dollars.

· Added population and vibrancy in the city year-round.

2. Key Issues

2.1. The City of Hobart (the City) has supported Business Events Tasmania (BET) financially since 2009.

2.1.1. This support is based on the continued achievements of BET in attracting business events to Hobart. Business events delegates are the highest spending type of visitor and often visit cities during off-peak times.

2.2. BET is a not-for-profit membership organisation and all funding received is invested into attracting business for Hobart and Tasmania.

2.3. BET is well positioned to attract interstate business events looking for attractive destinations closer to home.

2.4. In the 2023-24 financial year, BET generated an estimated $82,100,000 in direct economic expenditure for Hobart.

2.5. BET is seeking $80,000 (excluding GST) in support from the City for the financial year 2024-25. This request equals the amount of funding provided by the City to BET in the 2023-24 FY, which was a reduction from the previous year. This amount has been determined as financially prudent in the current environment, provides significant funding to BET and offers the City with value for money.

3. Recommendation

That:

1. The Council note the achievements of Business Events Tasmania’s performance against the 2023-24 Grant Agreement with the City of Hobart as outlined in this report.

2. The Council approve the provision of funding of $80,000 (excluding GST) to Business Events Tasmania for the 2024-25 financial year.

3. The Council delegate the authority to the Chief Executive Officer to negotiate and enter into the grant agreement on the Council’s behalf.

4. The total funding provision be recorded in the ‘Grants, Assistance and Benefits provided’ section of the City of Hobart’s Annual Report.

4. Background

4.1. Business Events Tasmania (BET) is the peak organisation for the business events sector in Tasmania. BET is a not-for-profit member organisation that offers specialist bidding services taking a leading role in marketing Tasmania as a business event destination.

4.2. Business events are defined as gatherings where professionals carry out business related activities, often from national and international associations, corporate organisations and event planners. These activities underpin knowledge creation and in exchange attract global talent, encourage trade and investment, nurture collaborate, foster innovation and provide social benefits.

4.3. Research commissioned in by BET in 2023 found the average daily spend per delegate whilst attending a conference in Tasmania to be between $821-$1,347. Additionally, 28% of delegates bring at least one other person with them and they stay an average of 4.7 nights. Furthermore, 89 per cent intend to return to Tasmania for leisure in the following three years. Business events captured by BET help support 1,024 direct and indirect jobs.

4.4. The City has provided financial support to BET for over a decade. From 2015-16 through to 2022-23, increases in funding were in line with CPI.

Summary of Financial Support for Business Events Tasmania
2009-10	$60,000
2010-11	$65,000
2011-12	$80,000
2012-13	$90,000
2013-14	$90,000
2014-15	$92,500
2015-16	$93,300 plus $6,700 towards a feasibility study
2016-17	$100,000
2017-18	$102,300
2018-19	$104,200
2019-20	$105,555
2020-21	$53,728
2021-22	$109,355
2022-23	$114,932
2023-24	$80,000
2024-25	$80,000 (recommended)

4.5. In addition to funding from the City of Hobart, BET receives other local government funding from the City of Launceston, West Tamar Council and Devonport City Council.

4.6. The Tasmanian Government also support BET in the following ways.

· $790,000 for operational funds, and

· $2.5 million over three years for the Business Events Attraction Fund, which is a grant used to incentivise event organisers into choosing Tasmania over other destinations.

4.7. The Tasmanian government also has the following election commitments that have not yet passed through parliament:

4.7.1. An additional $600,000

4.7.2. An additional $3.8 million for the Business Events Attraction Fund.

4.8. As BET is a not-for-profit membership organisation, no individual or private organisation benefits from the funding BET receives as all is invested into attracting business to Hobart and Tasmania. BET is also a lean organisation experiencing the challenges of growth and any reductions in funding have a direct impact on the delivery of planned activities.

4.9. City of Hobart funding is used directly to support site inspections. On average BET hosts 39 site inspections annually in Hobart. Visitors range between 1 and 4 attendees per inspection, who at the time of inspection are generally considering Hobart as one of their final three destinations. Site inspections drive strong conversion, on average 78% of site inspections convert, equating to approximately 28 being won to Hobart, representing 9500 delegates with a direct spend of $20.7 million in economic expenditure.

4.10. BET’s main performance indicator set by the City is ‘bid wins in Hobart’ (listed in the table below).

Financial Year	City Funding (excluding GST)	Bid Wins in Hobart	Actual Bids Won	Delegates	Estimated Economic Impact
2017-18	$102,300	70	76	18,471	$39,519,601
2018-19	$104,200	72	80	16,061	$39,422,802
2019-20	$105,555	74	80	16,725	$43,486,010
2020-21	$53,728	No target	50	12,321	$35,006,484
2021-22	$109,355	74	81	17,008	$53,344,041
2022-23	$114,932	74	96	17,118	$57,500,000
2023-24	$80,000	74	114	24,428	$82,100,000

*Note that the ‘number of BET wins (target)’ refers to the number of bids won in any given financial year, to be delivered in the future.

Performance in 2023-24

4.11. The City and BET worked together to develop agreed Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the 2023-24 financial year. The following details BET’s achievements over the last 12 months:

4.11.1. In 2023-24 BET secured a total of 114 Bid Wins in Hobart, exceeding the KPI by approximately 54.05%. It should be noted that BET ‘bid won’ data only includes bids directly placed and won by BET. The activities carried out by BET in promoting Hobart as a business event destination also delivers business directly to the venues and the city.

4.11.2. The Tasmanian Travel and Information Centre was recommended as an experience booking service to 172 bids during the 2023-24 financial year for a range of associations, corporate meetings and incentive.

4.11.3. Ongoing promotion of Hobart as a conference destination, including:

· Increased digital marketing occurred to change audience composition and audience growth.

· Attendance at national trade shows.

· BET supported 12 site inspections of Hobart, providing event organisers and key decision makers the opportunity to visit venues and meet with suppliers before deciding on where to hold their conference.

· Quarterly BET magazine was distributed electronically nationally and internationally to event planners and key decision makers.

· Bidding research campaign work to target large business events.

· Providing marketing material for the trade mission to the USA.

· Continued development and roll out of the bidding tool based on member and client feedback.

4.11.4. Continued to roll out the BET Visionary Program which launched in September 2022. The Visionary Program exists to showcase the breadth and depth of talent in Tasmania, leveraging this in order to attract and secure aligned business events to the state.

4.11.5. Visionaries include:

· Karen Rees, Tasmanian Antarctic Advocate

· Professor Gretta Pecl, Professor of Climate Change Ecology

· Irene Penesis, Research Director at Blue Economy CRC

· Professor Catriona Hurd, Professor of Seaweed Physiology and Ecology

· Andy Flies, Postdoctoral research fellow – Immunology

· Pat Wongpan- Quantitative Sea ice biogeochemist/ecologist

· Sean Van Steel, Operations Director at Core Marine

· Anne Gigney, Founder and Co-Director at The Distillers Institute

· Dr Louise Grimmer, Retail and Consumer Expert

· Associate Professor Seana Gall, Epidemiologist, Menzies Institute of Medial Research

· Sam Elsom, Chief Executive Officer at Sea Forest

· Dr Tara Martin, Director, Antarctic Tasmania

· Professor Tracey Dickson, Director, Menzies Institute for Medical Research

4.11.6. Hobart has played host to a number of business events this FY, that directly align with the City’s key industries and priority areas including but not limited to the following:

· 13th International CD1 & MR1 Conference 2024

· 7th International Zooplankton Production Symposium 2024

· Australasian Hydrographic Society Annual Conference 2024

· Council for Australasian Tourism and Hospitality Education (CAUTHE)

· Australian Space Research Conference

· Interferry Annual Conference

· World Wind Energy Conference

· Southern Ocean Observing Systems Symposium

Annual Funding Submission 2024-25

4.12. BET has provided its Annual Funding Submission for the 2024-25 financial year (Attachment A).

4.13. BET is requesting funding for the 2024-25 financial year of $80,000 (excluding GST).

Grant Agreement Reporting and KPI Requirements 2024-25

4.14. Currently, the following KPIs are proposed for inclusion in the 2024-25 Grant Agreement, subject to agreement by both parties. These are consistent with the previous 2023-24 Grant Agreement KPIs:

· Attract at least ten (10) strategically important conference events, aligned to the city’s competitive advantages and opportunities outlined in the Invest Hobart Prospectus and any of the relevant four (4) Strategic Priorities set out in the City Economy Strategy.

· Secure at least five (5) events that include content or activity relevant to workforce, economic development and/or skills development and/or cover contemporary research, best practices, new market opportunities, products, or services relevant to local businesses based in the Hobart Local Government Area.

· Promotion of TTIC as the preferred booking partner for pre/post delegate touring for events held in the Hobart Local Government Area.

· Promotion of Hello Hobart to interested conference organisers and visiting delegates for events held in the Hobart Local Government Area.

· In partnership with either the Grantor and/or other suitable third-party organisers, develop a minimum of two models of event corporate greening activities for interested event organisers and delegates to be held in the Hobart Local Government Area. BET engaged Landcare Tasmania who took the lead in developing the programs and will continue to project ongoing.

5. Legal, Risk and Legislative Considerations

5.1. The nature of the relationship between the City and BET is one of mutual understanding and collaboration based on a successful relationship that has spanned many years.

6. Hobart: A Community Vision For Our Island Capital

6.1. The Council endorsed ‘Hobart: A community vision for our island capital’ sets out what our community wants Hobart to be in the future. Continuing support for BET is in line with the following Pillars within the Community Vision:

2.2.9 We welcome visitors, and we strike a balance between meeting the needs of tourists and the needs of our communities.

4.1.1 We are a city of thriving, diverse sectors that foster a culture of welcome and value unique and transferable skills.

4.1.2 We excel in niche industries and expertise and quality work.

4.3.8 We promote Hobart as a perfect environment for remote workers, sole traders and niche small business.

4.4.1 We enable clever and resourceful people to find each other and collaborate.

7. Capital City Strategic Plan

7.1. Continued financial support for BET meets several Strategic Directions, as outlined in the City of Hobart Capital City Strategic Plan 2019-29.

4.3 Diverse connections help Hobart’s economy, businesses and workers thrive

4.3.1 Develop and maintain relationships with key institutions and stakeholders in the Hobart economy

4.3.2 Actively support and engage with local area businesses, business groups and other business networks

4.4 Hobart is a place where entrepreneurs and businesses can grow and flourish

4.4.1 Create opportunities for businesses to engage with the City.

4.5 Hobart’s economy is strong, diverse and resilient.

4.5.2 Develop strategic relationships in major Hobart industries such as education, tourism, science, research and the public and creative sectors.

8. Financial Viability

8.1. Funding Source and Impact on Current Year Operating Result

8.1.1. BET is seeking funding of $80,000 for the 2024-25 financial year. This has been budgeted for in the City’s operational budget.

8.2. Impact on Future Years’ Financial Result

8.2.1. It is estimated that the management of the relationship between BET and the City requires 0.05 FTE per annum (equivalent to 13 days a year or 97.50hrs).

8.3. Asset Related Implications

8.3.1. There are no asset related implications.

9. Sustainability Considerations

9.1. BET, in partnership with Landcare, are finalising a range of programs for event planners to include in conferences itineraries. This includes the opportunity for conference delegates to participate in local environmental restoration activities such as tree planting and habit restoration.

9.2. Utilising strong lines of communications and relationships with event organisers and accommodation providers, BET actively encourages sustainability practices.

9.3. BET has implemented a mandate that all staff are to use electric vehicles for any intrastate travel.

9.4. Sustainability is a core value for the organisation and BET will be undertaking two programs offering through the Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania’s (TICT) Emissions Reduction Initiative. The outcome of these programs will support the development of BET’s Sustainability Strategy.

10. Collaboration

10.1. This nature of the relationship between the City and BET is one of mutual understanding and collaboration based on a successful relationship that has spanned many years. Council officers meet regularly with BET staff to receive updates on progress with performance and in particular to discuss successful bids and subsequent economic and/or business opportunities.

Camilla Best

Project Manager Smart Economy

Felicity Edwards

Acting Director Connected City

Date: 10 September 2024

File Reference: F24/72690

Attachment a: Business Events Tasmania Funding Submission 2024-25 (Supporting information)

3. Recommendation

That:

1. The Council endorse a one-year sponsorship agreement with Pinpoint Group for the Tasmania’s Taste of Summer 2024-25 festival, with sponsorship obligations of:

(i) $65,000 cash (excluding GST), comprising sponsorship and support for, access to and exclusive naming rights of the City of Hobart Community Day on 31 December 2024, with the expanded program as per the 2023-24 event, and any other ancillary benefits as negotiated for inclusion in the Sponsorship Agreement, to be paid in accordance with the City of Hobart Inbound Requests for Sponsorship Policy.

(ii) In-kind support through full and partial fee waivers for equipment hire, venue hire, civic banners, road closures and associated parking spaces, and provision of plants and associated watering, to an upper limit of $390,000 (excluding GST).

2. The Council delegate the authority to the Chief Executive Officer to finalise a sponsorship agreement and any licence requirements with Pinpoint Group for Tasmania’s Taste of Summer 2024-25 event, including the details of the sponsorship benefits and incidental additional requests for in-kind support sought by Pinpoint Group.

3. The total value of the sponsorship be recorded in the ‘Grants, Assistance and Benefits Provided’ section of the City of Hobart’s Annual Report 2024-25.

4. Background

4.1. Previously run as the Taste of Tasmania by the City of Hobart, the event remains a significant driver of the local economy and a key component in our tourism mix.

4.2. Tasmania’s Taste of Summer 2023-24 post event report is included at Attachment A.

4.3. The Taste of Summer 2024-25 will provide significant value to the City of Hobart attracting visitors to Hobart and enhancing our summer offerings and reputation.

4.4. Spend analysis of economic data undertaken by CommBankIQ for the 2023-24 event period, when compared to the average spend in the previous 10 months as well as the average spend on the same days of the event in the previous year, demonstrates the uplift in economic activity over the summer period.

4.5. Whilst it is not possible to directly attribute the uplift in spending activity solely to the Taste of Summer, it is one of a number of significant activities occurring at this time therefore contributing to the overall uplift, and the analysis correlates with findings to this end in the post event report.

4.6. Pinpoint Group’s request for support from the City of Hobart seeks support for this year’s festival to match the support provided by the City for the 2023-24 festival.

5. Legal, Risk and Legislative Considerations

5.1. A risk assessment will be undertaken by Pinpoint Group for the Taste of Summer 2024-25 festival, as they will be using City assets, and this will ensure that any perceived risk to the City is acceptable.

5.2. A risk assessment of Pinpoint Group’s event management plan will be reviewed by the City of Hobart’s Risk and Audit officers to ensure that:

5.2.1. The use of Council venues complies with safety requirements.

5.2.2. The use of Council equipment in the Taste of Summer 2024-25 festival’s proposed venues complies with safety requirements

5.3. Should the Council approve this sponsorship, formal agreements will be entered into between Pinpoint Group and Hobart City Council, and signed by both parties.

5.3.1. The City’s Legal & Governance, Risk & Audit, and Procurement officers will be consulted with in the preparation of the sponsorship agreements.

5.3.2. Relevant officers from other Council areas will also be consulted as required.

5.4. Events within the City of Hobart are required to comply with:

5.4.1. City of Hobart Public Spaces By-law No.4 of 2018

5.4.2. City of Hobart Single-use Plastic By-law 2020

5.4.3. City of Hobart Waste Management By-law No.3 of 2018

6. Discussion

6.1. The Taste of Summer 2023-24 post event report (Attachment A) outlines the key achievements including attendee demographics and other key statistics.

6.2. Pinpoint Group has requested support for the Taste of Summer 2024-25 festival for Council consideration (Attachment B).

6.2.1. The request seeks “… a commitment from City of Hobart matching the 23/24 contribution of $65,000 … in addition to in kind support through the provision of hired goods and services, per last year’s arrangements.”

6.2.2. The proposed cash contribution of $65,000 (excluding GST) has been budgeted for and is considered appropriate.

6.2.3. The proposed in-kind support is anticipated to be a maximum of $390,000 (excluding GST), which will approximately match the total in-kind support endorsed by Council the previous year.

6.2.3.1. Pinpoint Group has not detailed the proposed in-kind support beyond that in 6.2.1 above.

6.2.3.2. Fee waivers will be supported where there are no direct costs to the City, with an upper limit of $390,000 (excluding GST).

6.2.3.3. Where there are direct costs, incurred through items such as advertising fees, e.g. for road closures, subcontracted works, e.g. banner installation, and provision of materials that are unable to be reused, partial fee waivers will be applied with the direct costs passed on to Pinpoint Group.

6.3. A summary of the preliminary in-kind support estimates is provided below. The figures will be confirmed prior to entering into a sponsorship agreement with Pinpoint Group, with an upper limit of in-kind support of $390,000 (excluding GST) to match the 2023-24 commitment.

Summary	Estimated breakdown of in-kind support (ex GST)
Former Taste of Tasmania equipment Kiosks, sculleries, purpose built cool rooms, table and bench sets, wheelchair ramps, grey water tanks, track matting, vinyl and vehicle mitigation cubes	$270,000
City of Hobart fabrication crew In-kind support excludes cost of any material supplies, which are direct costs incurred by the City and will be the responsibility of Pinpoint Group for payment.	$20,000
Road closure permit License fee only. In-kind support excludes the advertising fee which is a direct cost incurred by the City and will be the responsibility of Pinpoint Group for payment.	$365.91
Venue hire Salamanca Lawns (current booking 16 December 2024 – 7 January 2025) In-kind support excludes cost of site bond of $15,000 which will be the responsibility of Pinpoint Group for payment.	$18,191
Civic banner hire Administration / processing fee component only. In-kind support excludes the cost of or the supply of the banners and excludes the installation cost, which is a direct cost incurred by the City and will be the responsibility of Pinpoint Group for payment.	$136
Car parking Parking revenue estimate includes 21x metered spaces only ($27 (excluding GST) per metered space per day) and does not account for further metered spaces lost to relocated taxi or bus zones, or disabled parking spaces. Figures to be confirmed prior to entering agreement.	$12,474
City of Hobart Nursery provision Hire and delivery costs, as well as regular watering.	$25,000

6.4. The benefits to the City will be subject to final negotiation with Pinpoint Group however based on last year’s agreement will include:

6.4.1. Exclusive naming rights for the City of Hobart Community Day, to be held on 31 December 2024.

6.4.2. The City of Hobart logo to be included in the sponsorship, or equivalent section of Tasmania’s Taste of Summer website, marketing materials in the same location as other sponsors’ logos appear, in accordance with the City of Hobart Event & Sponsorship Acknowledgement Guidelines.

6.4.3. Images and other digital media, related to Tasmania’s Taste of Summer, are provided to the Council to assist in the promotion of Tasmania’s Taste of Summer 2024-25 festival and the City of Hobart Community Day to be held on 31 December 2024.

6.4.4. The option to supply official quotes in Tasmania’s Taste of Summer 2024-25 festival media releases,

6.4.5. Invitation to all media events and launches for Tasmania’s Taste of Summer 2024-25 festival, including those where Council branding is to be displayed.

6.4.6. A number of multi-day entry passes to Tasmania’s Taste of Summer 2024-25 festival.

6.4.7. A number of tickets per day permitting entry into the Tasmania’s Taste of Summer 2024-25 festival.

6.4.8. A number of tickets to the New Years Eve ticketed event at the Tasmania’s Taste of Summer 2024-25 festival.

6.5. Unlike previous years, there is no proposal for a VIP / Stakeholder event to be held on the City of Hobart Community Day on 31 December 2024.

6.6. Pinpoint Group will be required to provide a post-event report to the Council that includes:

6.6.1. an analysis of the entire Taste of Summer 2024-25 festival, including the provision of information relating to attendance, demographics, promotional benefits and an economic analysis; and

6.6.2. a media/market analysis that includes, but is not limited to, a report on the number of instances where the Council's logo, name, product, names or symbols were used (including on media, social media and other digital promotion platforms), where they were used and the duration of the use, during the Term, to the Council within three months from the end of the Term of the Sponsorship Agreement.

7. Hobart: A Community Vision For Our Island Capital

7.1. The 2024-25 Tasmania’s Taste of Summer sponsorship proposal supports the Hobart: A Community Vision for our Island Capital document, namely in its community vision, strategic plan and community inclusion and equity framework.

8. Capital City Strategic Plan

8.1. The support of large commercial events aligns with the City of Hobart Capital City Strategic Plan 2019-29:

Pillar 1: Sense of Place

1.1 Hobart keeps a strong sense of place and identity, even as the City changes.

Pillar 3: Creativity and culture

3.1.5 Support and deliver events, festivals and markets.

3.4.1 Support the activation of City-owned spaces for creative, cultural and commercial initiatives.

8.2. The Taste of Summer 2024-25 festival proposal as detailed in this report, aligns with the City of Hobart Capital City Strategic Plan 2019-29, namely:

Pillar 4: City Economies

4.1.2 Attract investment that supports businesses and communities to flourish in ways consistent with the community vision.

4.3.1 Develop and maintain relationships with key institutions and stakeholders in the Hobart economy.

9. Financial Viability

9.1. Funding Source and Impact on Current Year Operating Result

9.1.1. Should Council approve the cash and in-kind support proposed in this report, it will be provided as a one-year sponsorship, reflected in the City’s 2024-25 operational budget.

9.1.2. The cash request of $65,000 (excluding GST) has been allocated in the 2024-25 operational budget.

9.1.3. The in-kind support of a maximum of $390,000 (excluding GST).

9.1.4. It is estimated that the management of the relationship between Pinpoint Group and the City requires twenty-six days of officer time.

9.1.4.1. There is additional Council officer time required to facilitate the provision of equipment and condition reporting, and access to services which has been accounted for in the value of in-kind support.

9.1.4.2. Pinpoint Group will be required to complete booking forms and permit applications and will be required to comply with the relevant terms and conditions.

9.1.5. The value of foregone revenue raised from enforcement of car parking to the affected car parking spaces has not been calculated and is not captured in the value of in-kind support.

9.2. Impact on Future Years’ Financial Result

9.2.1. N/A

9.3. Asset Related Implications

9.3.1. A condition assessment will be undertaken of all City of Hobart assets prior to and at the completion of the Taste of Summer 2024-25 festival. It is anticipated that this process will identify any assets that require repair or disposal.

10. Sustainability Considerations

10.1. Events or activities that the City of Hobart support are required to align with the objectives of the City of Hobart Waste Management Strategy 2015-30. In particular, participants and contractors must outline their commitment to sustainable events, certified compostable food packaging and reducing waste to landfill.

10.2. The Taste of Summer provides general waste, green waste and recycling bins to all stallholders and throughout the site for patrons to promote sorting at the source. It is estimated that 71% of all waste from the 23/24 event was diverted from landfill.

10.3. As previously noted, events within the City of Hobart are required to comply with the City of Hobart Single-use Plastic By-Law 2020. The Taste of Summer is free of single use plastics, has digital ticketing, provides Taste ‘keep cups’ for patrons, and ensures used cooking oil from the event is transferred to the Belgrove Distillery at Kempton for processing into Biofuel.

11. Community Engagement

11.1. A Community Engagement strategy will be developed in consultation with Pinpoint Group.

11.2. City of Hobart will have extensive opportunities to engage with the community as part of the free City of Hobart Community Day including having a stall and activation presence.

12. Communications Strategy

12.1. A Media and Communications Strategy will be developed in consultation with Pinpoint Group.

12.2. Sponsorship benefits have been discussed with Pinpoint Group to provide appropriate acknowledgment of the City of Hobart. These will be finalised once the Council has determined the level of support that the City will provide.

13. Innovation and Continuous Improvement

13.1. The 2022-23 festival saw the inaugural Community Day. Planning is underway to maximise its value to the city and residents for the 2024-25 festival.

13.2. Taste of Summer 2024-25 festival continues to work to improve with the assistance of Council staff. Work has been undertaken to enhance the environmental sustainability and the accessibility of the festival.

14. Collaboration

14.1. Taste of Summer / Pinpoint Group undertakes extensive engagement with stakeholders and city officers make recommendations to assist event organisation.

14.2. Officers have engaged internally to connect event organisers to all relevant areas for engagement, permissions and media.

14.3. As with previous years, the City will work with the event organisers to further seek opportunities to showcase work and programs undertaken across Council and other government organisations.

Jane Castle

Acting Manager Creative City

Felicity Edwards

Acting Director Connected City

Date: 11 September 2024

File Reference: F24/73638

Attachment a: Taste of Summer 2023-24 Report (Supporting information)

Attachment b: Taste of Summer Sponsorship Request 2024-25 (Supporting information)

Item No. 14

Agenda (Open Portion)

Council Meeting

Page 1

16/9/2024

REPORT TITLE: Council Governance Review

REPORT PROVIDED BY: Chief Executive Officer

1. Report Summary

1.1. The purpose of this report is to outline the Governance Review that has been completed and make recommendations to the Council for changes to the current governance arrangements.

Recommendation

DECISION 1

That:

1. Council meetings be maintained on a monthly frequency and commence at 4.00pm on Mondays.

2. A Planning Authority item be included on the Council Agenda to accommodate any development applications that are deferred to a Council meeting for determination.

3. Council abolish the current ‘Planning Committee’ and establish a new ‘Planning Authority Committee’, pursuant to section 23 of the Local Government Act 1993 and endorse the Terms of Reference at attachment A.

4. Council delegates all of its functions and powers as the planning authority under the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993 (Tas) to the Planning Authority Committee, other than its power of delegation.

5. Council delegates to the Planning Authority Committee its functions and powers under section 23(2) of the Local Government Act 1993 (Tas) to appoint members of the Planning Authority Committee in accordance with clause 4.3 of the Terms of Reference.

6. Council delegates to the Chief Executive Officer its functions and powers under section 23(2) of the Local Government Act 1993 (Tas) to appoint members of the Planning Authority Committee in accordance with clauses 4.6 and 5.3 of the Terms of Reference.

7. The Chief Executive Officer be authorised to delegate the functions and powers delegated in accordance with clause 6 to an employee of the Council.

8. The Chief Executive Officer record these delegations in writing and signed by the Chief Executive Officer in accordance with section 23AA(2)(b) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1931 (Tas).

9. Council resolves that Planning Authority Committee meetings be maintained on a fortnightly frequency and commence at 4.00pm on Wednesdays.

10. The Council establish the Future Hobart Council Committee, pursuant to section 23 of the Local Government Act 1993 in accordance with the Terms of Reference at attachment B, to be held twice monthly, commencing at 4.00pm on Mondays.

11. Council delegates to the Future Hobart Council Committee the following functions and powers:

(a) Subject to clause 12, the Council delegates all of its functions and powers under the Local Government Act 1993 (Tas) and all other Acts, other than the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993 (Tas), to the Future Hobart Council Committee.

12. Unless otherwise resolved by the Council, the Council does not delegate to the Future Hobart Council Committee any of the following functions and powers:

(a) Those listed in section 22(3) of the Local Government Act 1993 (Tas), being:

· The borrowing of money or other financial accommodation;

· The determination of the categories of expenses payable to councillors and any member of any committee;

· The establishment of council committees, special committees, controlling authorities, single authorities or joint authorities;

· The revision of the budget or financial statements of the Council;

· The revision of the strategic plan and the annual plan of the Council;

· The appointment of the General Manager;

· The sale, donation, exchange or other disposal of land or public land;

· The decision to exercise any power under section 21(1);

· The making of by-laws;

· The making of rates and charges under Part 9; and

· Any other prescribed power; and

(b) Adoption or revision of the Council’s:

· Long-term Financial Management Plan;

· Financial Management Strategy;

· Long-term Strategic Asset Management Plan;

· Asset Management Policy;

· Asset Management Strategy; and

· Regional and Municipal Strategies and Plans.

13. Subject to sub-paragraph (a), the Council delegates all of its functions and powers as the planning authority under the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993 (Tas) to the Future Hobart Council Committee, other than its power of delegation. The Committee has full power to make planning decisions on behalf of the Council.

(a) The Council’s delegation of its functions and powers as the planning authority to the Future Hobart Council Committee is conditional upon a matter being deferred to the Committee pursuant to:

(i) The Terms of Reference of the Planning Authority Committee; or

(ii) A decision of the Council.

14. Council delegates to the Future Hobart Council Committee its functions and powers under section 23(2) of the Local Government Act 1993 (Tas) to appoint members of the Future Hobart Council Committee in accordance with clause 4.3 of the Terms of Reference.

15. Council delegates to the Chief Executive Officer its functions and powers under section 23(2) of the Local Government Act 1933 (Tas) to appoint members of the Future Hobart Council Committee in accordance with clauses 4.6 and 5.3 of the Terms of Reference.

16. Council authorises the Chief Executive Officer to delegate the functions and powers delegated in accordance with Clause 15 to an employee of the Council.

17. The Chief Executive Officer to record these delegations in writing and signed by the Chief Executive Officer, in accordance with section 23AA(2)(b) of the Acts Interpretations Act 1931 (Tas).

18. Council abolish the following Portfolio Committees:

(i) Creative City

(ii) Housing and Homelessness

(iii) Welcoming and Inclusive

(iv) Future Hobart

(v) Healthy Hobart

(vi) City Water

(vii) Climate Futures

(viii) Sustainability in Infrastructure

19. Pursuant to section 24 of the Local Government Act 1993, the Council establish a Place and Wellbeing Committee with the Chief Executive Officer to develop a draft Committee Charter for consideration at a future Council meeting.

20. Pursuant to section 24 of the Local Government Act 1993, the Council establish a Climate, Sustainability and Biodiversity Committee with the Chief Executive Officer to develop a draft Committee Charter for consideration at a future Council meeting.

21. Council resolves to maintain the City Heritage, City Mobility, and City Economy Committees established pursuant to section 24 of the Local Government Act 1993 in November 2022.

(i) The Chief Executive Officer be authorised to make the necessary changes to the Terms of Reference of the respective Committees.

22. Councillors Coats and Kitsos be appointed as members of the Place and Wellbeing Committee and that a rotating chairperson arrangement be put in place.

23. Councillors Reynolds, Harvey and Lohberger be appointed as members of the Climate, Sustainability and Biodiversity Committee and that a rotating chairperson arrangements be put in place.

24. An Expression of Interest process be undertaken among the current Portfolio Committee members to select the community representatives for the Place and Wellbeing Committee and the Climate, Sustainability and Biodiversity Committee.

25. Opportunities be provided for committee meetings minutes and recommendations to be considered by the Council at a Council meeting or Council committee meeting and where there is a need, provide an opportunity for a committee to directly brief the Council at a Council committee meeting.

DECISION 2 (subject to Decision 1)

That:

26. The following seven Elected Members [names to be determined] to be an Appointed Member of the Planning Authority Committee:

27. Council confirms that an Appointed Member will temporarily cease to be an Appointed Member of the Planning Authority Committee in the circumstances provided for by clause 4.5 of the Terms of Reference.

28. Council appoints the following Appointed Member [name to be determined] to be the Chairperson of the Planning Authority Committee.

29. Council appoints the following seven Elected Members [names to be determined] to be an Appointed Member of the Future Hobart Council Committee.

30. Council confirms that an Appointed Member will temporarily cease to be an Appointed Member of the Future Hobart Council Committee in the circumstances provided for by clause 4.5 of the Terms of Reference.

31. Council appoints the following Appointed Member [name to be determined] to be the Chairperson of the Future Hobart Council Committee.

Council endorse a rotating Chairperson arrangement whereby each Appointed Member, by alphabetical order of surname, rotate on a bi-monthly basis.

32. Any membership appointments resulting from this decision be for the remainder of the current term of the Council.

33. The Chief Executive Officer be empowered to develop an implementation plan for Decisions 1 and 2 which balances the Governance requirements of the organisation with the timing of the introduction of the various changes which have been agreed by the Council.

34. The ‘Meetings: Procedures and Guidelines’ policy and the ‘City of Hobart Governance Framework’ be updated as required to reflect this decision.

35. The Chief Executive Officer be delegated to develop an appropriate meeting schedule calendar for the remainder of 2024 and 2025, in accordance with this decision, adjusting as required to account for any conflicting public holidays.

2. Background

2.1. In November 2022, the Council made a number of changes to its governance model which included:

· Monthly Council meetings (decision making)

· Fortnightly Planning Committee meetings (decision making)

· Fortnightly Elected Member workshops (non-decision making)

· Quarterly Portfolio Committee meetings (advisory; non-decision making)

2.2. The revised governance model underwent a sense check by the Council in August 2023, with a further review due to have been completed by December 2023.

2.3. However, in November 2023, the Council resolved that a full review of the governance model be extended to August 2024 to align with the review of the Portfolio Committees and to enable time for the current Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to commence with the organisation and lead the review.

2.4. The governance review has now been completed which has involved engagement with Elected Members, the Executive Leadership Team, Council officers with responsibilities for the Portfolio Committees and Council’s Governance Unit. In addition, research has been completed on best practice Local Government governance processes and procedures as well as the history and background of the decision to implement the current governance structure.

3. Discussion

3.1. A range of potential governance arrangements have been considered and discussed by Elected Members in recent months and a summary of the findings of this process, together with recommendations for changes to the current arrangements are provided below:

Council Meetings

3.2. Throughout 2023 and 2024, the average Council meeting duration was 4.24 hours, which provided an average finish time of 9.24pm.

3.3. The shortest meeting duration was 1.31 hours (6.31pm finish) and the longest was 6.09 hours (11.09pm finish).

3.4. On average, 30 matters were considered at Council meetings.

3.5. By comparison, in 2022, when the Council last operated a fortnightly Council meeting cycle, even though some decisions were made at the Council Committee meetings, each month the two meetings dealt with an average of 11 items in 2.25 hours.

3.6. Accordingly, the move to a monthly Council meeting has, in effect, resulted in more matters being considered in meetings (30 matters up from 22 matters) in less time (4.24 hours down from 4.5 hours).

3.7. On this basis it is recommended that monthly Council meetings be maintained.

3.8. It is acknowledged that late night meeting finishes represent a workplace health and safety risk to Elected Members and Council staff which need to be addressed.

3.9. The option of an earlier start time of 4.00pm and/or a time limit on Council meetings were both considered as potential controls to manage this risk.

3.10. Given the average meeting length is 4.24 hours, an earlier start time of 4.00pm would provide an average finish time of 8.24pm, which is considered reasonable.

3.11. A time limit for Council meetings is not considered to be necessary at this stage, however, it is recommended that Council meetings commence at 4.00pm.

Planning Committee

3.12. The Planning Committee operates on a fortnightly basis and consists of all twelve Elected Members.

3.12.1. This means that under the Local Government (Meeting Procedures) Regulations 2015, the quorum to hold a valid Planning Committee meeting is seven Elected Members.

3.13. Throughout 2023 and 2024, the average Planning Committee meeting duration was 1.1 hours, with the shortest meeting running for eight minutes and the longest meeting running for 3.2 hours.

3.14. Planning Committee meetings are held on a different evening to a Council workshop which means that Elected Members and Council officers have to commit two evenings a week on a fortnightly basis.

3.15. It is acknowledged that Elected Members are busy people and, at times, attendance at Planning Committee meetings is inconsistent. There have been instances where Planning Committee meetings have been abandoned due to a lack of a quorum while another meeting was adjourned and recommenced due to maintaining a quorum.

3.16. It is considered that the current quorum of seven Elected Members is a high bar. Councils across Australia routinely delegate decision making responsibility for determining development applications to Planning Committees as well as staff and there is certainly scope to establish a lower quorum whilst still maintaining a robust planning decision making body.

3.17. Accordingly, Council staff have investigated an appropriate means of establishing a Planning Committee with a lower quorum.

3.18. In investigating this outcome, legal advice has been obtained from specialist land use planning firm, Simmons Wolfhagen Lawyers.

3.19. A new and innovative Terms of Reference (attached) has been developed for a revised Planning Authority Committee which maintains the involvement of all Elected Members but also provides flexibility to reduce the quorum to enable a meeting to proceed with fewer Elected Members in attendance.

3.20. The revised Planning Authority Committee is to comprise:

3.20.1. Seven Elected Members appointed by the Council as members of the Committee by resolution (‘Appointed Members’);

3.20.2. An Elected Member who is not an Appointed Member will be a ‘Nominee Member’ who may be appointed as a member of the Committee by the Chief Executive Officer (or their delegate).

3.20.3. The quorum for the Committee is four members of the Committee.

3.20.4. Where one or more Nominee Members are appointed for a meeting, then the quorum at the meeting is to be the majority of the members of the Committee at the time of that meeting.

3.20.5. To reduce the risk of the Chairperson needing to adjourn a meeting of the Committee due to a lack of quorum, if an Appointed Member does not attend a meeting without a leave of absence, and there is a Nominee Member present at the meeting able to be appointed, then the absent Appointed Member would cease to be a member for that meeting and the Nominee Member would be appointed in their place, for that meeting only.

3.20.5.1. It is necessary that the absent Appointed Member is deemed to cease to be a member in that circumstance as otherwise the appointment of a Nominee Member would only increase the membership of the Committee without addressing the desire to achieve a quorum.

3.20.6. An Appointed Member ceases to be a member for a meeting if they are not present at a meeting immediately prior to its scheduled commencement time or an Appointed Member leaves a meeting and the required quorum is no longer present.

3.20.7. Any Nominee Members who are present at a meeting immediately prior to the commencement of a meeting may be appointed as a member of the Committee by the Chief Executive Officer (or their delegate).

3.20.8. A flow chart for determining the Committee composition for meetings is as follows:

3.21. It is also recommended that the Council delegate to the Chief Executive Officer (or their delegate) its functions and powers under section 23(2) of the Local Government Act 1993 to appoint Nominee Members.

3.21.1. This is necessary as the Council’s power to delegate that power is limited by section 22(1) of the Local Government Act 1993 which only permits delegation to the CEO or Council Committee (and not a Committee Chairperson).

3.21.2. The Committee would be unable to transact any business including to appoint additional members, in the absence of a quorum. However, the CEO (or their delegate) does not require a quorum to be present to exercise their power to appoint members of the Committee.

3.22. The Council has indicated that it wishes to be able to defer development applications for determination to a later meeting where there are matters identified by the Council as requiring further consideration and/or alteration.

3.23. It is acknowledged that these types of applications would represent an extreme minority of the development applications that are determined by the Council, however, it is considered that an opportunity to defer an application for further consideration and/or alteration is a desirable outcome as it would enable better planning outcomes to be achieved.

3.24. Accordingly, it is proposed that Development Applications that are being considered at a Committee meeting will have a least seven days remaining ‘on the clock’ to enable the deferral of more difficult and/or contentious applications for further consideration.

3.25. A Development Application which is under consideration at a Planning Authority Committee Meeting may be deferred to a later Council meeting or Council Committee meeting by any of the following:

· Where a deferral is requested by an Elected Member during a Planning Committee meeting and the Committee by resolution agrees, that it be deferred a future Council meeting or Council Committee meeting.

· Where there is a tied vote preventing a decision on a matter by the Committee.

· Where a matter needs to be deferred to a future Council meeting or Council Committee meeting due to the failure to reach a quorum.

3.26. Current Planning Committee meetings are rarely long in duration and they do not present the same type of risk to employees and/or Elected Members leaving the workplace late at night.

3.27. A change in start time for the meeting is not recommended on that basis. However, it is recommended that the Planning Authority Committee meetings start at 4.00pm to achieve consistency with the start time for Council meetings.

Council Workshops

3.28. Workshops are an important forum for Elected Members to be able to consider and provide input on matters before they are presented to a Council meeting for determination. They are also a forum for receiving deputations and presentations from groups and organisations.

3.29. However, there is a concern that the current workshop structure does not provide an opportunity for Elected Members to properly consider items prior to them appearing on a Council meeting agenda.

3.30. The workshops are currently conducted in a closed environment which presents concerns around Council transparency. There is also no ability for public engagement in Council workshops.

3.31. To address these issues and concerns it is proposed to establish a broader strategically focused Council Committee (The Future Hobart Council Committee), which would incorporate Elected Member workshops.

3.32. The Committee would be established as a Council Committee pursuant to the Local Government Act 1993 and therefore, all of the legislative provisions would apply including the requirement for a quorum and an inability to participate in committee meetings virtually.

3.33. The Future Hobart Council Committee would adopt a principle of openness by default and meetings would therefore be open for members of the public to attend, however, they would not be streamed and therefore do not have to be held in the Council Chamber.

3.34. The Future Hobart Council Committee’s Terms of Reference would enable the committee to make decisions on lower-order policy and strategy matters (such as leases, review of policies, committee recommendations and the like) as well as development applications deferred from the Planning Committee.

3.35. The Terms of Reference, however, do not permit decisions to be made by the Committee on any matters included on the agenda for workshopping, or for higher-order matters such as Annual Plan and Budget, Annual Report, Regional and Municipal Strategies and Plans and the like. This will need to be governed by the CEO, who has responsibility for the preparation of the agendas for Council and committee meeting.

3.36. The Future Hobart Council Committee meeting agenda would include the following elements:

· Commencement of meeting and apologies

· Planning Authority – Matters deferred from Planning Committee

· Deputations

· Reports and matters arising from committees

· Reports from Executive

o Office of the CEO

o Strategic and Regulatory Services

o Infrastructure and Assets Services

o Community and Economic Development Services

o Corporate Services

· Matters for workshopping

· General Business

· Matters for Closed

· Meeting Close

3.37. A standardised suite of KPI-based reporting will be developed to be provide to committee meetings to provide greater line of sight for Elected Members on what is going on across the organisation.

3.38. The Terms of Reference would adopt the same principles outlined for the Planning Authority Committee. This means that:

3.38.1. Seven Elected Members are appointed by the Council as members of the Committee, who will be ‘Appointed Members’.

3.38.2. An Elected Member who is not an Appointed Member, will be a ‘Nominee Member’, who may be appointed to be a member of the Committee for a meeting by the Chief Executive Officer (or their delegate).

3.38.3. The quorum for the Committee is four Members.

3.38.4. Where one or more Nominee Members are appointed for a meeting, then the quorum at the meeting is to be the majority of the members of the Committee at the time of the meeting.

3.38.5. To reduce the risk of the Chairperson needing to adjourn a meeting of the Committee due to lack of quorum, if an Appointed Member does not attend a meeting without a leave of absence, and there is a Nominee Member present at the meeting able to be appointed, then the absent Appointed Member would cease to be a member for that meeting and the Nominee Member would be appointed in their place, for that meeting only.

3.38.6. It is necessary that the absent Appointed Member is deemed to cease to be a member in that circumstance as otherwise the appointment of a Nominee Member would only increase the membership of the Committee without addressing the desire to achieve a quorum.

3.38.7. An Appointed Member ceases to be a member for a meeting if they are not present at a meeting immediately prior to its scheduled commencement time or an Appointed Member leaves a meeting and the required quorum is no longer present.

3.38.8. Any Nominee Members who are present at a meeting immediately prior to the commencement of a meeting of the Committee meeting may be appointed as a member of the Committee by the Chief Executive Officer (or their delegate).

3.39. Future Hobart Council Committee meetings would start at 4pm and conclude no later than at 8pm.

3.40. In summary, the Council’s monthly governance schedule (as an example) would be as follows:

Monday	Wednesday	Ave. Weekly Meeting Time Commitment
	Planning Authority Committee*	1.1 hours
Future Hobart Council Committee		4 hours
Future Hobart Council Committee	Planning Authority Committee*	5.1 hours
Council Meeting		4.24 hours

*Supplementary agenda to be issued for the subsequent Council or Committee meeting to accommodate any matters deferred from the Planning Authority Committee.

3.41. It is proposed that the Chief Executive Officer be delegated to develop an appropriate meeting schedule calendar for the remainder of 2024 and 2025, taking into account the principles agreed within this report while accounting for practicalities such as public holidays that primarily occur on a Monday.

Portfolio Committees

3.42. As part of the Governance changes in 2022, the Council introduced a new Elected Member portfolio system which included the establishment of the following 11 Portfolio Committees. The committees are:

· City Economy

· Creative City

· Future Hobart

· Sustainability in Infrastructure

· Housing and Homelessness

· City Heritage

· City Mobility

· City Water

· Welcoming and Inclusive City

· Healthy Hobart

· Climate Futures

3.43. The Portfolio Committees, which meet quarterly, are chaired by an Elected Member and made up of diverse community representatives with a wealth of knowledge and experience.

3.44. They are advisory only and do not have delegated authority to make decisions. The Committee and its members have no power to commit the City to any decision or action, or to direct Council staff in their duties.

3.45. The role of the Portfolio Committee is to:

· Provide local area "lived experience" knowledge to support Council decision making regarding the portfolio area to support the implementation of the Hobart Community Vision and Capital City Strategic Plan.

· Provide subject matter expertise to the Portfolio Committee to further the understanding of the portfolio group.

· Advise the Council on how to best engage local communities regarding the portfolio area.

· Advise the Council on key local projects regarding the portfolio area identified as important by the local community and organisations through the development of the Capital City Strategic Plan.

· Facilitate communication between Council, local communities and organisations in relation to the Hobart Community Vision and Capital City Strategic Plan.

3.46. It is absolutely vital that a contemporary Council finds effective means of engaging with its community as well as benefiting from the significant level of experience and knowledge that exists within the community.

3.47. In principle, the Portfolio Committees are an effective means of delivering such community engagement/benefit, however, in practice the committee structure has fallen short of delivering on its potential. The major reasons for this are as follows:

3.47.1. There are too many committees for the Council to meaningfully sustain.

3.47.1.1. The current committees focus on a very broad range of subjects and the Council is not in a position to provide a consistent and meaningful workload to each of them.

3.47.1.2. Accordingly, what has happened for many of the committees is that Council officers have been manufacturing a workload which has resulted in an abundance of matters being presented to the committees for information and/or education, rather than seeking the valuable input from the community members that have agreed to provide their valuable time to the Council.

3.47.1.3. This has resulted in a level of frustration from committee members as they don’t feel that they are being provided with the opportunities to make the contribution that they are hoping for.

3.47.2. With the desire to establish a portfolio for all of the Elected Members, some of the Portfolio Committees are duplicating the work of established committees which is leading to duplication of work occurring. In some instances, the same people are on multiple committees.

3.47.3. The Portfolio Committees currently do not have any meaningful means of briefing and/or having input into the Council’s decision making. There are no formal linkages to Council workshops or meetings to receive briefings and/or recommendations from the committees. Whilst the chairperson of the committees are Elected Members, they are not provided with any formal means of engaging the Council over their respective Portfolio Committees in Council meetings.

3.47.4. The Local Government Act 1993 does not make any allowance for Elected Members to have portfolios. Individual Elected Members cannot make decisions, cannot direct staff and cannot act as spokesperson without the consent of the Lord Mayor.

3.47.5. The views of existing Portfolio Committee members were sought as part of the review and are provided in the following table:

No	Portfolio Committee	Comments
1	City Water	· Committee is valuable and see merit in combining water, climate and sustainability. · Would like to maintain involvement in the new Committee.
2	Welcoming and Inclusive	· Primarily educational purposes rather than consultation. · Sporadic nature of the meetings preventing timely consultation. · Lack of opportunity to contribute during the decision-making phase of Council projects. · Supports changes that will mean members are provided with meaningful workload and directly inform Council decision making. · Supports disbanding the committees as long as members can get the same level of access to the Council as the retained committee members.
3	Heritage	· Disappointed and surprised. · Merger of Heritage Committee underestimates the importance of cultural heritage to the city and little benefit if it’s merged/absorbed. · Opportunity for a less formal committee structure not so dependent on staff.
4	Future Hobart	· Supportive if the changes improve committee links to Council and reduce administrative burden. · Will committee member be allowed to move to other committees which may be more aligned to people’s interests?
5	Sustainability in Infrastructure	· Engaging meetings; diversity of expertise and suggestions that informed policy development and thinking. · Agree with the findings that there are too many committees. · Support the proposal to combine infrastructure, climate and water committees. · Place and Wellbeing Committee incorporate matters that the Creative City; Housing and Homelessness and Welcoming and Inclusive would have addressed. · Will lodge an EOI for the Climate, Sustainability and Biodiversity Committee.
6	City Water	· Agree with what is being proposed and that the meetings should be more than just receiving information. · Supports combining Water, Climate and Infrastructure Committee.
7	Housing and Homelessness	· Strongly recommends that the Greater Hobart Homelessness Alliance continues.
8	Future Hobart	· Agreement that Future Hobart be merged to form the Place and Wellbeing Committee to tackle a wider range of issues. · New committees need to move away from education/informing to discussion/workshop/ brainstorming. · Disagrees with a new EOI process being undertaken as they have already being chosen; others who have quit could also be invited back.
9	City Water	· New, streamlined committee structure is sensible. · TasWater may not be required on the new committee but happy to be invited as required or to provide advice.
10	Creative City	· Supports the concept of a public-led committee. · Some CoH staff were better than others in encouraging feedback. · Thanks for the opportunity to contribute.
11	City Water	· Supportive of combining water, climate and infrastructure. · Not been asked for feedback and not provided anything specific or useful to Council and did not enjoy attending meetings without substantive business and would prefer a better of his time.
12	Future Hobart	· Important that engagement with the topics are still being met and members still have the opportunity to speak about issues. · Increase meeting frequency.
13	Housing and Homelessness	· Thanks for the update.
14	Healthy Hobart	· Previously provided feedback similar to what the CEO has identified. · Place and Wellbeing committee makes sense given the overlap. · Would like to join the new committee.
15	Housing and Homelessness	· Preference to transfer to Housing and Homelessness Alliance or Housing with Dignity Working Group. · Also interested in joining the transport committee.
16	Creative City	· Appreciate efforts to ensure the committees are providing best value, impact and streamlined to focus on issues-based engagement. · Interested in any committee related to local business and growth and focussed on retailers and markets.
17	Creative City	· Thank you for the opportunity to contribute. · Keen to support other non-profit cultural activities.
18	City Heritage	· Frustrating experience but the improvements sound necessary to allow more meaningful input and less time on briefings. · Heritage and Future would be a better merge to allow for a positive, future-focussed dialogue. · Including health would broaden the scope and information would not be relevant to a large part of the committee.
19	Sustainability in Infrastructure	· Thanks – proud of the city and various initiatives undertaken. · Agree to having less committees with a greater focus. · Suggests the Transport Committee becomes the Future Mobility and Transport Committee. · Suggests the Place and Wellbeing Committee becomes the Place, Wellbeing and (Cultural) Heritage Committee. · Would welcome knowing if and how members recommendations and suggestions are shared with Council.
20	Future Hobart	· Concerning that ‘Future Hobart’ is separated from transport. Best outcomes are when land use and transport planning are considered together. · Feels she would be able to make her best contribution to the Mobility Committee
21	Heritage	· Suggests forming issues-based committees with Council receiving copies of committee minutes and recommendations. · Does not support combining Heritage Committee. · If Heritage is combined with Future Hobart and Healthy Hobart she will need to resign as she has no expertise in these areas.
22	Future Hobart and City Heritage	· Maintain City Futures as a standalone committee given the significance of future strategic considerations in the city and the need for broad expertise and feedback. · Doesn’t support amalgamating City Futures and City Heritage. · Consider holding periodic shared meetings across the committees.

3.48. In order to address these issues, there are a number of changes that are recommended. These are as follows:

3.48.1. Reduce the number of committees to ensure that a meaningful workload can be delivered to each committee which will ensure that the members are directly informing the Council’s decision making.

3.48.2. It is suggested that this would be best achieved by combining some of the committees into related areas whereby the members can have an influence across a broader range of areas. The remit of a number of the committees is sufficiently broad that there has been no issue with maintaining a meaningful workload and it is recommended that these be retained.

3.48.3. Provide the committees with an opportunity for their meeting minutes and any recommendations to be considered by the Council at a Council meeting or Council Committee meeting. Where there is a need, a committee could be provided with an opportunity to directly brief the Council at a formal committee meeting.

3.48.4. Where committees are recommended to be combined it is recommended that the current chairpersons remain on the combined committee and engage in a rotating chairperson arrangement.

3.48.5. For the current community members, it is recommended that an expression of interest process be conducted to select the optimum number of community representatives for the combined committees.

3.48.6. The review is recommending the following changes:

3.48.6.1. Retain the Mobility Committee as its mandate and workload are both sustainable and adding value to the Council.

3.48.6.2. Retain the City Economy Committee to focus on macro and micro economic data and advise the Council on development of its economic policies.

3.48.6.3. Retain the City Heritage Committee to focus on managing sustainable growth, recognising, promoting and protecting our cultural heritage.

3.48.6.4. Combine the Future Hobart and Healthy Hobart Committees to create a Place and Wellbeing Committee. This committee would continue and improving liveability through connection and healthy spaces, strategies and plans.

3.48.6.5. Combine the Water, Climate and Sustainable Infrastructure Committees to create a Climate, Sustainability and Biodiversity Committee. This committee would continue to focus on a whole-of-community response to climate change, which includes understanding and protecting biodiversity and water health and embracing ways of protecting the environment, including circular economy, waste avoidance, habitat and water conservation.

3.48.6.6. Cease the Creative City Committee.

3.48.6.7. Cease the Housing and Homelessness Committee as it is duplicating the Greater Hobart Homelessness Alliance and Housing with Dignity Working Group.

3.48.6.8. Cease the Welcoming and Inclusive Committee as it is largely duplicating the Access Advisory Committee.

3.48.7. In addition to these four committees, Elected Members must also provide representation across the following additional committees and groups:

3.48.7.1. Risk and Audit Panel

3.48.7.2. Heritage Account Special Committee

3.48.7.3. Greater Hobart Homelessness Alliance

3.48.7.4. Housing with Dignity Working Group

3.48.7.5. Access Advisory Committee

3.48.7.6. Maritime Museum Committee

3.48.7.7. Salamanca Stallholders Representatives Group

3.48.7.8. Cycling South Inc

3.48.7.9. Local Government Association of Tasmania

3.48.7.10. TasWater Owners Representative

3.48.7.11. Southern Tasmanian Council Authority (under Review)

3.48.7.12. TasWaste South

3.48.7.13. Wellington Park Management Trust

3.48.7.14. Mayors for Peace

3.48.7.15. Hobart Emergency Management Committee

3.48.7.16. Council of Capital City Lord Mayors

3.48.8. There is value in leveraging the experience of Elected Members by providing an ability for them to specifically focus on their areas of expertise or interest.

3.48.9. However, rather than portfolios, it may be more effective for Elected Members to act as a champion and possibly spokesperson for specific issues or focus areas. Such focus areas could be modelled on the former portfolio system and include specific areas including:

3.48.9.1. City Economy

3.48.9.2. Creative Arts and Culture

3.48.9.3. Strategic Land Use Planning

3.48.9.4. Sustainability

3.48.9.5. Climate Futures

3.48.9.6. Housing and Homelessness

3.48.9.7. Heritage

3.48.9.8. Mobility

3.48.9.9. Water and Catchment Management

3.48.9.10. Welcoming and Inclusive City

3.48.9.11. Community Health and Wellbeing

3.48.9.12. Business Liaison and Advocacy

4. Hobart: A Community Vision For Our Island Capital

4.1. The revised governance arrangements strongly align with Pillar 8 of Hobart: A Community Vision For Our Island Capital in that ‘we govern with transparency and accountability, encouraging and welcoming active civic involvement.’

5. Capital City Strategic Plan

5.1. Outcomes 8.1 and 8.2 of the Capital City Strategic Plan 2023 are relevant to the revised governance arrangements stating that:

Hobart is a city that is well governed that recognises the community as an active partner that informs decisions.

Hobart is a city that delivers public value and excellence by being a financially responsible, high performing and accountable organisation that is responsive to the needs of the community.

6. Financial Viability

6.1. Funding Source and Impact on Current Year Operating Result

6.1.1. There will be some initial cost associated with the establishment of the new Governance arrangements, however, this will be able to be accommodated within existing operational budgets.

6.2. Impact on Future Years’ Financial Result

6.2.1. Not applicable.

6.3. Asset Related Implications

6.3.1. Not applicable.

7. Community Engagement

7.1. The proposed Future Hobart Committee would adopt a principle of openness and meetings would be open for members of the public to attend.

7.2. The membership of the retained and combined committees will include representatives from the community.

Michael Stretton

Chief Executive Officer

Date: 11 September 2024

File Reference: F24/74772; 16/119

Attachment a: Draft Terms of Reference - Planning Authority (Supporting information)

Attachment b: Draft Terms of Reference - Future Hobart Committee (Supporting information)

Item No. 15

Agenda (Open Portion)

Council Meeting

Page 1

16/9/2024

REPORT TITLE: 2023-24 Capital Works Program Report as at 30 June 2024

REPORT PROVIDED BY: Manager Programming & Delivery

Acting Director Connected City

1. Report Summary

1.1. The purpose of this report is to provide the Council with an overview, together with the outcomes ascertained in respect to the 2023-24 Capital Works Program as of 30 June 2024.

1.2. Compared to the last reporting period, the cancellation of the DKHAC Warm Water Pool project has resulted in a $6,064,200 reduction in the total 2023-24 Capital Works budget. With the addition of external funding contributions to other capital projects, the Program budget has been adjusted to $25,687,182 (excluding property, plant, and equipment).

1.3. As of 30 June 2024, the total actual expenditure of the City’s 2023-24 Capital Works Program has been confirmed as $17.6M which represents 69% of the total revised capital budget. This is slightly above the historical delivery average. Furthermore, $3.1M has been determined as outstanding commitments in respect to the Program, leaving a remaining budget of $5M.

1.4. The City completed 74 capital projects throughout the 2023-24 financial year, with a total value of $9.3M. Additionally, 34 projects (total expenditure valued at $5.9M) have substantially progressed during this period. A summary of all completed capital works projects, together with capital projects that have substantially progressed within the 2023-24 financial year is attached to the report and marked as Attachment A (completed projects) and Attachment B (substantially progressed projects) respectively. 

1.5. In February 2024, an initial estimate of $4.5M in projects was identified to be carried forward into the 2024-25 Capital Works Program, based on the status of projects at that time. This estimate was included in the 2024-25 Budget Estimates approved by the Council on 24 June 2024. However, due to unavoidable delays and further change in scope, the total value of carry forward projects has now increased to $6M, exceeding the original estimate by 30%.

1.6. A substantial number of project variations occurred during the 2023-24 financial year, significantly impacting the total program value. These variations resulted from changes in project scope due to latent conditions, identification of additional urgent works, availability of external funding, and new information leading to increased costs, deferrals, or cancellations. Attachment C provides summary on additional projects approved by the Council, with Attachment D providing a further summary on cancelled, deferred, or on hold projects.

1.7. Analysis of the past 10 years of delivery outcomes indicates that the City's average annual delivery capacity is approximately 65% of the Capital Works Program. Historical program data supports this figure, showing that the City's yearly delivery performance consistently aligns with this capacity estimate.

2. Key Issues

2.1. Delivery of the 2023-24 Capital Works Program (the Program) was impeded due to the need to revise the Program post the Council’s approval in June 2023.

2.1.1. The revision was warranted due to the identification of a substantial value of contracted works requiring carry forward from the preceding financial year, which exceeded the City’s affordability level.

2.1.2. A review was undertaken with the subsequent approval of revised program being provided by the Council in late September 2023, which resulted in 75% of financial year remaining to deliver the works.

2.2. As of the 30 June 2024, $3.6M still remains in the project planning stage. These projects cannot progress to the delivery phase due to unclear scopes and schedules. This has consistently been an issue throughout the financial year.

2.3. Ongoing inflation has continued to impose significant cost pressures on most projects, in addition to resourcing challenges both internal and external. This has been apparent with the delivery of the following high value projects:

(i) DKHAC Warm Water Pool ($6M): The single tender submission received was double the available project budget which resulted in the project cancelled.

(ii) Queenborough Oval Changeroom Upgrade Project ($3.5M): Delay in finalisation of detailed design due to limited design resources resulted in delay in finalisation of detailed drawings ready for construction. Project subsequently delayed and carry forward into 2024-25 financial year.

(iii) New Town Netball Court Conversion ($1.2M): Project budget of $900K was insufficient to deliver the scope of works. This resulted in additional budget requested in 2024-25 financial year to deliver the works.

2.4. There appears to be limited organisation capacity to deliver throughout the financial year. The monthly expenditure recorded is reasonably consistent averaging $1.5M.  The delivery of projects related to some program areas were also impacted by the significant number of vacancies within that area. 

3. Recommendation

That the report titled ‘2023-24 Capital Works Program Report as at 30 June 2024’, be received and noted.

4. Background

4.1. On 19 June 2023, the Council allocated $30,714,899 (excluding property, plant, and equipment) for the 2023-24 Financial Year Capital Works Program.

4.2. In July 2023, when finalising the 2022-23 financials, it was identified that a substantial amount of incomplete contracted works needed to be carried forward, resulting in a revised total works program of $55M. This amount significantly exceeded the Council’s approved budget and the City's affordability. Consequently, the Capital Works Program was further revised and submitted to the Council for approval on 25 September 2023, prioritising projects with confirmed commitments, and critical to maintain the level of service, and those that enhance community well-being, public services, and economic growth.

4.3. The late adoption of the 2023-24 Capital Works Program resulted in a delayed start, leaving only nine months for delivery.

4.4. External funding included $685,131 for Phase 4 of the LRCI Program and a revenue contribution of $269,834 from Glenorchy City Council for the Creek Road project, increasing the budget to $31,699,864. Following the cancellation of the DKHAC Warm Water Pool project, $6,064,200 was removed from the budget, leading to a final adjustment of $25,687,182 (excluding property, plant, and equipment).

5. Legal, Risk and Legislative Considerations

5.1. Not Applicable.

6. Discussion

6.1. The total budgeted project expense is approximately $17.6M, which is 69% of the total budget. There are $3.1M outstanding, leaving a remaining budget of $5M. From approximately $8.1M of the total budget remaining, only $5.6M of the total budget will be carried forward into 2024-25 financial year. 

6.2. The cumulative total program expenditure based on various project stages as of 2023-24 financial year is provided in below:

Figure 1: Overall Program Status

6.3. The 2023-24 financial year saw the completion of the following high-profile capital projects:   

· Salamanca Pedestrian Walkway Stage 3 – Morrison 

· Pinnacle Road Stage 4 Guardrail 

· Argyle and Campbell St Cycleway Installation 

· New Town Precinct Upgrade Stage 2 

· Zig Zag Track Renewal Stage 3 

· Bective St - Lipscombe to Head Full Reconstruction 

· Vincent’s Rivulet Fire Trail Upgrade 

· Safer Communities Grant Funding (Elizabeth St CCTV Installation) 

· Hampden Rd- Ellerslie- Sandy Bay - Stormwater Improvements

6.4. In February, the forecast expenditure at the end of financial year was $20M. This was subsequently revised to $16M in May due to significantly higher value of works anticipated to be carried forward. The final expenditure on 30 June 2023 was $17.6 million which exceeded the final forecast by approximately $1.6M. 

Figure 2: Capital Works Program Delivery
Expenditure Vs Forecast by 30 June 2024 

6.5. The cashflow performance for the 2023-24 financial year demonstrates that, despite a delayed start to the Capital Works Program, the City has effectively managed and delivered the program since September 2023. This shows strong execution of planned works within the shortened delivery timeframe.

Figure 3: Cashflow Performance Over The 2023-24 Financial Year (Excluding DKHAC WWP)

6.6. There was significant value of works that were not ready for delivery or construction, and required large amount of works to progress to construction during the delivery year. This can be identified on Figure 6.5 where there was only a gradual transition of projects from planning to delivery stage through the financial year. There was also approximately $3M worth of works that never made it into delivery stage.

6.7. Based on the past 10 years’ historical program delivery data, it indicates that the city’s average yearly delivery capacity is approximately $29M or 65% of the Capital Works Program. See below Figure 6.7 Historical Program Delivery.

 Figure 4: Historical Program Delivery

7. Hobart: A Community Vision For Our Island Capital

7.1. The document includes eight pillars that represent the major parts of Hobart life. Pillar 7 is Built Environment.

7.3 Infrastructure and services are planned, managed and maintained to provide for community wellbeing.

7.3.2 Enhance asset management practices, to ensure assets meet current and future needs in line with strategic priorities and the impacts of climate change.

7.3.3 Ensure City-owned assets and public spaces are accessible, of high quality and provide a high level of amenity to meet community and visitor requirements.

8. Capital City Strategic Plan

8.1. The delivery of the Capital Works Program aligns with the City of Hobart Capital City Strategic Plan 2023, namely:

Pillar 7: Built Environment

7.3.1 Ensure the City’s infrastructure supports health and wellbeing and is affordable and accessible for all.

7.3.3 Ensure City-owned assets and public spaces are accessible, of high quality and provide a high level of amenity to meet community and visitor requirements.

9. Regional, State and National Plans and Policies

9.1. Not Applicable.

10. Financial Viability

10.1. The financial implications have been discussed in detail throughout this report, however in summary a total of $17.6M was expended on capital projects as of 30 June 2024, with approximately $6M worth of projects that needed to be carried forward into 2024-25 financial year.

10.2. As the City’s financial affordability and delivery capacity average around $29M per year, any large value of carry forward will impact on the City’s financial bottom line and the long-term financial management plan. The impact of this will be further investigated once the City developed a detail long-term asset management plan.

11. Sustainability Considerations

11.1. Not Applicable.

12. Community Engagement

12.1. Not Applicable.

13. Communications Strategy

13.1. Not Applicable.

14. Innovation and Continuous Improvement

14.1. The Project Management Framework (PMF) has been significantly reviewed and updated to better meet the City’s current needs, ensuring a more efficient workflow for delivering the Capital Works Program. Several workshops, drop in and training sessions were held throughout the year, which provided staff across the organisation the knowledge, which in turn enhanced their skills in the use of the PMF, with ongoing support provided by the City Projects Office.

14.2. The Integrated Project and Portfolio Management System (PMO365) was relaunched in November 2023 in conjunction with the Project Management Framework, offering a centralised platform for the prioritisation of projects, reporting, management of risks, schedule, budget, and scope for all capital projects. The volume of data and reporting gathered from the system has significantly improved the City’s data analysis capabilities and allow actions to be developed when issues were identified.

14.3. A new committee, the Capital Projects Committee (CPC), was established to provide an overarching body to assist with the oversight of the Capital Works Program and used as advisory group to ELT in respect to comprehensive analysis and reporting on project delivery status and program variations.

14.4. The City Project Office will continue to enhance the organisation’s delivery capability especially in the planning and scoping of works to ensure that proposed works can be delivered within the approved timeframe and budget.

Mao Cheng

Manager Programming & Delivery

Felicity Edwards

Acting Director Connected City

Date: 29 August 2024

File Reference: F24/78102

Attachment a: 2023-24 Capital Works Program - Completed Projects (Supporting information)

Attachment b: 2023-24 Capital Works Program - Substantially Progressed Projects (Supporting information)

Attachment c: 2023-24 Capital Works Program - Additional Projects -
Post 25 September 2023 Council Approval (Supporting information)

Attachment d: 2023-24 Capital Works Program -
Projects Cancelled / Deferred / On-Hold (Supporting information)