Australian Local Government Women's Association Meeting

Hello fellow public relations Students...

Last Thursday the 17th of November I attended the Australian Local Government Women's Association of WA (ALGWAWA - quite the mouthful!) general meeting with my mentor and supervisor Veronica Lawrance from Ffolio PR.

Veronica is a Councillor for South Perth and the Secretary of ALGWAWA. Veronica is quite an inspiring woman who is passionate about the City of Perth and believes she can make a difference in the community - and is willing to put in the hard yards to ensure that this happens!

ALGWAWA is an organisation that provides networking opportunities and support for women in local government. Through this organisation, members can enjoy free mentor services, networking opportunities and representation in dealing with issues or problems members may be facing in their branch.

The purpose of this meeting was to outline the prescribed changes in the constitution of the organisation, and to have members pass these changes through majority vote. I did not previously know that all incorporated organisations, no matter how small, are required to have their own constitution which outlines their methods of conduct and operation in business.

After the changes to the constitution were passed, Marion Fulker from the Committee for Perth gave a quick guest talk to give her oipinion about the changes facing Perth and the challenges facing women in industry and local government.

Some of Marion's very interesting key points (well the ones that I could understand) include:

- Perth is expected to grow in population from 1.7 million people to 3.5 million people by 2031. The City is apparently very unprepared for this change and unwilling to move forward in accommodating for this change;

- According to Marion, there is a very backward attitude in the community about allowing change to take place with a resounding 'NO' coming from most communities consulted about any changes;

- Local Government branches need to engage in dialogue with their communities about proposed changes, and educate them about why these changes are necessary for the advancement of Perth;

- Every representative from local government that attended the meeting agreed that it was very difficult to coordinate communications across state and local governments. This seemed to be a point of contention with every woman who attended, with a resounding agreement to amend this problem in due course.

On a lighter note, the catering was amazing! The catering company - By Word of Mouth really impressed me, creating mouth-watering bite-sized delicacies that I just could not get enough of.

Tomorrow is the strategic planning session for the City of South Perth - - I will update again after that!

Until next time, enjoy this lovely summer heat!

-Carmen-