Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority

Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority is calling for expression of interest from community members to join its two Advisory Groups.

Glenelg Hopkins has restructured its community advisory groups; the CMA’s most important community engagement forum.

The changes have been made following extensive consultation with staff, our Board of Directors and members of the Advisory Groups themselves, and have been made to better reflect the operations of the CMA.

According to CMA Chief Executive Officer Peter Butcher, the Glenelg Hopkins CMA has been able to draw on the skills, advice and experience of the members of four Advisory Groups for the past three years.

“Their advice has shaped our organisation today through their direct input into our strategies programs and thinking. In this way, they have had a lasting contribution to the way natural resources are managed in this region.

“There is no doubt that the Advisory Groups have been our most important community engagement forum,” he said.

On July 1 this year, the former CMA Advisory Groups were disbanded (most members’ terms had expired), and new terms of reference drawn up. As a result, two new Advisory Groups will be established.

“The way forward has been mapped out based on careful consideration of how we can improve on previous advisory arrangements.”

Key changes:
• The Advisory Groups’ areas of interest will reflect the CMA’s major operational portfolios – River and Wetland Health and Biodiversity and Land Health.
• Community engagement will be embedded as a core function of each of the groups. Previously, community engagement had been the sole focus of a separate advisory group.
• The Glenelg Hopkins CMA Board will seek advice from the Advisory Groups about specific issues. A Board Director will sit in on Advisory Group meetings as an observer and will personally convey the group’s advice to the Board.
• The Advisory Groups will be encouraged to seek community input via meetings and public forums

Mr Butcher said he was confident this new structure would streamline the way CMA communicates and engages with the community.

Under the new terms of reference, Advisory Groups will meet at least four times each year, to provide advice to senior management and the Board and to reflect the views and interests of the community.

“For this reason, it will be important that membership is comprised of a cross section of the community with a breadth of knowledge and skills. The key thing linking each of them will be their passion for natural resource management,” Mr Butcher said.

He thanked the past Advisory Group members for their willingness to contribute to natural resource management on a regional basis.

“ Their guidance and wisdom has been greatly valued by everyone at the CMA.

“We are now advertising for Expressions of Interest for membership of our new-look Advisory Groups. We encourage all past members, along with any others who have a commitment to environmental custodianship, to flag their interest now,” Mr Butcher said.

See the GHCMA website for further details www.ghcma.vic.gov.au or contact Glenelg Hopkins CMA on 5512526.