16 June 2006

NZ champs win Australasian local government management challenge

A team of six staff from Waitakere City Council has won the finals of the Australasian local government “Management Challenge” in Perth.

Teams for the final had been selected after a series of regional competitions held over the past few months. The Waitakere team beat 16 other councils in New Zealand for the right to contest the Australasian title against the six Australian state champions.

The challenge (run by Local Government Managers Australia-LGMA) required teams to come up with strategies and solutions “on the spot” to a series of problems --- – a test of ability to respond under time pressure, working with a lack of full information and personnel who may be unavailable.

It is designed to develop new skills in the areas of leadership, teamwork and issue resolution.

The Waitakere team is comprised of Peter Sewell (mentor), Dai Bindoff, Philip Brown, Ross McLeod, Setareh Masoud-Ansari, Monica Sharma and Bronwyn Allerby.

Waitakere City chief executive officer Harry O’Rourke says the win is a tangible recognition of the calibre of staff at the council.

“This team is made up of people from across the organisation, from the likes of consents area, project management and policy development, which shows the depth of outstanding ability we have,” he says.

The Waitakere team travelled to Perth at the LGMA’s expense.

ENDS

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