This paper on the changing role of mayors, and how that role might be strengthened, seeks to fill one of several significant gaps in research and discussion of political governance in Australian local government. It reviews relevant literature and recent developments in Australia, New Zealand and the UK, and concludes that if local government is...

This discussion paper explores the dimensions of models that define working relationships between council Mayors and members of local government.

The current economic, financial and policy climate requires that government services have to deliver significantly better performance at significantly lower cost. This report details innovation and change in regards to local government.

This preliminary report is based upon a desktop search of apps (completed in two stages during Feb-June 2012), some extracts from the draft discussion paper From explanation to engagement: Application and use of social media to enhance local government performance (Anne Howard, ACELG-University of Canberra December 2011) and conclusions of the co-authors.

Many councils are looking at adopting social media as part of their operations, and a number of councils, state associations and professional organisations have or are in the process of developing guide documents on the issue. The intent of this ACELG project is to assist the sector in strategising how social media might be effectively...