A Special General Meeting of members of the National Sea Change Taskforce, held on 12 March in conjunction with the Australian Coastal Councils Conference, resolved to change the name of the organization.
The members in attendance voted unanimously to change the name to the Australian Coastal Councils Association Inc. The change is scheduled to come into effect on 1 July 2015.
Taskforce Chair, Barry Sammels, said the ‘sea change’ positioning of the Taskforce had served its purpose over the past decade, but the organisation was now addressing a wider range of issues which were common to all coastal councils.
He said members would be aware that the range of issues address by the organisation has expanded well beyond its initial brief, and now includes:
- Developing strategies to address legal risks faced by coastal councils in relation to planning for climate change.
- Addressing current inadequacies and inefficiencies in the management and funding of natural disasters that impact on coastal areas.
- Developing strategies to retain the values and character of coastal communities.
- Identifying the impact of non-resident populations on coastal communities.
- Amending the formula for allocating Financial Assistance Grant to address the current shortfall of funding for infrastructure and services in coastal areas.
“Repositioning the organisation as the Australian Coastal Councils Association will help to more clearly define the role of the association and its broad range of advocacy and research activities,” he said.
Barry Sammels told members it was worth noting that the organization is the only body that specifically represents the interests of Australia’s coastal councils at a national level and enables member councils to advocate in support of coastal issues with the Federal Government.
Read the minutes of the meeting here:
Minutes – Special General Meeting 12 March 2015