The Shire of Harvey has been recognised for its outstanding commitment to improving child health in the community, being crowned the Regional winners at the 2021 Local Government Policy Awards.
Shire of Harvey President Paul Gillett said the Shire received recognition for our efforts in encouraging children to read books by making library books more accessible to school children.
“The Harvey Library delivers school book boxes to schools in the Harvey area during school terms,” Cr Gillett said.
The Shire was also acknowledged for using innovative methods to engage with children and youth in the development of the Shire’s first Youth Strategy – Voices of Youth.
Cr Gillett said the young people of our shire play a vital part in our community, now and into the future.
“To hear firsthand from the youth about what they value and respect in our community has meant that we can develop a robust framework to strategically deliver and advocate for services and facilities for our young people.”
The 11th annual awards, hosted by the Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI) based at Curtin University, acknowledges local governments that implement strategies and policies to promote and improve public health in the community, particularly for children and youth.
PHAI Director Associate Professor Christina Pollard congratulated every local government that was recognised at the awards, highlighting the important role that they play in driving positive change in Western Australian communities.
“As the grass roots level of government, local governments are often the first point of call for many community members. They manage many of the facilities and settings where young people gather, so sustainable policy and strategies that reflects community needs is critical. These Awards recognise this and reward them for being proactive and community focused,” Dr Pollard said.
Local government submissions are scored through a report card process, which assesses policy alignment, consultation with children, program development, implementation and evaluation.
At an award ceremony held on 7 December 2021, 22 local governments were involved in the awards which were presented by the Hon Dan Caddy MLC, Member for North Metropolitan Region on behalf of Hon John Carey MLA, the Minister for Housing; Local Government.
The Local Government Policy Awards are supported by Healthway, Western Australia Local Government Association, Commissioner for Children and Young People, Act Belong Commit and Environmental Health Australia.
Further information on the Local Government Policy Awards.