Listening to locals for better policies

Jo Martin, Chair of PLACE’s Community Council

I was honoured to be recently appointed chair of the Community Council for PLACE – Partnerships for Local Action and Community Empowerment. 

This national initiative, co-funded by the Federal Government and major philanthropic foundations, is designed to embed community leadership into national decision-making structures. 

I can almost hear the sighs: “Another organisation with a plan to do good things. How novel!” I understand the scepticism. 

There’s a lot of talk about being ‘place-based’ and ‘community-centred,’ emphasising the importance of people having a say in how services and decisions affect them. 

However, the reality is that we’re still a long way from this being the experience of most, particularly those in minority groups.

While involving communities in decisions about service design seems straightforward, in practice, it often falls short. 

Typically, by the time community input is solicited, key decisions have already been made, leaving residents to weigh in on minor details like scheduling or superficial design elements. 

This limited engagement can lead to services that don’t align with community needs, resulting in low utilisation and unintended consequences.

When such outcomes occur, authorities might claim ‘we consulted the community, and this is what they wanted’, implying shared responsibility for the shortcomings. 

This narrative can undermine trust and suggest that community consultation is ineffective, reinforcing a cycle where genuine engagement is undervalued.

If we want to genuinely achieve impactful policies that reach the people they are intended to support, particularly those in rural areas like the Wimmera, there needs to be an explicit shift to hearing and listening to local voices from the outset. 

Recently, By Five garnered the powerful stories and experiences of women from across the region reflecting on their pregnancy journey. 

The first-hand accounts demonstrated not only their struggles but clearly articulated their solutions and needs that often, as women living in our districts – not even in townships – aren’t heard. 

However, when collated, these stories are powerful and rich with information that absolutely needs to be used when designing service models for these specific women. 

Consider the car industry: if vehicles were built without considering customers’ diverse needs – be it a tradesperson requiring a ute, a family needing a spacious SUV, or an individual seeking a vehicle with accessibility features – they would simply go out of business. 

Similarly, policies must be designed with the end-users in mind.

I hope my role with PLACE provides an opportunity to advocate for communities like the Wimmera and the small but mighty towns, which possess a wealth of knowledge that can drive meaningful change when genuinely harnessed.

This article was originally published in The Weekly Advertiser and can be accessed here.