The City of Launceston is undertaking a refresh of its Council Committees, paving the way for a more streamlined, strategic, and community-connected approach to decision-making in 2025 and beyond.
At today's Council Meeting, elected members endorsed the disbanding of several existing committees whose terms had concluded, with plans to reshape committee structures to better support the city's evolving priorities.
City of Launceston Mayor Matthew Garwood said the decision marked a natural point of transition and opportunity.
"This is about building on the strong foundations of our past committees and ensuring the next iteration is fit-for-purpose, inclusive, and focused on delivering great outcomes for our community," Mayor Garwood said.
"We're incredibly grateful to everyone who has contributed their time, energy, and expertise as part of these committees — and we look forward to welcoming fresh perspectives as new committees are established."
The realignment will allow Council to consider emerging priorities and ensure each committee has the structure, membership and support it needs to be impactful. Cr Alan Harris said it made sense to review Council committees to ensure they remained fit for purpose into the future.
"As local government evolves, it's important we remain agile and review the way we're doing things to best meet our strategic objectives," Cr Harris said.
"Over time some of our committees have gained relevance, and others have become less relevant and reached the end of their lifespan.
"I think in the future we'll see the work of past committees reborn into new strategic efforts, whether that's in transport, sister city relations or urban greening."
Cr Tim Walker said the move was part of a broader commitment to good governance and meaningful community engagement.
"We will have a more robust system that reflects and aligns with our strategic planning with more relevancy and vigour than perhaps we've seen in the past," Cr Walker said.
"We want to make sure our advisory and decision-making structures remain dynamic and responsive, with more relevancy, and ensure our community voices continue to shape the work we do."
The Council will release further information in the coming months about new opportunities to get involved, with refreshed committee models to be developed in consultation with community and stakeholders.
