The Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) has welcomed the Prime Minister’s announcement of a new national framework and Office of AI, saying that as the technology continues to develop at pace, it amplifies both opportunities and vulnerabilities for communities.
After an extensive collaboration with an AI taskforce comprised of local government, industry, and academic leaders, MAV will soon launch a Local Government AI Roadmap to encourage knowledge and resource sharing and greater collaboration across the sector.
MAV’s Chief Innovator in Residence, Bonnie Shaw says the Association is delivering work in collaboration with councils that support an approach to AI that prioritises thoughtful stewardship.
“Rapid AI developments present transformative opportunities for the local government sector in serving their communities. Utilising AI in a strategic and considered way has the potential to relieve increasing workload demands, enhance efficiency, and move towards more anticipatory service and maintenance,” Ms Shaw said.
“But as councils adopt AI, they must lead with their values: transparency in decision-making, cultural inclusivity, support for professional judgment, and thoughtful stewardship of place and community, to guard against the reality of its challenges.”
While there has been high visibility for the legitimate community concerns of local communities related to the development of data centres and their impacts on amenity, water and energy use, there are also other emerging challenges for councils to navigate, Ms Shaw stated.
“These technologies act as a force multiplier, accelerating challenges of misinformation, harassment, synthetic demand, algorithmic amplification and fragmented information environments that present a vulnerable attack surface that can be exploited for disruption.”
“It is vital that we tackle the extraordinary opportunities and these critical challenges together – not as the 538 individual local governments in Australia, but as a sector, connected by a shared mission to serve all local Australian communities. The MAV is pleased to take on this leadership role to support local governments across Australia to connect and learn from one another.”
MAV President, Jennifer Anderson said the Association is truly leading this work from a local, national and global perspective.
“While utilising and managing AI won’t be the role of a single level of Government, as the level of government closest to the community, councils will have unique opportunities and challenges, which is why the MAV is so passionately working at the forefront,” she said.
The MAV is also part of a new National AI Working Group for Local Government, in collaboration with the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA).
The working group will collaborate with councils across Australia and leverage the impact and continue to build on the AI work the MAV has already delivered in support the local government sector.
Its Advancing AI Innovation in Local Government work program includes the MAV AI Procurement Register, award-winning work on AI in Statutory Planning.
Read more about the MAV’s work on AI here: https://www.mav.asn.au/mavlab/service-and-tech.
