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She's travelled the length of the State to meet with staff from local governments, talking to officers about the development and implementation of new centralised registration system for cats and dogs.

The system will make it easier for local governments to monitor breeding and stop the cruel practice of puppy farming. 

It will replace the multiple, separate local government registration systems, easing the regulatory burden and cutting red tape for councils and pet owners. 

Local Matters spoke to Corinna about the stakeholder sessions, one of the department’s initiatives to increase support and engagement with the local government sector.  

Image: roadhouse sign between the Shire of Broome and the Shire of Derby

Which local governments did you engage with? 

In regional WA I engaged with the local governments in Derby, Broome, Port Hedland, Exmouth, Kalgoorlie, Coolgardie, Geraldton, Yalgoo, Mount Magnet, Denmark, Wagin, Manjimup, Serpentine- Jarrahdale and Bridgetown-Greenbushes.

I was accompanied by Customer Service Officers Ben Allert and Corinne Bates on some of those trips.

Each engagement session took anywhere between three to four hours, a significant commitment from the participants at each local government, and included rangers, administrative officers and at times CEOs.

What type of questions did you ask the local governments?

A variety of questions including what processes they have for registering cats and dogs that work for them, how they manage information and what additional information would be helpful to have on a centralised registration system.

The questions were developed through feedback about information required for the DLGSC local government team, and then piloted with the Shire of Bridgetown-Greenbushes to make sure they were relevant and appropriate.

What were the main issues you heard regarding the registration and management of cats and dogs by local governments?

One issue in particular was that local governments would like to be able to share real-time information more easily with each other.

There was broad agreement that community safety information, particularly in relation to the tracking and management of declared dangerous dogs was at the top of this list.

There is a lot of enthusiasm for the ease of viewing the history of both owner and animal through a centralised registration system, enabling a smoother transfer of information from one local government to the next.

Currently, there are many gaps in information transfer when it comes to cat and dog registration data from one local government to another.

What were you most surprised about?

I was most surprised by the unique challenges facing each local government when dealing with managing and administrating the Cat and Dog Acts.

I was impressed with the way the local governments found solutions to these challenges and the way in which they work with their communities in sensitive, sensible and supportive ways – both demographic and geographic.

Was there a local government displaying best practice when it comes to the management of cats and dogs?

l really enjoyed working with all the local governments. They all have particular areas specific to their management of cats and dogs that they do well. 

What was your favourite place to visit?

This is a really difficult question. It was incredible to be able to connect in person with our stakeholders and everyone made us feel welcome. If I had to highlight a few, they would include:

• The support from Megan Richards and the team at Bridgetown-Greenbushes in allowing us to develop the pilot questions with them.
• The amazing environmental health officers and rangers at the Shire of Derby-West Kimberley and learning so much more about remote Indigenous communities.
• The tour of Port Hedland and South Hedland given by Ranger Christoph Matzen to really get a feel for that community.
• The incredible opportunity to watch Murdoch Vet School staff and students perform on-field sterilisations with the support of the Shire of Yalgoo and ranger Peter Smith.
• The local knowledge and support provided by both Krissie Dickman and Erin Bond at the regional DLGSC offices in Broome and Kalgoorlie.

Image: Murdoch University students perform field sterilisations in the Shire of Yalgoo

The opportunity to visit local governments across the State really cemented the challenges and opportunities in developing a centralised registration system and legislation that addresses community needs across this incredibly vast, diverse and beautiful State.

What works well for one local government may not work well for another – the trick is to find what works well for most and then try our best to support everyone.