March 2026 Council meetings
Hobsons Bay
By Josie Vine from RMIT Journalism
“Good governance requires sunlight, not more shadows”
It was very odd. Your correspondent has been covering council meetings since Kennett amalgamated all Victorian LGAs in the ‘90s. But never before has your correspondent seen a councillor move a proposal, and then vote against it. But that’s exactly what happened at the last Hobsons Bay meeting, when Cr Daria Kellander moved the controversial Councillor Confidentiality Policy.
Tabled by council officers – but without a named author – the policy is designed to stop individual councillors from “intentionally or recklessly” disclosing information, “unless the
Council has determined that it should be publicly available”.
Cr Kellander told the chamber she would not support “the administration” giving “free reign” to label matters confidential “for convenience”.
“Oversight bodies have repeatedly warned about the risks of expanding secrecy in local government,” she said. “Excessive use of labelling things confidential creates a culture of secrecy that undermines transparency and community confidence.
“Good governance requires sunlight, not more shadows.”
Cr Lisa Bentley made her characteristic sigh of exasperation before speaking against the policy.
“All I can say is here we go again,” she said. “Confronted with a measure that if adopted would prevent seven duly elected councillors … from fully representing you and your interests within Hobsons Bay community and that is not what we were elected to do.”
“This council confidentiality policy is not about good governance, it’s about control, it’s about restricting the very people that you elected to represent you, it’s about limiting their ability to question, to challenge and to speak openly on your behalf and ultimately it’s about reducing transparency at the exact moment our community deserves more, not less.”
But Cr Kristin Bishop said it was “completely common practice” in a “professional setting” to have policies that “set out” how a “company, or organisation in this case” will approach the “application” of laws to “everyday issues and problems” so there is “clarity and “streamlined” decision-making.
At 3.30 on the afternoon of March 24, The Age reported that councillors were being “strong-armed” into accepting the confidentiality policy. This was three and a half hours before council gathered for its regular March meeting at 7pm for debate.
The Confidentiality Policy was voted in four votes to three.
And then came the Hobsons Bay Council Media policy.
Cr Michael Disbury told the chamber he “thanked” council officers for naming an author on the policy, but said the policy went “way too far” in restricting “what councillors can say or do” in the media.
Cr Disbury referenced former British Prime Minister, Margarat Thatcher, in his argument that the policy was “onerous” (which was a little odd to your correspondent, who lived the last half of the ‘80s in the UK – but not to worry, memory is a funny thing!)
After her second characteristic sigh of exasperation, Cr Bentley said the policy “risked” creating a “culture” where elected representatives “feared” to speak on behalf of their community.
“Once again, I register my strong objection to this media policy because at its core it fails to recognise one fundamental truth,” she said. “Our community expects to hear directly from the people they elected … We are not employees, we are not departmental spokespeople, we are elected representatives.”
Cr Kellander said the policy represented an “unacceptable attempt” to “control” how elected councillors communicate with the public and the media.
“Councillors are not employees of the communications department,” she said. “We are directly elected representatives, accountable to our communities, not to a bureaucratic approval process.”
But Cr Paddy Keys-Macpherson said the policy did not “in any way” prevent councillors from “doing the work” of “directly communicating” with residents, such as responding to emails and “being on the street and talking to people”.
He said the policy clarified that the mayor or the mayor’s delegate represented council as an organisation, as opposed to individual councillors.
In closing the debate, Cr Bishop said she “simply” could not see “anything” in the policy that “prevented” councillors from “representing” their communities.
“Yes, it is true that individual councillors are simply not authorised to make their own opinions [about] the position of council and that is essentially what is being prevented by this policy.”
The policy was voted in four votes to three.
And this all came off the back of voting the Councillor Professional Development Policy.
Put forward by the Governance team – again with no specific officer named as the author – the Councillor Professional Development Policy would require all Hobsons Bay councillors to undertake training in:
“… working together in a council, decision making, integrity and accountability, community representation, strategic planning and financial management, conduct and land use planning and other matters the CEO considers would support the councillors to fulfill their roles and responsibilities”.
Phew! And all this on top of the current mandatory training requirements about a “range of topics” including good decision making, integrity and accountability, media and communications and planning.
The policy states that each elected representative “must make” a written declaration before the Chief Executive Officer (using a specific form) to demonstrate compliance. Failure to do so will result in the CEO withholding councillor allowance payments.
Cr Disbury said he was “somewhat non-plussed” about the need for a professional development policy”.
“This illustrates perfectly what I’m saying about council officers making arbitrary decisions,” he said. “If the author of this policy can’t identify themselves, then I find it very difficult to approve it, and it runs in the face of our vision on page one of this agenda – being accountable and transparent. In my view, this policy is neither.”
But in putting forward the motion, Cr Bishop said professional development was an “expectation” in “many” roles outside councillor duties.
“It’s understood as a requirement where you do a complex job,” she said. “The job of councillor can be a complex one … so it makes complete sense that we continue to uplift our skills in areas once we fully understand the role, to make sure we’re doing a great job on behalf of our community.”
Council heard ratepayers pay for current mandatory professional training.
The new Professional Development Policy was voted in five votes to two.
Brimbank City Council
Josie Vine from RMIT Journalism
Geez, Taylors Road is getting a bit of attention lately. The Road’s condition has been a thorn in council’s side for several years, but with a State election fast-approaching it’s a really good time to yell a bit louder.
Last month the community rallied at Dulce Bakehouse to demonstrate an urgent need to ‘Fix Taylors Road’ and implore major political parties to take responsibility.
And council has asked residents to tell their stories, even setting up an online reporting platform at fixtaylorsroad.com.au to record or upload a video, send a photo or sign the petition. Community stories will be shared directly with major political parties as part of the push for a long-term solution.
In Brimbank, Taylors Road runs through Keilor Downs, St Albans, Delahey and Kings Park and connects growing communities and key transport routes.
“It is now one of the west’s most travelled routes for commuters, families, trucks and local traffic,” council reports.
Taylors Road was built to carry 700–1200 vehicles per hour in peak periods. It now carries 1850–2100 vehicles per hour – exceeding the capacity of an Urban Arterial Road (up to 1800 vehicles per hour).
“Rapid residential growth in neighbouring suburbs is placing significant and unsustainable pressure on this critical corridor,” council reports.
Council is asking for the road’s duplication, which would cut both journeys to around five minutes, saving commuters up to 11 minutes in the morning and five minutes in the afternoon.
Brimbank council reports “thousands” of Westies “face heavy congestion”, long delays and “increasing safety risks”, particularly along the Taylors Road stretch between Kings Road in Delahey and Gilson College.
Cr Ranka Rasic told the last council meeting the community “deserves” safe and “better” roads.
“The people who live, work and travel along Taylors Road know just how important upgrades to Taylors Road are,” she said. “The Road is heavily congested at all peak times and with the population continuously to grow, it no longer meets demand.”
And in other advocacy priorities council has called on Environment minister, Steve Dimopoulos, to answer Mayor Virginia Tachos’ request for an “urgent meeting” to discuss “ongoing community concerns” about air quality.
Cr Duyen Anh Pham said councillors had been hearing “directly” from residents “across the municipality” about a persistent stink in the air.
“Many residents have told us they are unable to open their windows or use reverse air conditioning, or they’re unable to go outside, and in some cases unable to live comfortably inside their homes,” she said.
“It’s deeply frustrating and distressing to our community, these odour concerns are not simply an inconvenience, they’re impacting on the quality of life on a daily basis.”
And council is also pushing for more cops, given that the number has fallen from 151 in 2024 to 126 in 2025. The number of operating hours at the Keilor Downs station has dropped to three days a week.
Cr Pham said the reduction of 25 officers was the “largest drop” across all Victorian Local Government Areas and “confirmed” council concerns about the “inadequate” police numbers in Brimbank.
Cr Joh Bauch said the Brimbank community was being “neglected”, while it “continued to witness” an increase in crime.
“This neglect puts our residents at risk and it’s not just a minor issue, but a major policing failure throughout the years,” he said.
“Residents deserve to be home or on the streets without being victims of crime. This is because of successive governments having failed to invest in the West.”
Council advocacy initiatives come on the heels of the successful ‘Rail Before Runway’ campaign, which culminated on the State Government releasing early designs for the new Sunshine interchange in February.
Maribyrnong City Council
With Zoe Taylor and Maya Malavisi
Well hello dear readers!
Welcome to your brand-spanking new Maribyrnong council meeting coverage.
We (oh yes, you lucky things, you get two of us) are your new Maribyrnong council correspondents.
And you know what? The March meeting was our first.
What was really surprising was that there was no mention of the controversial private security guards now the ‘mall cop’ trial is over.
Yep, you heard right folks, the policy that caused last month’s protest, dominated public question time and was subject of a 201-signature petition, was not mentioned. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.
However something in public question time did stand out to us.
A member of the public asked Mayor, Cr Mohamed Semra why, in the previous council meeting, he suspended standing orders to acknowledge Ramadan claiming he hadn’t given the same recognition to other days of significance from other cultures in the community.
Cr Semra said acknowledging Ramadan was a “simple but meaningful way to demonstrate respect, inclusion, and belonging”.
Cr Semra has also said Islamophobia is “on the rise” and “one in three Muslim Australians do not feel a sense of belonging”.
CEO Celia Haddock clarified to the chamber that council acknowledged and celebrated other days of significance throughout the year.
“These days reflect the vibrancy and diversity in our community,” she said.
Now to segue straight into the agenda debate (Yay!)
Word on the street – live music is coming to the city of Maribyrnong. Hot gossip, we know right! We cannot believe it! But first here’s a little snippet from the Terms of Reference which talks about the Action Plan of Live Music and what the council hopes it’ll bring.
The Maribyrnong Live Music Action Plan 2026-2028 was adopted by Council last November and is now looking for 12 people to represent the community on its external working group. Council wants promoters, programmers, venue owners, artists, peak bodies or music industry professionals to “advise Council and share ideas on how to create a music friendly city”.
In moving the motion, Cr Bernadette Thomas said the working group was part of council’s community engagement agenda, which was “only as good” as long as people “get involved”.
“I hope we get flooded with expressions of interest for this because I know we’ve got a creative and experienced community who will be able to give us some really great advice,” she said.
We look forward to seeing how diverse our readers are and what special talents you are all hiding! (Because who doesn’t love live music, right? Free concert!)
Council voted to permit the construction of an eight-story, 45-appartment and retail space at 38 – 40 Moreland Street, Footscray.
Council voted to permit Contract No 1332-26 RecWest & Shorten Reserve – Stage 2.
Council voted to permit the endorsement of a submission to the State Government in relation to Planning Scheme Amendment GC276.
Council voted to permit endorsement to commence community engagement on the draft Community Engagement Policy before it is presented to Council for final endorsement.
Council voted to permit endorsement of the Maribyrnong Live Music Advisory Panel Terms of Reference.
Council voted to permit 2026/03 – Footscray Park Management, Maintenance and Community Use, as resolved in February 2026.
Council voted to permit the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) State Council meeting being held in May 2026.
Council voted to permit the Maribyrnong Council Governance report which provides a single reporting platform for a range of statutory compliance, transparency, and governance related matters.
