October council meetings
Brimbank City Council
By Josie Vine
Right you Brimbank cits. In the words of the iconic Molly, do yerselves a favour and have a gander at council’s latest Annual Report.
Although Cr Victoria Borg’s description of the Annual Report as “exciting” may be a little over the top, it is, after all, your new employees’ (i.e. councillors you voted in last year) first big work appraisal. And like all good bosses, we’d better make sure our employees are doing their job.
Endorsed at the last council meeting, the Annual Report shows how your council has spent its wages (i.e. your money) over the last financial year.
Your correspondent reckons a lotta work goes into these things, coz they’re legally required under the Local Government Act (2020), and this one would have been particularly meticulous given that it’s the first since the Municipal Monitors took off Brimbank’s training wheels.
So there’s a lot of stuff about what council is spending on; reducing unemployment, fixing transport, challenging problem-gambling and supporting mental health services.
But the biggie has to be the Rail Before Runway campaign, which began in earnest last February.
Since then, there has been a $4 billion State government funding commitment for the Melbourne Airport Rail project, and $2 billion from the Federal government to upgrade Sunshine station.
You can tell a lot of effort has gone into the Rail Before Runway campaign, just by the awe-inspiring white corrugated plastic box structure in the middle of the council building’s reception area.
The red-and-blue slogan-pasted stacked boxes ask people to “demand” State and Federal reps fund the Melbourne Airport Rail before Melbourne’s third runway is built.
The argument is that a third runway built at Tullamarine “spells disaster” for Melbourne’s traffic, with commuters from the west “doomed to spend hours in gridlock” unless Melbourne Airport Rail gets back on track.
Cr Virginia Tachos said council had been “instrumental” and the “strongest voice” in a sustained campaign calling out the health risks associated with Melbourne Airport’s third runway.
“It’s a key project poised to transform Brimbank and more importantly, the whole of the west into an exciting transport hub over the next decade,” she said.
Cr Tachos said Brimbank had been the “loudest of all councils” and had secured minister’s approval on a “noise amelioration program” that “for the first time” extended to residential development.
Cr Tachos said the State government had also agreed to a “never before seen” 20-year community health study, which will record baseline data in the leadup to runway construction
“I reiterate the importance of collective advocacy from this council to protect our community’s health,” she said. “We will continue to do this in an unwavering way through advocacy to protect our community and to ensure people in Brimbank have every opportunity to live in an environment that supports individuals to thrive and transform in times ahead.”
The Annual report says the campaign has also “secured” $250 million from the Federal Government and $50 million from the State Government for a diamond interchange at Calder Park Drive.
You can see the Annual Report here – brimbank.vic.gov.au/about-council/how-we-work/annual-reports.
Maribyrnong City Council
By Josie Vine
Well he’s back! Just as he promised!
Mayor Cr Pradeep Tirwai presided over the last Maribyrnong council meeting after a two-month hiatus while addressing traffic offences over an incident in June last year (before he was elected to Maribyrnong council four months later).
Cr Tiwari was charged $450 without conviction on October 14.
An unruffled Cr Tiwari took to the mayoral chair in front of a gallery packed with community leaders, and children, grandchildren and great grandchildren of Footscray icon and life-long Scouts and YMCA leader, Walter Hopkins OA.
In a surprise move, Cr Tiwari invited Mr Hopkins’ family members to address the meeting and commemorate his recent passing.
In a further sign of civic participation, Ireland Brown Constructions representatives addressed the meeting to present a plaque for the new civic precinct and community hub surrounding the refurbished historic town hall.
Project Manager Ben Pakulskey said Ireland Brown had recently received a Master Builders Award for the Footscray project, and was presenting a copy of the winner’s plaque in “recognition” of council’s “contribution” to the project.
“When we start out on a project there are so many unknowns,” he said. “But what makes a project successful in my mind is an enduring trust between a client, its builder and its designers. It is oddly rare to have all three on a project in this industry.
“This project for us was one of those instances and this came from the culture that existed here, there was an openness and a trust that was given to us as a contractor, that is oddly in our industry, rare.”
And in an update on the controversial employment of private security guards accompanying Local Laws officers in Footscray’s CBD, business owners continue to report “daily issues” with people using shopfronts as toilets, staff and customer harassment and leaving litter around premises.
Council received two public questions asking for increased security patrols and check-ins for businesses in central Footscray because they were “struggling with safety concerns and antisocial behaviour”.
Planning and Environment Director, Mike McIntosh said the six month trial of private security guards patrolling Footscray CBD streets was continuing, and council had recently created a new lead role for the revitalisation of Footscray.
Mr McIntosh said an upgrade of the five CBD cameras was also underway.
Wyndham City Council
By Jack Sutton
The October Wyndham City Council Meeting was quite the marathon, lasting a little over three and a half hours, but the four people in the gallery were thoroughly entertained throughout.
Cr. Robert Szatkowski provided a follow-up to his previous request for a crackdown on the misuse of disability parking bays. A three-month “blitz” is aiming to help give back the independence and freedom to those who need these spaces the most.
An evaluation of this “blitz” will come in March 2026, to determine what works and what doesn’t, a process that Cr. Szatkowski says is “sound and evidence-led.”
The message council wants to convey is that “enforcement and education” will shift behaviour, however there are some public areas where council does not have agreements to enforce parking regulations. The council is heavily encouraging these places to start “policing” the parking bays.
Since the start of 2024 over 1500 infringements have been made. That equates to around 4 per cent of all fines coming from disabled parking offences. There will be increased patrols in areas that are most frequently reported.
The other talking point of the night relates to the overall safety of building works at private development sites. The issue is gaining traction thanks to numerous complaints over the last couple of years from the residents of Wyndham. Some of the complaints have been recurring, making the community question what role the council plays in ensuring building sites are safe to work on.
The Council CEO has been requested to provide a briefing paper outlining current protocols between the council’s Municipal Building Surveyor, the Victorian Building & Plumbing Commission (BPA), and WorkSafe Victoria regarding unsafe works.
The residents of Wyndham would like to believe that when they make the council aware of some public safety concerns, something will be done about it. With this request to the CEO, it’s hoped that is going to be the case.
Hobsons Bay
By Josie Vine
Third time lucky
It may have taken three goes, but we got there.
Cr Lisa Bentley got her ‘Advocacy for Enhanced Safety and Crime Prevention in Hobsons Bay’ motion passed unanimously at last month’s meeting, after having it voted down in the July and August.
The motion means council will be gathering information and developing partnerships with police, traders, residents and neighbouring councils to seek an answer to the area’s increased criminal activity that became glaringly obvious after a machete attacked in Altona Meadows earlier this year.
“It’s hard to ignore the escalating crime crisis gripping Melbourne unless you’re living under a rock,” Cr Bentley said. “There is an urgent need for proactive, community-driven solutions at the local level.”
But the motion has been voted down twice before.
Once in July when Cr Bentley put forward an item of ‘urgent business’ for council to “advocate for more public safety” in response to rising crime statistics and Victoria Police announcing it will reduce the number of reception hours to three days a week at Williamstown Police Station. The motion was pipped at the post when council rejected the matter as “urgent”.
And again, in August, when the’ ’Community Safety and Crime Prevention’ motion was voted down three votes to four over apparently rubbery figures.
“One again I stand before you, for the third time – I’m not giving up – with a heartfelt commitment to address this matter that concerns us all,” Cr Bentley said.
After Cr Rayane Hawli added an amendment – to advocate for police officer mental health and wellbeing programs – the motion was passed unanimously.
“I move the amendment because I believe that supporting police is essential to keeping our community safe,” she said. “Police officers are on the frontlines, often facing the most difficult and traumatic situations.
“The high rate of PTSD and other mental health challenges impact officers personally and often effect retention within the force which is one of the biggest issues the Victorian police force faces.”
In the meantime, Williamstown Neighbourhood Watch has been reinvigorated. Resident and Williamstown Neighbourhood Watch organiser Alister Dias was in the gallery to see the motion passed.
New CEO for Hobsons Bay
By Josie Vine
Hey guess what? Hobsons Bay Council’s rocky road towards finding a new CEO is at an end.
Former CEO Aaron van Egmond chucked it in last April, after being suspended over ‘workplace safety issues’ in January. Since then former Wyndham CEO, Kerry Thompson has been keeping the CEO chair warm, and a municipal monitor was appointed to keep an eye on things in May.
A ‘Chief Executive Officer Employment Matters Committee’ has been set up, and councillors have held closed meetings to discuss the committee’s ‘recommendations’.
But, a media release from Hobsons Bay announced that “experienced” local government executive Phu Nguyen would be taking over the role.
Mr Nguyen is coming all the way from South Australia, where he is currently the CEO of the City of Onkaparinga, but apparently grew up in Melbourne’s western suburbs.
“Mr Nguyen has had a broad career across Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia,” the release says.
“He was the chief financial officer at the City of Melbourne and the deputy general manager (deputy CEO) and director city governance at Campbelltown City Council in outer Sydney.”
So there appears to be quite high expectations for Mr Nguyen. Mayor Cr Daria Kellender said he “stood out significantly” in a “strong field” of candidates.
Mr Nguyen starts the new gig in January next year.
