Council reports for the month are added to the top of each page as they become available
Brimbank City Council
Budget, tennis and data centres
By Josie Vine, RMIT Journalism
An 11thhour attempt at securing funding for the Sunshine Tennis Club was voted down during budget debate at last month’s council meeting.
Cr Daniel Kruk put forward a valiant alternative motion to the budget, saying council should allocate $50,000 to the long-awaited redevelopment.
Cr Kruk said the Club had been “going through a difficult time”, with funding “pledged” for upgrades in the last two budgets, but “both times” was “pulled out from under the rug”.
“They thought that construction would go ahead, and the next communication they received was the building is not going to go ahead,” he said. “So this amendment is to right a wrong.”
Cr Kruk said the club was “struggling” to accommodate 120 members and 11 competition teams.
But Cr Victoria Borg said she would not support the motion “for the simple reason” that it would “set a precedent” and an “expectation” among other sports clubs.
“Council is not ready to commit itself to projects of such large scale,” she said.
The alternative motion lost – three to seven votes.
Meanwhile, the decision to upgrade Albion’s Selwin Park Tennis Courts was deferred after Cr Lucy Nguyen put forward a motion to request a parking assessment and acoustic report.
Cr Nguyen said residents had “raised” concerns over the upgrade’s proposal to remove trees and other natural habitat. The upgrade includes providing facilities for Pickleball and Volleyball.
The rapid rise of data centres will increase in urgency in Brimbank Council’s advocacy activities.
The Advocacy report, passed at the last council meeting, recommended “ongoing advocacy” under the Climate Emergency Priority.
“It’s concerning that the State Government is just building these data centres without community consultation,” Cr Nguyen said.
In other budget news, rates will rise by 2.75 percent under the adopted budget. This is in line with the State Government’s rate cap.
The Budget projects an operating revenue of $299.73 million, which will be spent on:
- $26.8 million for Waste Services
- $22.5 million on Parks and Trees
- $16.6 million towards our Leisure services (which includes the Brimbank Aquatic and Wellness Centre and Sunshine Leisure Centre)
- $15.8 million for Libraries, Arts and Culture and our Neighbourhood Houses and Community Centres
- $11.4 million for Road Maintenance and Cleansing Services
- $7.4 million to deliver Maternal and Child Health services
- $5.2 million towards Environmental Sustainability and Conservation
- $3.4 million on Statutory Planning
- $2.8 million for Animal Management across Brimbank.
The 2026/2027 Capital Works Program includes:
- $23.97 million on roads, bridges and drainage upgrades
- $19.52 million on building improvements to community facilities, including sports and early learning facilities
- $8.62 millions on waste management
- $5.67 million on walking and cycling paths to connect our city
- $5.70 million on parks, open space and streetscapes
- $4.15 million on the cyclical replacement of plant and vehicle fleet
- $2.70 million on other infrastructure
- $0.91 million for library books and
- $0.78 million on computers and telecommunications
Find Brimbank City Council’s Annual action plan and budget.
