October 2024 Council meetings
The caretaker period left our local council meetings somewhat lacklustre last month.
With elections looming, our elected representatives were precluded from any decision-making that would leave a legacy for the new in-coming councillors. And neither were they allowed questions or discussion, for fear the meeting may descend into political campaigning.
So what we were left with was the passing of a few reports and a couple of farewell speeches. Read on …
Hobsons Bay – 8 October
By Josie Vine
It was a ‘peculiar’ and ‘brief’ Hobsons Bay council meeting last month.
Lasting less than 15 minutes, the meeting was sans its main characters. Cr Tony Briffa was an apology and Cr Peter Hemphill was on his now-renowned Leave of Absence. Considering Crs Briffa and Hemphill have not thrown their hats into the election ring, we can assume they have exited stage left (or right, depending on your taste in metaphor). For now anyway.
Because Council was in caretaker period, the meeting couldn’t take questions from neither the public nor the chamber.
So councillors passed a few reports – the CEO’s Report on Operations, the Annual Report from Corporate Services and an Audit and Risk Committee Update. There was some discussion over the Minutes’ reportage of how many councillors voted on Cr Hemphill’s Leave of Absence at the previous meeting, but mostly it was Mayor Matt Tyler making, what amounted to be, Council’s farewell speech.
Cr Tyler acknowledged the contributions of council staff, many of whom were not in the chamber but “contribute a tonne” to the community.
Cr Tyler said he was “really proud” to have taken part of the 2020–2024 councillor group.
“We might not agree on everything, but all seven of us are all-in,” he said. “And finally to our community, thank you.”
Cr Tyler wished the successful candidates in the October election “all the very best”.
Unusually, the meeting closed with a round of applause, and councillors and community members milled round like a Mother’s Club long after the rituals had finished.
The in-coming council will be a different make up, with the only current councillors, Diana Grima and Daria Kellander, standing for re-election.
Legacy issues left for the new council include gender neutral dunnies, the Techno Park ‘existing use’ rights claims and, of course, Mulchgate.
Brimbank – 15 October
By Josie Vine
Well your correspondent turned up at the Brimbank Council meeting at 7pm – usual time – to find the gathering just breaking up. Somehow Brimbank had moved its final meeting an hour earlier, and your correspondent had just missed the business-end of things.
But, amid wafts of perfume, your correspondent did get to see a chamber full of smiling faces congratulating each other on the end of the council term.
However, because of the marvels of technology (ie the meeting’s recording), we can report that there was only one item on the agenda to be voted on and that was the annual report.
On moving the motion to pass the annual report, Cr Victoria Borg said the report “highlighted” the “various challenges” the incoming council will face.
She said challenges included housing affordability, education and skills gaps, financial sustainability and environmental sustainability and climate emergency.
“I believe council will continue to deal with these challenges with innovation and determination,” she said.
Cr Jae Papalia said the annual report was a “great way” to “wrap up” council’s term.
Cr Lancashire said the report showed there was “still work to do” for the incoming councillors, “whoever they may be”.
Well, we know “whoever they may be”, because their names are registered on the Victorian Electoral Commission site. And it seems that the new Brimbank council potentially has a remarkably similar composition as the old.
Seven of Brimbank’s 11 councillors put up their hands for re-election. These are: Victoria Borg, Thomas O’Reilly, Maria Kerr, Thuy Dang, Virginia Tachos, Sam David, and current mayor Ranka Rasic.
In fact, your correspondent is rather confused about why everyone was milling around saying goodbye post-meeting, when they would clearly be meeting again.
But anyway, as this council leaves its municipal monitors behind, the new council faces the challenge of adhering to its new 10-point code-of-conduct, which includes training and workshops to improve intra-council relationships.
Maribyrnong – 15 October
By Ruby Fox
It was a very brief meeting indeed at last month’s Maribyrnong Council, running for less than 20 minutes.
With councillors not being allowed to answer questions from the public or the chamber, that left plenty of time to list their achievements of the last four years.
Cr Michael Clarke said council had made a “great step forward” in bringing the Maribyrnong community together.
“It is not a case of the community and the council, it is we, the council and our community who stand together, beyond people, culture, beliefs and faiths in hopes that we can connect and grow and share with each other,” he said.
In tabling Council’s Annual Report, Cr Clarke said council was in a “remarkable financial position”.
He said the Annual Report showed Council had completed 85 percent of its 61 objectives.
“We’ve done a tremendous job”, said Cr Clarke, with the Annual Report being a “fantastic reflection of the phenomenal work undertaken by all levels of our local government authority”.
The meeting then moved on to farewell speeches, in which Cr Clarke said the last four years had “been nothing less than brilliant”.
As part of his farewell speech Cr Simon Crawford, who is not running for re-election, said he was “very proud of all the good work” council had done during this “busy year”, and encouraged the in-coming council to “keep it up”.
Mayer Lam thanked members of her “hard working team” for the roles each had played over the last four years, leaving her “very proud”.
Five of members of the current Maribyrnong council are standing for re-election. These are Jorge Jorquera, Cuc Lam, Anthony Tran, Bernadette Thomas and Michael Clarke.
Wyndham
By Jack Sutton
During the election’s caretaker period, we had an uneventful meeting in the Wyndham City Council Chamber, lasting at most 8 minutes.
The ‘highlight’ of the night was when Cr Jennie Barrera was presented with a bundle of flowers, followed by well-wishes from councillors in the chamber. This was the last meeting with Cr Barrera as acting mayor of Wyndham City.
The councillors who attended the meeting in person stayed back to speak to some of the observers but were not eager to answer any substantial questions. They kept their cards close to their chests so as not to show their hands to the competitors around them.
While this was the final council meeting for the year with this particular group of councillors, many have put their names back on the ballot papers and we may well see them again in the new line up of councillors.
A Council is only as good as the people who get involved!
Hobsons Bay City Council
6pm Tuesday 19 & 6pm Friday 22 November
at the Hobsons Bay Civic Centre. The meeting will also be live streamed.
Maribyrnong City Council
6.30pm Tuesday 19 November
at Council Chamber, Braybrook Community Hub, 107–139 Churchill Avenue.
Brimbank City Council
7pm Tuesday 19 November
at Council Chamber, 301 Hampshire Rd, Sunshine.
Wyndham City Council
6pm Thursday 21 & 6pm Tuesday 26 November
at Council Chamber, Wyndham Civic Centre, 45 Princes Highway.
