Hobsons Bay Council Meeting, February 2025
By Dr Josie Vine
Well if you turned up to the Hobsons Bay February Council meeting expecting an explanation about why the CEO was sacked back in January, you’d be a little disappointed.
Flanked by acting CEO, Rachel Lunn and acting manager of Corporate Integrity, Lenny Jenner, Mayor Daria Kellander had turned the horseshoe-shaped council bench around, so she and her senior executive sat to the right of the chamber, rather than the middle.
A technical glitch meant that not only was the bench the wrong-way-around, but so were the councillors’ names captioned on the screen, making one feel a little like one had finally fallen through the looking-glass. But this was soon rectified and we all felt like we were back IRL again.
In the 16-person public gallery sat three former councillors and Citizen of the Year and Techno Park poster girl, Lara Weeks. Not sure if they were there to hear the goss on the suspended CEO, but your correspondent certainly was.
So your correspondent got a little excited when two sets of previous minutes were tabled for confirmation – one from the ordinary December council meeting and another from the “special” January 25 meeting, where council had sacked the CEO.
Your correspondent quickly shuffled through the agenda and its appendices to see what the official record said about why a CEO was suspended.
Nothing! Except that the Independent Member of Council’s CEO Employment and Remuneration Committee, Phil Shanahan, and Lawyer Kate Oliver of Maddocks were in attendance.
The minutes also tell us the meeting was closed to the public and held online.
The motion to confirm the minutes was quickly moved by Cr Rayane Hawli and seconded by Cr Kristin Bishop, then passed unanimously. No discussion, no questions, no nuffin’.
So we still don’t know why our CEO was suspended, and we still don’t know if it was fair and reasonable, nor whether he may be coming back.
Council has announced former Maribyrnong and Wyndham Councils CEO, Kerry Thompson would be taking up the acting CEO role at Hobsons Bay this month.
Brimbank Council Meeting, February 2025
You could tell a Federal election is in the air at the last Brimbank Council meeting, with members of the public gallery dressed up in electioneering gear and including a Federal candidate.
But despite the local political celebrity and the guy at the front wearing a jaunty Liberal-blue cap and T-shirt, the seven-person gallery lacked its previously usual animation.
That was until the Model Councillor Code of Conduct was tabled for endorsement.
As you may remember, the previous Brimbank council went through a rocky patch, with accusations of “misconduct” flying around and councillors dobbing on each other to Internal Arbitration.
Partially as a result, the state government sent in the Municipal Monitors. At the same time, the State Government introduced updated Local Government (Governance and Integrity Amendment) Regulations, which include the mandatory Model Councillor Code of Conduct, changing prescribed internal arbitration processes.
The Model Code defines the specific behaviour and conduct standards expected of Councillors in their official roles, establishing a state-wide framework of Councillor conduct and accountability. As part of the Code, councils are required to adopt their own Internal Resolution Procedure, Social Media Policy and an Occupational Health and Safety Policy.
The adoption of the the policies went through as one item. In moving the item, Cr Maria Kerr said she “welcomed” the policies, particularly the definition of “bullying”.
“Which includes verbal abuse, insults or name-calling, personal attacks, threats, intimidation, deliberate exclusion or isolation, deliberately withholding information from someone when the information is essential to their ability to perform their work effectively and any form of bullying that occurs online,” she said.
The Model Code was adopted unanimously amid a round of applause and “hear, hear” from the public gallery.
Wyndham City Council Meeting, February 2025
By Jack Sutton
Residents in Wyndham turned up in droves to this month’s meeting with 40-plus community members witnessing an action-packed battle of the agenda.
Two petitions were brought to the start of the meeting, as they were deemed “urgent business” but both motions were swiftly carried, except for a call for division from Cr Jasmine Hill.
A petition was sent out about “ending the neglect” at Lawrie Emmins Reserve, and Cr Hill was quick to call out the legitimacy of the signatures, stating they were all made anonymously, but CEO Stephen Wall assured everyone, that they were “all valid”.
A second petition was on the agenda, this one to do with constructing a walking and cycling path in the Truganina area, but once again, Cr Hill pointed out that this petition had the same amount of anonymous signatures, CEO Wall swiftly shut this down, saying they’re up to par.
Despite the 2024/2025 quarterly report being for noting only, Mayor Mia Shaw allowed Cr Preet Singh to make comments, because she deemed it to be “important enough” for the gallery to hear.
Cr Hill was not pleased by this, seeing as Mayor Shaw denied her attempts to make comments on the last two “only for noting” petitions and a group of gallery members jumped to her defence.
One shouted “This is bully”, followed by multiple “Unprofessional” chants, pointed at Mayor Shaw.
Looking directly at the fuming few sitting in the back, Mayor Shaw said “Do I need to get security to escort you out?”. One of the security guards promptly stood up, causing the rowdy crowd to stand down.
At least one positive from this section of the meeting was the upgrade of the Galvin Park Soccer Pavilion and the refurbishment of the AquaPulse and Eagle Stadium gyms, which have both been completed.
The final extensive talking point of the night was led by Cr Josh Gilligan, and it was all about the Little Growling Cafe on Davis Road in Tarneit.
After speaking with some of the Tarneit residents, the general consensus was they are somewhat anti-residential expansion and are more community-driven.
Cr Gilligan was pleading with the other councillors to act as “interventionists”, as they have in the past, to persuade the potential buyers of the land the café sits on, to reconsider, and help the Tarneit community to feel like they have somewhere local to go.
Maribyrnong Council Meeting, February 2025
By Ruby Fox
After a short break, our Maribyrnong Council meetings are back into routine, with this month’s February meeting addressing all the questions and queries we’ve had during the summer.
Getting straight into it, the council received a few concerns from the public regarding the air quality in our area and exactly what is being done to improve it.
In response, CEO Celia Haddock said “most significant changes rely on both Federal and Victorian State Government” to go forward.
“There are many initiatives or programs which could significantly improve the air quality in Maribyrnong and the broader west, many of which need to be led by Federal and/or State Government.”
Despite council attempts to reassure, the community has taken matters into its own hands, with a group of people hosting a ‘Clean Our Air’ Protest Rally at Yarraville Gardens on the first Sunday of next month.
After this, the public asked about the Footscray CBD Walk that the council went on in hope of spotting some things that needed change. Mayor Pradeep Tiwaree told listeners the main concerns were over “safety and cleanliness”.
He said CBD upgrades would be include lighting, CCTV, street cleaning, community security, public space improvements, business and economic growth to support local businesses, flexible retail spaces and nighttime economic activations.
Cr Tiwaree said he could foresee more “cultural community engagement, public art murals, regular events and festivals and youth community programs” while also “improving connectivity and transport”.
Cr Mohamed Semra said the community was concerned about the presence of drugs and alcohol in the CBD.
He said council was partnering with local police and community stakeholders to address drugs and alcohol as well as anti-social behavior.
Cr Bernadette Thomas said “the first thing” council “needed” to address was to acknowledge that “people were “dealing with” a “number of complex personal issues”.
Cr Thomas said “we as a community” needed to help support those affected by drugs and other social issues “and help them to address their needs”.
“Otherwise we might be at risk of simply moving them, rather than addressing the real issue,” she said. “Person-focused solutions and care and support need to come first.”
