April Council Meetings
Brimbank City Council
Josie Vine from RMIT Journalism
Wow! I wouldn’t be in the transport minister’s shoes for quids! Not after the long litany of complaints made at last month’s Brimbank council meeting during discussion of the draft Annual Action Plan and the draft Integrated Transport strategy.
The draft annual action plan includes the budget, under which rates have risen by 2.75 percent.
Cr Joh Bauch said council “faced very difficult financial challenges” through rate capping, “cost-shifting”, rising costs and “high service demands”.
He said the state landfill levy had “drastically increased” by almost 30 percent in the last financial year, and the emergency services and volunteers fund had been “dumped” on council rates in an “attempt to masquerade” a state tax increase.
“The state has shafted us again,” he said. “Cost shifting is hurting council … call it whatever you want – handballing, cost-shifting – and at the same time council has to continue with the rate caps.”
In moving the draft integrated transport strategy, Cr Maria Kerr said public transport in Brimbank was “not good enough”.
“Responsibility for that sits squarely with the state government,” she said. “Bus services are too infrequent, too indirect, too unreliable, to meet the needs of our residents.”
She said more than 80 percent of trips in the municipality were made by car because it had no tram services.
“This is not a choice, this is a failure of the system,” she said. “Getting to a train station should be simple, but for many, it is time consuming, inconvenient, and in some cases not possible without a car.”
“This is an issue of fairness, people in Brimbank should not have fewer transport options simply because of where we live … our community deserves better and it is time for the state government to step up.”
Cr Daniel Kruk said car usage in Brimbank was “so high” because there was “no sustainable or integrated” public transport in the area.
He said most Brimbank train stations did not have enough car parks for the number of people driving to catch a train, making public transport untenable.
“If the train station only has 200 car parks, does that mean only 200 people can use the train, because there’s no other way to get there,” he said. “I mean, how ludicrous is that.”
Cr Kruk said the transport strategy was open for consultation until the end of May.
“So it’s over to you now,” he said. “Please put your two cents in, we want to hear from you.”
The two documents are currently out for public comment until the end of May, after which final drafts will be tabled at council in June for adoption.
In other news:
- Early designs for the Sunshine ‘superhub’ project were endorsed.
- The $2,119,180 contract for location intelligence enterprise software was awarded to Esri Australia Pty Ltd, for an initial term of 3-years, with the option to extend for 2 further 1-year periods.
- The $8,168,511 contract for the Dempster Park Construction of Children’s and Community Centre was awarded to S.J. Higgins Pty Ltd.
- The $4,400,000 contract for Traffic Control Services was awarded to Advanced Traffic Management Pty Ltd and All Traffic Management Services Pty Ltd for an initial term of five years with the option to extend for an additional two, one-year periods
Maribyrnong City Council
By Maya Malavisi and Zoe Taylor
Another month, another meeting, and we’re here to tell you … it was a long one! But don’t worry, we won’t keep you for too long.
To start the night off, council suspended standing orders to receive a presentation and gift from Kelvyn Lavelle and Michelle Read, representatives of the new Footscray Hospital. The gift was a framed photo of the hospital to thank the support that the council and offices gave.
Lavelle said that Footscray Hospital ‘is the largest hospital build ever undertaken in Victoria’ and it was delivered ‘on time and on budget earlier this year.’
Cr Mohamed Semra said that this is a ‘significant milestone for our community’ and ‘a landmark investment in the health, wellbeing and future of Melbourne’s west.’
Representing more than a building he said, the hospital will reflect ‘a commitment to accessible, high-quality healthcare for our growing and diverse community.’
When he said our ‘growing’ community, he really meant growing, with the city of Maribyrnong expecting to ‘increase its population by 51% by 2050’ (holy moly…)
Cr Semra acknowledges everyone involved with bringing the hospital to life, as ‘we welcome the positive impact this hospital will have on local jobs, training opportunities and community wellbeing.’
Moving on, public question time was briefly interrupted by a small accidental turning off of the lights, but don’t worry guys, we were back up and running in less than one minute. Well done council.
When it resumed, public question time brought up a lot of interesting things that people wanted to know. Someone asked about two companies that engage with the Maribyrnong Pool with alleging that they both boast ‘battle-tested modern warfare’ for the US vs Israel vs Iran war.
Lucas Gosling, Director of customer and corporate services, replied saying these companies have worked alongside Maribyrnong Pool and Royal Life Saving Australia to focus on drowning prevention and overall aquatic safety; ‘The technology has contributed positively to aquatic safety at Maribyrnong Aquatic Centre.’
He also said that council is not aware, nor have they identified, any evidence that these companies are involved in the manufacture and supply of modern warfare.
To other news:
- Contract to restore Footscray Parks Thompsons Water Gardens has recently been awarded, works to be commenced in the next couple weeks, taking approximately 6-9 months
- The Council endorsed the proposed place management and activation model to support a vibrant and prosperous Footscray Activity Centre for the purposes of community consultation and engagement.
- Council approved in principle the Proposed Budget 2026/27, invites feedback on the Proposed Budget and hears any person who has requested to be heard in support of their formal feedback on Proposed Budget
- The Council will receive the draft Integrated Transport Strategy for community consultation at the May 2026 Council meeting. They will receive a further report by the end of June 2026 for consideration by Council that identifies any options for a program of quick-win bike infrastructure in response to the current fuel crisis that supports sustainable travel choices and reduces reliance on private vehicles.
Maribyrnong addition….
By Josie Vine
A Footscray ‘welcome crew’ is planned to replace the controversial security guard trial in Footscray’s CBD.
The item appeared on the last Maribyrnong council meeting agenda as part of its new Place Management and Activation Model.
Council voted to end the six-month trial of private security guard patrols in central Footscray amid public protest in its February meeting.
At the time, council described its yet-to-be-developed replacement as a “civic led approach” to CBD security, which drew criticism for its lack of detail.
Although the agenda item is very clear that the Footscray ‘welcome crew’ is NOT a security service, an enforcement-led model, a substitute for the role of Victoria Police, or a specialist outreach or clinical service, there is a paucity of information that tells us what it IS, other than a Footscray Precinct Officer and a Community Development Officer.
The Officers’ roles include maintaining a visible presence in the CBD, helping visitors with information and ‘wayfinding’, engaging with traders and businesses, observing how public spaces are functioning, identifying emerging concerns, escalating matters to the “appropriate authority” where required and supporting events and activation.
The agenda item does not reveal required qualifications or experience, or whether officers are new positions, or would be filled by existing staff.
Officers will be operating between 7am and 7pm, Monday to Friday, and ‘some’ weekend presence on Saturday.
The proposal is now out for community consultation until May 17, with public suggestions and concerns forming a further report to be tabled at council, with a ‘view’ for officers to be on the streets by July 1.
In Data Centre news…
Maribyrnong council is sending the state government a stiffly worded letter outlining its objection to the proposal to develop the NextDC data centre site on the block bounded by Indwe Street and Paramount Road in West Footscray.
“The interface to Stony Creek is unacceptable and contrary to the objectives of … the Maribyrnong Planning Scheme,” the letter says.
However: “Council acknowledges and supports the inclusion of public realm improvements to Indwe Street, Paramount Road, and Stony Creek, which will improve the character and amenity of the area,” the letter says.
Council has outlined a set of conditions to “be included” as part of any planning permit issued, “if the Minister decides to issue a permit on the basis of the current proposal”.
These conditions include: landscaping to protect Stoney Creek, noise impact assessments, and stormwater management.
