Hannah Hammoud
Brimbank council will raise three motions for consideration at the upcoming Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) state council meeting on May 17.
Council has endorsed three draft motions that will be submitted to the meeting, each highlighting matters of concern, including upgrades to major highways, the establishment of mental health social inclusion action groups, and improvements Victoria’s bus network
The upcoming meeting is an opportunity for council to help influence state government investment and policy on its advocacy priorities.
Council is calling on the state government to “significantly” increase the level of funding to upgrade major highways in Victoria and to work closer with councils across the state to better understand the deficiencies in their road networks
Council is also advocating for the state government to increase support for the delivery of mental health services by expediting the establishment of mental health social inclusion action groups in all local government areas
Once again, the state’s bus network remains a top concern for Brimbank, with council urging that the state government implement all 10 recommendations outlined in Infrastructure Victoria’s 2023 report ‘Fast, frequent, fair: how buses can better connect Melbourne’.
Council said it will intensify its advocacy for significant upgrades to the Calder Freeway and Calder Park Drive, with councillor Bruce Lancashire describing the federal government’s decision to withdraw its $50 million funding commitment as a “travesty of justice”.
“I would have to say it is so disappointing that this funding has been withdrawn. This has been a campaign that has gone back before the administrators, to the previous council and this council has done so much work… to lobby for this,” Cr Lancashire said.
“There’s so much opportunity here [and] fixing the Calder is a very important element of that.
“… There’s so much that’s been done to open up this site, to not continue is a travesty of justice.”
