Councillor Bruce Lancashire has been elected unopposed to lead Brimbank council for the next 12 months.
The Taylors Ward councillor was named as the city’s 2022-23 mayor, taking over from outgoing mayor Jasmine Nguyen.
Cr Nguyen nominated Cr Lancashire for the role, saying she believed he would “deliver results and accountability for the municipality“.
Fellow Taylors Ward councillor Ranka Rasic was elected as deputy mayor, ahead of Cr Victoria Borg.
Cr Lancashire, who was first elected to council in 2016, used his acceptance speech to speak about the passion he and wife Julie having for local government, noting that they have both worked in the sector and have family members who have served as councillors.
He labelled the 2022-23 term of Brimbank council – the third for this group of councillors – as “very important“.
Helping the owners of the Solomon Heights precinct in Sunshine North to resolve ecological and development issues and developing Sydenham Park as a significant tourism centre including recreation, conservation and Aboriginal and early settler themes, were too of the most pressing issues for council in the coming 12 months, Cr Lancashire said.
However, he noted that rate capping was the biggest challenge facing council.
“This budgetary limit will have a significant impact on our ability to undertake new projects and build new facilities into the future,“ he said.
Cr Lancashire said he hopes council will consider establishing a charity mayoral ball and a multicultural song contest at the St Albans Community Centre to help build social connectivity.
Cr Lancashire paid tribute to Cr Nguyen and outgoing deputy mayor Thuy Dang, noting that their appointment as mayor and deputy mayor had been a source of pride for the Vietnamese community.
Cr Jasmine Nguyen has set a very high standard for this role. As council’s first Vietnamese Australian mayor, Jasmine has made her local and Brimbank community very proud –a tough act to follow,“ he said.
“This amazing group of councillors … all need to be commended for their incredible efforts and dedication for making life better for the people living in Brimbank.“
