Year one report card: Councillors

Cr Peter Clarke

Cr Carl Jetter

Cr Jennifer Kanis

Visit Year one report card for highlights from the Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor.

Cr Peter Clarke

Melbourne is…full of interesting landscapes

A review of the Melbourne Planning Scheme is one of the Council’s 11 top priorities for 2009–10. Melbourne is an ever-evolving collection of landscapes, suburbs and precincts and the planning scheme needs to reflect this as the municipality’s overarching framework for development.

As part of the review, we have conducted a number of studies to understand and plan for social, economic and environmental issues at the smaller local area. The planning scheme must continue to have policies and provisions for the appropriate use, development and protection of land.

We have embarked on 23 related projects including the Municipal Strategic Statement review, affordable housing provisions, Urban Design and CBD built form controls review.

One of the studies well underway is the Industrial Land Supply study. It will inform our land strategy to ensure industry and business uses are maintained in the municipality and future growth is accommodated.

We are also exploring possibilities for growth areas to self-sufficiently meet water and energy needs. This is being piloted in the new Southbank Structure Plan.

The Melbourne Planning Scheme can be used to manage issues in many ways. Earlier this year we requested the Victorian Government strengthen planning controls to protect our iconic narrow streets and laneways from overdevelopment.

We are also using the scheme to better manage issues arising from licensed premises in the city. Patron numbers, hours of operation, cumulative impacts and noise in licensed premises are the subjects of Proposed Amendment C141, which was made available for public comment in early 2009. We’ll be considering the findings of the independent panel shortly.

Cr Carl Jetter

Melbourne is…enterprising

Some of the most creative and successful individuals in the country, indeed the world, call Melbourne home. Many of them are now working with us, providing their expertise and advice on all things that make Melbourne tick.

The economic environment is vital to the city and we have brought together the best of Melbourne’s business community to be part of the Enterprise Melbourne Board. We will be working with their talents and networks to help attract investment, facilitate export and market Melbourne as a world class destination.

We are also turning our attention to a Melbourne favourite – Moomba. A new advisory board is working with us to ensure this iconic City of Melbourne event continues to inspire and celebrate the city. We also look forward to tapping into Melbourne’s creative talents when we bring together an advisory board for our 2010 Melbourne Day celebrations where we will celebrate Melbourne’s 175th anniversary.

Our informal committees for the annual Melbourne Awards and the Lord Mayor’s Commendations now have formal structures and we have reformed and renewed the Melbourne Retail Advisory Board and the Melbourne Hospitality Advisory Board.

The calibre of the people who serve on our advisory boards and committees is exceptional, and their enthusiasm and desire to give back something to the city is really infectious. We are thrilled to be working with them.

Cr Jennifer Kanis

Melbourne is…a place for people

A free-flowing and genuine two-way exchange of ideas is crucial to enable the Council to make decisions that reflect and support the aspirations of our many communities.

Encapsulating the community’s diverse interests and viewpoints in our work underpins what we do, so developing a Community Engagement Framework is one of our top priorities.

Already we have a team dedicated to coordinating culture change on this issue. We are carrying out training and developing policies and techniques that will guide the robust engagement we need with our community.

The Councillor Community Forum in August, which 120 people attended, was our first chance to implement our approach to broader community engagement. Attendees were drawn from community and business groups and also included individuals.

We are currently undertaking on line consultation on city safety with young people, called Your City Your Space, and look forward to considering the contributions.

The City of Melbourne provides more than $15 million for community activities such as local arts and culture, community service, the environment, events, business, tourism and sport initiatives. This year, our process for grants and sponsorships was streamlined to make this financial support more accessible and transparent.

The 2009 arts grants provided $1.3 million to more than 100 projects and generated $3.2 million in arts activities across the city. Around 700 artists were involved and half were free to the public. All art forms were represented and around a third of projects had a multicultural perspective.

Cr Kevin Louey

Melbourne is…a waterfront city

As the city’s newest community reaches its first decade, the Council continues to work closely with VicUrban, businesses and the community to ensure the Docklands precinct and its waterways are clean, safe and environmentally sustainable and to attract visitors through the area’s unique mix of business, events and attractions.

Four months after taking office, Council reviewed and approved the new Docklands. Waterways Strategic Plan 2009-18.

Developed in collaboration with Parks Victoria, VicUrban and the local community, the plan paves the way for the next stage of the waterways’ development. A community boating hub, new water based events and an assessment of water transport options are just some of the ideas we’re looking at.

The City of Melbourne also launched Docklands’ newest and greenest children’s centre – The Harbour Family and Children’s Centre – in early February at Victoria Harbour. The centre delivers 150 new childcare places for the city made possible by a $7 million contribution from Council.

Across the municipality, new bridges and other initiatives to promote the safe and efficient flow of vehicles, public transport, bicycles and pedestrians added to the city’s accessibility. A new pedestrian and bicycle bridge was completed across the Yarra River connecting the north and south banks near the new Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre.

The City of Melbourne, with its Inner Melbourne Action Plan partners, worked to upgrade bicycle connections across the inner region and manufactured ‘wayfinding’ signs for pedestrians and public transport users for installation across the region.

Cr Cathy Oke

Melbourne is…committed to a sustainable future

In the last year the Council proved that it is not enough to simply encourage our community to reduce emissions, save water or opt for public transport. We need to show our commitment by putting our money where our mouth is.

Faced by ongoing drought, the Council has committed more than $4 million to drought proofing our parks and gardens, starting with the installation
of a six megalitre water tank under Royal Park to capture rainwater.

The City of Melbourne is also working to achieve a 90 per cent reduction in our potable water consumption by 2020. Our Total Watermark strategy sees the city as a water catchment area, utilising runoff from roads and footpaths, harvesting rain from rooftops, encouraging water recycling in both households and businesses and using groundwater where it’s available.

The City of Melbourne continues to work towards our commitment to reach zero net carbon emissions by 2020. This is a challenge, particularly as Melbourne’s population grows, but the organisation’s total greenhouse gas emissions are down by almost a third since 1997.

Our most ambitious program will take place over the next 10 years as we support the retrofit of 1200 commercial buildings to make them more energy and water efficient. The Council continues to lead by example and in November committed to retrofit 13 of the City of Melbourne’s own buildings. We expect that savings made under the program will allow us to repay our $2.5 million investment within 15 years.

Cr Ken Ong

Melbourne is…many cultures

Melbourne is a multicultural success story. People from around 140 cultures live here and it is great to be part of an organisation that celebrates the history we share with other places in the world.

Southern Europe – Italy and Greece in particular – is truly a part of our city. We already enjoy sister city relationships with Milan in Italy and Thessaloniki in Greece and have now entered into a partnership with the Victorian Government to ensure that these shared histories continue to be reflected in Melbourne’s streetscapes.

The Italian history of Lygon Street, Carlton, dates back to the 1930s and today it is still Melbourne’s epicentre of Italian food and culture. As part of the extensive capital works program for 2009–10, the precinct will get a makeover with improvements to Argyle Square and the addition of a performance stage and garden works at Piazza Italia.

The Greek precinct on Lonsdale Street has been there since the 1950s and pedestrians continue to be tempted with the city’s most mouth-watering display of Greek cakes and pastries. This precinct will also get a makeover to improve outdoor dining and to mark the gateway to the area.

Asia has also had a strong influence on Melbourne and nowhere else is this more visibly celebrated than in Chinatown. Developments to this precinct will include installation of new and refurbished gateways and Chinese lantern lighting along the street, and improvements to Tianjin Gardens.

We have much to thank Melbourne’s Greek, Italian and Chinese communities for and we look forward to working with them to mark their respective histories.

Cr Brian Shanahan

Melbourne has never been financially in better condition

Excellent economic management has put the City of Melbourne in a sound economic position. The organisation has a budget surplus, record capital works expenditure, no debts, over $100 million in cash and a continuing AAA rating from Standard & Poor’s.

Our budget in June 2009 earmarked more than $70 million for new and improved infrastructure: this is a 10 per cent increase over the previous year and is the largest investment in capital infrastructure the City of Melbourne has ever undertaken.

The community will see the benefit of this through further drought proofing of parks, improved safety infrastructure, the maintenance of roads and community facilities and other works.

Our financial strength also means we can keep up the high quality library, recreation, arts and disability services. Our $39 million investment in social and community infrastructure for 2009–10 will improve programs and services for children, families, young people and older people alike.

Investing in economic sustainability is an important part of this year’s budget. We are supporting economic development with measures worth more than $100 million. This includes our Enterprise Melbourne agency, an extensive calendar of events, tourism and the development of high quality public space to contribute to liveability, reputation and prosperity.

Our decision to keep rate increases at a minimum 3 per cent in 2009–10, the lowest of any capital city council and the second-lowest council rate rise in Victoria, and a solid return on investments despite the global financial crisis puts us in a strong financial position to deliver our plan for the future. Melbourne’s financial credentials are excellent and will enable us to plan for the future with confidence.

Visit Year one report card for highlights from the Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor.