A summary of the Notices of Motion that were endorsed at the 15 February 2022 Council Meeting.
Federal funding for western suburbs – raised by Cr Rasic
Quotes to be attributed to Brimbank Mayor Cr Jasmine Nguyen:
“Advocating for our City in the lead up to the next Federal election is a key priority for Council.
“Melbourne’s west receives millions less in Federal grant funding compared to other parts of the country.
“Our focus is on calling out the grant funding inequity and making sure the West gets its fair share of Federal Government funding.
“Brimbank is suffering the impact of historic underinvestment. To uplift and revitalise our community, we need investment for a number of key priority projects.
“We’re working hard to seek election commitments from major parties on Brimbank’s priorities and we are determined to ensure they will be addressed by the retained or incoming Federal Government.”
Background
There are huge discrepancies found in the analysis of information available on the commonwealth’s GrantsConnect website published by The Age newspaper, which showed federal seats in Melbourne’s west have received millions less in Federal Government grant funding than other seats across Australia over the last three financial years.
While Brimbank Council acknowledges that certain Australian regions are in much greater need of Federal Government funding due to environmental factors such as droughts, floods and bushfires, this simply does not account for Melbourne’s west receiving such a disproportionately low share.
As such, Council will formally call upon the Federal Government to redress the grant funding imbalance, allocate grants according to merit and departmental recommendations, and invest in all Australian communities, particularly those economically and socially disadvantaged, and suffering the impact of historic underinvestment.
Council will also write to the Prime Minister and the Federal Treasurer calling on them to prioritise Melbourne’s west in the upcoming Federal Budget and Federal Election commitments, to ensure that a fair share of funding will boost economic development and COVID recovery in Brimbank.
Kings Road, Taylors Lakes Road Safety Barriers – raised by Cr Rasic
Quotes to be attributed to Brimbank Mayor Cr Jasmine Nguyen:
“Road safety is a key priority for Council, ensuring that roads are made safer for drivers and pedestrians to move around our city.
“As part of the State Government’s Road Safety Barrier Program, we’re advocating for more road safety barriers to be installed along busy sections of Kings Road and Sunshine Avenue.
“Council fully supports making roads safer and will continue to advocate on behalf of our community for ongoing safety improvements.
“Council looks forward to working with State Government to implement safety improvements and increase tree planting along these important arterial roads.”
Background
In recent times, community members have raised road safety concerns for pedestrians and road users along Kings Road and Sunshine Avenue.
In particular, there are concerns for pedestrians walking along the bridge on Sunshine Avenue, located south of Old Calder Highway/Shoppers Lane intersection, as the path’s edge is located alongside the busy roadway of Sunshine Avenue. The community have requested safety barriers on this section of road.
Further, concerns have been raised about the lack of tree planting along sections of Kings Road due to the lack of road safety barriers.
Currently trees cannot be planted in the central median of sections of Kings Road based on the VicRoads Tree Policy and AustRoads Guidelines, however with the installation of road safety barriers trees will be able to be planted.
Council is committed to planting more trees in the municipality, including along the central median of arterial roads to beautify the city and improve the environment.
The State Government’s Road Safety Barrier Program provides an opportunity to plant additional trees along these central medians along Kings Road.
Kings Road and Sunshine Avenue are both declared arterial roads, under the care and management of the Department of Transport (DoT).
As such, Council will write to the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, the Hon. Ben Carroll MP requesting:
- That the State Government’s Road Safety Barrier Program be extended, where appropriate, along the entire length of Kings Road, from Taylors Lakes to St Albans.
- That a road safety barrier be installed at the bridge along Sunshine Avenue, south of Old Calder Highway/Shoppers Lane intersection, to protect pedestrians from errant vehicles when walking across the bridge.