All 79 of Victoria’s councils are standing together as the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) launches a new campaign to advocate for the local government sector’s five highest priorities for the 2025 federal election.
MAV CEO, Kelly Grigsby, said all councils across Victoria are wanting to partner with the Federal Government to meet housing demand, fix potholed roads, deliver energy transition commitments, fortify critical infrastructure to withstand fires, floods or storms, and promote active local democracy and cohesive communities.
“With all of these challenges upon us, there has never been a more important time to advocate on behalf of our communities for policies, initiatives and investments that will help build a resilient and sustainable Victoria,” she said.
The MAV ‘Make Good Happen’ campaign will focus on:
- Making community infrastructure happen: delivering the infrastructure growing communities need to thrive
- Making safer roads happen: connecting communities and supporting a safer and more productive Victoria
- Making fairer energy happen: engaging communities in Victoria’s energy transition
- Making resilient communities happen: future-proofing communities to withstand natural disaster
- Making local democracy happen: supporting stronger, safer communities and countering disinformation
In each of these five areas, the MAV campaign will showcase best practice programs and initiatives that can be replicated state and nationwide and call for supportive policy and funding.
Speaking at the campaign launch, mayors from across the state highlighted how councils are equipped to partner with state and federal governments, bringing intimate knowledge of both the needs and capabilities of their local communities.
Cardinia Mayor, Cr Jack Kowarzik, spoke about the need for all tiers of government to come together to support growing communities.
“The community here in Cardinia is growing fast, which is absolutely fantastic of course, but what we need to support this growth – and what all fast-growing communities across the state need beyond new housing, is the infrastructure to connect growing communities.”
Surf Coast Mayor, Cr Mike Bodsworth, and Port Phillip Mayor, Cr Louise Crawford, shared their councils’ successes in enabling innovative housing projects and also emphasised the need to ensure community infrastructure keeps pace with new housing.
South Gippsland Mayor, Cr John Schelling, represented regional communities hosting the energy transition in seeking support to realise benefit sharing alongside transition projects over the coming decade.
“It’s about making sure planning is robust enough to ensure promised community benefits can be delivered not just now but ten to fifteen years down the track. This is more than just energy company logos on local footy club jumpers, it’s about delivering future community benefits,” Mayor Schelling said.
When it came to maintaining existing community infrastructure, all mayors agreed it’s time to think further ahead – moving beyond ‘building back better’ after increasingly frequent disasters to building to withstand storms, bushfires and floods.
In the same week the City of Casey was forced to shut down its first council meeting of the year due to protests from the public gallery, several mayors agreed on the need for a ‘new playbook’ to combat misinformation and identified stand-out best practice programs designed to support local democracy to build on from across Victoria.
Monash Mayor, Paul Klisaris, said, “As community leaders we have a responsibility to ensure the words that we speak are uniting not dividing ones.”
Frankston Mayor, Cr Kris Bolam, shared proactive strategies being enacted in Frankston to promote active local democracy at the community and neighbourhood level, and drawing on his experience navigating major challenges such as the Global Financial Crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The MAV Make Good Happen campaign aims to provide a unified voice for the local government sector as they advocate to bring about positive change within communities across the state.
For more information visit mav.asn.au/make-good-happen
