Media Statements

Statement - Bayside City Council Meeting Appearance

Statement – Bayside City Council Meeting Appearance

27 June 2023.

Mr Mayor, Councillors, staff, and members of the wonderful community we represent.

As elected representatives, we are obliged to be both a strong voice for those we represent and have a deep respect for any taxes raised and the way they are spent.

For me, a guiding principle for government expenditure is that sound economic management must take place to benefit people – like the Hampton East community.

Bayside is economically sound, sitting on $110 million in cash reserves, and proposing a $179.6 million Budget.

But the Budget also includes a maximum 3.5 percent rate increase, on the back of a dozen interest rate hikes.

What the Budget misses, is an acknowledgement of the economic pain the community is experiencing and targeted spending on where it is sorely needed, like at the Jack Levy Pavilion in Hampton Eat.

With some constituents shutting off their connection to power, is now the time for a 3.5 percent rate increase?

With our aged demographic, should our pavement tolerances be set at 25mm – five times higher than neighbouring Councils?

Why shouldn’t disabled visitors to Church Street be able to park and unload their wheelchair?

After conducting a community consultation on the Hampton Hub two years ago, why is Council proposing new concerning designs?

And with a thirty percent increase in aggravated burglaries, shouldn’t we already have a plan to roll out improved public lighting, following the request from Victoria Police?

Mayor, despite pavilion upgrades over recent years, some have no date for completion, including the Jack Levy Pavilion, in Hampton East.

Councillors, Bayside budgeted for an upgrade to that pavilion in 2014, 2019 and 2021, yet pulled the promised funding when each year arrived. The Moorabbin Kangaroos Football Club, some of whom are here, deserve much better.

Council has an added responsibility to lean into delivering to suburbs like Hampton East because the State Labor Government refuses to fund the Brighton electorate.

With respect Councillors, this Budget gets a big economic tick, but it has not got the balance right in acknowledging the economic times and delivering for the people we represent, like the Moorabbin Kangaroos Football Club and Hampton East.

James Newbury, Member for Brighton