Tonight’s meeting was a win for dog friendly and good governance – with changes for dog-leash areas confirmed and strengthening the Audit and Risk Committee Charter to align it with best practice after I flagged the need for a review earlier this year.

Dog Off-Leash Area Changes

Tonight’s meeting confirmed changes that were proposed through the Dog Off Leash Guidelines, when I worked with over 2000 community members to highlight the need for additional off leash space.

As a result of tonight’s discussion, the following changes will enhance dog friendly spaces for Port Melbourne:

• Fennell Reserve in Port Melbourne will be designated as a dog off-leash area.
• The section of Port Melbourne beach between Station Pier and Bay Street will be designated as a dog off-leash area between 7:30 PM and 10:00 AM the next day during summer (1 November to 31 March).
• JL Murphy Reserve and North Port Oval will remain dog friendly following strong community feedback seeking to maintain current arrangements

Fennell Reserve will become Port Melbourne’s first fully fenced dog park to be delivered within the 2026/2027 financial year. Engagement on the park and the features it will include will be undertaken from early next year.

Audit and Risk Committee – Review of the Committee Charter

Victorian Councils are required to establish and Audit and Risk Committee, which is governed through a Charter that outlines the tenure, objectives, roles and obligations of the Committee.

Good governance in audit and risk, across government, not-for-profit or commercial practice, incorporate term limits to ensure that independent members of the committee remain independent. Despite this, the City of Port Phillip previously did not incorporate term limits as part of its Audit and Risk Committee Charter.

As a result, I requested a review at the February Council meeting and tonight’s adoption of the new Audit and Risk Committee Charter now embeds a nine-year term limit – ensuring Port Phillip is consistent with the local government sector.

Agenda and minutes of the Port Phillip Council meetings are available at Meetings and Agendas – City of Port Phillip