Tag: metropolitan melbourne

Maroondah Leader: Half-hearted trips

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While there was a definite need for the Department of Transport to undertaken a review of bus services across metropolitan Melbourne, some of the resulting changes have not provided better services.

The Maroondah Leader has reported on changes to bus route 364, which was altered to terminate at Warrandyte Bridge instead of Doncaster Shoppingtown.

Cr Alex Makin said Warranwood and Ringwood North residents were worse
off and that he would raise the issue at the next Eastern Transport
Coalition meeting.

This means that there is no longer a seamless service for Ringwood North or Warranwood residents to get to destinations like Doncaster Shoppingtown making public transport less efficient and more difficult to use.

The review undertaken for bus services need to provide service improvements, specifically more frequent services that connect destinations. Overall implementation of the review has been poor and the new State Government needs to ensure that resources are allocated to provide improvements to bus services.

Media Release: The Lord Mayor joins forces with CAD Mayors to enhance city centres

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A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will be signed between City of Melbourne’s Lord Mayor, Robert Doyle, and Mayors from the State Government’s six designated Central Activities Districts (CADs) – Frankston, Maroondah, Greater Dandenong, Hume, Maribyrnong and Whitehorse – on Monday 22 November at 9.30am in the Frankston City Council Chambers to officially cement their unanimous commitment to seek State Government support and funding to create the most productive, liveable and sustainable city centres. 

The MOU acknowledges that mutual benefit can be derived by these municipalities through measures of mutual support, collaboration and by providing a united voice and joint approach to lobbying.

Frankston City Council Mayor, Cr Christine Richards said these six metropolitan hubs have been selected to attract people, investment and jobs and it is pivotal they remain supported to achieve the objectives of the State Government’s Melbourne 2030 and Melbourne @ 5 million strategies.

“This is a historical political event – the joining of Mayors to achieve a mutually beneficial outcome. The CAD municipalities are ready, willing and able to face the challenges ahead together to make our CADs thriving metropolises. However, we cannot do so without a whole-of-government commitment to CAD planning,” Cr Richards said.

Maroondah City Council Mayor, Cr Alex Makin, said despite the CADs individual differences, synergies do exist between the municipal city centres.

“This alliance means we can work co-operatively to provide a united voice with more weight that will give greater strength to plans and solutions to state-wide issues. We need a State Government supported implementation plan to ensure our city centres can achieve their designated potential,” said Cr Makin.

The Mayors’ will further discuss how to best achieve the objectives set out in the State Government’s Planning Policy Framework. The Mayors’ are unanimous that at a minimum CADs must:  

  • have a functioning transit interchange – to enable comfortable, quick and efficient journeys by buses and trains throughout each municipality – in some CADs substantial infrastructure funding is still required to make this vision a reality
  • create more local jobs – CADs need to expand their base of employers to create a greater range and number of local jobs available to local residents
  • create more affordable housing.

“This Memorandum of Understanding between the Central Activities District Mayors and the Mayor of the City of Melbourne will allow for increased co-operation between our municipalities and allow us to jointly advocate for our key priorities,” Cr Makin said.

“Our main priority at a state level is to secure a long term funding commitment for the CADs. With Melbourne quickly becoming a city of many cities, we want to ensure certainty for the respective CADs, as well as bolstering the opportunity for all levels of governments to provide more services across greater metropolitan Melbourne”, Cr. Makin concluded.

– ENDS –

Delegates’ Report: Celebrating diversity and promoting art

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There are several items I’ll be reporting on:

On the 23rd of October I attended the Khaudo Festival, organised by Maroondah’s Zomi community. The Zomi are an ethnic group from Burma and Maroondah has one of the highest populations of refugees from Burma within Metropolitan Melbourne. The Khuado Festival is a celebration of the Zomi New Year and a welcome to the community.

Similarly on the 13th of November I attended a Sudanese Cultural Festival featuring music, food and dance from Maroondah’s growing Sudanese community. It is great to see our emerging communities sharing their culture with the wider Maroondah community through showcasing traditional dance, music and food.

On the 28th of October I attended Monkami’s production of ‘Hey Hey Its Monkami’. Monkami is a not-for-profit community based organisation that provides services and opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities. The organisation has an emphasis on community development including theatre and the arts as well as community partnerships. The Ringwood Movie Makers have continued to work in partnership with Monkami and filmed a cameo performance as part of the script.

On the 7th of November I attended the Maroondah Festival and it was fantastic to see so many community groups and residents participating in the festival. For the first year in a while, we had pleasant weather and in addition it was fortunate the rain held off.

On the 11th of November I attended the Remembrance Day services at the Croydon RSL and I would like to commend the members of the RSL for their community focus and involvement of local schools and community members.

Also on the 11th I officiated the Maroondah Volunteer Recognition Function, where we recognised the valuable contribution of Maroondah’s volunteers. Many of these volunteers have been assisting Council in the delivery of services, including Meals on Wheels, as well as supporting our environment and social support services.

Lastly, the 11th also featured the opening night of the Mayoral Art Show, which supports the Croydon Branch of the Bone Marrow Donor Institute. All proceeds from the exhibition support cancer research and features 90 artists across a range of mediums and styles.

Maroondah Leader: push for commitment

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Ringwood is one of six urban centres identified as a Central Activities District through State and Local Government planning policies. Throughout this year I have worked with my Mayoral counterparts in Greater Dandenong, Frankston, Hume, Maribyrnong and Whitehorse to highlight the need for an ongoing funding and implementation commitment for our respective Central Activities Districts.

Box Hill, Broadmeadows, Dandenong, Footscray, Frankston and Ringwood have all been identified as Central Activities Districts, but yet only Dandenong has received an implementation plan and ongoing investment from the State Government.

The State Government’s ten year funding commitment for Dandenong, which will see $550 million invested into the revitalisation of the urban centre, demonstrates what can be achieved when there is joint commitment between State and Local Governments.

All of Melbourne’s Central Activity Districts deserve a similar commitment and the Maroondah Leader has reported on this regional cooperation, which stretches across Metropolitan Melbourne:

“With the exception of Dandenong, there’s been no long-term funding or planning commitment to the CADs,” Cr Makin said, noting that Greater Dandenong Council was backing the other CAD councils’ call for funding.

Ongoing investment and commitment to Melbourne’s Central Activities Districts will provide amenity improvements and deliver a range of educational, employment and community opportunities throughout Metropolitan Melbourne.

This will provide mini-cities within Melbourne and complement the the role of CBD throughout these urban centres. The City of Melbourne has also been working with the Mayors of the Councils containing Central Activities Districts and it has been fantastic to see an ongoing commitment to this unique alliance.

Unlike Dandenong, where there is a 10-year implementation plan for the investment of about $550 million, just one major project in the Ringwood Central Activities Districts has been allocated money – the $39 million bus interchange.

Cr Makin said plans for other parcels of government-owned land in the area, including the railway station and surrounds remains unclear.

While the Central Activities Districts are dispersed throughout Metropolitan Melbourne there are common issues that unite each of the urban centres, including the need for an ongoing commitment and implementation plan from the State Government.

Cr Makin said government departments have done a lot of work but there hadn’t been the necessary “political buy-in” and leadership was necessary to send a stronger signal to investors.

Each of the Central Activities Districts Councils have identified key projects that would deliver improved facilities and services, with transport interchanges being common across each of the urban centres.

It is clear that public transport improvements, both in regard to interchanges and service frequencies, are critical for the success of each Central Activities District. There is a need for greater level of community facilities with Ringwood Station and the proposed Maroondah Aquatic and Leisure Centre forming Council’s two key priorities.

The formation of regional partnerships has been one of the highlights of my year as Mayor, each of Melbourne’s Central Activities Districts has its own strengths and it is imperative that the State Government support these centres through an ongoing implementation plan and funding certainty.

The Age: State failing to act on bus reviews

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Over the past several years the State Government progressively undertook a review of bus services across metropolitan Melbourne, examining network coverage, route configuration, operating span and frequency.  The reviews were conducted along council boundaries, with Maroondah’s being undertaken last year, with the final report and recommendations not being made available until this year.

Unfortunately the implementation of these recommendations, which largely consisted of more frequent and longer running services, has been mixed. The Age has reported on the implementation of these reviews:

Maroondah mayor Alex Makin said his council had staged a public meeting in January last year, and later hosted two state government workshops. Many of the recommendations made by consultants after the review had not happened.

The bus service reviews identified short, medium and long-term priorities, with a series of recommendations that aim to improve bus services. While the short and medium term priorities had identifiable timeframes, the long-term initiatives, many of which included new routes to serve areas of Maroondah without bus services, lack an implementation plan.

Furthermore some of the short-term initiatives, including proposed frequency improvements, for route 670 along Maroondah Highway, one of Maroondah’s most highly patronised services, have not yet been delivered despite the review stating that this would begin in the middle of this year.

The State Government must deliver improvements to bus services to ensure that the bus network is a competitive form of transport.

Combined Meeting for Central Activities Districts

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The State Government’s Planning at 5 Million Policy envisaged a network of Central Activities Districts throughout Metropolitan Melbourne, with these centres offering a range of employment, housing and community facilities.

These Central Activities Districts include:

  • Box Hill,
  • Broadmeadows,
  • Dandenong,
  • Footscray,
  • Frankston
  • and Ringwood.

While Local Government has largely supported this direction through developing masterplans to create a vision for these areas, there is a need for a State Government to assist in the implementation. This afternoon I joined the Mayors of Melbourne’s five other Central Activities District to discuss our priorities and a common approach to advocacy.

These six Central Activities Districts are required to provide a sustainable population and employment base for Metropolitan Melbourne. The ongoing cooperation between the Mayors and Councils of each Central Activities District will assist in underlining the importance of these centres to future of Melbourne.

Media Release: Ensuring a sustainable financial future for Maroondah

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Maroondah City Council’s Proposed Council Plan 2010-2014 and Proposed Budget 2010-2011 were formally adopted during Council’s Monday 28 June meeting. The documents highlight the key initiatives which underpin the planning and budget blueprints for the Maroondah community.

Mayor of Maroondah, Councillor Alex Makin, said the Council Plan set out a broad range of Council activities designed to assist Council and the community move towards the future, as identified in Maroondah 2025: A Community Planning Together.

“The Council Plan clearly details the range of strategies that will be adopted over the coming four years and outlines Council’s commitment to working in partnership with the community to foster quality and sustainable lifestyles,” Cr Makin said.

“There are eight themes within the Council Plan: community; economic development and employment; infrastructure; leisure and culture; natural environment; transport; urban design and development; governance and corporate support,” Cr Makin said.

“The 2010-2011 Budget outlines the provision of financial resources for the coming 12 months, and details how these resources will be applied to delivering the many services Council provides to the community,” Cr Makin said.

FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY

“One of the key factors in this year’s Budget is providing the resources to bring forward the operational deficit that has existed in 12 out of the past 14 Council Budgets,” said Cr Makin.

“It is imperative that this Council draws a line in the sand to ensure that ongoing deficits are no longer acceptable. We must move our financial status into surplus as soon as possible to allow Council to be in the position to invest in community facilities and to meet our obligations now and into the future,” said Cr Makin.

“Council has determined that the operational surplus will now be brought forward to the 2012/13 financial year (three years earlier), commencing with the 2010/11 Budget,” said Cr Makin.

“The operating result for the 2010/11 year is planned at a $1.782 million deficit which halves that of the 09/10 Budget,” said Cr Makin.

“It is important to remember that rates and charges provide 63 per cent of Council’s operating revenue, with the remainder sourced from user charges, operating and capital grants and interest,” said Cr Makin.

“The cost of services delivered to the Maroondah community in 2010/2011 is expected to be $91 million, which is an increase of $6.2million over the 2009/2010 Budget,” said Cr Makin.

The Budget is based on a proposed general rate and charges increase of 9.8 per cent.

This increase is made up from:

CPI (taken from the December 2009 quarter)3%
Infrastructure Levy2.5%
New initiatives2.5%
Regional Aquatic & Leisure Centre in Ringwood1.1%
State Government imposed increase in Landfill Levy0.7%

For the average ratepayer living in a median priced house in Maroondah this represents a $98.10 increase in annual rates and charges, or $1.88 extra per week.

“Maroondah remains one of the lowest rating councils in Victoria, with figures released this week by the Municipal Association of Victoria indicating Maroondah has the 7th lowest (per capita) rates and charges of 71 Victorian Councils,” said Cr Makin.

“When further assessing these figures, the six lower rating Councils (per capita) are much larger in population than Maroondah, and therefore benefit from substantial economies of scale as well as other sources of income,” said Cr Makin.

“In addition, at an average rate of $549 per head, Maroondah has the lowest rating of all nine Victorian Councils of similar size (90,000 to 120,000 people),” said Cr Makin.

INVESTMENT IN INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICES

“Council’s Budget provides the resources to ensure we are able to sustainably provide over 120 services to the 105,000 members of our community, as well as providing resources for a number of new initiatives,” said Cr Makin.

These new initiatives include

  • $445,000 to provide ongoing maintenance on new capital works projects, such as the new Ringwood multi-purpose shared sports pavilion and all weather synthetic surface
  • An additional $126,000 in funding to Ringwood and Croydon libraries provides books and computer access for all members of the community, with over 1 million library books borrowed each year
  • An extra $150,000 to be spent on bushland clearance and fire prevention works in our bush reserves
  • Additional $250,000 to ensure powerline clearance of trees throughout the municipality
  • Investment of $50,000 to develop the Heathmont Structure Plan to identify and plan for residential and community needs around this transport hub and shopping precinct
  • Additional $50,000 on striking new signage throughout Maroondah identifying parks, reserves and buildings, includes pedestrian/cycling signage

LEISURE FACILITIES – MEETING THE COMMUNITY’S FUTURE NEEDS

“The allocation of funding in the 2010-2011 Budget (1.1% of rate increase) will be used to develop the design work and continue the community consultation for the proposed Regional Aquatic and Leisure Centre in Ringwood, which will replace the existing Ringwood Aquatic Centre,” said Cr Makin.

“It is important that Council looks to the future to ensure that we meet the expectations and needs of the Maroondah community. A new regional aquatic and leisure facility is an exciting project that will generate enormous community benefit, and ensure significant leisure and aquatic facilities for the Maroondah community into the next 50 years,” said Cr Makin.

“Maroondah is maintaining its position as a lower rating council in metropolitan Melbourne and returning the budget to surplus allows us to deliver exciting projects like the proposed Regional Aquatic and Leisure Centre in Ringwood,” said Cr Makin.

The 2010-2011 Budget and 2010-2014 Council Plan will be available for viewing on the Maroondah City Council website at www.maroondah.vic.gov.au

– ENDS –

Maroondah Leader: banking on pokies

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There is ongoing concern regarding the City of Maroondah having the highest ratio of poker machines within Metropolitan Melbourne.  The State Government recently auctioned poker machine licences, whereby bids could be submitted for entitlements to take effect from 2012.

While this process will see a reduction in poker machines from 860 to 770, there is still significant concern around the number of machines within the municipality.  The Maroondah Leader has reported on this ongoing concern:

Maroondah Mayor Alex Makin, who spoke out against the city having the highest ratio of poker machines per adult in Metropolitan Melbourne said the council remained concerned about poker machine numbers.

“We would like to see a further reduction,” he said.  “We have one of the higher levels of poker machines in the state.”

The Maroondah community lost $68 million over the past financial year to poker machines and this is excludes social and wellbeing issues that result from such losses.  The State Government needs to further reduce problem gambling and the damaging effects it can have on our communities.

Media Release: Gaming machines a blight on Maroondah

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Responsible Gambling Week will be marked throughout Australia and Maroondah from 17 to 23 May in an effort to build resilience to problem gambling and educate community members at risk of developing a gambling problem.

Mayor of Maroondah, Cr Alex Makin, said it was extremely disappointing that Maroondah now bore the distinction of hosting the highest density of gaming machines in metropolitan Melbourne.

“In recent figures released by the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation, Maroondah ranked ahead of both Greater Dandenong and Maribyrnong with 9.52 gaming machines per 1000 adults,” Cr Makin said.

“This is extremely disappointing and is something Council would like to see reversed,” Cr Makin said.

“While poker machine density has been trending downward in both metropolitan Melbourne (down 8.3 per cent from 2007 to 2009) and Victoria (down 5.9 per cent from 2007 to 2009), the trend in Maroondah has grown at a rate of 2.7 per cent between 2007 and 2009,” Cr Makin said.

“In fact, gaming expenditure in Maroondah topped $68.4 million in 2008-09, dwarfing the $42.4 million of municipal rates and charges raised that year,” Cr Makin said.

“Council advocates strongly against any new applications for poker machines in Maroondah and surrounding municipalities,” Cr Makin said.

“Recent cases have included Council submissions objecting to an additional 10 poker machines being installed at Wantirna Club (City of Knox) and to the inclusion of 70 machines at a new venue opposite Chirnside Park Shopping Centre (Shire of Yarra Ranges),” Cr Makin said.

“While Council recognises that not all gamblers in Maroondah are deemed ‘problem gamblers’, it’s important to stress that moderation is the key to keeping gambling under control,” Cr Makin said.

“It is vital that we, as a community, speak with one voice against a further proliferation of gaming machines in Maroondah, and the subsequent gambling expenditure that would result,” Cr Makin said.

“Council will maintain its stance and continue to strongly advocate for less gaming machines in Maroondah and surrounding municipalities over the coming years,” Cr Makin said.

Council has developed a Gaming Policy which sets out its position on electronic gaming in Maroondah, with a focus on problem gambling and the location and operation of poker machines. For information detailing Council’s stance on gaming in Maroondah, visit www.maroondah.vic.gov.au/Gambling.aspx.  For the latest Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation figures and news please visit www.vcgr.vic.gov.au

– ENDS –

The Melbourne Metropolitan Mayor’s Network

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The Melbourne Metropolitan Mayors Network is a meeting of Mayors across Metropolitan Melbourne, convened through the City of Melbourne.  The Network has a focus on issues common to Melbourne’s metropolitan councils, with today’s session discussing urban planning and infrastructure.

The session began with a presentation on the Commonwealth Government’s Major Cities Unit, which aims to provide Federal involvement in the way Australia’s cities develop and function.  Australia is one of the most urbanised countries in the world and yet the Commonwealth Government has typically had little involvement within urban planning and development.

The Major Cities Unit has been working with Infrastructure Australia to identify shortfalls in infrastructure across Australia and its cities.  Funding commitments from the Commonwealth is dependent on respective State Governments completing a metropolitan plan for its cities to ensure a holistic approach to projects.

The Melbourne Metropolitan Mayor’s Network aims to advocate to the State and Federal Governments for a holistic approach to Melbourne’s urban planning and infrastructure needs.  Many of the participants highlighted the need for public transport improvements as an example of this need for holistic planning.