Our plan for West Melbourne
As we emerge from COVID-19, we can’t continue with the broken politics that rewards pollution and favours donors at the expense of the genuine public good. We need a Council that puts the people of Melbourne first, and we need Councillors who will work with and fight for the people who live here.
Our plan for West Melbourne in 2020-24
Since the City of Melbourne Act was introduced in 2001, The Greens have been the only councillors who publish policies and keep them published throughout the term of Council. We are serious about transparency and accountability.
Our policies are for a more sustainable, affordable, healthy and prosperous West Melbourne:
- We will halve rates on West Melbourne’s cafes, restaurants, bars and cultural venues (those places people gather that have been hit hardest by COVID-19) and provide rate relief to residents. We will pay for this by changing our rating system from NAV to CIV which allows for flexible differential rates to be applied, and doubling the rates on gambling premises for 5 years to help the city as a whole get through the recession. (See our Fair Rates For Everyone policy initiative for details.)
- Get started on creating a beautiful tree-lined high street on Spencer Street, implementing the West Melbourne Structure Plan and calming traffic generated by the State Government’s ill-conceived Westgate Tunnel project. (See our Parks For Everyone policy initiative for details.)
- We will work with the State Government to build new public housing in Arden. The waiting list for public housing in Victoria is approaching 100,000 and it’s time that Government built housing again: also as a means of economic recovery. (See our Homes For Everyone policy initiative for details.)
- We will fast-track organics, recycling and waste options without a new waste charge. The City of Melbourne’s waste rates are far too high; we have a plan to support communities to greatly reduce waste and to recycle what we can. We will partner with local networks that are already working hard on composting and resource recovery. (See our Recycling For Everyone policy initiative.)
- Our municipality-wide inclusionary zoning policy will deliver hundreds of new affordable homes in West and North Melbourne, in new medium and large developments concentrated in Arden and Macaulay. (See our Homes For Everyone policy initiative for details.)
- We will deliver new public open space on Queensberry St in front of North Melbourne Town Hall. Building on West Melbourne pocket parks built in the last five years, we will build an additional park in North Melbourne to serve the North and West Melbourne communities. Why so much new public open space in North and West Melbourne? Because after Southbank, these are the areas of the municipality in greatest need – and we have the budget to do it. We will pay for this project through the State/Council traffic mitigation fund associated with the Westgate Tunnel project. (See our Parks For Everyone policy initiative for details.)
- We will crack down on illegal late night construction by seeking major reforms to the way construction noise is regulated. (See our Good Night’s Sleep For Everyone policy initiative for details.)
- We will work hard to keep Council honest and ethical on all planning and development issues. We never take donations from developers or gambling interests and we will fight for transparency and accountability in the policies and decisions of Council.
- We will ensure that the Queen Victoria Market remains a gritty heritage fresh fruit and veg market, able to operate sustainably and fairly, for generations to come.
Our achievements in West Melbourne
In West Melbourne, The Greens have:
- Pioneered new planning scheme amendment community consultation processes through the West Melbourne Structure Plan: the pre-statutory process was commissioned by The Greens and the Structure Plan created won multiple awards.
- Secured the acceleration of the Transport Strategy 2030, delivering 10 years of bicycle lanes in 4, through Cr Cathy Oke’s Climate Emergency Declaration response. This brought forward the Peel Street and Abbotsford Street separated bicycle lanes works.
- Proposed a 40km/h speed limit on non-arterial roads, to keep our community and young people safe: it’s sitting with the Department of Transport at the moment.
- Through direct advocacy on behalf of residents, secured new pedestrian crossings and bicycle parking infrastructure.
- Secured a strategic plan and funding for Arts House Melbourne, bringing a dedicated contemporary performing arts community to the precinct.
- Led advocacy for the new Hawke/Adderley green open space.
- Ensured that the Queen Victoria Market renewal plans respect the heritage and fresh fruit and veg functions of the market. (The Greens established the $20m Trader Support Fund, secured the ‘no development zone’ around the Aboriginal cemetery and changed the renewal plans to ensure that H and I sheds are retained for fruit and veg sales (see pages 13 to 15), and proposed the Market Square Charter.)
Vote for a local
All eight Greens candidates live in the City of Melbourne. We are the only major team that can say that. The City of Melbourne routinely produces a majority of councillors who do not live in the municipality – the only Council in Australia that does this. Council is too far removed from the communities it seeks to represent. To overcome this, vote for local residents with a plan.
You can read more about our candidates here.