By Alesha Capone and Charlene Gatt
THE Minister for Local Government has quashed speculation about major changes to municipal boundaries in the West taking place.
At the latest Hobsons Bay City Council meeting, Cr Tony Briffa asked for an update about a letter on the issue, which the council sent to the Minister Jeanette Powell.
The Hobsons Bay CEO, Bill Jaboor, said Ms Powell wrote back and said “no realignment of council boundaries in western metropolitan Melbourne is being contemplated by the State Government at this stage”.
The Minister also said there was not sufficient evidence to justify a review of municipal boundaries in the West, in response to Maribyrnong City Council’s concerns about the area’s booming population.
Earlier this year, Maribyrnong councillor Dina Lynch asked Ms Powell to consider a review of her municipality’s boundaries, due to the strong population growth in the West.
Cr Lynch said she hoped Maribyrnong’s boundaries could be extended to include either some of Brimbank or Hobsons Bay.
Maribyrnong is one of the smallest municipalities in metropolitan Melbourne, with a population of about 70,000 over 31 square kilometres.
Cr Lynch said the municipality was made too small when boundaries were formed in the 1990s and that residents frequently complained about exorbitant rates.
She also said the council’s income was sustainable to cover only the day-to-day issues, but not the big ticket items, such as updating old infrastructure.
“This is not about us going out there and grabbing land… it’s about saying that things have changed,” she said.
“There’s uneven growth in the West and we do need to review and bring equity to the situation.
But Hobsons Bay Mayor Michael Raffoul said the council “supports the Minister’s decision to leave municipal boundaries unchanged”.
