By ALESHA CAPONE
LONG-SERVING Brimbank administrator Peter Lewinsky has said he believes the community’s faith in the council has been restored, as he steps down for a new position.
Last week, Brimbank City Council announced Mr Lewinsky would take up a role as monitor at Darebin City Council effective from 30 January, in the wake of an Ombudsman’s investigation.
Mr Lewinsky was originally appointed as chairman of the Brimbank administrators during 2009, to fill in for elected councillors who were sacked by the State Government after an Ombudsman’s investigation into alleged corruption.
When the State Government extended the administrator’s term for another three years at the last council elections, Mr Lewinsky stayed on.
Mr Lewinsky said after serving in Brimbank for more than four years, he had seen residents increase their trust in the council.
“I believe we have achieved a very good level of community confidence in the council and the administrators,” he said.
“A lot of the hostile community groups around Brimbank have quietened down.
“We got Brimbank off the front page.”
Mr Lewinsky said he is proud of many projects the administrators have implemented or overseen in Brimbank, like works to improve parks and the urban renewal program in Sunshine’s CBD.
Mr Lewinsky said he and the two original administrators he served alongside, Meredith Sussex and Joanne Anderson, saw Brimbank was “under resourced” when first appointed.
“I won’t use the word neglectful, I will just think amenity was not given the priority that it needed,” he said.
“The thing that struck me was how neglected Brimbank looked and the efforts we’ve put in terms of the parks, we’ve put in good quality benches and play equipment, the nature strips, the cleaning, the extra mowing – I just think there’s a better vibe as you walk through the town centres,” he said.
Looking to the future, Mr Lewinsky said Local Government Victoria has asked him for “some suggestions” about who could fill his role in Brimbank.
A replacement for Mr Lewinsky has not yet been selected but is expected to be announced in the next few weeks.
