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City of Brimbank

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The City of Brimbank is a local government area located within the metropolitan area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It comprises the western suburbs between 10 and 20 km west and northwest from the Melbourne city centre.

City of Brimbank
Victoria
Map of Melbourne showing City of Brimbank
Population196,046 (2023)[1] (25th)
 • Density1,594/km2 (4,128/sq mi)
Established1994
Area123 km2 (47.5 sq mi)[1]
MayorRanka Rasic (Labor)
Council seatSunshine
RegionGreater Melbourne
State electorate(s)
Federal division(s)
WebsiteCity of Brimbank
LGAs around City of Brimbank:
Hume Hume Merri-bek
Melton City of Brimbank Moonee Valley, Maribyrnong
Wyndham Wyndham Hobsons Bay

The City has an area of 123 km2 and in June 2018, Brimbank had a population of 208,714.[1]

History

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The Wurundjeri people have been the custodians of the land in the Port Phillip Bay region, including the current City of Brimbank, for over 40,000 years before European settlement. Brimbank lies within the area occupied by the Kurung-Jang-Balluk and Marin-Balluk clans of the Wurundjeri people (also known as the Woiwurung language group) who form part of the larger Kulin Nation. Other groups who occupied land in the area include the Yalukit-Willam and Marpeang-Bulluk clans.

Brimbank was founded on 15 December 1994 during the amalgamations of local councils by the state government. It was formed after the merger of the former Cities of Keilor and Sunshine. It was named after Brimbank Park in Keilor, which itself was named for the practice of local farmers driving livestock "around the brim of the bank" of the Maribyrnong River.[2]

The municipality has thirteen places listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.[3]

Misconduct investigations and dismissal

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In 2008 and 2009, the Brimbank City Council was the subject of several investigations into alleged misconduct by councillors.

On 30 July 2008, the state MP for Keilor, George Seitz, invoked parliamentary privilege in the Legislative Assembly to accuse former Brimbank mayor Cr Natalie Suleyman of branch stacking, describing her as the "Robert Mugabe of Brimbank". Seitz alleged that Suleyman had 'retaliated' by directing Council to block funding for capital works projects after she was defeated in Labor Party preselection for the 2008 Kororoit state by-election.[4][5] Following disclosures made under the Whistleblowers Protection Act 2001, the Victorian Ombudsman, George Brouwer, commenced an investigation into the Council in September.[6]

Brouwer's report was presented to Parliament on 7 May 2009, and found councillors were "generally dysfunctional",[7] "lacked awareness of their role",[8] and were "influenced" by unelected third parties.[9] The report asserted that between 2005 and 2008, decisions were reached by a majority (or 'ruling') faction of councillors who would vote on decisions as a bloc.[7] Of the 6 members of the 'ruling faction', only two were re-elected to council in 2008.

The report concluded that:

  • External parties, including state MPs George Seitz and Theo Theophanous, and former federal MP Andrew Theophanous, had unduly influenced council business,[10]
  • The 'ruling faction' "did not exercise reasonable care" in directing Brimbank CEO Marilyn Duncan to remove funding for the Keilor Lodge Reserve project,[11]
  • The 'ruling faction' intended to "worry" Seitz by calling for expressions of interest on the Keilor Lodge Reserve site,[12]
  • Cr Suleyman acted "with inappropriate partiality" in prioritising works at Cairnlea Park in the Council's 2008–09 budget,[13]
  • Cr Eriksson contravened the Council's Code of Governance by releasing confidential information to the Sunshine Advocate, Brimbank Leader and Brimbank Star newspapers,[14]
  • The Labor Party had appeared to breach the Electoral Act by distributing prohibited material to Cr Capar,[15]
  • Councillors had misused council-owned laptops and BlackBerry devices,[16][17]
  • Council had failed to handle the severance package of outgoing CEO Marilyn Duncan "in an open and transparent manner",[18]
  • The 'ruling faction' had determined the election of mayor until 2013,[19] and
  • Local Government Victoria had failed to adequately deal with complaints from residents about Council decision-making.[19]

In response to the Brouwer report, the Minister for Local Government, Richard Wynne, appointed William Scales to closely monitor the council over a three-month period.[20] In his second report Scales found that, despite being closely monitored, there remained widespread misconduct amongst councillors, and recommended that councillors should be suspended or dismissed from their positions.[21] David Walker, a former police detective, was also appointed to investigate possible breaches of the Local Government Act.[22]

On 15 September, Wynne announced that Council would be dismissed, with administrators appointed until November 2012.[23] On 17 November, the Victorian Government appointed Peter Lewinsky, Joanne Anderson and Meredith Sussex as administrators for a three-year period.[24] Investigations into the conduct of Seitz, along with councillors Suleyman, Kathryn Eriksson and Troy Atanasovski, concluded in December with the Local Government Inspectorate informing those involved that it would take no further action.[25]

In May 2012, the Victorian Government announced it would extend the tenure of administrators for a further three years,[26] with Lewinsky reappointed alongside John Watson and former Brimbank commissioner Jane Nathan.[27]

In October 2016, council elections were held in Brimbank for the first time in eight years. Two former councillors were re-elected: Sam David and Margaret Giudice, the latter having rescinded her Labor Party membership in 2014.[28]

Wards and councillors

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For electing councillors Brimbank is divided into the following wards:

City of Brimbank Council
Leadership
Mayor
Bruce Lancashire
Structure
 
Council political groups
  Independent (5)
  Labor (5)
  Liberal (1)
Meeting place
 
Sunshine, Victoria, Australia
Party Councillors
  Independent 5
  Labor 5
  Liberal 1
Total 11
List of councillors[29]
Ward Party Councillor Notes
Grasslands Ward   Independent Victoria Borg
  Independent Sarah Branton
  Labor Thuy Dang
Harvester Ward   Labor Jasmine Nguyen Mayor (2021-)
Deputy Mayor (2020-2021)
  Labor Sam David JP
  Independent Thomas O'Reilly
Horseshoe Bend Ward   Independent Virginia Tachos
  Labor Jae Papalia
Taylors Ward   Labor Ranka Rasic Mayor (2020-2021)
  Independent Bruce Lancashire
  Liberal Maria Kerr

Mayors

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Mayors (1998– 2009)

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No. Mayor Party Term
1 Ciro Lombardi   Labor 1998
2 Sam David JP   Labor 1998–1999
3 Brooke Gujinovic   Labor 1999–2000
4 Charlie Apap   Labor 2000–2001
5 Natalie Suleyman   Labor 2001–2002
6 Andres Puig   Labor 2002–2003
(2) Sam David JP   Labor 2003–2004
(5) Natalie Suleyman   Labor 2004–2006
7 Margaret Giudice   Labor 2006–2007
(2) Sam David JP   Labor 2007–2008
8 Troy Atanasovski JP   Labor 2008–2009

Administrators (2009–2016)

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Administrators Term
Peter Lewinsky (chair)
Joanne Anderson
Meredith Sussex AM 		2009–2012
John Watson (chair)
Peter Lewinsky
Jane Nathan 		2012–2014
John Watson (chair)
Jane Nathan
John Tanner 		2014–2016

Mayors (2016–present)

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No. Mayor Party Term
9 Sam Hedditch   Independent 2016–2017
(7) Margaret Giudice   Independent 2017–2018
10 Lucinda Congreve   Independent 2018–2019
11 Georgina Papafotiou   Independent 2019–2020
12 Ranka Rasic   Labor 2020–2021
13 Jasmine Nguyen   Labor 2021-2022
14 Bruce Lancashire   Independent 2022-2023
(12) Ranka Rasic   Labor 2023-2024

Demographics

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Selected historical census data for City of Brimbank local government area
Census year 2001[30] 2006[31] 2011[32] 2016[33] 2021[34]
Population Estimated residents on census night 162,931 168,215 182,735 194,319 194,618
LGA rank in terms of size within Victoria 3rd   3rd   6th   5th
% of Victoria population 3.53%   3.41%   3.41%   3.28%   2.99%
% of Australian population 0.87%   0.85%   0.85%   0.83%   0.77%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry,
top responses		 Vietnamese 9.1%   10.7%   12.8%   16.0%   16.9%
Australian 15.1%   15.1%   12.9%   12.4%   12.6%
English 12.0%   11.8%   11.8%   11.7%   11.6%
Chinese 4.5%   5.1%   5.9%   6.5%   6.8%
Italian 8.3%   7.8%   7.0%   6.5%   6.2%
Maltese 9.4%   8.1%   6.7%   5.7%   5.2%
Language,
top responses
(other than English)		 Vietnamese 10.4%   12.6%   14.2%   16.2%   18.5%
Tagalog/Filipino 2.7%   2.7%   2.5%
Greek 4.2%   3.7%   3.2%   2.7%   2.4%
Punjabi 2.3%   2.9%   2.2%
Arabic 2.3%   2.2%   2.2%
Macedonian 4.1%   3.5%   2.9%   2.4%   2.2%
Maltese 5.2%   4.0%   3.3%   2.7%   2.1%
Italian 4.6%   3.8%   3.2%   2.5%   2.0%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation,
top responses		 Catholic 42.9%   40.1%   36.1%   31.3%   29.6%
No religion 7.9%   9.3%   11.0%   16.8%   21.0%
Buddhism 9.1%   10.8%   11.8%   10.8%   11.1%
Islam 5.6%   5.8%   6.7%
Orthodox 11.6%   10.5%   9.2%   6.4%   6.0%
Anglican 5.9%   5.3%   4.5%   3.1%   2.4%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income Median weekly personal income A$358 A$429 A$487
% of Australian median income 76.8% 74.4% 73.6%
Family income Median weekly family income A$1029 A$1195 A$1358
% of Australian median income 87.8% 80.7% 78.3%
Household income Median weekly household income A$921 A$1106 A$1263
% of Australian median income 98.2% 89.6% 87.8%
Dwelling structure
Dwelling type Separate house 88.7%   82.4%   76.9%   73.2%
Semi-detached, terrace or townhouse 4.0%   10.3%   5.0%   13.1%
Flat or apartment 6.3%   7.0%   7.5%   4.5%

Townships and localities

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The 2021 census, the city had a population of 194,618 up from 194,319 in the 2016 census[35]

Population
Locality 2016 2021
Albanvale 5,491 5,641
Albion 4,731 4,334
Ardeer 3,103 3,170
Brooklyn^ 8 10
Cairnlea 9,657 10,038
Calder Park 0 0
Deer Park 18,126 18,145
Delahey 8,339 8,077
Derrimut 8,269 8,651
Hillside^ 1,174 1,156
Kealba 3,194 3,226
Keilor^ 5,853 5,906
Keilor Downs 9,995 9,857
Keilor East^ 0 0
Keilor Lodge 1,752 1,668
Keilor North 67 67
Keilor Park 2,719 2,684
Kings Park 8,198 8,203
St Albans 37,309 38,042
Sunshine 9,768 9,445
Sunshine North 11,700 12,047
Sunshine West 18,580 18,552
Sydenham 10,838 10,578
Taylors Lakes 15,519 15,174
Tullamarine^ 11 9

^ - Territory divided with another LGA

Environmental issues

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In 2021, Brimbank was recognised as Melbourne's smelliest suburb with more than 640 complaints from residents mainly due to the large amount of industries in the area.[36] This includes the Kealba Sunshine Landfill which produced a smell described as "rotting carcasses" for three years. EPA Victoria suspended and then cancelled the license to operate the landfill by Barro Group.[37]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2017-18: Population Estimates by Local Government Area (ASGS 2018), 2017 to 2018". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2019. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018.
  2. ^ "Parks Victoria: Brimbank Park page". Archived from the original on 29 June 2009. Retrieved 30 March 2010.
  3. ^ "Brimbank". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Council of Victoria. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  4. ^ Caldwell, Alison (1 August 2008). "Vic Labor MP takes party feud public". The World Today. ABC News. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  5. ^ Brouwer 2009, p. 16.
  6. ^ Brouwer 2009, p. 19.
  7. ^ a b Brouwer 2009, p. 9.
  8. ^ Brouwer 2009, p. 181.
  9. ^ Brouwer 2009, p. 25.
  10. ^ Brouwer 2009, p. 45.
  11. ^ Brouwer 2009, p. 65.
  12. ^ Brouwer 2009, p. 76.
  13. ^ Brouwer 2009, p. 89.
  14. ^ Brouwer 2009, p. 97.
  15. ^ Brouwer 2009, p. 103.
  16. ^ Brouwer 2009, p. 155.
  17. ^ Brouwer 2009, p. 166.
  18. ^ Brouwer 2009, p. 180.
  19. ^ a b Brouwer 2009, p. 187.
  20. ^ Scales 2009, p. vii.
  21. ^ Scales 2009, p. 21.
  22. ^ Collins, Sarah-Jane; Dowling, Jason (19 May 2009). "Two charged with breach of municipal regulations". The Age. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  23. ^ Johnston, Matt (15 September 2009). "Brimbank Council sacked by State Government after further findings of misconduct". Herald Sun. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  24. ^ "Administrators to run Brimbank council". The Age. 17 November 2009. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  25. ^ Rood, David (13 December 2009). "Brimbank probe decides on no action". The Age. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  26. ^ Anderson, Stephanie (17 May 2012). "Brimbank to remain in hands of administrators". ABC News. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  27. ^ "Brimbank council troika complete". Brimbank Weekly. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 10 April 2013.
  28. ^ "State election: Margaret Giudice seeks a marginal Kororoit". Melton & Moorabool Star Weekly. 24 November 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  29. ^ "Brimbank Council Mayor and Councillors". City of Brimbank.
  30. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (9 March 2006). "City of Brimbank (C)". 2001 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 3 May 2018.  
  31. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "City of Brimbank (C)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  32. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "City of Brimbank (C)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 3 May 2018.  
  33. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "City of Brimbank (C)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 5 July 2017.  
  34. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "City of Brimbank (C)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 3 September 2024.  
  35. ^ "Census | Australian Bureau of Statistics". www.abs.gov.au. 11 January 2023.
  36. ^ Geraets, Nell (3 June 2022). "Is your suburb on the nose? We sniff out Melbourne's stinkiest parts". The Age. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  37. ^ Victoria, Environment Protection Authority. "Kealba landfill hotspots | Environment Protection Authority Victoria". www.epa.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 28 January 2024.

https://dbr.abs.gov.au/region.html?lyr=lga&rgn=21180

Bibliography

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