The following candidates have nominated: Existing Councillors seeking re-election are marked with an asterisk before their name, ordered alphabetically based on Last name. Political affiliation is in brackets.

• *Sue Bolton (Socialist Alliance) Instagram
• Hassaan Gul (ALP) Instagram
• Lynton Joseph (Independent)
• Lance Sinclair (Greens)

Candidates Forum | Climate Survey | Stop Burning Plastic | Streets People Love | Waterways

Bababi Djininang Ward Candidates Forum

Merri Food Hub, Climate Action Merribek, Sustainable Fawkner, Progress Merlynston Group are organising a Candidates Forum for our Fawkner + Coburg North ward. We have had to do a venue change.

When: 5.00pm Friday 11 October 
Where: Rebels Baseball Club, Parker Reserve, Coburg North
Link to send Questions: https://forms.gle/TkUGtyjhv46HDpsf8

Candidates attending:
Sue Bolton (Socialist Alliance)
Adam Pulford representing Lance Sinclair (Greens)

Apologies from:
Lynton Joseph (Independent)
Hussaan Gul (ALP)

Climate and Sustainability surveys and Pledges

Climate Action Merribek conducted a local tailored survey sent to all 55 candidates in all wards. Vote Climate also issued a survey on the Climate Emergency to all candidates across all Councils in Victoria. Stop Burning Plastic issued a pledge survey to all candidates across all Councils in Victoria. We undertook to compile results for Merri-bek of all 3 surveys. We followed our initial email up with a reminder to complete all 3 surveys.

One key assessment point is whether candidates respond, which provides one indicator how they may engage with constituents. If a candidate doesn’t respond, whether positive or negative, maybe you should not put them high on your preferences.

Name	Local Climate Survey	Climate Emergency Survey	Stop Burning Plastic Pledge	Streets People Love	Vote for the Merri Creek
Sue Bolton (Socialist Alliance)	See Full Response	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Hassaan Gul (ALP)	No response	No response	No response	Yes	No response
Lynton Joseph (IND)	No response	No response	No response	Yes	No response
Lance Sinclair (Greens)	No response	No response	Yes	Yes	No response

Merri-bek Climate Survey

Q4. Connections to Merri-bek Wards. Outline your connection to Merri-bek, do you live in the ward you are contesting, do you work in that ward? What are your other connections to the Merri-bek community?

Sue Bolton: I have lived in Glenroy but have deep connections with many community groups in the Bababi Djinanang ward.

Q5. Climate Emergency. Merri-bek Council declared a Climate Emergency in September 2018. Do you accept the research evidence from climate scientists and the UN Secretary General that:
(a) the earth is already too hot and we are outside the safe climate zone?
(b) we face a climate emergency?
(c) local cooling is required to prevent runaway warming?

Sue Bolton: Yes, Yes, Yes

Q6. Governance and Triple bottom line accounting brings to account three domains that we need for a good life. They are economic, social and environmental sustainability. In the past projects have been delivered based on organisational silos often not considering other aspects outside the silo. Will you endeavour as a Councillor for Council to use triple bottom line accounting on all Council infrastructure decisions to ensure that climate emergency priorities are embedded in Council decisions? Note that triple bottom line is already encapsulated in the Local Government Act 2020 Section 9, 2b and 2c for good Council governance.

Sue Bolton: Yes

Q7: Transport: Upfield Rail Upgrade – Problems with parking and traffic congestion, capacity issues of public transport need solutions for upgrading the Upfield Line. According to Infrastructure Australia, the northern region Transport Corridor will reach and exceed capacity in the next decade. Do you support the Northern Councils Alliance campaign to Connect Melbourne’s North for duplication and extension of the Upfield rail line to Craigieburn and Wallan for provision of a more reliable and frequent rail service catering for the growing population in Merri-bek and residents in new growth suburbs further north?

Sue Bolton: Strongly Agree

Q8: Transport: Mode shift – What actions will you be pushing for to facilitate a mode shift to more sustainable modes of transport in Merri-bek as part of, or beyond, Moving Around Merri-bek Strategy (PDF), including increasing safety for walking and cycling and increasing public transport advocacy?

Sue Bolton: I initiated the Upfield Transport Alliance in 2017 and will continue to campaign for duplication and extension of the Upfield Train Line to allow more trans and reduce cancellations. I also campaign for bus services which operate 7 days a week and at night as well as daytime.
I also push for bus shelters to make it more feasible for people to use the bus service. Another public transport measure is to have accessible tram stops, starting with Sydney Rd, then Lygon St and Melville Rd. Council also needs to advocate for more frequent night-time trams, especially on Sydney Rd & Melville Rd.
In addition, I support an increase in spending on footpath maintenance, stopping blockage of footpaths and bike lanes by construction work, stronger measures for improve safety at pedestrian crossings and traffic calming measures as well as lower speed limits where appropriate.
There is also a need to improve cycling paths and facilities, keeping in mind that many small children ride bikes to school and parents ride bikes with small children on board. Improvement of cycling facilities includes but isn’t limited to separated bike lanes. As much as possible there needs to be separation of bike and pedestrian and car traffic.

Q9. Heat Vulnerability: Large sections of Merri-bek’s north are at the extreme end of the Heat Vulnerability Index, meaning residents are very susceptible to global warming extreme heat events. What will you do to address this beyond exisiting policies, including Merri-bek Urban Heat Island Effect Action Plan (PDF), Merri-bek Urban Forest Strategy 2017-2017 (PDF), Cooling the Upfield Corridor Action Plan 2018-2028 (PDF)?

Sue Bolton: I initiated Merri-bek’s Urban Forest Strategy in 2017. Expansion of the Tree planting with adequate maintenance of the newly planted trees is important. Council also needs to do more to preserve mature trees that are threatened by development. There is also a need for the council to establish Cooling Centres for periods of extreme heat. Currently the council relies on its libraries to act as cooling centres but the libraries aren’t open on Sundays so something more needs to be done.

Q10. Waste Management. Merri-bek aims to be a leading council in sustainable waste management. What will you do to help Merri-bek in educating citizens on waste streams , to achieve Merri-bek’s 2030 zero waste to landfill target as part of Zero Carbon in the Planning Scheme – ESD Policy v2.0?

Sue Bolton: There needs to be an improvement on education re reducing waste. On Fawkner resident suggested that council organise a tidy suburb campaign. We need to educate people to reduce waste but also work with fast food businesses about reducing waste. Council also needs to advocate to the federal government to introduce laws to stop manufacturers making un-needed packaging and products which can’t be repaired. Council also needs to work with real estate agencies to get them to educate new tenants about what should and shouldn’t be put in the recycling bin. Real estate agents should also educate new tenants about what do do with broken down furniture that they can no longer use. Council also needs to increase the number of workers clearing away the rubbish in the shopping strips.

Q11. Energy Efficiency and Renewables. Merri-bek has a goal of “Efficient and 100% renewably powered energy”. How can Merri-bek “walk the talk” on renewable energy and meet the community goals set in the Zero Carbon Merri-bek – Climate Emergency Action Plan 2020/21 – 2024/25 (PDF)?

Sue Bolton: Council has all sorts of policies about 100% renewable energy but it still heats its pools at Oak Park, Coburg and Brunswick with gas. The use of gas to heat the swimming pools is the Merri-bek council’s biggest source of carbon emissions.

Q12. Supporting business and the environment. What actions will you take to help the Council promote environmentally sustainable jobs in the municipality and for businesses to reduce emissions in their operations?

Sue Bolton: I will have to investigate what the council can do to promote environmentally sustainable jobs and encourage businesses to reduce emissions.

Q13. Food Security. How would you build community resilience and address food security in Merri-bek beyond the existing Merri-bek Food System Strategy 2024 – 2027 (PDF)? How do you think Council could further support culturally relevant and nutritionally rich food to diverse and vulnerable communities?

Sue Bolton: I think council needs to work on two fronts. It needs to support urban agriculture and food security programs, but it also needs to support some of the unfunded organisations that provide emergency relief while not receiving any council or government funding.

Q14. Buildings, Biodiversity and Urban cooling: What would you do as a Councillor to ensure that with new building developments, Merri-bek residents have protection from overshadowing existing solar PV systems, and that Merri-bek has sufficient vegetation cover to contribute to biodiversity outcomes, urban cooling, and water sensitive urban design beyond existing policies in the Urban Forest Strategy (PDF), Merri-bek Nature Plan, and the Achieving Zero Carbon in the Planning Scheme – ESD Policy v2.0?

Sue Bolton: I am committed to change in the planning scheme to protect solar PV systems from overshadowing and forcing developers to plant trees, . That means opposing attempts to introduce fast track planning where the community loses its right to object to or amend a development’s plans. Council also needs to preserve green space and acquire new green space, with a view to profing habitat.

Q15. What are your top four priorities for the Council Plan, to be formulated for 2025-2029.

Sue Bolton:
1. Pushing for public housing and social housing.
2. Support for emergency relief
3. Strong advocacy to duplicate the Upfield Line
4. Ending the use of gas to heat council’s swimming pools.

Q16. Democracy and representation: advocacy to State Government on multi-member wards versus single member wards. The state government has imposed single-member wards on Merri-bek against the recommendation of the council, the Local Government Association of Victoria, and even the Victorian Electoral Commission. This shift in electoral structure is an imposition by the parliament, not a choice of experts.

Do you support or oppose single-member wards?

If (re)-elected will you initiate and/or support measures to pressure the state government to return to multi-member wards?

Sue Bolton: Oppose single member wards, support initiatives for multi-member wards

Q17. Do you have any other comments on Climate Leadership and Advocacy by Council? Do you have any supplementary comments relating to the questions above, comments on other issues related to climate resilience and climate adaptation, or comments on making decisions for the whole municipality?

Sue Bolton: It is important that council takes real action slow down and/or stop climate change and not just do the glossy and superficial things.

Stop Burning Plastic Pledge

The Stop Burning Plastic pledge not to burn waste. Merri-bek already has a Council policy not to use Waste to Energy Incinerators and to progress to zero waste to landfill by 2030. (see section 4.6.3 of Council Waste and Litter Strategy 2018) . Cleanaway is presently proceeding with an EPA Victoria development licence for a Waste to Energy Incinerator at Wollert. Signing this pledge commits to continuing present Council policy direction regarding sustainable circular economy waste management. Note: A week ago Minister for Climate Action and Energy Lily D’Ambrosio (Mill Park), Thomastown MP Bronwyn Halfpenny and Yan Yean MP Lauren Kathage supported the community in opposing Cleanaway’s Waste to Energy Incinerator. (Facebook Post) This is a statewide pledge:

Both Sue Bolton and Lance Sinclair have signed the Stop Burning Plastic Pledge.
Comment by Sue Bolton: I am a current Merri-bek councillor and I am standing for re-election. I moved the motion on Merri-bek council for it to make a submission opposing the proposed incinerator at Wollert.
I am also a member of Socialist Alliance. Socialist Alliance is opposed to waste incinerators anywhere. We support 100% renewable energy, NOT more polluting fossil fuel technologies. Our members are also involved in fighting the proposal for a waste incinerator at Lara, in Geelong.

Streets People Love Candidate Scorecard

The Streets People Love campaign has created scorecards for candidates in the 2024 council elections in Victoria. Scorecards have been generated based on a candidate’s engagement with the Streets People Love campaign, their commitment to our pledge, their responses to a survey and input from campaign members located in the local government area in which they are running. The local community groups running this scorecard in the City of Merri-bek are Walk on Merri-bek and Merri-bek Bicycle Users Group Inc.

Streets People Love Bababi Djinanang ward candidate Scorecard .

Waterways – Vote for Merri Creek

Friends of Merri Creek have surveyed candidates in all wards. The Merri Creek corridor is iconic and questions of sustainability, pollution and biodiversity should be a municipal wide concern to all candidates. The survey is focussed on Merri Creek, Edgars Creek and Coburg Lake, and neglects Merlynston Creek and Campbellfield Creek tributaries. It also ignores the importance of Moonee Ponds Creek and tributaries such as Westbreen Creek on the western side of the municipality, which may provide a reason why candidates from western wards like Djirri-Djirri and Pascoe Vale South did not respond to the survey.

See Friends of Merri Creek 2024 election guide for six Councils in the Merri Creek Catchment.

View the Candidate responses for Merri-bek wards (PDF) for candidate comments.

Q1: Are you concerned about the protection and restoration of the Merri Creek, Edgars Creek and Coburg Lake? If so, what concerns you the most? (100 word limit)

Q2: What action do you plan to take in your role as Councillor – if any – to increase waterway protection and restoration activities along the Merri Creek, Edgars Creek and Coburg Lake? (100 word limit)

Q3: Briefly outline how as a Councillor, you will respond to three of the following threats to the health of the Merri Creek, Edgars Creek and Coburg Lake: (75 word limit per threat)

• Development encroachment
• Pollution, litter and sediments carried by stormwater drains
• Illegal dumping and littering
• Spread of problematic weeds
• Loss, degradation and reduced connectivity of habitat
• Irresponsible pet ownership

References

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