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.
- Kathleen Browne (Independent)
Romeo Delorenzis (Independent)(Disqualified by VEC) See Comment- Anneke Demanuele (Victorian Socialists)
- Ella Svensson (Greens) Instagram
- *Lambros Tapinos (Labor) Instagram
Candidates Forum | Climate Survey | Stop Burning Plastic | Streets People Love | Waterways
Candidates Forum by Brunswick Residents Network
When: THURSDAY 26 SEPTEMBER, in the west:
West Brunswick Ward 6.00–7.15PM
Candidates present from L to R:
*Lambros Tapinos (Labor)
Kathleen Browne (Independent)
Ella Svensson (Greens)
Romeo Delorenzis (Independent)
Chair : Nic Maclellan (Brunswick Residents Network)
Apology: Anneke Demanuele (Victorian Socialists)
Youtube Chapter time stamps
5:06: Kathleen Browne Opening Speech
8:35: Ella Svensson Opening Speech
11:44: Lambros Tapinos Opening Speech
15:20: Question 1. Please explain your policies for the growth and transformation of the West, as has happened already in Brunswick East and Brunswick
16:14: Q1 Answer – Lambros Tapinos
18:04: Q1 Answer – Kathleen Browne
19:10: Q1 Answer – Ella Svensson
21:33: Question 2. How to address questions of transport and transport Safety
22:14: Q2 Answer – Ella Svensson
24:00: Romeo Delorenzis Opening Speech
27:37: Q2 Answer – Kathleen Browne
28:25: Q2 Answer – Lambros Tapinos
31:23: Question 3. What will you do to advocate for public housing?
32:56: Q3 Answer – Ella Svennson
34:25: Q3 Answer – Kathleen Browne
34:58: Q3 Answer – Lambros Tapinos
37:37: Q3 Answer – Romeo Delorenzis
38:18: Question 4. What are your policies for how to further develop sporting facilities, and your vision for sporting communities in the area.
39:01: Q4 Answer – Kathleen Browne
39:51: Q4 Answer – Ella Svennson
41:39: Q4 Answer – Romeo Delorenzis
42:29: Q4 Answer – Lambros Tapinos
45:12: Question 5. Question around knocking back community consultation for Pearson St road closure.
46:23: Q5 Answer – Lambros Tapinos
48:55: Q5 Answer – Kathleen Browne
49:16: Q5 Answer – Ella Svensson
50:41: Q5 Answer – Romeo Delorenzis
51:10: Question 6. Do you have a how to vote card, and if so, who is your second preference? 51:32: Q6 Answer – Lambros Tapinos
52:49: Q6 Answer – Kathleen Browne
53:55: Q6 Answer – Ella Svensson
55:03: Q6 Answer – Romeo Delorenzis
57:09: Question 7. Directed at Kathleen Browne. You refer to yourself as an Independent, but you are part of a block with other independents. How does this make you Independent, and what commitments have you given to those other candidates?
57:25: Q7 Answer – Kathleen Browne
59:40: Ella Svensson Closing Statement
1:01:22: Romeo Delorenzis Closing Statement
1:03:37: Kathleen Browne Closing Statement
1:05:17: Lambros Tapinos Closing Statement
Location: At West Brunswick Tennis Club, 425 Victoria Street, Brunswick (behind the courts)
Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/377982108686390/377982118686389/
This was a free Forum, and any donations are welcome and support BRN community venues such as this tennis club.
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 Plastics Pledge |
| Kathleen Browne (Ind) | Statement of decline | Statement of decline | Statement of decline |
| Romeo Delorenzis (Ind) | No Response | No Response | No Response |
| Anneke Demanuele (Victorian Socialists) | No Response | Yes | Yes |
| Ella Svensson (Greens) | See Response | Yes | Yes |
| *Lambros Tapinos (Labor) | See Response | Yes | Yes |
Candidates were contacted at least twice for a response for each survey. Note: of the 55 Candidates across 11 wards Kathleen Browne was the only person to provide a response that outlined reasons for declining to answer any survey questions.
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?
Ella Svensson: I’m a Brunswick West local and have been for several years. I live here with my fiancé Sarah and hope to be here a very long time! I’m a member of the Brunswick West community garden and have many friends in the area. I’m part of the Merri-bek branch of the Victorian Greens and am regularly involved in campaigning in the Merri-bek area.
Lambros Tapinos: I live in the ward I am contesting, I have lived here my entire life. I love our community, I wouldn’t live anywhere else.
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?
Ella Svensson: Yes, Yes, Yes
Lambrios Tapinos: Yes, Yes, Yes.
I support higher emission reduction targets – it should be net zero by 2035
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.
Ella Svensson: Yes
Lambros Tapinos: 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?
Ella Svensson: Strongly Agree
Lambros Tapinos: 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?
Ella Svensson: I’m proud of, and intend to continue the work the Greens team on Council has done during this last term. They consistently voted to make it safer, easier and more enjoyable for people to walk, ride and catch public transport. This has been through defending and strengthening transport strategies, voting in favour of active transport projects, strong public transport advocacy (on bus timetabling & frequency, Upfield line, LXRP, accessible tram stops) and securing significant budget increases towards bike and pedestrian spending. If elected, I hope to increase funding for active transport to provide increased pedestrian safety and cycling infrastructure. I also plan to heavily advocate to the state government to fix Sydney rd and implement the recommendations of Vic Roads community survey and safety research recommending removing parking on Sydney rd, increasing footpaths, planting street trees, creating accessible tram stops and creating protected bike lanes.
Lambros Tapinos: Invest in footpaths, speed reduction in suburban streets, closing rat-runs, more dedicated bike paths and advocate for more public transport including elevated rail, duplication, accessible tram spots, more frequency of trains, trams – (especially the 58) and busses.
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)?
Ella Svensson: Merri-bek already has some fantastic existing strategies to combat extreme heat, however, they need to be fully funded to ensure maximum benefit for communities most at risk. There is potential for further work to help homeowners and renters to keep their homes cool by expanding programs like solar savers (assisting low-income households to install solar panels and insulation) and support to make rentals climate friendly. If elected I would also like to continue the work of greens on council in significantly expanding Merri-bek’s tree canopy and overall native planting, and creating more green spaces to combat the heat island effect. I’ll also carefully consider the climate impact and heat resilience of all proposed development and advocate for better sustainable design standards for new builds to increase their climate resilience.
Lambros Tapinos: Plant more trees with large canopy, buy more plan in hot-spot activity centres for tree plantings. Change the planning laws to include more green spaces and rooftop gardens. Install more shade in the city, water fountains and cooling devices.
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?
Ella Svensson: I am committed to Merri-bek’s 2030 target of zero waste to landfill. Now that the food and organics bin has been universally rolled out, we will see a reduction in the amount of food and organics waste going into landfill. Nevertheless, medium and high-density blocks are often excluded from council organics waste services. Given this, I plan to investigate possibilities for tailored waste management for medium and high-density residential developments. Such as providing composting systems or tailored food waste collection. Furthermore, given there continues to be a high level of contamination in Merri-bek’s recyclables stream it is also clear that further community engagement and education around waste management is required. I will also promote circular economy principles and support initiatives promoting zero waste initiatives.
Lambros Tapinos: Review the hard waste collection to encourage more reuse and recycling, have circular economy principles in procurements and contracts. Support food and organic recycling and investigate textiles recycling.
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)?
Ella Svensson:
1- Getting council facilities off gas and onto renewable energy.
2- Work with state government to submit planning scheme amendments to improve environmentally sustainable design standards for new buildings.
3- Provide targeted support to low-income households through environmental/thermal upgrades.
4- Continue to buy 100% of council’s energy from renewable sources.
5- Use initiatives like the community battery installation to help provide financial support/incentives for residents to move to renewable energy.
Lambros Tapinos: More community solar projects and batteries; the council can support sports clubs, and community organisations with solar panels, batteries, removal of gas and eventually make this also available to households and businesses via grants.
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?
Ella Svensson: Continuing to support the programs within Zero Carbon Merri-bek that support businesses with recycling, reusing, waste minimisation and energy efficiency.
Lambros Tapinos: There is a growing list of eco jobs that we want to attract to Merri-bek – this includes manufacturing of sustainability products, and installation services. Merri-Bek activity centres should be green hubs / 100% renewables with more solar and batteries.
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?
Ella Svensson: The Food System Strategy 2024-2027 is currently in its first year so has not had time to fully progress. Council should continue to implement this strategy and regularly consult with community and review the effectiveness of its implementation. Council should also continue to support local community gardens, food swaps, and grant access to commercial kitchens at low or no cost. I will also advocate for further investment in Merri-bek food hubs to strengthen the food and material relief sector and provide direct material support to the community.
Lambros Tapinos: Heathy food is very expensive compared to take away leading to obesity problems. While this problem needs to be addressed at all levels of government; locally, we can invest in more community gardens, and plant more edibles in our parks and community. Working with CERES we could develop community food and relief programs to harvester food like herbs, fruit and olive oil from public places, community gardens, urban food forests.
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?
Ella Svensson: Merri-bek council has already taken steps to improve sustainable design principles through partnering with other Victorian councils to submit an Environmentally Sustainable Design planning amendment. Frustratingly this amendment has been with the minister for consideration for over a year without progress. If elected, I will partner with our state government colleagues and continue to pressure the state government to approve these amendments. I also commit that, if elected, I will do everything within my power to pressure developers to build to a higher environmental standard, including retaining (and where possible increasing) green space, and incorporating heat and water sensitive urban design principles. However, it is important to acknowledge that council and planners’ role in negotiating with developers is a sensitive one as the state government has provided a pathway for developers to frequently bypass council decision making through VCAT. Given this, I will also advocate to the state government for return of planning powers back to local government.
Lambros Tapinos: Strengthen and actually implement the policies during the application stage. There needs to be more protection in the planning laws for our creeks and wetlands, and parklands. Development should not be allowed to negatively impact our open spaces, creeks and biodiversity. We need to revitalise out creeks especially the Moonee Ponds Creek and this will be a major priority for me on council.
Q15. What are your top four priorities for the Council Plan, to be formulated for 2025-2029.
Ella Svensson:
1. Affordable housing
2. Addressing the climate and biodiversity crises
3. Addressing cost of living
4. Improving cycling and walking infrastructure
Lambros Tapinos:
1. Community Services, Aged Care and Childcare
2. Footpaths, Cycling, Drainage, Infrastructure
3. Open Space, Creeks and New Parks
4. Jobs and Economic Development in our activity centres, this includes beautification, greening, more amenities and cleaning of activity centres.
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?
Ella Svensson: Oppose single member wards, support initiatives for multi-member wards
Lambros Tapinos: 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?
Ella Svensson: Skipped.
Lambros Tapinos: We can do more regarding the creeks and water quality by investing in more water sensitive designs.
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:
Anneke Demanuelle, Ella Svensson and Lambros Tapinos all signed the Stop Burning Plastic Pledge without comment.
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 Brunswick West 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
DeLorenzis disqualified
The VEC has disqualified Romeo DeLorenzis due to not completing the mandatory training for Councillor candidates. Read more at Brunswick Voice. The Ballot papers have been printed with his name but any votes he receives will be ignored with his second preferences taken for the substantive vote.
Misleading How to Vote leaflets
Our attention has been drawn to the How to Vote cards by Romeo Delorenzis. He has not participated any any of the climate surveys compiled by this site, yet infers his platform addresses climate change. Is this misinformation?
References
Brunswick Voice, 7 October 2024, Campaign is over for Romeo before it began https://brunswickvoice.com.au/campaign-is-over-for-romeo-before-it-began/
Brunswick Voice, 23 September 2024, These 18 candidates want your vote next month https://brunswickvoice.com.au/these-18-candidates-want-your-vote-next-month/
Brunswick Residents Network Election Update https://mailchi.mp/optusnet/brunswick-residents-news-17250733
See Merribek Victorian Socialists Instagram https://www.instagram.com/vsmerribek/?hl=en
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Climate Action Merribek 