Local government election in Port Phillip

Fever pitch or indifference? The mood in Port Melbourne is hard to gauge. Halloween decorations are more abundant on fences than corflutes.

The composition of the Port Phillip Council will change significantly at this election. Four councillors: Andrew Bond, Christina Sirakoff, Rhonda Clark and Marcus Pearl are not re-standing. The council moves from 3 x 3 multi-member wards to 9 single member wards. The new ward boundaries do not align with people’s sense of their community.

In the 2020 to 2024 term, the Port Phillip Council was divided between four progressive and four conservative councillors. In this divided Council, Important decisions often rested on independent councillor and Mayor (2023 and 2024) Heather Cunsolo. This vested too much responsibility in one person, no matter how conscientiously that vote was exercised. Council decision making is collective decision making.

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The last election was held during Covid lockdown. Over the last four years, global and national pressures have borne down heavily on Port Melbourne, as they have in other places. The cost of living crisis manifest here with a high level of retail vacancies in Bay St. Fire bombing of a hair salon in August followed by stabbing of a shop owner in Bay St have heightened community safety concerns.

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At a forum this week, hosted by the Beacon Cove Neighbourhood Association, candidates standing for election in Port Melbourne were given the opportunity to introduce themselves, outline their priorities and respond to questions. The main issues were community safety, safety around Bay St, and Waterfront Place. All candidates respected the ground rules of the meeting. There were no interruptions or interjections and all kept to time.

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In order of presentation

Adrian King sees Council as a business which could deliver services to its customers more efficiently and cheaply. With a business background, he maintains that only people with business experience should be on Council. He argued that the only way to address the ‘paralysis’ at Waterfront Place would be to involve developers who could unlock the ‘serious’ capital required. ‘That’s how you build big infrastructure that is not subject to politics’, he said. To respond to crime he canvassed raising funds from the community to cover the shortfall in police numbers in Port Phillip. He is standing in Port Melbourne, rather than in Middle Park where he lives, because he believes that Heather Cunsolo, as Mayor, represents the ‘dysfunction’ of the Council.

Richard Whitfield (Green) has involved himself in community life since coming to live in Port Melbourne in 2021. Having lived overseas for many years, he sees the benefit of higher density – if done well with high quality housing stock, open space and public transport. In Richard’s view, ‘long term problems require concerted effort’ and the problems affecting Bay St were not Council’s to solve alone. He was open to reviewing Council’s decision to exit aged care services.

David Wright (Labor) works in family services in (another) local government. He believes Council should support those at the most vulnerable stages of their lives – in early childhood and old age. He has experience in delivering those services and knows local government – its procedures and systems. He’s used to working in teams and bringing about change. His approach would be based on respect, explaining and communicating the difficult decisions that need to be made. He supports building community cohesion as the way to address safety.

Heather Cunsolo is fluent in every aspect of Council’s work, having been on Council for four years, two as Mayor. She describes herself as ‘dedicated and not afraid to make difficult decisions’. With her background as an architect, she believes she can contribute positively to planning decision making. She presented herself as a problem solver with strong inter-personal skills. She values kindness and patience. She was impatient to use her experience of the past four year term to get things done.

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No councillor makes decisions alone. Decisions are the decisions of Council. In deciding your vote, be wary of the quick fixers, the rate freezers, and single issue candidates.

Seek out those who work well with others, who have a track record of community involvement, who treat others with respect.

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Be circumspect about social media in this local election campaign. Heather Cunsolo started and grew the facebook group Port Melbourne Focus as a community building exercise. While giving free access to other candidates, Port Melbourne Focus denies it to her. Her facebook page is here.

Note: Sabina Sablock was overseas and not available to attend the forum

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For the most comprehensive City of Port Phillip election coverage, read TWISK (this week in St Kilda) #434: Election Guide: How to vote for every candidate