This past weekend, I attended the inaugural Victorian Convention of Councillors. I met with Mayors and Councillors from all over Victoria to explore the theme of the weekend ‘The Future of Local Government’. As a young woman of colour, I am already a minority due to my age itself and having this opportunity to connect with Councillors outside of the City of Greater Dandenong was so helpful in thinking of how to tackle challenges, strategise better, and looking at different ways of approach.
We learnt about leadership, financial sustainability, accountability, ethics, and participation and governing for impact (something I want more of). In my normal day-to-day role as a Councillor in our city, I would never have met and spoken at great length with Cr Jennifer Anderson (MAV President and Councillor of Macedon Ranges Shire Council), Cr Anthony Marsh (Mayor and Councillor of Mornington Peninsula Council), Cr Mohamed Semra (Maribyrnong City Council), and Cr Tess Law (Kingston City Council). All of which I would like to thank for their considerable time, differing viewpoints, and advice!
During the weekend, I had the opportunity to hear from: Kelly Grigsby (Chief Executive Officer, Municipal Association of Victoria), the Hon. Nick Staikos (Minister for Local Government Address), Marcus Spiller (Principal & Partner, SGS Economics), George Megalogenis (Journalist, Political Commentator), Jess Scully (Former Deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney), Chris Kotur AM (Leadership Specialist), David Wolf (Commissioner and Chair Parliamentary, Workplace Standards and Integrity Commission), Dr Graeme Emonson PSM (Leadership Specialist), Rueben Berg (Co-Chair, First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria), Cr Dr Anjalee de Silva (Monash City Council and Lecturer Melbourne School of Law), and Cr Cr Mohamed Semra (Maribyrnong City Council and Anti-Racism Campaigner).
I attended workshops run by Michelle Howard (Place Leadership Specialist), critically important as we are focusing on place making in Greater Dandenong – how can we, as Councillors, support out communities through place-based change and what strategies can we utilise. I was particularly enraptured by Domenic Isola (Local Government Financial Specialist), who helped go through the foundations so I can learn how to better equip myself when faced with how do we effectively maximise our opportunities in the face of a rate-capped budget.
Initially, I had wondered if this weekend would be of any value, and I can confirm I have come out of it as a Councillor who now has better tools (strategies and tactics) to utilise at my disposal in order to advocate for my residents and fight for better outcomes within our community.