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City of Merri-bek

The City of Merri-bek (/ˈmɛriː bɛk/[2]) is a local government area in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. It comprises the inner northern suburbs between 4 and 11 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD. The Merri-bek local government area covers 51 km2 (20 sq mi), and in June 2018, it had a population of 181,725.[1]

Merri-bek City Council
Victoria
Location within Melbourne metropolitan area
Coordinates37°44′S 144°57′E / 37.733°S 144.950°E / -37.733; 144.950
Population181,725 (2018)[1] (33rd)
 • Density3,560/km2 (9,230/sq mi)
Established1994
Area51 km2 (19.7 sq mi)[1]
MayorAdam Pulford (Greens)
Council seatCoburg
RegionGreater Melbourne
State electorate(s)
Federal division(s)
WebsiteMerri-bek City Council
LGAs around Merri-bek City Council:
Hume, Brimbank Hume Whittlesea
Moonee Valley Merri-bek City Council Darebin
Moonee Valley Melbourne Yarra
Previous logo of the City of Moreland

The local government area was created as the City of Moreland in 1994 during the amalgamations of local governments by the state government, being created from the former local government areas of the City of Brunswick, the City of Coburg and the southern part of the City of Broadmeadows. It was renamed to Merri-bek in September 2022.[3]

In 2004 the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC), an independent authority created under Victorian state legislation, conducted a representation review of the council's electoral structure, resulting in a recommendation that the 10 single councillor wards be replaced by three multi-councillor wards. A consequence of the change from single-councillor to multi-councillor wards was a change in election method from Instant runoff voting to proportional representation via Single transferable vote. Elections are held every four years.[4]

Name

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In November 2021, it came to the council's attention that Moreland's namesake was indirectly associated with a Jamaican plantation site that had traded slaves up to the 1800s.[5][6] This historical information was contained in the 2010 Moreland Council publication Thematic History,[7] and published in books and articles as far back as 1944.[8]

In October 1839, Scottish surgeon and settler Dr Farquhar McCrae was sold land between Moonee Ponds Creek and Sydney Road by the Crown in the area's first colonial sale. McCrae gave the land the name Moreland. Some suggest he may have taken this name from a Jamaican sugar plantation that his paternal grandfather Alexander McCrae worked at[9] from the late 1760s to the early 1790s, which was involved in slave trading,[8] and kept up to 500 to 700 enslaved people in the operation in any one year.[10] Greens Mayor Mark Riley said "The history behind the naming of this area is painful, uncomfortable and very wrong. It needs to be addressed".[11][12] In May 2022 a choice of three proposed names from the Woi-wurrung language was announced by Riley and Uncle Andrew Gardiner, deputy chair of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation: Wa-dam-buk, meaning “renew”; Merri-bek, meaning “rocky country”; and Jerrang, meaning “leaf of tree”. The names were scheduled to be decided by July 2022 following community consultation.[13]

The community consultation for the renaming commenced in May 2022 and ended June 2022. Some residents expressed dissatisfaction with the process resulting in a petition to council.[14]

On 3 July 2022 (coinciding with the start of NAIDOC Week) the Council voted at a Special Council Meeting to officially endorse Merri-bek as the preferred name.[15] The name was submitted to the Minister for Local Government for consideration and the Minister's decision to alter the name was gazetted on 13 September 2022 and came into operation on 26 September.[3]

Council services

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Merri-bek Council runs the Counihan Gallery at the Brunswick Town Hall, a free public art gallery named after the local artist, Noel Counihan. Other art events supported by Council include the MoreArt event, an art in public spaces show located along the Upfield transport corridor. The council also sponsors various street festivals around the municipality, the best known being the Sydney Road Street Party.

One of the highlights of Merri-bek is its public library. Merri-bek City Libraries has five branches.

Other Merri-bek local government services include maternal and child health service, waste and recycling collection, parks and open space, a youth space called Oxygen, services for children, and aged services.

Climate action

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Merri-bek/Moreland Council has been one of the leading municipal councils in Australia in adopting policies on climate action and sustainability. A January 2020 ClimateWorks Australia local government report identified City of Moreland as one of 3 out of 57 municipal jurisdictions in Australia to have a "fully aligned net zero by 2050 target that addresses both operational and community emissions."[16]

City of Merri-bek is a member of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy,[17] the Cities Power Partnership,[18] Climate Emergency Australia (CEA), Climate Active, The Northern Alliance for Greenhouse Action (NAGA), and has declared pledges in the TAKE2 scheme with Sustainability Victoria.[19]

Council declared a climate emergency on 12 September 2018.[20]

Council operational emissions reduction

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For operational emissions, Moreland Council was certified as a ‘carbon neutral’ council in 2012. This required purchase of carbon offset credits. Moreland was the second council in Victoria, and the third in Australia, to receive this certification. A target of 30% less emissions than 2011, with a stretch goal of 40% by 2020, was over-achieved with an emissions cut of 69% by 2020, which will reduce the carbon offsets required to be purchased.[21]

Moreland City Council installed Victoria's first EV fast charge station in 2013. This has now grown to a network of 16 public EV charging stations around the municipality which are powered by 100% zero emissions renewable energy from the Crowlands Wind Farm, near Ararat.[22]

In 2014, City of Moreland joined with the City of Melbourne and several other institutions and established the Melbourne Renewable Energy Project (MREP).[23] This project developed and funded the construction of a purpose-built 39 turbine, 80 MW Crowlands windfarm, which started supplying 100% renewables power to Council facilities and buildings in 2019.[24]

Net zero by 2040 community emissions target

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Moreland's community wide municipal emissions in 2019 were 1,609,000 tonnes CO2e, composed of sectoral emissions of: Waste (3%), Transport (17%), Gas (21%), Electricity (59%).[25]

The City of Merri-bek has set a community emissions reduction target of net zero emissions by 2040 and established the Moreland Zero Carbon 2040 Framework Strategy and the first 5-year action plan to achieve that target.[26]

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Other key climate and sustainability policies and strategies driving climate action include: Climate Emergency Action Plan (2020 to 2025), Moreland Integrated Transport Strategy, Waste and Litter Strategy, Achieving zero Carbon in the Planning Scheme, Sustainable Buildings Policy, Urban Heat Island Effect Action Plan, Urban Forest Strategy, Watermap, Procurement policy, Cooling the Upfield Corridor Action Plan, Food Systems Strategy, Fossil Fuel Divestment Strategy, Moreland Nature Plan.

Climate action endorsements

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During 2021 City of Moreland supported a climate disaster levy on coal exports,[27] and endorsed the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, the first government jurisdiction in Australia to do so.[28][29]

 
Suburbs of City of Merri-bek

Council

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Current composition

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Merri-bek City Council
Leadership
Mayor
Adam Pulford[30]
Deputy Mayor
Lambros Tapinos[30]
Structure
 
Council political groups
  Greens: 4 seats
  Socialist Alliance: 1 seat
  Independent: 1 seat
  Labor: 3 seats
  Your Local Independents: 2 seats

Councillors are elected from three multi-member wards, two electing four members, and one electing three, for a total of eleven councillors. The council's most recent election took place in October 2020.[4]

Its current composition is:

Party Councillors
  Greens 4
  Labor 3
  Your Local Independents 2
  Socialist Alliance 1
  Independent 1
Total 11

Mayor

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Main article: List of mayors of Merri-bek

The current mayor is Helen Davidson Cr.[31]

Past councillors

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1996–2004 (10 wards)

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Year Box Forest Glencairn Glencairn Hoffman Lincoln Mills Lygon Merri Moonah Newlands Westbreen
Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor
1996   John Sawyer (Independent)   Chris Iliopoulos (Independent)   Rosemary Kerr (Independent)
[32] 		  Mike Hill (Labor)   Rod Higgins (Labor)   Glenyys Romanes (Labor)   Anthony Helou (Labor)   Andrew Rowe (Labor)   Stella Kariofyllidis (Labor)   Geoff Lutz (Independent)
1999   Ken Blair (Independent)   Robert Larocca (Labor)   Andy Ingham (Independent)   Leigh Snelling (Labor)   Melanie Raymond (Independent)
[33]
2000   Vicki Yianoulatos (Labor)
2001   Joe Caputo (Labor)
2002   Stephen Roach[34] (Independent)   Fraser Brindley (Greens)   Mark Higginbotham (Labor)   Joe Ficarra (Labor)

2004–2024 (three wards)

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North-East Ward

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Year Councillor Party Councillor Party Councillor Party Councillor Party
2004   Anthony Helou Labor   Mark O'Brien Labor   Andrea Sharam Greens   Daniel De Lorenzis Independent
2008 Michael Teti Labor Toby Archer Greens   Stella Kariofyllidis Labor
2012 Lenka Thompson Greens
2012   Sue Bolton Socialist Alliance   Rob Thompson Independent Liberal
2016 Annalivia Carli Hannan Labor Natalie Abboud Greens   Ali Irfanli Independent
2020 Sue Bolton Moreland Team Adam Pulford Greens Helen Pavlidis-Mihalakos Independent
2022a Socialist Alliance   Victorians
2022b   Independent

North-West Ward

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Year Councillor Party Councillor Party Councillor Party Councillor Party
2004   Mark Higginbotham[35] Labor   Kathleen Matthews-Ward[36] Labor   John Kavanagh[37] Democratic Labour   Milad El-Halabi Labor
2008 Oscar Yildiz Labor Enver Erdogan Labor
2012   Helen Davidson Independent Lita Gillies Labor
2014   Independent
2016   Dale Martin Greens
2018   Independent
2020   Milad El-Halabi Labor Angelica Panopoulos Greens
2021   Victorians
2022a Independent Labor
2022b   Independent   Monica Harte Socialist Alliance

South Ward

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Year Councillor Party Councillor Party Councillor Party
2004   Joe Caputo Labor   Alice Pryor Labor   Josephine Connellan Greens
2008 Lambros Tapinos Labor
2012 Meghan Hopper Labor Samantha Ratnam Greens
2016   Mark Riley Greens
2017 Jess Dorney Greens
2020 James Conlan Greens
2023   Independent

2024 (11 wards)

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See also: Local Government Act 2020

These wards will come into effect at the October 2024 election.

Year Bababi Djinanang Box Forest Brunswick West Bulleke-bek Djirri-Djirri Harmony Park Pascoe Vale South Pentridge Randazzo Warrk-Warrk Westbreen
Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor
2024   Sue Bolton   Chris Miles   Ella Svensson   Jay Iwasaki   Helen Davidson   Helen Politis   Oscar Yildiz   Natalie Abboud   Liz Irvin   Adam Pulford   Katerine Theodosis

Election results

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2024

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This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2024 Victorian local elections in Northern Melbourne § Merri-bek results.[edit]
2024 Victorian local elections: Merri-bek[38][39][40][41]
Party Votes % Swing Seats Change
  Labor 23,108 24.48 +4.18 3 Steady 
  Your Local Independents 21,930 23.23 +1.89[a] 2 Decrease  1[a]
  Greens 21,069 22.32 +6.40 4 Steady 
  Victorian Socialists 11,068 11.72 +7.77 0 Steady 
  Independents 8,965 9.50 −35.10 1 Increase  1
  Socialist Alliance 6,266 6.63 +1.71 1 Steady 
  Independent Liberal 1,621 1.71 +1.71 0 Steady 
  Fusion 351 0.37 +0.37 0 Steady 
 Formal votes 94,378 97.11
 Informal votes 2,810 2.89
 Total 97,188 100.00
 Registered voters / turnout 123,327 78.81

2020

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This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2020 Victorian local elections in Northern Melbourne § Moreland.[edit]
2020 Victorian local elections: Moreland[43]
Party Votes % Swing Seats Change
  Independent 41,866 44.60 +4.16 3 Decrease  1
  Labor 20,901 20.30 −8.30 3 Increase  1
  Greens 16,396 15.92 −13.92 4 Steady 
  Sue Bolton Moreland Team 5,062 4.92 +0.21 1 Steady 
  Reason 4,637 4.50 +4.50 0 Steady 
  Victorian Socialists 4,068 3.95 +3.95 0 Steady 
  Animal Justice 935 0.91 +0.91 0 Steady 

2016

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This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2016 Victorian local elections § Moreland.[edit]
2016 Victorian local elections: Moreland[44]
Party Votes % Seats Change
  Independent 25,164 36.49 4 Increase  2
  Greens 20,582 29.84 4 Increase  3
  Labor 19,728 28.60 2 Decrease  1
  Socialist Alliance 3,249 4.71 1 Steady 
 Formal votes 39,365 100.0

2002

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2002 Victorian local elections: Moreland[45]
Party Votes % Seats Change
  Labor 18,237 46.33 7 Increase  3
  Independent 11,271 28.64 2 Decrease  4
  Greens 9,134 23.21 1 Increase  1
  Socialist Alliance 714 1.82 0 Steady 
 Total formal votes 39,365 100.0

Townships and localities

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At the 2021 census, the city had a population of 171,357 up from 162,558 at the 2016 census.[46]

Population
Locality 2016 2021
Brunswick 24,473 24,896
Brunswick East 11,504 13,279
Brunswick West 14,159 14,746
Coburg^ 26,185 26,574
Coburg North 7,601 8,327
Fawkner^ 14,043 14,274
Fitzroy North^ 12,339 12,781
Glenroy 22,245 23,792
Gowanbrae 2,773 2,971
Hadfield 5,610 6,269
Oak Park 6,205 6,714
Parkville^ 7,409 7,074
Pascoe Vale 17,051 18,171
Pascoe Vale South 10,069 10,534
Tullamarine^ 6,605 6,733

^ - Territory divided with another LGA

Sister cities

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b Compared to the results of Oscar Yildiz, Helen Davidson and Helen Pavlidis-Mihalakos in 2020.[42]

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. ^ "Renaming Moreland". Conversations Merri-bek. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Order Altering the Name of Moreland City Council" (PDF). Victorian Government Gazette. p. 3871. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Results for Moreland City Council Elections 2020". Victorian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  5. ^ "Changing Moreland's name". Brunswick Community History Group. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  6. ^ "Minutes of the Special Council Meeting - 13 December 2021" (PDF). Moreland City Council. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  7. ^ "City of Moreland Thematic History" (PDF). City of Moreland. 1 May 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 November 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  8. ^ a b Lesh, James (2022). Report on the place name: Moreland : Legacies of Slavery. City of Moreland. Coburg, Victoria. ISBN 978-0-646-85827-2. OCLC 1313068942.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. ^ Lesh, Dr James (13 April 2022). Report on the place name: Moreland (PDF) (Report). Deakin University. ISBN 9780646858272. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  10. ^ "Council asked to consider Moreland name change". City of Moreland Council. Archived from the original on 25 November 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  11. ^ "Melbourne council to ditch slave-link name". NITV. 25 November 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  12. ^ Fowler, Michael (24 November 2021). "'Shocked' Melbourne council to change name after discovering slavery link". The Age. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  13. ^ Geraets, Nell; Fowler, Michael (14 May 2022). "New Indigenous names for Moreland Council proposed". The Age. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  14. ^ "Community demand more consultation". The Age. 9 August 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  15. ^ Council, Moreland City. "With new Merri-bek name, Council is a step closer to reconciliation". Moreland City Council. Archived from the original on 3 July 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  16. ^ Proudlove R, Bravo C, Denis-Ryan, A (January 2020). "Net zero momentum tracker – local government report". ClimateWorks Australia. Archived from the original on 1 December 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  17. ^ "Global Covenant of Mayors City Dashboard - Moreland". Global Covenant of Mayors. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  18. ^ "Moreland City is a Power Partner". Cities Power Partnership. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  19. ^ "Our Sustainability Story". City of Moreland. Archived from the original on 1 December 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  20. ^ "Media Release: Moreland Council adopts Climate Emergency". Climate Action Moreland. 13 September 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  21. ^ "Moreland City Council slashes its carbon emissions". Zero carbon Moreland. City of Moreland. 21 June 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  22. ^ "Use an Electric Vehicle". Zero Carbon Moreland. City of Moreland. Archived from the original on 1 December 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  23. ^ Jewell, Cameron (1 December 2015). "Melbourne consortium forms to drive renewable investment". The Fifth Estate. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  24. ^ "Melbourne Renewable Energy Project: A new generation of energy". City of melbourne. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  25. ^ "Moreland 2019 municipal emissions snapshot". Snapshot Climate Tool. Ironbark Sustainability. Archived from the original on 1 December 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  26. ^ "About Zero Carbon Moreland". Zero Carbon Moreland. City of Moreland. Archived from the original on 1 December 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  27. ^ "Moreland Council supports a Climate Disaster Levy". Climate Action Moreland. 11 March 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  28. ^ "Moreland City Council says no to fossil fuels". Zero Carbon Moreland. City of Moreland. Archived from the original on 1 December 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  29. ^ "Fossil Fuel Treaty". Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  30. ^ a b Phillips, Mark (15 November 2023). "Greens hold sway as Pulford is elected Mayor". Brunswick Voice. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  31. ^ Phillips, Mark (21 November 2024). "Davidson elected first Mayor of new council". Brunswick Voice. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  32. ^ "First Council". Moreland City Council. Archived from the original on 20 February 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  33. ^ "Second Council". Moreland City Council. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  34. ^ "Third Council". Moreland City Council. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  35. ^ Mayne, Stephen (30 January 2006). "The Green mayor who kept his council car". Crikey. Archived from the original on 9 December 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  36. ^ Cooke, Dewi (25 March 2010). "ALP suspends trio for breaking ranks". The Age. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  37. ^ Tessa, Hoffman (27 October 2012). "Moreland Council elections 2012". Moreland Leader. Internet Archive. Archived from the original on 4 April 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  38. ^ "Merri-bek Labor Team for 2024 Council elections". Merri-bek Labor. Archived from the original on 17 September 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  39. ^ "Merri-bek". Victorian Greens. Archived from the original on 17 September 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  40. ^ "Do you want your Councillors to put you first and not their Political Ideology?". Facebook. Oscar Yildiz 4 Pascoe Vale. 8 October 2024. Archived from the original on 8 October 2024. Retrieved 8 October 2024. VOTE 1 YOUR LOCAL INDEPENDENTS
  41. ^ "With the Council Elections upon us, your Vote is more important than ever". Facebook. Oscar Yildiz 4 Pascoe Vale. 13 September 2024. Archived from the original on 8 October 2024. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  42. ^ "Moreland City Council election results 2020". Victorian Electoral Commission. 5 November 2020. Archived from the original on 25 October 2024. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  43. ^ "Moreland City Council election results 2020". Victorian Electoral Commission.
  44. ^ "Moreland City Council election results 2016". Victorian Electoral Commission.
  45. ^ "Election Results". Trove. Moreland City Council. Archived from the original on 16 September 2004. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  46. ^ "Census | Australian Bureau of Statistics". www.abs.gov.au. 11 January 2023.
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