Moyne Shire Council pushes funding agenda with government

Renewable energy, local jobs and housing, and the chronically poor state of the roads are all issues that have dominated council meetings in Moyne and consistently appear as the most important themes for ratepayers.

Recognising the scale and urgency of the problems Moyne Shire faces in these areas, the council sent a delegation to state parliament from February 22-24 to speak with the ministers in charge, as well as key members of the opposition, to find out what assistance was available.

Mayor Karen Foster led the group alongside chief executive officer Brett Davis, with deputy mayor Daniel Meade and infrastructure and environment director Edith Farrell completing the quartet.

Cr Foster said it was critically important to get in the ear of parliamentarians to ensure the council's issues were at the front of people's minds in Melbourne.

Several crucial projects in the council pipeline don't yet have the state government's financial backing, making lobbying a vital part of the job.

"Advocacy is a key element of the council plan, and we used these meetings to talk about our key priorities including the Koroit township renewal, key worker housing, the Gipps Street Bridge and funding for playgrounds," she said.

"We also raised planning issues around renewable energy which are key issues for our community. We have made sure those concerns are now understood by decision makers in Spring Street."

The group met with roads minister Melissa Horne, planning minister Sonya Kilkenny, and regional development minister Harriet Shing as well as local MPs Jacinta Ermacora, Roma Britnell, Emma Kealy and Sarah Mansfield.

The meeting with Ms Horne was particularly important, Cr Foster said.

"Roads are the number one concern of our community so again we made sure they were raised with those who are making decisions about the state-controlled road network," she said.

"Minister Horne was receptive to our concerns, and we discussed the need to do things differently to address the way roads are constructed."