About Council

Maribyrnong is a diverse and vibrant city, which is rapidly changing through population and economic growth. As the closest level of government to the community, Council is best placed to respond to the challenges and needs of the community.

Our vision

An inclusive, flourishing, progressive city that cares for both its residents and its environment.

Our values

Respect – this includes the promotion of inclusiveness, empathy, communication and goodwill.

Courage – this includes the promotion of innovation, considered risk, creativity, problem solving, initiative, accountability and responsibility.

Integrity – this includes the promotion of honesty, loyalty, ethical behaviour and trustworthiness.

Our functions

To help make Maribyrnong a great place to live, work and visit, Council performs a range of functions including:

• planning for and providing services and facilities to the local community

• regularly engaging with the community about service and program delivery

• building and maintaining assets

• ensuring resources are managed efficiently and responsibly • advocating for important issues on behalf of the community

Council is also responsible for roads, parks, waste collection, land use, local laws, urban planning, personal and home care, early years services, recreation, events, community development, health protection and emergency management.

Our guiding principles

Upholding human rights

Council will uphold the rights of everyone in order for the city to operate in a respectful and peaceful manner.

Implementing social justice and equity

Council will pursue equal rights and equal opportunity for all people, regardless of age, gender, sexuality, ability, faith, social and economic status, cultural background or beliefs, and will ensure no one is discriminated against. Council will also promote equitable access to the municipality’s services and public places.

Engaging with our community

Council will foster a culture where individuals and diverse local communities are respected, engaged and encouraged to participate in the life, activities and decision making of the city.

Advocating on issues

Council will represent the interests of its communities through lobbying of government, business and other organisations to achieve best outcomes for its diverse community.

Developing strong partnerships

Council will seek to build new partnerships and strengthen the trust and confidence of our community partners. We will work closely with groups, organisations and communities to achieve a shared vision.

Being transparent and accountable

Council will ensure its processes, decisions and actions are carried out in an honest and transparent manner and are open to regular public monitoring and scrutiny.

Maribyrnong City Council provides leadership and good governance to the municipality. The role of Council is to represent the community by considering diverse needs when making decisions, advocating in the interests of ratepayers and encouraging active participation in civic life. Council also establishes Council objectives and ensures resources are managed in a responsible and accountable way.

Councillors and wards

The City of Maribyrnong is divided into the River, Stony Creek and Yarraville Wards.

River Ward

Cr Sarah Carter

Cr Carter returned to Council for her fourth term in 2020, having first been elected in 2008. She has served twice as Mayor, most recently in 2020 and in 2011. Cr Carter has been a passionate advocate for the Creative West project (formerly NeXT project) and Festival City, initiatives that foster a thriving community. Cr Carter has represented Council and the community on many committees and advisory groups during her terms in office. She is passionate about planning, education, gender equity, social justice, and opportunities for young people. She has been Council’s Gender Equity Ambassador since 2011.

Cr Anthony Tran (Mayor from November 2021)

A local resident, Cr Tran is serving his first term on Council having grown up in the area. The son of Vietnamese refugees, Cr Tran credits his parents for instilling in him the importance of community. He hopes to encourage and promote the diverse voices of his community, particularly the disadvantaged, and seeks to make mental health support accessible to all. He is also the youngest ever Mayor, having been elected to the role in November 2021.

Stony Creek Ward

Cr Cuc Lam

This is Cr Lam’s third term as a Councillor, including a year as Mayor in 2018. She has received the Refugee Recognition Record Award and Victorian Honour Roll of Women. Cr Lam was instrumental in the implementation of the pop-up park in West Footscray, and she seeks to keep streets clean, plant more trees, and ensure safer cycling for children. She is a multicultural community representative and advisor for health organisations and is currently a member of the Community Advisory Committee for Western Health, a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) Board Director of the Western Health Foundation, and chairs Council’s City Development Delegated Committee. Her contribution to migrant settlement and education services was recognised with a Public Service Medal in 2002.

Cr Bernadette Thomas

Cr Thomas is an active volunteer for several groups dedicated to improving the local environment and the lives of people living in Maribyrnong. She is a long-time advocate for gender equity, social and environmental justice, and has committed to action on the climate and ecological crisis. Cr Thomas has dedicated her time to bringing greater transparency into decision making, and creating meaningful engagement practices that involve the community in decisionmaking. Cr Thomas chairs the Active Transport Committee, the Arts Ambassadors Committee, and the LGBTQIA+ Advisory Group. This is Cr Thomas’ first term on Council.

For more information on Councillor allowances, expenses and meeting attendance, see page 99.

Yarraville Ward

Cr Michael Clarke (Mayor from November 2020 to October 2021)

Cr Clarke returned to the City of Maribyrnong in 2020 after serving as a former Mayor and Councillor from 2006 to 2016. On his re-election in 2021, he became the first Mayor to serve a third term in our history. He is Secretary of Friends of Cruickshank Park and for over 20 years organised the Kingsville Christmas Carols event. Cr Clarke seeks to strengthen planning requirements, increase bicycle facilities, expand community facilities, and has committed to review opportunities to generate an income for the city to reduce the burden of household rates.

Cr Simon Crawford

Cr Crawford returned to the City of Maribyrnong for his second term and seeks to continue to make the area a safe, friendly and healthy place to live. He aims to improve Council’s responsiveness and seek more ethical investment and procurement. Cr Crawford believes it is important to keep the environment and community wellbeing top of mind. He is interested in addressing the climate emergency, increasing cycling infrastructure, restoring Stony Creek, getting trucks off local streets, providing more open space and ensuring Council governance is responsive, transparent and accountable.

Cr Jorge Jorquera

Cr Jorquera is completing the second year of his first term as a Councillor for the City of Maribyrnong. He calls both Santiago Chile and Footscray home, and has raised two boys with his partner here in the Western suburbs. He is a socialist, unionist, anti-racist and advocate for migrant communities, working class families and young people. As an educator and former School Council President at Footscray Primary, he is also passionate about education and the potential it has to empower children and young people to make the world a better place. Cr Jorquera hopes to help reinvigorate the spirit of community solidarity that runs deep in the West, and make the City of Maribyrnong a beacon of justice, equality, solidarity and friendship.

Local children creating and enjoying the new facilities at the state of the art Billy Button Children’s Centre in Footscray, which opened earlier this year and provides exemplary early childhood education for Maribyrnong’s littlest residents.

Photo by Gianna Rizzo