Respecting Wurundjeri and Bunurong connection to Country

- On 21 March, Melbourne City Council endorsed a motion in support of the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart, and the ‘yes’ campaign for the Constitutional Recognition of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament.

As part of our ongoing commitment to truth-telling, we have compiled a set of resources about the Voice to Parliament, the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart, and the upcoming referendum. We will continue updating these resources as the referendum approaches, including information in multiple languages. We encourage you to bookmark this page to stay up to date.

Authorised by Sally Capp in Melbourne on behalf of Melbourne City Council.

- In May, Yirramboi festival brought us an incredible program of First Nations creative exploration for community to experience across the city.

- In May and June as part of National Reconciliation Week, we hosted a range of events to promote truth-telling, learning, healing and change, including an oration by 2022 Melbournian of the Year, Anotinette Braybrook which is available to view.

- In July we celebrated National NAIDOC Week and offered a range of activities to embrace and deepen understanding of our Aboriginal history and culture including a Deadly Books Giveaway, NAIDOC in the City event, Finders Keepers Market and more.

Where families and young people can thrive

- Support for local young people continued through our partnership with The Drum, which provides inclusive services and programs for young people from all genders, religions, cultural and identity backgrounds. This partnership also supported Queerspace Youth, a peer-led program for queer, trans, intersex, gender diverse or questioning people aged 16-25 years old.

A pet-friendly neighbourhood

- Sensors were installed at Eades Park for six months to understand how it is being used, including how often the dog off-leash area is used and the most popular times at the park. A public dashboard of this data has been published, and our park planners are currently exploring opportunities to upgrade facilities.

Parks and ‘green living’ solutions

- From May to June 2023 we consulted West Melburnians about a proposal to expand the green space and reduce paving and asphalt along Roden Street, to create a larger, more beautiful and functional parklets for the community to enjoy. The design would see 1000sqm of additional permeable ground, new footpaths, tree shade, and biodiverse garden beds. Community feedback is currently being analysed, with the results published later this year.

- In September, West and North Melbourne locals joined City of Melbourne experts to workshop the physical and social vulnerabilities that our community could potentially face before, during, and after a disaster. The group also considered ways to strengthen our resilience.

- Along Sims Street on the eastern bank of the Maribyrnong River, between Footscray Road and Dynon Road, we planted a mix of 120 native tree species.

Local shopping and dining options

- A new Woolworths Metro recently opened opposite North Melbourne Train Station in Ireland Street, West Melbourne, servicing local commuters and the growing number of apartment dwellers in the precinct. It is open 6am-10pm weekdays and 7am-10pm weekends.

- The North and West Melbourne Precinct Association were funded for business development initiatives, consumer advertising, marketing and promotion campaigns and local activations that promote the West Melbourne trader area to visitors.

- Our small business grants program supports new businesses to get started and existing businesses to expand and grow. This year we have a special focus on supporting small businesses that enhance the city’s vitality and increase the occupancy rate of shopfronts across the municipality.

Community activity, arts and events

- A two-day Muslim Youth Parliament was held in partnership with the Islamic Council of Victoria, based in Jeffcott Street. During the event 15 young people learnt about the Australian political system and participated in a mock parliament.

- We’re also supporting our talented creative community through its Annual Arts Grants Program. The 2024 funding will celebrate 102 excellent one off projects that will employ over 1,000 artists and attract 360,000 people. All art forms have been supported with an investment of $950,000 by Council. During September we opened grants for our 2024 Aboriginal Arts program and quick response arts grants that will seed small scale projects and help artists to test and develop new creative ideas. We look forward to these being visible over the next 4 months after approval in November.

- Now or Never festival was delivered across our city for 17 days with a wide range of artistic exhibitions on offer. We welcomed approximately 135,000 people from all around Victoria to enjoy the exhibitions.

Focus on Maribyrnong River

- In April 2023, the Hotham History Group hosted a guided boat tour of the Maribyrnong River to the Port of Melbourne, covering the geography and history of the river and its importance in the development of Melbourne.

Safeguard heritage and ‘future-proof’ development

- Following community consultation in late 2022 and a series of industry stakeholder workshops in February this year, we are developing Zero carbon building guidelines to support lowering carbon emissions for existing buildings.

- The Royal Historical Society of Victoria also regularly hold guided walks through Flagstaff Gardens for visitors to consider its place in Melbourne’s topography and pre-European history. Flagstaff Hill is significant as it was used as an early burial ground and was the site of Flagstaff signalling station and observatory.

- Melbourne’s heritage is a rich tapestry of Aboriginal and much later colonial and contemporary stories. We are celebrating all things heritage across the city and invite you to join us. Share your stories, photos and videos celebrating #timelessmelbourne. There are plenty of ways to get involved including self-guided walking tours, learning about history of neighbourhoods and exploring the arts and heritage collection.

Safer and quieter roads

- The North and West Melbourne and Docklands Transport and Amenity Program (TAP) is a series of streetscape improvement projects. The projects will alleviate some of the expected traffic impacts generated by the West Gate Tunnel Project on local and arterial roads in the City of Melbourne, as well as leverage the benefits of the improvement works. Two key projects funded through this scheme are the Hawke Street Linear Park and the Spencer Street North Master Plan, both of which have progressed closer to realisation this year.

- We completed installation of 40km/h speed limits on a range of streets across West Melbourne.

Public areas that feel welcoming and safe

- The Spencer Street North Master Plan, a key feature of the West Melbourne Structure Plan will re-imagine Spencer Street from an arterial traffic route into a lively, attractive and welcoming street, with cafes, alfresco dining, shops and greenery. This vision would transform the neighbourhood, delivering West Melbourne residents a main-street activity centre and create a destination drawcard for visitors. We hope to launch community consultation this summer.

- A ‘drug safety in the city’ flyer was produced and distributed to key stakeholders and businesses.

- We hosted the Melbourne Licensees Forum in June 2023, where licensed venues shared information and discussed matters impacting them. This forum shared learnings and information about the late night liquor license freeze and public intoxication law reform.

- We continue to expand our Rapid Response Clean Team to fast-track graffiti removal, dumped rubbish, cigarettes, street sweeping and syringe collection across the city. Residents, workers and visitors continue to play an important role in reporting graffiti and rubbish across the city using Council’s QR code reporting system.  From January to August this year we received 25,549 requests to respond to graffiti and cleaned more than 70,000 square metres of surfaces of graffiti.

Grants of up to $2000 are available to increase community participation, connection, equity, diversity and inclusion through our new Connected Neighbourhoods Small Grants. Applications are open all year until the budget has been fully allocated.

Check out other grant opportunities on the Community Noticeboard.