Moreland Mayor Natalie Abboud declares Gowanbrae will stay put

Moreland Mayor Natalie Abboud has stated where the council stands on a push to move Gowanbrae to a nearby rival. But locals maintain they aren’t being heard.

Moreland Mayor Natalie Abboud in Gowanbrae last week.

Moreland Council says it will fight to retain the suburb of Gowanbrae in the face of growing pressure for Moonee Valley Council to take control.

Moreland Mayor Natalie Abboud said the council was planning to send a letter to Local Government Minister Adem Somyurek and federal Labor leader Bill Shorten to advocate for the suburb to stay put.

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Mr Shorten wrote to Mr Somyurek advocating for the move on March 1. The suburb will only change hands if both councils agreed and there was evidence Gowanbrae was subjected to poor governance.

Cr Abboud said the council had invested in the suburb through its Gowanbrae Open Space and Management Plan and it was an important part of Moreland. “It’s this little anomaly, it has some very unique qualities about it and some of those things are what its charm is,” she said.

Mr Perera said a petition in the suburb had grown in momentum. Picture: Ellen Smith

Gowanbrae Residents Group treasurer Shanaka Perera said “a few hundred” signatures had been gathered on a petition to move out of Moreland and that councillors were welcome to attend the group’s monthly meeting.

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“I don’t think council is very good at having a proper system to respond to communication,” he said.

But Cr Abboud said all communication with the council was responded, even if it took a while.

The mayor visited Gowanbrae on Wednesday and said the only resident she had heard from was keen to stay put in Moreland.