CFMEU political organiser Elizabeth Doidge among several new City of Melbourne councillors
Lord Mayor Sally Capp has won another term at Town Hall, but she will have a very diverse group of councillors to deal with.
Victoria
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A new City of Melbourne councillor will proudly defend the reputation of a controversial union leader.
CFMEU political organiser Elizabeth Doidge said the union’s state secretary John Setka was her mentor and “a fantastic industry leader”.
“I know that John Setka hasn’t received the greatest media in the last year, and I’ll be very proud to set that record straight,” she said.
Mr Setka quit the ALP after federal leader Anthony Albanese moved to expel him over issues including expletive-laden outbursts and public attacks.
Ms Doidge was elected on the ticket of ALP member Jennifer Yang, which received funding from the CFMEU and some other Left unions.
She is among six new city councillors elected last month in a poll which saw Lord Mayor Sally Capp returned for a second term.
Ms Doidge, an ALP member, said her biggest priority on council was ensuring that the building and construction industry got back to work safely and efficiently.
She is also a big supporter of Melbourne’s arts, entertainment and dining scene.
“I think Melbourne City Council has a huge opportunity and role to play in really assisting those industries in getting back to business,” she said.
A surprise winner was Docklands resident and LGBTIQ activist Jamal Hakim who received fewer than 400 votes, but was elected thanks to very favourable preference flows.
Mr Hakim, managing director of a national health organisation, said Docklands needed help, especially given the closure of Central Pier.
“We need to make Docklands a space that everyone can enjoy, it’s a gateway into the rest of the city,” he said.
Mr Hakim’s priorities also include improved liveability through extended bike and walking paths, and doubling funding for arts and cultural festivals throughout the inner city.
Labor Party-endorsed councillor Davyyd Griffiths wants ratepayers’ money used to leverage better access to training for residents and workers in the city.
“It would be around revitalisation of the arts and entertainment sectors, but doing that in a meaningful way that ensures that residents get access to those things,” he said.
Mr Griffiths supports the state government-proposed medically supervised injecting room near Queen Victoria Market, but would consider alternative locations if they met the criteria.
As owner of the Royal Mail Hotel in Spencer Street, he’s aware of the devastation coronavirus shutdowns have had on businesses.
Lawyer Roshena Campbell, from Team Sally Capp, said saving the economy should be the council’s top priority.
“Economic recovery, bringing people back into the city, we need to see the return of workers to offices and we need to get shoppers back in,” she said.
Ms Campbell said it was vital that the council created infrastructure jobs such as for the Greenline linear park project, and that the city spent its full budget for capital works, instead of the annual $20 million underspend in recent years.
Jason Chang, from Team Arron Wood, said providing support to small businesses was vital.
“We are out of lockdown but a lot of small businesses are still suffering and they need as much support from council as they can get,” he said.
“We have to do different activations in the city, there must be certain fee waivers for traders.”
New Greens councillor Olivia Ball said her priorities were housing affordability, open space and equitable support for those impacted by the recession.
“We have a plan to build affordable homes on council land, work with the state government to build public housing in Arden, and introduce affordable housing requirements in the private market,” she said.
“We are in a housing affordability crisis, and council needs to lead.”
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