Four councillors to set off on $80k junket

Four City of Melbourne councillors will set off to several Asian sister cities to promote trade and investment opportunities in Melbourne, at a cost of more than $80,000 to ratepayers.

Lord Mayor Nick Reece, alongside Cr Kevin Louey, Cr Gladys Liu and Cr Philip Lie Liu, will embark on what is described as an “Asia Business Mission” to Chengdu, Nanjing and Tianjin in China, and Osaka in Japan.

The trip will run from September 16 to 29, with the councillors scheduled to meet with influential city leaders from academia, industry, and innovation sectors to strengthen trade, investment, and global positioning outcomes.

The councillors will fly business class, with a council report estimating the cost at $20,470 per councillor.

During the trip, the councillors will be joined by several Town Hall staff and business delegates from the green economy and health sectors who will be a part of the mission on a fee-for-service basis.

While all councillors – apart from Cr Davvyd Griffiths, who abstained from voting – supported the trip, concerns were raised about the size of the delegation at the July 15 Future Melbourne Committee (FMC) meeting.

Cr Owen Guest said he was not “convinced” a delegation of this size was necessary, expressing concern that it may be “overkill”.

He said that while he supported the delegation this time, he wanted the value of the trip to be clearly demonstrated so he could determine whether it was worthwhile.

Cr Griffiths abstained from voting, stating that the proposed trip was not at the “level” he would have liked to see, given what was being asked of councillors.

He highlighted recent budget discussions focused on reducing spending and said he was committed to running a “fine-tooth comb” through the council’s expenditure.

“This strikes me as a good example of something that needed a couple more weeks of work and consideration about what could be done on the mission … to see what value for money we’re getting,” he said.

Despite the concerns, the delegation received broad support from councillors.

Lord Mayor Nick Reece said that “this is a significant opportunity for council to strengthen our partnerships in China and Japan and secure tangible trade outcomes.”

“Melbourne is the most successful multicultural city in the world, and our multiculturalism is our superpower when it comes to foreign affairs and international trade.”

The council’s portfolio head for safety and cleaning Cr Rafael Camilo was also a strong supporter of the trip and defended its purpose.

“This is not a holiday,” he said. “This is not about councillors going there and getting a freebie from the council – this is work,” he said.

“I will make sure that those councillors are doing their job. This is a mission to make trade and bring business back to Melbourne.” •