From barrister to Deputy Lord Mayor: Roshena Campbell shares her vision for the city’s future

From barrister to Deputy Lord Mayor: Roshena Campbell shares her vision for the city’s future

As the newly elected Deputy Lord Mayor of the City of Melbourne, Roshena Campbell looks back on Team Reece’s “people-powered” campaign and shares her strong commitment to the “long-term future of the city.”

With her background as a barrister and expertise as councillor during the previous council term, Cr Campbell says she has always sought roles that champion and advocate for the rights of others.

“I love that role of being trusted to be somebody’s voice, to fight for an outcome for them. I do think these are certainly skills that I bring to Town Hall,” Cr Campbell told CBD News.

“That opportunity for public service that you get at council is really exciting, it’s a level of government that’s closest to people.”

“You actually get to change the way they go about their day-to-day lives, whether that’s their ability to move around the city easily, the ability for people to open businesses in the city, and importantly, people feeling safe and that they have a clean and prosperous city.”

Although running on an independent ticket with Lord Mayor Nick Reece, Cr Campbell is a member of the Liberal Party, in contrast to her running mate’s ties to the Labor Party.

Despite concerns that their decision to run on a “unity ticket” might threaten their chances by losing Labor preferences to Team Wood, their victory ultimately secured a mandate for a fresh, collaborative approach to leadership in the city.

“I am so honoured that Nick asked me to run with him, and I think that one of the things that you will very much see us both committed to is making sure that we do not waste a single day of this term,” Cr Campbell said.

“It is such an honour to be able to serve in these roles, and we want to make sure that we’re not wasting a minute, and that we are getting on with the job of delivering.”

The transition from councillor to Deputy Lord Mayor undoubtedly brings with it greater responsibility and increased pressure.

However, Cr Campbell says that “the most important thing you can do, no matter what role you have at Town Hall, is to make sure you’re always out there and continuing to listen to people”.

Her campaign highlight? Engaging with the community and “speaking to residents who we might not otherwise hear from”.

“We represent the small businesses of Melbourne, and those people are so busy that they don’t often have time to come into Town Hall and tell us what their concerns are, or tell us the changes they need to see,” she told CBD News.

 

Having that opportunity to actually go out to them and speak to them and listen to both residents and businesses directly was such a highlight.

 

For Cr Campbell, the campaign offered valuable insight into not only the changes Melburnians are hoping for, but also the aspects of the city they wish to see more of. 

“An example of that would be parks and gardens in the City of Melbourne. People love our green spaces and want to see more of them, that’s why that was one of our election promises.”

The new council is currently in the process of developing its annual plan and budget, which will outline priorities for the next four years. 

However, one thing Cr Campbell is certain about is that city safety and cleanliness will be top priorities in the first half of the year.

“I don’t think that we have a licence to do anything else unless people who live and work and visit the city feel that it is safe and clean,” she said. 

“That’s why we’ve implemented the Clean Team contract, which means we’ve got people on the ground now 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so that we can respond to things much more quickly than ever before.”

 

We’re seeing huge levels of visitation in the city, which is a really exciting thing. That means that we need to make sure that the city presents itself at its best.

 

Cr Campbell, excited by the “diverse experiences and views” within the new council, believes that “the one thing uniting all of us is to make sure that Melbourne is a city that everybody is proud of”.

“My kids have grown up in the city. They learned to swim at Carlton Baths, read at Kathleen Syme, and they’ve taken their first steps in Carlton Gardens. The city is very much at the heart of our family life, and I really am very conscious of making sure that it is a good place for people to raise a family,” she said.

“I moved to Melbourne when I was 18, and my first home was in the CBD. With Melbourne being the fastest-growing city in Australia, it is so important that we make sure that not only do we have housing to meet that population growth, but we have a place that it is a pleasure to live.”

“Investing in parks and gardens, for example, I think is so important because it’s just critical that people who live in the CBD or the inner city have open space. That amenity is what has always made Melbourne a fantastic place for me to live and to raise a family, but I want that to be the case for future generations as well.” • 


Buy our Journalists a coffee

Support our dedicated journalists with a donation to help us continue delivering high-quality, reliable news

Buy our Journalists a coffee

Buy our Journalists a coffee

117-Business-Concierge-1.jpg

Council expands business support service

February 5th, 2025 - Jon Fleetwood
Like us on Facebook