Labor reveals its team for the City of Melbourne 

The Labor Party has unveiled a five-person team and its theme for the upcoming City of Melbourne local government elections: “keeping local government local”. 

True to this mantra, the Labor team for Melbourne announced its campaign at Bellair Street Reserve in Kensington on August 10. 

Labor is again being led by Lord Mayoral candidate and East Melbourne resident Phil Reed, who registered less than 10 per cent of first-preference votes when he headed up the party’s 2020 campaign. 

The results were enough to elect first-term Cr Davydd Griffiths, who is again running in the number one spot on Labor’s councillor ticket and is largely expected to be returned for another term. 

Labor will head to the election with a new candidate for Deputy Lord Mayor – Virginia Willis – a Kensington resident with a background in workplace relations, safety and employment rights, who currently lectures at RMIT.

The remainder of the team, taking the number two and three positions on the councillor ticket are Somali Women’s Development Association operational manager Zainab Sheik, and Parkville resident and sustainability leader Michael Aleisi. 

Mr Reed said City of Melbourne elections tended to turn into a battle of personalities instead of policies, and the focus needed to be reset on the needs of local residents and local ratepayers.

“The City of Melbourne has become one of the fastest growing municipalities in the nation, with population expected to double and reach more than 308,000 by 2041, and jobs forecast to increase by 41 per cent and reach more than 659,200,” Mr Reed said. 

“That sort of growth requires a focus on the services and facilities we usually associate with municipalities of Melbourne’s urban fringe – childcare, parks, playgrounds, maternal and childhood health.” 

“Labor understands the role local government plays in the delivery of these services, and we know that a unified and cohesive team is essential to creating a stable and effective administration that can deliver the commitments we make.” 

Mr Reed said Labor’s full policy agenda would be released in early September. •