Collbaorative City

Towards a Collaborative City

Martin Brennan

Senior Research Fellow, Victorian Eco-Innovation Lab (VEIL)

The University of Melbourne

Former Chair, Finance, Corporate Services and Governance Committee 1999-2002, Melbourne City Council 

2016

To prepare for the next decade, the City of Melbourne has embarked on a consultative process to refresh the strategic Future Melbourne goals. Future Melbourne 2026 provides an opportunity for the Melbourne City Council to recognise its role as a Collaborative City working with metropolitan city governments to achieve a post carbon and resilient future for all Melburnians.

City and local governments anchor our democracy by providing local communities with opportunities to address their needs and interests of living in the 21^st century. However the Melbourne City Council has a responsibility beyond those who live and do business in the City, given that its capital city role and status impacts directly on metropolitan Melbourne.

The City Council has over recent decades developed and implemented polices for the delivery of a liveable and sustainable City. The Council has been exemplary in setting the bar high in undertaking work to become a post-carbon and resilient City and has received national and international recognition. Future Melbourne 2026 should be proactive and acknowledge the role of the City across metropolitan Melbourne and seek an increased level of collaboration toward a metropolitan authority where our collective futures lie. 

As Melbourne’s metropolitan population grows from its current 4.3 million to an anticipated 7.7 million by 2051, we have the challenge of working toward a sustainable region with a rapidly increasing population. The energy, water, waste, transport and food needs of the region will require whole of government collaboration, federal, state and local.

An interim collaborative approach would encourage us to consider governance models such as the Greater London Authority (GLA) and the Greater Sydney Commission (GSC). The GLA is governed by the London Assembly and comprises 25 councillors plus the Mayor of London. With a population of 8 million and encompassing 32 boroughs plus the City of London, the GLA may well provide a blueprint for our future.

The Minister for Planning in the NSW Liberal Government has established the Greater Sydney Commission to promote the integration of State and local government decision-making for a sustainable Sydney metropolitan region. Led by Chief Commissioner Lucy Turnbull, former Lord Mayor of Sydney, the Commission’s membership includes economic, social and environment Commissioners plus 6 District Commissioners reflecting the interests of the 41 local government authorities.

The City of Melbourne should commence the groundwork for a Greater Melbourne Authority by identifying the City as a Collaborative City in Future Melbourne 2026 and in partnership with metropolitan cities, develop projects and activities that progress a post-carbon and resilient region in energy, food, water, waste and transport.

An example of how the Melbourne City Council has already initiated metropolitan action is ‘Resilient Melbourne’, a Rockefeller Foundation funded initiative that the City of Melbourne delivers in collaboration with the 31 metropolitan city councils. The project commenced in 2014 and will develop a strategy to “foster the long-term viability, safety and wellness of our interconnected communities and municipalities”. 

The State Government can drive a metropolitan Melbourne agenda through Plan Melbourne, the Victorian Government’s planning strategy to 2050 released in 2014. In October last year the Victorian Labor Government announced an update to Plan Melbourne known as Plan Melbourne Refresh. The refresh of Plan Melbourne has focused on climate change, housing affordability and updating Plan Melbourne to reflect current government transport commitments and priorities.