Mayor’s speech
by Cr Oscar Yildiz JP

Ceremonial Meeting on 6 December 2010

I begin by acknowledging special guests …

  • Ms Christine Campbell, Member for Pascoe Vale
  • The new Member of Parliament for Brunswick Ms Jane Garrett
  • Khalil Eideh MLA Western Metro Region
  • I would like to congratulate you allon your election victory and we look forward to working with you to improve Moreland in the year ahead
  • I have an apology from Federal Member for Wills Mr Kelvin Thomson who is overseas in Taiwan
  • Cr Stephen Mayne – Manningham City Council
  • Turkish Consul General for the Republic of Turkey, Mr Aydin Nurhan
  • General Manager of Commonwealth Business Banking and President of the Australian Turkish Business Council, Mr Huss Mustafa
  • Parents Ali and Nezaket and Sister Ayse of the late Crazy John (John Ilhan established his empire in Brunswick and this store is still operating today)
  • Former Mayors,Mark Higginbotham and Mark O’Brien and Councillors of Moreland
  • Mayors, Councillors and former Councillors of other municipalities
  • My fellow Councillorsand colleagues of Moreland City Council
  • CEO Peter Brown and his team
  • Residents and ratepayers of Moreland
  • Family and friends
  • Respective media personnel

I want to thank you all for attending the 2011 Mayoral ceremony.

Firstly, I acknowledge that we are on the traditional tribal lands of the Wurundjeri people and I offer my respects to their Elders past and present.

I want to thank my colleagues in acknowledging their trust, confidence and faith in my ability to lead this Council into 2011. Tonight has confirmed that if you work hard, conduct yourself in a professional, responsible, ethical, accountable and honest manner, you will be rewarded for your effort.

I feel extremely privileged to stand here in front of my colleagues, family, friends and you to accept the position of Mayor.I won’t dishonour or take for granted the role and the trust my colleagues have bestowed in me.

I feel humbled andhonoured. What a fairly tale, I was born in Melbourne, grew up in Coburg, went to Primary and Secondary school in Coburg and this place has become a very big part of my life.

I thank my fellow Councillors for their hard work over the past 24 months and look forward to working with you again over the next year.

In particular I want to thank the outgoing Mayor Councillor Stella Kariofyllidis who has conducted herself responsibly. Stella has attended many Community functions, Clubs, Associations and Community groups to fly the Council flag, for that I congratulate and acknowledge your work.

I want to acknowledge the excellent work our Deputy Mayor, Cr. Kathleen Mathews-Ward has accomplished; she has never let her guard down protecting the interests of our most vulnerable residents nor faltered in her role which she has maintained for a number of years now – Councillors andI in particular thank you, Kathleen.

I thank Cr. Alice Pryor for accepting the position of Deputy Mayor this year and I will work closely with you to consistently deliver positive outcomes to the Community and our stakeholders.

I’m a great believer of teamwork and I understand that I’m only as good as the people around me. I will work closely to capitalise on the many strengths, attributes and talents of my colleagues. I believe that to achieve good results there must be cohesion, trust and a strong working relationship. “To me there is no difference between the Johnny’s and the Teti’s of this Council, I realise we must stand side by side if we are to succeed in making Moreland at the forefront of Councils in Australia.”

I will endeavour to continue the hard work the outgoing and previous Mayors and Councillors have achieved.

In the next 12 months I hope to continue to support Councils vision and mission.

Moreland must be:

  • The Council that champions change,
  • The Council that reflects the wants and needs of its people,
  • The Council that responds to Climate change,
  • The Council that is consistent in its delivery of excellent customer service to the Community.

We are fortunate to have a financially sound organization with a balanced budget, one that is set up to pursue a progressive and independent agenda for the betterment of all people who live and work here.

Your Councillors all agree we must cater for the vulnerable in our communities, especially children, our elderly residents, new arrivalsand people with a disability.

Earlier in the year I heard about an older woman living in Oak Park whose husband had a stroke, she was unable to take him to the local shops in Snell Grove because there was nowhere to cross the Rd with a wheelchair. This year we will undertake a disability audit of all of our activity Centres and Shopping strips to help inform our capital works program and future priorities.

Almost half of the Moreland residents speak a language other than English at home. There are 132 different community languages spoken in this city.

Incidentally, this year Council created and published a new series of storyboards, specifically for CALD (culturally and linguistically diverse) communities, which addresses some hard hitting as well as practical social issues, from gambling anddomestic violence to heatwaves and Maternal child Health Services, suitable for all Non-English speaking Communities.

This project won both State and National Multicultural awards.

Moreland is in the midst of a baby boom, which is fantastic for the future vitality of our City but it also means challenges andplans need to be in place to provide well into the future for a liveable City.

It means families are moving back into the inner suburbs and taking up housing opportunities that put them close to work and City Services.

Such services include Community Centres, Maternal and Child Health Centres, Playgrounds, Sports Centres and Pavilions, as well as Co-ordination for the networks of clubs and groups that underpin an active community life.

In the past year, Council has delivered many upgrades to local sporting facilities, ovals and parks, as well as almost 80 kilometres of footpath repairs! We will continue to renew and upgrade our roads, footpaths, buildings, neighbourhood houses, public toilets, open spaces and sporting facilities.

The coming year will see the commencement of the construction for the new Brunswick Baths and we will also be working on renewal of the Oak Park Leisure Centre to turn it into a place where people can exercise and participate all year round.

We will be undertaking a significant upgrade of CB Smith Reserve in Fawkner and implementing the Active Women and Girls strategy and rolling out new netball courts in the city.

We will improve the pedestrian environment, with street trees and places to stop andrest, so that more people can choose to walk to local facilities safely and conveniently. When I drive through Camberwell, Balwyn, Ringwood or Suburbs South of the City it’s the trees that makeup the ambiance of the area – it is those trees I would like to see here in Moreland.

We’ll be advocating for more pedestrian crossings on busy roads and better public transport and bus services.

We will also continue to roll out the Moreland bike plan and progress the Craigieburn bike path and move towards completion of the very well used Upfield bike path.

Construction of the Gowanbrae Community and Children’s Centre has commenced and we will be making significant improvements to many other early years’ facilitiesand services across the City in the year ahead, to ensure our kids have the best start in life.

We will also continue to support local schools - every child in Moreland deserves access to a quality local school. I’m a big advocate for the establishment of a year’s 7-12 Secondary School here in Coburg.

We’re very proud of our Youth Committee and the work they have done on the OxYgen project. We will be progressing that work in the year ahead.

The Coburg Initiative's Colours of Coburg plan inspired a $180 million private Hospital proposal right in the heart of the activity centre.

A spin-off from the Coburg Initiative work was the launch of the new and popular Queen Victoria Market’s night market in Coburg and more projects are due to roll off the drawing boards as the new year dawns. People like to come together and celebrate Morelandand we will continue to provide markets and festivals and the like across the City.

And finally, after many years of community and Council revegetation efforts, we achieved wonderful success with the handover of Edgar’s Creek parkland as dedicated open space for this City. I acknowledge on behalf of my colleagues the support Christine Campbell MLAprovided in having the project secured.

As Mayor for the next 12 months, I will ensure that the expenditures Council makes are critically appraised against the agreed benchmarks of Community and Council expectations and that they are maintained to their forecast expenditure.

Some of Council’s other priorities during 2011 are:

  • A balanced budget;
  • Continuing capital works and infrastructure expenditure on Streets, Roads, Pools and Paths;
  • Ongoing commitment to The Coburg Initiative and the dynamic redevelopment of Coburg for the benefit of the entire municipality;
  • Implementation of the Brunswick and Glenroy structure plans;
  • Growth that makes Moreland a more viable and dynamic city in which to live and work; and
  • Real job creation within Moreland through development of Commercial and niche-market business hubs.

Our focus remains on clean, well-maintained public streets, serviced by good rubbish and recycling collections, better library services, more off-road and public transport options, and more green spaces. We will increase our enforcement efforts in planning, local laws and littering.

We have committed to football fields, parks, gardens upgrades and more services to the young and elderly.

I want to make a special mention of the TCI ‘Colours of Coburg’ plan. This is a blueprint for transforming urban environments throughout Moreland, not just at Coburg.

This plan differentiates Moreland from other Councils; it’s a visionary concept for urban renewal that will deliver into the heart of our community a new Hospital precinct and associated industries, with many jobs and new specialist Medical Rooms, just 100 meters east of where we sit tonight.

Council's new Economic Development Division was born out of TCI and was one of the first initiatives of this Council to give our local projects the backbone and drive they needed to attract significant private sector investment and Government support, both of which TCI has achieved.

This new unit is a major driver and an important initiative for the whole Northern regionand a vital step towards generating new economic growthand improved environmental outcomes, for our city into the future.

Finally,I want to thank my lovely wife Sylvia and girls Elisa and Lara for remaining patient over the past 2 years. I want to thank my parents, my 2 brothers, sister and their families for their support.

No doubt there is hard work ahead but with the current team of passionate, dedicated and committed Councillors I believe we will work harder to exceed and achieve excellent results for our Community.

I thankyou all and look forward to having a glass or two with you tonight.

Mayor’s Speech 2010, page 1