Councillor Tom Melican elected Mayor of Banyule Council
Published on 13 November 2023
For a fourth time in his 20 years as a Banyule Councillor, Cr. Tom Melican has been elected by his Councillor colleagues as the new Mayor of Banyule.
He is joined by Cr Rick Garotti, who was elected Deputy Mayor of Banyule.
As a passionate advocate for sustainable transport and cycling, supporting sports and physical activity in Banyule and ensuring our city is developed appropriately, Cr Melican is excited to be leading Council once again.
“If you have passion, you can achieve anything. I’m committed to bringing this Council together and making it even better” Cr. Melican said.
Reflecting on his years of service to the community, Banyule’s new mayor states that neither age or experience should be a barrier to making a difference.
“While I may have been here for 20 years, I’ll still bring as much energy and desire to make Banyule a better place as I did on day one.
“Our Council will continue to be a strong advocate to other levels of government to secure better outcomes for our community, and to push for increased funding on the projects that will make a difference to locals,” said Cr Melican.
“We will continue to work to ensure that our community gets positive outcomes from projects such as the North East Link, and work to make sure it enhances amenity, improves connectivity and makes better use of land as the freeway passes through Banyule. Other key advocacy issues include securing funding to electrify our leisure centres and improve our network of cycling and shared paths.
Cr Melican said Council remains committed to fostering an inclusive and connected community, from providing inclusive opportunities for sports participation to supporting employment opportunities for everyone through our Inclusive Employment and Social Enterprise programs.
Cr Melican also highlighted environmental issues as another priority.
“I am proud that Banyule Council is a leader in protecting the health and diversity of our beautiful natural environment. We all have a role in achieving environmental sustainability, and reducing our waste and carbon emissions.
“We will continue to strive to be a carbon neutral organisation by 2028 and have a carbon neutral community by 2040.”
Among his aims for the next year, Cr Melican highlighted progress on Council’s Climate Change Adaptation Framework and the Banyule Neighbourhood Character Strategy.
“The challenging economic climate is also a consideration for Council and those in our community”, he said.
“Banyule remains in a stable and secure financial position. We will continue to make steady progress towards our goal of reducing reliance on rate revenue for Council services and projects and getting maximum efficiency from Council’s assets” he said.
“I would like to thank Cr Peter Castaldo and Cr Alida McKern for their contributions as Mayor and Deputy Mayor over the last year. I look forward to working with the council group over the coming year.” Cr Melican said.