Make Good Happen - A Unified Voice for Victorian Councils

As the peak body for local government in Victoria, the MAV is giving voice to the needs and aspirations of communities across Victoria, and supporting Victorian councils to create cities, regions, towns and growing suburbs that are thriving, resilient and sustainable.

Together with Victoria’s 79 local councils we identified five themes representing the most pressing priorities for Victorian communities:

The MAV continues to build on the five priorities established through its federal advocacy campaign, using this platform to maintain momentum and strengthen engagement with the Federal Government. The MAV will continue to advocate for policy and funding that enables local solutions to deliver on national priorities, while building constructive relationships with Government, Ministers and key decision-makers.

1. Making Community Infrastructure Happen:
   Delivering the infrastructure growing and connected communities need.

2. Making Safer Roads Happen:
   Connecting communities and supporting a safer and more productive Victoria.

3. Making Fairer Energy Happen:
   Engaging communities in Victoria's energy transition.

4. Making Resilient Communities Happen:
   Future-proofing communities to withstand natural disaster.

5. Making Local Democracy Happen:
   Supporting stronger, safer communities and countering disinformation.

• Make Good Happen Brochure (PDF - 13.14MB)

Building connected communities

• The Federal Government’s Housing Accord target is to build 1.2 million new, well-located homes nationally by 2029.
• Building these new homes is about building communities too, including the public spaces and shared facilities that bring people together.
• Current funding will not deliver all the infrastructure new and growing communities need to thrive.

The investment

• A dedicated ‘Building Connected Communities’ Fund to enable councils across Victoria to partner in delivering the shared infrastructure communities need to stay connected, socially and physically, at a time when community connection is at risk.

Community roads repair blitz

• Funding road maintenance is essential to the overall financial sustainability of councils.
• Roads to Recovery funding is a baseline. It is not sufficient to equip the state to support the significant productivity uplift needed to support the pipeline of major energy projects, housing growth targets and the transition to EVs.
• Increased traffic and growing truck numbers are increasing road maintenance and funding needs, while delayed repairs are compromising safety and productivity through last-mile impacts.

The investment

• We need a repair and renewal program to ensure the safety and efficiency of local roads.
• A dedicated ‘Community Roads Repair Program’ Fund would allow councils to address priority road repairs across Victoria, boosting economic activity and productivity nationally.

Powering communities

• Victoria has critical minerals to deliver and is targeting net zero emissions by 2045, five years earlier than the current national target. This requires a significant acceleration in renewable energy generation, particularly wind and solar.
• A lack of standardisation in community benefit-sharing arrangements is contributing to confusion, consultation fatigue and tension within and between communities, risking the social licence for projects.
• Mandated developer engagement with the local governments hosting renewable energy and critical minerals projects is needed to recognise the critical role of councils in coordinating a regional approach to delivering community benefits.

The investment

• The MAV is seeking $5 million to develop its ‘Powering Communities’ initiative, providing the knowledge and tools needed to bring innovative community benefit-sharing arrangements to life as the energy transition accelerates.
• Powering Communities will provide a coordinated and consistent approach to support host councils and communities to realise benefit-sharing alongside energy transition and critical minerals projects over the coming decade.

Building to withstand

• Governments across the nation have recognised the need to fund ‘building back better’ as extreme weather events increasingly impact community infrastructure.
• It is time to think further ahead and fund resilient infrastructure that can withstand storms, bushfires and floods, avoiding the need for costly and repeated rebuilding.
• Weather damage already costs Victoria about $2.7 billion a year. Without action to better protect infrastructure, reconstruction costs and insurance premiums will continue to grow.

The investment

• A dedicated ‘Build to Withstand’ Fund would allow Victorian councils to conduct priority pre-disaster investigation work to identify and address the highest-priority infrastructure for resilience upgrades across the state.
• Flood, storm, coastal erosion and climate impacts are making this a high-priority issue for metropolitan municipalities, as well as rural and regional councils also dealing with increasing bushfire impacts.

Safe and cohesive communities

• When disinformation influences public opinion and fuels division, it erodes trust in institutions, threatens national security and discourages community members from participating in local forums and events.
• Democratic processes, such as local government elections, also suffer when candidates are discouraged from participating.
• Local government leaders across Victoria want to support safer, more connected communities by countering disinformation, but need the tools and capabilities to do it.

The investment

• A $4.5 million ‘Local Issues, Local Solutions’ Active Local Democracy Fund would allow Victorian councils to design and pilot programs that promote active democracy and combat disinformation at the community and neighbourhood level.
• Co-funding a scalable Local Leaders Program, a purpose-built leadership program designed for mayors and council leaders to lead in increasingly complex environments, deliver better outcomes for fast-changing communities and strengthen democratic institutions.