From the Chair - Winter 2025

Peri Urban Councils Victoria Chair Cr Moira Berry.

It’s hard to believe we are halfway through 2025.

The first six months of this year has been busy for Peri Urban Councils Victoria (PUCV) and its members.

We began the year with a delegation to Canberra to meet with decision makers from all sides of politics ahead of the federal budget and the election.

Meetings were secured with ministers and shadow ministers whose portfolios cover our advocacy priorities, with a particular focus on supporting the growth we are all seeing in our communities.

We were able to discuss in detail our proposals to fund critical infrastructure and liveability infrastructure in peri urban areas.

Now the federal election is over and new and returning ministers are settled, we are resuming our work, renewing established relationships and forming new ones, and building on our advocacy success to date.  More about who we met with is outlined here.

I want to take this opportunity to congratulate Mary Aldred, who was elected to represent the seat of Monash, and to thank former Member for Monash Russell Broadbent for his hard work over two-and-a-half decades as a federal Member of Parliament. 

Congratulations to all who successfully contested a seat at the election, including Sam Rae, who was re-elected as the Member for Hawke and is the new Minister for Aged Care and Seniors.

As part of our federal advocacy, PUCV recently met with councils in peri urban areas from across the country. We have agreed to work together to ensure the voice and needs of our shared communities are heard loud and clear in the halls of our nation’s parliament.  More on that here.

At the state level, PUCV also had productive meetings with decision makers in Spring Street, where we detailed the unique issues facing peri urban municipalities and the role our municipalities can play - with government help - in easing the housing crisis. 

We continue to make the case for peri urban areas to be recognised in state government policy and funding as distinct areas, separate from both the outer suburbs and regional Victoria.  See the list of members of parliament we have engaged with here.

As we head toward next year’s state election and re-engage with a second-term Albanese Government,  PUCV took some time out via our annual planning day to affirm the alliance’s priorities over the short, medium and long term. 

The coming six months promises to be as busy as the first, but I am sure I am not the only one hoping it won’t pass as quickly.

Kind regards

Cr Moira Berry 

Chair, Peri Urban Councils Victoria