At each meeting of Hume City Council, members of the public can submit written questions for council staff to answer. Approved questions are answered by council staff who read carefully prepared statements. Here are the questions and answers for Monday 26 May 2025.
Q: Kangaroos in Sunbury Field. There has been an increased number of kangaroo deaths in the Sunbury Fields area over the past two weeks, particularly along Elizabeth Drive between Wildflower Drive and Brigade Street.
What immediate and urgent support is needed from the local community, to help quickly address this issue and protect the safety and survival of our local kangaroo population?
RESPONSE: DIRECTOR CITY SERVICES & LIVING: We acknowledge your concern about the recent increase in kangaroo deaths across Sunbury Fields and the wider municipality.
Council is currently conducting an internal review of the management of kangaroos across the municipality and are looking at process improvements and proactive considerations for wildlife.
Council encourages the community to:
Report: Timely community reports of kangaroo collisions or injured animals are critical. This data helps support our assessments and inform targeted interventions. Reports can be made to Wildlife Victoria by calling (03) 8400 7300 for hit, injured or deceased wildlife. This reporting adds to a database that supports ongoing assessments.
Drive to the conditions: Keeping to the speed limits, or where possible, reducing speed in areas of known kangaroo populations will reduce the occurrence and severity of collisions.
Where possible, avoid or be more alert during the dawn and dusk periods when animals are most active.
In addition to this, site specific assessments and solutions are required to tackle this complex issue regarding kangaroos. As such, we are committed to working alongside the Sunbury Fields community to improve safety outcomes for both kangaroos and residents.
Q: The indoor pool at the Sunbury Aquatic and leisure Centre (SALC) has two safety cones marking faults within the structure of the indoor pool shell. One of these relates to a pipe sticking out, the other to expansion joints failing. When will Hume City Council be doing repairs to the identified issues?
RESPONSE: DIRECTOR CITY SERVICES & LIVING: The works were completed overnight on Thursday 22 May 2025. Safety cones have all been removed from the area, and community members have been able to use the pool unobstructed since Friday 23 May 2025.
Q: Has there been any work or review carried out since July 2024 on Council parking restriction on railway crescent between King William Cres and Kilmore Cres to ease the parking burden during Friday prayer hours? Can you please outline the outcome of that review?
RESPONSE: DIRECTOR INFRASTRUCTURE & ASSETS: Since July 2024, Council has received requests from the community relating to parking on this section of Railway Crescent, particularly regarding illegal parking during busy periods.
These requests have been assessed and reviewed by Council officers.
The review concluded that the existing restrictions remain appropriate given the current traffic volumes and road function. Railway Crescent is classified as an access street but carries a relatively high volume of traffic, approximately 3,000 vehicles per day.
To ensure safe and efficient two-way traffic flow, ‘No Stopping’ restrictions are in place along much of the west side of the road. Additional restrictions along the bend on the south side of the road are in place for safety reasons. At this stage, there are no plans to amend these restrictions, as doing so would likely compromise traffic safety and flow on the street.
Q: Why has Hume City Council knowingly failed to submit a funding application for the Gibb Reserve Master Plan despite confirmed availability of State and Federal funds thereby knowingly jeopardising the delivery of long-promised community infrastructure, including female change rooms, for one of the most culturally diverse, under-resourced suburbs in this municipality?
RESPONSE – DIRECTOR CITY SERVICES & LIVING: Thank you for your question regarding the Gibb Reserve Master Plan and the external funding application process. Despite feedback that local groups may have received, Council is never guaranteed funding from either the State or Federal Governments.
State and Federal grant applications require detailed documentation including what the project scope is, as well as confirmed project timelines and an accurate assessment of costs, which Council does not have at this time.
Regarding Gibb Reserve Masterplan Council has included funding in its Capital Works Program to support the next stages of planning and design, which is subject to the outcomes of the Soccer Plan. The information collated to date for Gibb Reserve will inform the plans development which will be presented to Council later this year
Q: Why does Hume City Council continue to hide behind “Governance Rules” and digital feedback portals to suppress public scrutiny – forcing community voices into submission forms, blocking real discussion at council meetings, and filtering our questions through the Mayor’s voice, all while excluding Gibb Reserve from the budget and erasing our needs from the Master Plan pipeline?
RESPONSE: CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER: Council is proud to have Governance Rules which support direct feedback and engagement of community in is council meetings. Community are able to participate in Council meetings via Public Question Time, by submitting a public comment or by joining Councillors in the Chamber to speak to an item directly.
Digitial channels are one way we engage with our community, however many choose to write or engage in person as is evidenced by those joining the Chamber this evening.
In particular, the budget process this year received 108 submissions from the community, with speakers welcomed at the Council meeting on 11 March 2025. These are some recent examples of where community were welcomed to speak to Council in a direct and unfiltered way.
