During the Monday 13 October meeting, Hume City mayor, Sunbury councillor, and meeting chair Jarrod Bell said council had received 30 public questions for response. Citing the large number of submissions – and without putting the matter to a vote – he moved the public question time item to the end of the meeting, to be addressed after the confidential session.
In effect, this meant the meeting would close to the public for the confidential items, then reopen for the Q&A. However, the meeting ended without the questions being read.
According to the meeting’s minutes, council relied on section 56.4 of its Governance Rules (PDF) to omit the Q&A.
Section 56.4 states: “Notwithstanding sub-Rule 56.3 (see below), the Chair may refrain from reading a question or having a question read if the person who submitted the question is not in attendance at the time when the question is due to be read.”
In practice, members of the public must leave the chamber during the confidential session, meaning no one who submitted a question could be “in attendance” when the meeting resumed. The rule also makes no allowance for those watching the livestream who may have lodged a question.
Section 56.3 of the Governance Rules states: “The Chair or a member of Council staff nominated by the Chair may read to those in attendance at the meeting a question which has been submitted in accordance with this Rule.”
See our report on the decision here.
Onto the questions then…(We have added comments to council’s answers in italics and added links to help readers).
Q1) I refer to councillor NOM 423 dated the 9.5.2022: What was the date of the last council meeting and annual report that this NOM was last complied with? In particular point 3: That this information be reported to Council quarterly from1 July 2022 and included in the 2021/22 Annual report and subsequent annual reports. (Ed. NOM 423 is listed at the bottom of the page for your reference.)
RESPONSE: Annual reports are tabled for Council approval each year in approximately October. The annual report for 2021/22 and subsequent years did not include this information and was approved by the Council.
Q2) How many motions have been moved by the councillor for Aitken Ward [Cllr Carly Moore] in this term advocating to the Federal Government on infrastructure or services funding?
RESPONSE: All councillors are involved in undertaking advocacy on behalf of the Hume City community. All Council meetings are public, and this information can be found in the minutes of each Council meeting which are online on council’s website. (question not addressed)
Q3) How many motions have been moved by the councillor for Aitken Ward [Cllr Carly Moore] in this term advocating to the State Government on infrastructure or services funding?
RESPONSE: All councillors are involved in undertaking advocacy on behalf of the Hume City community. All Council meetings are public, and this information can be found in the minutes of each Council meeting which are online on Council’s website. (question not addressed)
Q4) What recent engagement if any has council had with the company CVGT Employment?
REPONSE: Hume’s Economic Development department has engagement with CVGT Employment similar to that with other inclusive employment providers and distributes information about local employment opportunities.
Q5) What recent engagement if any has council had with the Greenvale fire station?
RESPONSE: Council engages with community stakeholders as and when required on a vast range of matters. (question not addressed)
Q6) What work is being made to make sure there are school crossings at new schools opening next year in Kalkallo and Craigieburn?
RESPONSE: Council provides school crossings for government schools before they open, usually near the main entrance. Private schools are responsible for installing their own crossings as part of planning permit requirements. Prior to the opening of these new schools, crossing supervisors will be recruited, trained and allocated accordingly.
Q7) What work is being made to add a pedestrian crossing on Brossard Rd for when the new shopping centre opens in the next few months or will people have to run across traffic?
RESPONSE: Pedestrian crossings are classified as major traffic control devices and require approval from the Department of Transport and Planning (DTP). Approval is based on the presence of significant pedestrian volumes consistently throughout the day. Council will monitor conditions of Brossard Road once the centre opens and will seek DTP approval if warrants are met.
Q8) What benefits are councillors afford with respect to medical and healthcare provisions?
RESPONSE: Resources provided to Councillors to supper them in their roles are outlined in the Council Expenses Policy (PDF) available on Council’s website. This does not include medical and healthcare provisions.
Q9) In the 15-plus years Hume has been advocating for a rebuild of Broadmeadows station, why have they failed to get any meaningful funding while other suburbs get gold-plated facilities from the LXRP?
RESPONSE: The Victorian Government is responsible for allocating funding for the Broadmeadows Train Station and Hume has consistently argued for increases. We continue to be disappointed funding is not forthcoming.
Q10) Hume has said they will build a car park on land acquired from VicRoads, and secure investment to build a hotel on their existing carpark. why has Hume failed to make any progress?
RESPONSE: The Hume Central program is currently paused following Council’s decision on 26 May 2025 not to endorse the proposed Project Delivery Agreement (PDA) for the land known as Lot E. This includes progressing the building of a car park. (See the Sunbury Life report on this here.)
Q11) What engagement has Council had with the Craigieburn CFA in recent years? And have councillors declared any conflict of interests in relation to any CFA or emergency services relation motions?
RESPONSE: Council engages with community stakeholders as and when required on a vast range of matters. Councilors have declared conflicts of interest in relation to CFA or emergency service motions through 2025 as noted in Council meeting minutes and in the Conflict of Interest register available on Councill’s website.
12) What involvement has Council had in approving high density townhouse developments, and is this considered preferable to apartments?
RESPONSE: In most cases such developments require planning permits. Council assesses all planning permit applications on their merits against the Hume Planning Scheme and the planning provisions that apply to the relevant piece of land. Council has no set position or preference on townhouse or apartment type development, each application is assessed on its individual merits.
Q13) What did Council learn on their most recent trip to China on how to better deliver infrastructure, and how could this apply to Kalkallo?
RESPONSE: There has been no recent trip to China by Hume City Council. Council’s last delegation to China occurred in 2019. The delegates report can be viewed in the agenda from the 8 July 2019 Council meeting which can be found on Council’s website.
Q14) How does Council expect increased traffic volumes on Marathon Boulevard to impact residents?
RESPONSE: Marathon Boulevard is classified as a collector road and has been designed to handle high volumes of traffic. Collector roads are intended to move vehicles from residential streets to the arterial network, and some non-local traffic is expected. Recent traffic counts show between 4,402 and 9,958 vehicles per day. These volumes are within the acceptable range for this road type.
Q15) Are councillors personally impacted increased traffic volumes on Marathon Boulevard required to re-excuse themselves from relevant decisions, or do they need to put the needs of the broader community first?
RESPONSE: Councillors are required to disclose any conflicts of interest which arise in the course of their duties in line with requirements of the Local Government Act and Councils Governance Rules. Where a conflict is disclosed, a Councillor is required to remove themselves from participation in debate or decisions made on the matter.
Q16) What representations have been made to the State Government in seeking to duplicate the Donnybrook Road/Hume Highway bridge and upgrade Old Sydney Road?
RESPONSE: On 24 March 2025 Council endorsed a submission to the Victorian Government on future upgrades to Donnybrook Road – including the need to duplicate the bridge over the Hume Freeway.
This submission was sent to the State Member for Kalkallo, the Victorian Minister for Roads and Road Safety, the Victorian Shadow Minister for Roads and Road Safety and Members for Northern Metropolitan Region.
With respect to Old Sydney Road, on the back of a Notice of Motion from Cllr Haddah Council officers are currently preparing an advocacy proposal for Old Sydney Road for discussions with State and Federal Government.
Q17) What representations have been made to the State Government on behalf of residents of Cookes Road in relation to the impact of Stage 2 of the Mickleham Road Upgrade?
RESPONSE: Council officers have engaged with Major Roads Projects Victoria as part of their engagement on planning for the second stage upgrade of Mickleham Road and do so on behalf of all residents. Council is not aware of any direct advocacy from residents of Cookes Rd and would welcome them contacting Council to share their concerns.
Q18) How many meetings has Council requested with the Victorian Minister for Roads since their appointment?
RESPONSE: Council has requested to meet with the Minister for Roads and Road Safety on a number of occasions both individually as part of delegations with the Northern Councils Alliance.
Q19) How many meetings has Council requested with the Victorian Minister for Transport Infrastructure since their appointment?
RESPONSE: Thank you for your follow up question. Council has requested to meet with the Minister for Public and Active Transport on a number of occasions both individually as part of delegations with the Northern Councils Alliance.
Q20) Would Council consider its own policy, independent of state government or other existing requirements, to provide councillors with the opportunity to voluntarily disclose past and present political memberships through a public online register?
RESPONSE: Councillors can voluntarily disclose personal information as and when they choose. Council collects and makes public personal information, for example through biannual personal interest returns or conflict of interest disclosures as required by the Local Government Act 2020.
Q21) Does Council have a policy with respect to public commentary by councillors on the administrators of community facebook groups?
RESPONSE: Council’s Media and Communications Policy and Councillor Code of Conduct set expectations for how Councillors engage in public forums. Council has no role or responsibility in the administration or moderation of community-run Facebook groups, as these are not Council-owned or managed spaces.
Q22) What cost was incurred by Council for any leave of absences by councillors during the 2025 federal election?
RESPONSE: There was no cost incurred by Council for any leave of absence taken during the 2025 federal election.
Q23) Has Council considered acting independently of the State Government and requiring councillors who are candidates for state or federal office to remain on leave until the declaration of the result, not just until Election Day?
RESPONSE: There is no requirement for Councillors who are standing as candidates in state or federal elections to take leave of absence. Council takes guidance from the advice of the peak body the MAV with respect to councillors who are candidates in other elections. Council does not have its own policy position on this matter.
Q24) How many complaints have been issued about candidate signage during the 2025 federal election?
RESPONSE: Council received 15 investigation requests related to political/election board signage between January 2025 and now.
Q25) How many complaints have been issued about mobile candidate signage during the 2025 federal election, and does Council consider this to be safety risk?
RESPONSE: We don’t track complaints specifically related to mobile signs. Therefore, numbers related to these cannot be tracked. Officers were not aware of any safety concerns related to mobile signage but would be happy to investigate if further details are provided.
Q26) I work in the Hume city council and often see hard rubbish left on nature strips without indication that it is for collection. For example, Merri-Bek council uses orange stickers to signal hard rubbish. I can only assume the hard rubbish I repeatedly see is illegally dumped.
Can council please explain how it deals with illegally dumped rubbish and if illegally dumped rubbish has increased recently.
RESPONSE: In Hume, booked hard waste collections are placed within the resident’s property boundary. If the waste is unable to placed within the property, the resident is to seek approval to place hard waste on the nature strip. These approvals account for approximately 5% of all hard waste collections.
Illegal dumped rubbish is an ongoing concern and Council has recently implemented several initiatives to reduce dumped rubbish incidents. In July 2024, Council increased residents’ waste entitlements from two to five and introduced greater flexibility—allowing entitlements to be used for either visits to our Resource Recovery Centres or for booking hard waste collections.
Council also runs educational and enforcement campaigns, Keep Hume Clean and Dob in a Dumper, which aim to engage the community by promoting positive waste disposal behaviours and highlighting the penalties for illegal dumping.
Council have also established a Waste Response Team that visits residents living near dumping hotspots to provide face-to-face education and resources.
Q27) Now that the 2020–2024 Councillor term has concluded, can Council please provide a full and complete list of every complaint which had been lodged to the Principal Conduct Registrar for alleged Councillor misconduct only, which did not proceed to a Councillor Conduct Panel, including who the complainants were, what the outcome of each matter was as whether there was a finding of breach, no breach, the application was withdrawn or any other result, and also include the costs incurred for each application if reported or since calculated, such as the appointment of arbiters, room hire, catering, security, transcription services and staff costs for responding to emails, telephone calls and other matters, calculated at the relevant hourly rate of the Council officers involved?
REPONSE: This information is available in public reports made to Council on:
- 14 June 2022
- 14 November 2022
- 24 July 2023
- 11 December 2023, and
- 13 May 2024
The report presented on 13 May 2024 identified one Application for Internal Arbitration was currently underway and that an Arbiter had been appointed. That Application lapsed with the 2024 Council elections because the parties to the Application were not re-elected. The costs associated with that matter were $2,127.42.
Q28) Are there any other matters from this period involving former Councillors that remained as continuing or ongoing legal complaints or proceedings, and if so, can Council please list these matters and provide their outcomes to date?
RESPONSE: The May 2024 Councillor Conduct and Expense Report advised there was one other matter that was still in progress at that time. That matter has since been concluded, however no further information can be provided due to confidentiality provisions.
Q29) As of 30 June 2025, outstanding council rates in Hume reached $45.75 million, owed by 18,623 ratepayers – a sharp increase from $39.58 million the previous year.
Of this, more than 6,300 households are on payment plans covering $19.19 million, while a further 5,350 accounts worth $27.16 million have been referred to debt collection.
These figures highlight that many residents are already under significant financial strain, struggling with rising cost-of-living pressures.
At some point, Council itself must demonstrate austerity in its spending to reflect the realities faced by the community. In 2025 which departments within Hume City Council have delivered budget savings between the 2024/25 and 2025/26 budgets? Please provide a clear breakdown by department, including the amount reduced.
RESPONSE: Council reviews its budget every year to ensure ratepayer money is used wisely and that we can continue delivering the services and infrastructure our community needs.
Across Council’s departments, around one-third have budgeted for a reduction in their net cost compared with last year, and a further 20% have experienced an increase of 3% or less. Our biggest cost driver is employee wages under the enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA), which is still being finalised.
Overall, Council’s total net costs have increased by around 4%. Most of this increase relates to the need to expand and maintain services to support our rapidly growing community — for example, more parks and open space to maintain, additional waste collections, and higher demand for community services and facilities.
Q30) was disallowed.
NOM423 by Cr Jack Medcraft (9 May 2022)
I hereby request that pursuant to Council’s Governance Rules and Code of Conduct for Councillors that the following motion be included in the Agenda of the next Ordinary Council Meeting.
1. That Council determines the following information should be made publicly available in accordance with section 125(2) of the Local Government Act 2020 (the Act):
a) The total number of applications made to the Principal Councillor Conduct Registrar for an internal arbitration under section 143 of the Act, including name of the applicant/s and respondent/s in each application;
b) The total number of applications that proceed to an internal arbitration including the name of the applicant/s and respondent/s in each arbitration;
c) The total number of applications made to the Principal Councillor Conduct Registrar for a Councillor Conduct Panel to make a finding of serious misconduct, including name of the applicant/s and respondent/s in each application;
d) The total number of applications that proceed to a Panel Hearing including the name of the applicant/s and respondent/s in each arbitration; e) The total number of applications where an adverse finding is made against a Councillor/s following an Arbitration or Panel Hearing;
f) The costs associated with each application that has proceeded to an internal arbitration or Panel hearing inclusive of: invoiced legal expenses, invoiced arbiter or panel member costs, internal costs such as room hire and security and estimates of Hume City Council staff time costs.
g) Any other matters where Council is paying for the legal costs of Applications involving Councillors in any other complaints processes through bodies such as integrity agencies, courts or commissions including the applicant/s and respondent/s names; the relevant agency, court or commission name; and the legal costs incurred by Council (whether covered by Council’s insurance policies or not) that relate to applications to integrity agencies, courts or commissions.
Other details of the application shall remain confidential.
2. That Council receive a report with the above information for the current term of Council by 30 June 2022.
3. That this information be reported to Council quarterly from 1 July 2022 and included in the 2021/22 Annual Report and subsequent annual reports.
