Mayor appointed to panel

Baw Baw’s voice has grown after mayor Annemarie McCabe was appointed to the Local Government Mayoral Advisory Panel.

Cr McCabe said her decision to stand for the panel was driven by “being a part of the conversation”.

The panel, comprising 13 mayors across urban, regional and rural communities, works alongside Local Government Minister Melissa Horne to provide advice on legislative, regulatory, strategic and policy issues.

With new panel members appointed annually, Cr McCabe said she was driven by an interest to get involved with local government discussions at a higher level.

“There is room to improve the public perception of local government and, in particular, the role of councillors,” she said. “I’m excited to begin conversations in this space and look forward to seeing what that’ll look like.”

Cr McCabe is keen to raise the growing impact of cost shifting from state and federal governments onto local governments working amidst the challenges of a rate-capped environment.

She also plans to go to bat for regional priorities, advocating for the most pressing needs of rapidly growing communities outside of metro Melbourne.

After the first meeting held in Melbourne, Cr McCabe said she believed “it will be a very valuable opportunity to make sure our concerns and priorities are heard at the state government level”.

Other mayors on the panel represent Bendigo, Glen Eira, Hobsons Bay, Indigo, Kingston, Mitchell, Monash, Moonee Valley, Mount Alexander, Moyne, Strathbogie and Yarra councils.