# City of Merri-bek

The City of Merri-bek (/ˈmɛriː bɛk/) is a local government area in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. It comprises the inner northern suburbs between 4 and 11 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD. The Merri-bek local government area covers 51 km$^2$ (20 sq mi), and in June 2018, it had a population of 181,725.
The local government area was created as the City of Moreland in 1994 during the amalgamations of local governments by the state government, being created from the former local government areas of the City of Brunswick, the City of Coburg and the southern part of the City of Broadmeadows. It was renamed to Merri-bek in September 2022.
In 2004 the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC), an independent authority created under Victorian state legislation, conducted a representation review of the council's electoral structure, resulting in a recommendation that the 10 single councillor wards be replaced by three multi-councillor wards. A consequence of the change from single-councillor to multi-councillor wards was a change in election method from Instant runoff voting to proportional representation via Single transferable vote. Elections are held every four years.

## Name

In November 2021, it came to the council's attention that Moreland's namesake was indirectly associated with a Jamaican plantation site that had traded slaves up to the 1800s. This historical information was contained in the 2010 Moreland Council publication Thematic History, and published in books and articles as far back as 1944.
In October 1839, Scottish surgeon and settler Dr Farquhar McCrae was sold land between Moonee Ponds Creek and Sydney Road by the Crown in the area's first colonial sale. McCrae gave the land the name Moreland. Some suggest he may have taken this name from a Jamaican sugar plantation that his paternal grandfather Alexander McCrae worked at from the late 1760s to the early 1790s, which was involved in slave trading, and kept up to 500 to 700 enslaved people in the operation in any one year. Greens Mayor Mark Riley said "The history behind the naming of this area is painful, uncomfortable and very wrong. It needs to be addressed". In May 2022 a choice of three proposed names from the Woi-wurrung language was announced by Riley and Uncle Andrew Gardiner, deputy chair of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation: Wa-dam-buk, meaning “renew”; Merri-bek, meaning “rocky country”; and Jerrang, meaning “leaf of tree”. The names were scheduled to be decided by July 2022 following community consultation.
The community consultation for the renaming commenced in May 2022 and ended June 2022. Some residents expressed dissatisfaction with the process resulting in a petition to council.
On 3 July 2022 (coinciding with the start of NAIDOC Week) the Council voted at a Special Council Meeting to officially endorse Merri-bek as the preferred name. The name was submitted to the Minister for Local Government for consideration and the Minister's decision to alter the name was gazetted on 13 September 2022 and came into operation on 26 September.

## Council services

Merri-bek Council runs the Counihan Gallery at the Brunswick Town Hall, a free public art gallery named after the local artist, Noel Counihan. Other art events supported by Council include the MoreArt event, an art in public spaces show located along the Upfield transport corridor. The council also sponsors various street festivals around the municipality, the best known being the Sydney Road Street Party.
One of the highlights of Merri-bek is its public library. Merri-bek City Libraries has five branches.
Other Merri-bek local government services include maternal and child health service, waste and recycling collection, parks and open space, a youth space called Oxygen, services for children, and aged services.

## Climate action

Merri-bek/Moreland Council has been one of the leading municipal councils in Australia in adopting policies on climate action and sustainability. A January 2020 ClimateWorks Australia local government report identified City of Moreland as one of 3 out of 57 municipal jurisdictions in Australia to have a "fully aligned net zero by 2050 target that addresses both operational and community emissions."
City of Merri-bek is a member of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy, the Cities Power Partnership, Climate Emergency Australia (CEA), Climate Active, The Northern Alliance for Greenhouse Action (NAGA), and has declared pledges in the TAKE2 scheme with Sustainability Victoria.
Council declared a climate emergency on 12 September 2018.

### Council operational emissions reduction

For operational emissions, Moreland Council was certified as a ‘carbon neutral’ council in 2012. This required purchase of carbon offset credits. Moreland was the second council in Victoria, and the third in Australia, to receive this certification. A target of 30% less emissions than 2011, with a stretch goal of 40% by 2020, was over-achieved with an emissions cut of 69% by 2020, which will reduce the carbon offsets required to be purchased.
Moreland City Council installed Victoria's first EV fast charge station in 2013. This has now grown to a network of 16 public EV charging stations around the municipality which are powered by 100% zero emissions renewable energy from the Crowlands Wind Farm, near Ararat.
In 2014, City of Moreland joined with the City of Melbourne and several other institutions and established the Melbourne Renewable Energy Project (MREP). This project developed and funded the construction of a purpose-built 39 turbine, 80 MW Crowlands windfarm, which started supplying 100% renewables power to Council facilities and buildings in 2019.

### Net zero by 2040 community emissions target

Moreland's community wide municipal emissions in 2019 were 1,609,000 tonnes CO2e, composed of sectoral emissions of: Waste (3%), Transport (17%), Gas (21%), Electricity (59%).
The City of Merri-bek has set a community emissions reduction target of net zero emissions by 2040 and established the Moreland Zero Carbon 2040 Framework Strategy and the first 5-year action plan to achieve that target.

### Climate related policies and strategies

Other key climate and sustainability policies and strategies driving climate action include: Climate Emergency Action Plan (2020 to 2025), Moreland Integrated Transport Strategy, Waste and Litter Strategy, Achieving zero Carbon in the Planning Scheme, Sustainable Buildings Policy, Urban Heat Island Effect Action Plan, Urban Forest Strategy, Watermap, Procurement policy, Cooling the Upfield Corridor Action Plan, Food Systems Strategy, Fossil Fuel Divestment Strategy, Moreland Nature Plan.

### Climate action endorsements

During 2021 City of Moreland supported a climate disaster levy on coal exports, and endorsed the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, the first government jurisdiction in Australia to do so.

## Council
### Current composition

Councillors are elected from eleven single-member wards. The council's most recent election took place in October 2024.
| Party | Party | Councillors |
| | Greens | 4 |
| | Labor | 3 |
| | Your Local Independents | 2 |
| | Socialist Alliance | 1 |
| | Independent | 1 |
| Total | Total | 11 |
Since October 2024, Merri-bek has consisted of the following councillors:
| Ward | Party | Councillor | Notes |
| Bababi Djinanang | Socialist Alliance | Sue Bolton | |
| Box Forest | Labor | Chris Miles | |
| Brunswick West | Greens | Ella Svensson | |
| Bulleke-bek | Greens | Jay Iwasaki | |
| Djirri-Djirri | Your Local Independents | Helen Davidson | Mayor |
| Harmony Park | Labor | Helen Politis | Deputy Mayor |
| Pascoe Vale South | Your Local Independents | Oscar Yildiz | |
| Pentridge | Independent | Natalie Abboud | |
| Randazzo | Greens | Liz Irvin | |
| Warrk-Warrk | Greens | Adam Pulford | |
| Westbreen | Labor | Katerine Theodosis | |

### Mayor

The current mayor is Cr Helen Davidson.

## Past councillors
### 1996–2004 (10 wards)

| Year | Box Forest | Box Forest | Glencairn | Glencairn | Glencairn | Glencairn | Hoffman | Hoffman | Lincoln Mills | Lincoln Mills | Lygon | Lygon | Merri | Merri | Moonah | Moonah | Newlands | Newlands | Westbreen | Westbreen |
| Year | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor |
| 1996 | | John Sawyer (Independent) | | Chris Iliopoulos (Independent) | | Rosemary Kerr (Independent) | | Mike Hill (Labor) | | Rod Higgins (Labor) | | Glenyys Romanes (Labor) | | Anthony Helou (Labor) | | Andrew Rowe (Labor) | | Stella Kariofyllidis (Labor) | | Geoff Lutz (Independent) |
| 1999 | | Ken Blair (Independent) | | Robert Larocca (Labor) | | Rosemary Kerr (Independent) | | Andy Ingham (Independent) | | Rod Higgins (Labor) | | Leigh Snelling (Labor) | | Anthony Helou (Labor) | | Andrew Rowe (Labor) | | Stella Kariofyllidis (Labor) | | Melanie Raymond (Independent) |
| 2000 | | Ken Blair (Independent) | | Robert Larocca (Labor) | | Rosemary Kerr (Independent) | | Andy Ingham (Independent) | | Vicki Yianoulatos (Labor) | | Leigh Snelling (Labor) | | Anthony Helou (Labor) | | Andrew Rowe (Labor) | | Stella Kariofyllidis (Labor) | | Melanie Raymond (Independent) |
| 2001 | | Ken Blair (Independent) | | Robert Larocca (Labor) | | Rosemary Kerr (Independent) | | Joe Caputo (Labor) | | Vicki Yianoulatos (Labor) | | Leigh Snelling (Labor) | | Anthony Helou (Labor) | | Andrew Rowe (Labor) | | Stella Kariofyllidis (Labor) | | Melanie Raymond (Independent) |
| 2002 | | Ken Blair (Independent) | | Robert Larocca (Labor) | | Stephen Roach (Independent) | | Joe Caputo (Labor) | | Vicki Yianoulatos (Labor) | | Fraser Brindley (Greens) | | Anthony Helou (Labor) | | Mark Higginbotham (Labor) | | Stella Kariofyllidis (Labor) | | Joe Ficarra (Labor) |

### 2004–2024 (three wards)
#### North-East Ward

| Year | Councillor | Party | Councillor | Party | Councillor | Party | Councillor | Party |
| 2004 | Anthony Helou | Labor | Mark O'Brien | Labor | Andrea Sharam | Greens | Daniel De Lorenzis | Independent |
| 2008 | Anthony Helou | Labor | Michael Teti | Labor | Toby Archer | Greens | Stella Kariofyllidis | Labor |
| 2012 | Anthony Helou | Labor | Michael Teti | Labor | Lenka Thompson | Greens | Stella Kariofyllidis | Labor |
| 2012 | Sue Bolton | Socialist Alliance | Michael Teti | Labor | Lenka Thompson | Greens | Rob Thompson | Independent Liberal |
| 2016 | Sue Bolton | Socialist Alliance | Annalivia Carli Hannan | Labor | Natalie Abboud | Greens | Ali Irfanli | Independent |
| 2020 | Sue Bolton | Sue Bolton Moreland Team | Annalivia Carli Hannan | Labor | Adam Pulford | Greens | Helen Pavlidis-Mihalakos | Independent |
| 2022a | Sue Bolton | Socialist Alliance | Annalivia Carli Hannan | Labor | Adam Pulford | Greens | Helen Pavlidis-Mihalakos | Victorians |
| 2022b | Sue Bolton | Socialist Alliance | Annalivia Carli Hannan | Labor | Adam Pulford | Greens | Helen Pavlidis-Mihalakos | Independent |

#### North-West Ward

| Year | Councillor | Party | Councillor | Party | Councillor | Party | Councillor | Party |
| 2004 | Mark Higginbotham | Labor | Kathleen Matthews-Ward | Labor | John Kavanagh | Democratic Labour | Milad El-Halabi | Labor |
| 2008 | Oscar Yildiz | Labor | Kathleen Matthews-Ward | Labor | John Kavanagh | Democratic Labour | Enver Erdogan | Labor |
| 2012 | Oscar Yildiz | Labor | Helen Davidson | Independent | John Kavanagh | Democratic Labour | Lita Gillies | Labor |
| 2014 | Oscar Yildiz | Labor | Helen Davidson | Independent | John Kavanagh | Independent | Lita Gillies | Labor |
| 2016 | Oscar Yildiz | Labor | Helen Davidson | Independent | John Kavanagh | Independent | Dale Martin | Greens |
| 2018 | Oscar Yildiz | Independent | Helen Davidson | Independent | John Kavanagh | Independent | Dale Martin | Greens |
| 2020 | Oscar Yildiz | Independent | Helen Davidson | Independent | Milad El-Halabi | Labor | Angelica Panopoulos | Greens |
| 2021 | Oscar Yildiz | Victorians | Helen Davidson | Independent | Milad El-Halabi | Labor | Angelica Panopoulos | Greens |
| 2022a | Oscar Yildiz | Victorians | Helen Davidson | Independent | Milad El-Halabi | Independent Labor | Angelica Panopoulos | Greens |
| 2022b | Oscar Yildiz | Independent | Helen Davidson | Independent | Monica Harte | Socialist Alliance | Angelica Panopoulos | Greens |

#### South Ward

| Year | Councillor | Party | Councillor | Party | Councillor | Party |
| 2004 | Joe Caputo | Labor | Alice Pryor | Labor | Josephine Connellan | Greens |
| 2008 | Lambros Tapinos | Labor | Alice Pryor | Labor | Josephine Connellan | Greens |
| 2012 | Lambros Tapinos | Labor | Meghan Hopper | Labor | Samantha Ratnam | Greens |
| 2016 | Lambros Tapinos | Labor | Mark Riley | Greens | Samantha Ratnam | Greens |
| 2017 | Lambros Tapinos | Labor | Mark Riley | Greens | Jess Dorney | Greens |
| 2020 | Lambros Tapinos | Labor | Mark Riley | Greens | James Conlan | Greens |
| 2023 | Lambros Tapinos | Labor | Mark Riley | Greens | James Conlan | Independent |

### 2024 (11 wards)

These wards will come into effect at the October 2024 election.
| Year | Bababi Djinanang | Bababi Djinanang | Box Forest | Box Forest | Brunswick West | Brunswick West | Bulleke-bek | Bulleke-bek | Djirri-Djirri | Djirri-Djirri | Harmony Park | Harmony Park | Pascoe Vale South | Pascoe Vale South | Pentridge | Pentridge | Randazzo | Randazzo | Warrk-Warrk | Warrk-Warrk | Westbreen | Westbreen |
| Year | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor | Councillor |
| 2024 | | Sue Bolton | | Chris Miles | | Ella Svensson | | Jay Iwasaki | | Helen Davidson | | Helen Politis | | Oscar Yildiz | | Natalie Abboud | | Liz Irvin | | Adam Pulford | | Katerine Theodosis |

## Election results
### 2024

2024 Victorian local elections: Merri-bek :
| Party | Party | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change |
| | Labor | Labor | 23,108 | 24.48 | +4.18 | 3 | |
| | Your Local Independents | Your Local Independents | 21,930 | 23.23 | +1.89 | 2 | 1 |
| | Greens | Greens | 21,069 | 22.32 | +6.40 | 4 | |
| | Victorian Socialists | Victorian Socialists | 11,068 | 11.72 | +7.77 | 0 | |
| | Independents | Independents | 8,965 | 9.50 | −35.10 | 1 | 1 |
| | Socialist Alliance | Socialist Alliance | 6,266 | 6.63 | +1.71 | 1 | |
| | Independent Liberal | Independent Liberal | 1,621 | 1.71 | +1.71 | 0 | |
| | Fusion | Fusion | 351 | 0.37 | +0.37 | 0 | |
| Formal votes | Formal votes | Formal votes | 94,378 | 97.11 | | | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 2,810 | 2.89 | | | |
| Total | Total | Total | 97,188 | 100.00 | | | |
| Registered voters / turnout | Registered voters / turnout | Registered voters / turnout | 123,327 | 78.81 | | | |

### 2020

2020 Victorian local elections: Moreland :
| Party | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change |
| Independent | Independent | 41,866 | 44.60 | +4.16 | 3 | 1 |
| Labor | Labor | 20,901 | 20.30 | −8.30 | 3 | 1 |
| Greens | Greens | 16,396 | 15.92 | −13.92 | 4 | |
| Sue Bolton Moreland Team | Sue Bolton Moreland Team | 5,062 | 4.92 | +0.21 | 1 | |
| Reason | Reason | 4,637 | 4.50 | +4.50 | 0 | |
| Victorian Socialists | Victorian Socialists | 4,068 | 3.95 | +3.95 | 0 | |
| Animal Justice | Animal Justice | 935 | 0.91 | +0.91 | 0 | |

### 2016

2016 Victorian local elections: Moreland :
| Party | Party | Party | Votes | % | Seats | Change |
| | Independent | Independent | 25,164 | 36.49 | 4 | 2 |
| | Greens | Greens | 20,582 | 29.84 | 4 | 3 |
| | Labor | Labor | 19,728 | 28.60 | 2 | 1 |
| | Socialist Alliance | Socialist Alliance | 3,249 | 4.71 | 1 | |
| Formal votes | Formal votes | Formal votes | 39,365 | 100.0 | | |

### 2002

2002 Victorian local elections: Moreland :
| Party | Party | Party | Votes | % | Seats | Change |
| | Labor | Labor | 18,237 | 46.33 | 7 | 3 |
| | Independent | Independent | 11,271 | 28.64 | 2 | 4 |
| | Greens | Greens | 9,134 | 23.21 | 1 | 1 |
| | Socialist Alliance | Socialist Alliance | 714 | 1.82 | 0 | |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 39,365 | 100.0 | | |

## Townships and localities

At the 2021 census, the city had a population of 171,357 up from 162,558 at the 2016 census.
Population :
| Locality | 2016 | 2021 |
| Brunswick | 24,473 | 24,896 |
| Brunswick East | 11,504 | 13,279 |
| Brunswick West | 14,159 | 14,746 |
| Coburg^ | 26,185 | 26,574 |
| Coburg North | 7,601 | 8,327 |
| Fawkner^ | 14,043 | 14,274 |
| Fitzroy North^ | 12,339 | 12,781 |
| Glenroy | 22,245 | 23,792 |
| Gowanbrae | 2,773 | 2,971 |
| Hadfield | 5,610 | 6,269 |
| Oak Park | 6,205 | 6,714 |
| Parkville^ | 7,409 | 7,074 |
| Pascoe Vale | 17,051 | 18,171 |
| Pascoe Vale South | 10,069 | 10,534 |
| Tullamarine^ | 6,605 | 6,733 |
^ - Territory divided with another LGA

## Sister cities

* Xianyang, Shaanxi, China
* Solarino, Italy
* Canterbury, New South Wales, Australia
* Aileu, East Timor
* Mansfield, Victoria, Australia
* Sparta, Greece