Southbank Residents Group

As the last federal election has shown, every vote counts.

With some seats having a margin of less than 1000 votes (and in the case of a couple of seats, less than 100 votes!) we see that the collective strength of voters can make a real change in the outcome of an election, which ultimately shapes our political and economic framework for the next few years.

At a local, suburban level the same notion of collective community strength also holds true. To have a real say in shaping our suburb’s future it takes a collective community effort to drive real change at local and state government levels. The voice of one is often lost in the process of planning and development but, as some cases over the last year have highlighted, the voice of many certainly gets us noticed and legitimately heard.

Whether it has been lobbying against the Australia 108 proposal, providing feedback on the Metropolitan Planning Strategy, holding the Government to account on a lack of schools, or advocating for a Melbourne Men’s Shed, it’s been the collective voice of Southbank residents that has made our political representatives stand up and take notice of our opinions. The Southbank Residents Group may be the “official” voice of the local community, but nothing compares to all the letters, emails and face-to-face meetings that you have initiated as an individual over the last year.

With a state election just around the corner, I encourage you all to continue your individual efforts in contacting our local and state representatives to let them know your thoughts, positive and negative, on how our suburb is being developed. The Southbank Residents Group will continue to carry-the-flag on the larger macro issues we face and we hope that through a continued strength in numbers we show our political representatives that we’re serious about how our suburb is shaped and supported into the future.

If there’s one thing that the last federal election has reminded our politicians, it’s that the individual voted them in – and it will be the individual that will vote them out. Make sure you continue to hold all our political representatives to account in the coming year.

After all, our collective strength will ultimately determine who will represent us moving forward.

Final reminder - AGM and call for nominations

The SRG Annual General Meeting will be held on Thursday, October 31 from 6pm-7.30pm in the Assembly Hall at Boyd (207 City Rd, Southbank). The AGM will run through the activities of the SRG over the last year and will also seek to appoint a new president and vice-president of the group who will set the agenda for 2014.

If you, or someone you know, may be interested in becoming the next president or vice-president of the SRG, please send me an email at [email protected] and I’ll get in touch to discuss the roles in further detail.

Membership

In order to hold a position with the SRG, or to vote in president/vice-president elections, you must be a registered member. Individual memberships are only $10 pa and membership for owners corporations are either $350 pa or $550 pa, depending on the number of apartments in the building. To become a member or to renew, simply visit www.southbankresidents.com.au/membership