Budget backs growing Montague

Our 2026/27 Budget has now been adopted, and I am pleased to share what this means for our community.

Port Phillip is a city ready for the future. Our community is growing, our neighbourhoods are evolving and the decisions we make today will shape the city our communities of tomorrow will call home. This budget is our commitment to getting those decisions right.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to share feedback during our community consultation, which we opened as early as November last year. Your input directly shaped our priorities and that is exactly how it should be.

We have delivered a balanced, debt-free and responsible budget that protects services and invests in our neighbourhoods, despite the cost-of-living pressures facing households and businesses across our community. The average rate increase of 2.75 per cent is in line with the Victorian Government’s rate cap and well below forecast inflation of 4.9 per cent, with a further $2.4 million in efficiency savings embedded throughout.

At the heart of this budget is a $123.1 million capital works investment, one of the most significant in our city’s history. For Southbank and Montague, this budget delivers on priorities that matter most to our growing precincts. This includes precinct planning for the Lakeside and Domain areas and Bay St in Port Melbourne, footpath construction to improve walkability, and open spaces for Fishermans Bend – all of which lay the foundations for a connected and liveable community as our city continues to grow.

More broadly, the budget invests in community facilities including the South Melbourne Town Hall restoration and redevelopment of six children’s centres, expanded community safety measures, greater investment in arts and events, and $26 million for parks, open spaces and streetscapes, including the Sandridge Recreation Precinct.

I am also pleased that this budget expands our Accessible Beaches program to operate year-round at Port Melbourne Beach, with work under way to extend the program to South Melbourne and Sandridge Beaches. Our beaches are one of Port Phillip’s greatest assets and everyone in our community deserves to enjoy them.

None of this happens by accident. It happens because our community speaks up, our council listens and we are united in our belief in being Proudly Port Phillip.

As our precincts grow, so does the need for other levels of government to invest alongside us.

Our budget demonstrates the council’s commitment to Fishermans Bend, and we call on the state government to match that commitment and inspire confidence in its urban renewal.

Hourly bus frequencies are inadequate for most of Melbourne, let alone a precinct earmarked for rapid growth. Promised pedestrian crossings remain undelivered, hampering walkability and neighbourhood connection.

I will continue to advocate strongly to the Victorian and Commonwealth Governments to ensure Fishermans Bend and our evolving neighbourhoods receive the infrastructure and services they need and deserve. •