Wishing you all, dear readers, a fabulous festive season

The committee of Southbank3006 would like to thank all our members, Southbank News readers and the community of Southbank for your support for our activism and events in 2023.

We particularly want to thank our amazingly supportive major sponsor, DGtek Pineapple Net.

And, we are delighted to thank Melbourne Inner City Management (MICM) as a new platinum sponsor of the Southbank “A Very Merry Friend-Mas” event.

Our work this year has been so well received by you. We informed the community of vital information that has had a direct result in increasing the liveability and amenity of all Southbankers. This included:

• Creating a new park at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA) forecourt on Sturt St. This is a result of our direct lobbying with our local state member (and a Southbank resident) Nina Taylor MP, and the Deputy Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Cr Nicholas Reece. And we thank them very much. The work will start in 2024.
• Presenting a community forum and discussion session, with traffic engineers of the City of Melbourne, focusing on pedestrian and road safety.
• Our ongoing work with both the state government and the City of Melbourne, lobbying for greater focus on traffic management, particularly the Power St/Kavanagh St/City Rd, intersections.
• And, of course, our significant leadership in creating a new way of thinking about low-traffic neighbourhoods.
• We brought you a community event with Victoria Police, that focused on understanding how to combat bike theft and to ensure your bike is registered.
• The International Dark Skies Association’s presentation on light pollution, in Southbank and how to combat it.
• The Strata Community Association Victoria came to talk about strata reform in Victoria and how it affects both owners and renters.
• We were so thrilled in 2023 to have developed a relationship with the Victorian Koorie Heritage Trust. This provided opportunities to connect with and understand more about our First Nations sisters’ and brothers’ Aboriginality and identity. And just this month we were taken on a local informative Indigenous walk with the Koorie Heritage Trust. 

To top off an incredibly successful 2023, we have our annual Merry Friend-Mas, at Boyd Park between 11am-3pm on Sunday, December 10 with music, family activities, fabulous food, dancing, our famous dog-parade, and The Salvation Army.

And you might ask, how have we done all this work? Well, we have a brilliant and hard-working committee of Southbank volunteers. Allow me to introduce you to:

• David Hamilton (president)
• Jannine Pattison (deputy president)
• MaryKay Rauma (marketing and communications)
• Steven Timmerman (treasurer)
• James Avery (event manager)
• Michael Hossen
• And, myself, Trisha Avery (secretary and public officer)

The whole committee would like to invite you to join us for an exciting 2024. Please sign up as a member – it is free.

We will not only keep you informed of all the amazing events in 2024, but also provide you with information about all the areas of advocacy we are working towards.

If you would like to get more involved by volunteering your time, please get in touch. We are on Facebook and Instagram or via our website.

We wish you all a peaceful, restful, and thoughtful festive season and look forward to engaging with you in 2024. •

southbank3006.com