Darebin Public Question Time & Submission Diary - 2024-2028

Ordinary Council Minutes - 25 August 2025

• Serena O’Meley

1. It has been seven years since Darebin Council resolved to purchase three parcels of land within Clements Reserve from VicRoads. Can Darebin Council account for the continued delays in choosing and implementing a remediation option, and purchasing the land within Clements Reserve?

   
   

2. Will the peer reviewed investigation report into the contamination in Clements Reserve, which was scheduled to be submitted to the EPA in early 2025 be made publicly available?
   

3. Can Darebin Council explain what, if any, impact the new Councillor Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure will have on the Community Complaints about a Councillor Policy?

   
   

Response From General Manager Infrastructure, Operations & Finance

1. Hi Serena, the stage we have just finished is a detailed site investigation, which was an EPA requirement, and we worked with the Victorian Government’s Department of Transport and Planning to complete this. As both Council and the DTP currently own part of the land we are each responsible for remediation of the parts which we own. The investigation was accepted by the EPA and the next step is assessment of remediation options and a detailed remediation action plan. When this is prepared it will be submitted to the EPA and would be implemented after that. This is taking some time however it is important that we work through each stage step by step. Council remains committed to ensuring that any actions taken are in the best longterm interest of the community and the environment. Through its adopted 2025/26 Budget, Council has committed funds for remediation works at Clements Reserve. It is possible that it may take longer than the current financial year before works start.

   
   

2. There aren’t plans to release the detailed investigation report, it has been submitted to the EPA. We do plan to keep community up to date when Council determines the remediation actions it will take.

   
   

   Response From General Manager Customer & Corporate
   

3. Thanks for the question about the Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure, Serena. This policy was a requirement of the Local Government Act reforms and prescribes a process for managing complaints between Councillors. The Community Complaints about a Councillor policy that you are referring to, is a policy that supports the process for the community to complain about a Councillor, there is potentially an overlap, but that assessment still needs to be done, the policy has been in operation for about two years now. It is being reviewed at the moment, and there is a revised policy that will be brought to Council in the coming months.

Ordinary Council Minutes - 28 January 2025

• Serena O’Meley

1. In 2018, the Office of Geographic Names rejected a proposed new name for Batman Park due to objections to the proposal. TheDarebin Council website retains a 7 year-old commitment to continuing the process to rename the park in Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung. What steps have been taken to ensure that this takes place?

2. Darebin Council had two remediation proposals for Clements Reserve which were put

   to a vote around 2021. I understand that neither of these proposals has been deemed

   suitable by the EPA, and that this is holding up the sale of the land to Darebin Council.

   Can you please describe the EPA's expectations in relation to the remediation of the land?

   
   

Response from general Manager Infrastructure, Operations and Finance

Thanks for your question Serena.

1. Council remains committed to renaming the park. There is currently no specific timeframe for progressing this work. Council will continue to engage with the Wurrundjeri woi wurrung corporation and the Darebin community as it considers next steps and timing.

   
   

2. The EPA have advised they are open to a range of options for remediation so long as they appropriately address the risk. Work is ongoing towards Clements Reserve remediation with the Department of Transport and Planning taking the lead because they are the majority owners of the contaminated area. The investigation and options process is being taken one step at a time and it is hard to predict the timeframe precisely. Purchase of the site by Council would occur after remediation.

Ordinary Council Minutes - 16 December 2024

In response to a resident's questions about Clements Reserve, officers responded as follows:

The State Government’s Department of Transport and Planning own most of the closed off

area and we are working with them towards remediating it and reopening it. This will take

some more time. An investigation report is currently being peer reviewed by an environmental auditor to be submitted to the EPA for final review in early 2025. This will enable us to confirm next steps on site.