Election advocacy

It’s a chance for the community to raise awareness of the local projects or policy reforms which would make a positive impact in Glen Eira. During election times, we are committed to working with all candidates — no matter their political party — to promote our community’s priorities.  

By advocating for funding before and during election campaigns, we help candidates from all political parties to understand our City’s priorities. In 2022, we proactively advocated for the projects and initiatives which would support the community to recover from COVID-19.

At the 2022 federal and state elections, our advocacy secured $21 million in new funding for local projects.

Australian federal election advocacy

The next Federal election will be held early 2025. In the Australian Parliament, Glen Eira is part of the electorates of Goldstein, Hotham and Macnamara. 

At the election, we will advocate for our Federal Advocacy Priorities for each electorate which were endorsed by Council on 4 February 2025.

Our federal election advocacy focuses on securing essential funding and support to enhance community open spaces and improve safety. Priority projects to revitalise our open space include the Elsternwick Club, Porter Road Open Space and Rosstown Aged Care (Ames Ave) community site, and for community safety, improving safety and connections at Queens Ave, Carnegie Library and the Eat Street carpark. These are all aligned with Glen Eira City Council’s top priorities: increasing accessible, high-quality open space and ensuring safe, welcoming environments for all.

Glen Eira has one of the lowest amounts of open space per capita in Metropolitan Melbourne—just 1.3 hectares per 1,000 residents. With over 86 sporting clubs using Council-owned spaces, demand continues to grow, particularly as clubs expand and adapt to contemporary standards under the Gender Equality Act. Housing and population growth further highlight the urgent need for more passive open space.

Over the past four years, Council has invested more than $27 million in acquiring private land for future open spaces. We now seek partnerships across government to transform these sites into vibrant, welcoming community hubs. Council’s 2023 community engagement program confirmed that parks, gardens, playgrounds, and open spaces remain among the most valued local services.

Beyond open space, our community faces challenges in safety and belonging. With the sense of their safety front of mind for our community, we have prioritised key infrastructure upgrades to remove barriers to inclusion, encourage social interaction, and enhance overall well-being. These projects will create safer, more connected neighbourhoods while delivering long-term economic and environmental benefits.

We also advocate for key policy reforms, including community safety, climate action, and housing solutions.

More details on federal advocacy for each electorate:

• Federal Election Advocacy Priorities — Goldstein (PDF 7.8MB)
• Federal Election Advocacy Priorities — Hotham (PDF 7.7MB)
• Federal Election Advocacy Priorities — Macnamara (PDF 7.4MB)

Victorian State election advocacy

The 2022 Victorian federal election took place on Saturday 26 November 2022. In the Victorian Parliament, Glen Eira is part of the electorates of Bentleigh, Caulfield and Oakleigh, and the upper house Southern Metropolitan Region. 

We successfully secured funding commitments for local projects through our state election advocacy.

Liberal National Coalition

The Liberal National Coalition committed to:

• $30 million to deliver stage one of the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve Land Management Plan
• $10 million to support the Carnegie Memorial Swimming Pool redevelopment
• $3.5 million to construct a new pavilion at McKinnon Reserve.

Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party committed to:

• $3 million to construct a new pavilion at Mackie Road Reserve as part of Council’s masterplan
• $250,000 to upgrade lighting at Koornang Park, Carnegie
• $250,000 to upgrade lighting at Lord Reserve, Carnegie.

What we advocated for

On 19 July, Council unanimously adopted its 2022 state election priority projects for the state electorates of Bentleigh, Caulfield and Oakleigh. 

Bentleigh electorate

As a part of our of community priorities in Our community priorities for the Bentleigh electorate [PDF], we secured $3 million to construct a new pavilion at Mackie Road Reserve as part of Council’s masterplan, to create new open space to address urgent community needs.

Caulfield electorate

As a part of our community priorities Our community priorities for the Caulfield electorate [PDF] we advocated for improving pedestrian access, traffic management and parking around Caulfield Station. We also called for candidates to commit to creating new open space on Crown land at Caulfield Racecourse Reserve.

Oakleigh electorate

As part of our community priorities in Our community priorities for the Oakleigh electorate [PDF], we secured $250,000 to upgrade lighting at Koornang Park, Carnegie and $250,000 to upgrade lighting at Lord Reserve, Carnegie, to improve open space accessibility in the area.

You can find a full list of priority policy reforms in Glen Eira policy reform priorities for the Victorian State election 2022 [PDF]. 

Community engagement

During the 2022 election campaigns, we created opportunities for residents to actively take part in our advocacy campaign. Thousands of people visited our website to learn about our advocacy priorities. Using a form on our website, many residents wrote to their local MP and candidate in support or engaged with our social media ads and e-newsletters. This boosted the credibility of our campaign and helped us to deliver real community outcomes.

Importantly, this broadened the reach of our advocacy and gave you the opportunity to participate advocating for what matters to you.