Every week, about 30 new migrants are settled in the city of Hume. And every week, about 50 babies are born to families in the city.
Population growth in the perennially under-resourced and overlooked middle-ring suburb is “scary”, one councillor suggested last week.
Cr Geoff Porter said statistics highlighted in the council’s Hume Horizons 2040 strategic plan spoke for themselves.
Settling migrants and refugees meant having culturally-specific social services, access to English classes, and interpreter services to span the 140 or so languages spoken by people from about 160 countries, Cr Porter said.
Fellow councillor Drew Jessop said development of Hume Horizons 2040 sparked “by far the biggest effort in community consultation Hume has undertaken”.
“There was an enormous number of submissions – about 4500 comments and suggestions, from businesses as well as individuals,” Cr Jessop said.
He said sustainability and social justice remained the hallmarks of good governance in the eyes of Hume council and its communities, especially in the face of population growth forecasts that suggest the city will nearly double in size, from 186,000 people in 2014 to 345,000 in 2040.
“This strategy sets our directions and every- thing else must follow,” Cr Jessop said.
Hume Horizons 2040 is the city’s second long-term strategy plan since 2004.
A final draft of the strategy was circulated for public feedback during March and April. It was adopted by the council at its Broadmeadows meeting last week.
Council officers said the strategy would set the foundation for the council’s corporate planning framework, including its four-year action plan.
This plan details how the council will respond to the community expectations over the course of the coming financial year.
A draft of this action plan is on public exhibition. Submissions close on Thursday, June 12.
Information at www.hume.vic.gov.au
