Governance, Accountability and Consultation

Shelley Roberts wants to …

• establish multi-member local council wards elected by proportional representation to ensure councillors are directly connected with and representative of, their local community; this way councillors will reflect the interests of each local community that makes up the City of Melbourne
• establish and support broad based local community consultative committees which should be openly consulted
• on all matters affecting their local community as well as key issues impacting across Melbourne
• engage with the residents of each area, promote active citizenship and work with the community to plan development consistent with local needs and wishes

Transport, Traffi c and Resident Amenity

Shelley Roberts believes that Melbourne is not a car city; it’s a people city, and says that more roads and tunnels will just equate to more cars, clog the City and reduce amenity and livability; in order to alleviate congestion a new way of thinking is required.

Shelley Roberts wants to …

• ensure that traffication measures and road planning always accounts for the impact on local residents and their community
• prevent the alienation of parkland which is for the people, especially families and that this must be a council priority

Shelley Roberts will push for ...

• a free public transport system in Melbourne that is frequent, reliable, safe and available 24 hours, 7 days a week
• dedicated safe bike and pedestrian thoroughfares
• greater connectivity of bike paths
• a park and ride system for bikes
• a system that recognises the need to live and work in close proximity
• a council service website to facilitate opportunities for car pooling
• dedicated separated lanes for pedestrians, bikes and trams on Swanston Street
• all redevelopment plans for Swanston St to extend to Victoria Parade
• delivery vehicles in Swanston St confined to early morning only
• no buses, taxis or horse drawn carriages on Swanston Street
• council approved art spaces to Swanston Street and all other areas of the CBD to provide a city rich in culture

Assist Small Business

Shelley Roberts wants to …

• promote local small businesses, especially micro businesses employing fewer than 5 people, many of which are home based sole traders
• work with the State Office of Small Business to provide a range of seminars and training initiatives that can be delivered to local business
• promote and facilitate links and networks between similar categories of local small business for the purpose of sharing ideas or combining for business opportunities

Community Safety in Melbourne

Shelley Roberts wants a safe 24 hour CBD which can support staggered work hours with public transport available 24 hours, 7 days a week. Ultimately this would lead to more people on the street around the clock aiding crime prevention through passive observation and help to relieve traffic congestion and high pressure levels on public transport.

She is a strong advocate of zero tolerance policing in Melbourne for the protection of residents, workers and visitors.

Shelley Roberts will push for ‘A Safer Melbourne’ through a policy which will Design Out Crime to promote and facilitate:

• safety initiatives by crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED)
• research to determine the effect of inferior spatial configuration on alcohol fused environments
• active street edges, ones where views are possible into and from buildings
• opportunities for passive observation
• more street cafes and events that put people on the street – seeing and being seen
• new buildings which are designed without alcoves or places of concealment
• effective lighting at pedestrian level and overhead for streets
• build on the City of Melbourne Safe City Strategy - laneway and alcove safet; safe City car park; safe City taxi rank; night rider buses.

Shelley Roberts will promote a positive perception of our Police Force in our community. She will push the State Government to better resource Melbourne policing and …

• campaign for more police foot patrols and police on bikes
• establish a community campaign to get to know the officer on the beat and promote an acceptance and expectation that police on Melbourne’s streets is a natural occurrence – not a sign of trouble
• increase the number of CCTV cameras where required to assist police to interdict potential incidents and crime before an incident escalates

Shelley Roberts knows that alcohol fueled violence is a key public safety issue in Melbourne. Modern Melbourne must be a 24 hour City. Lockouts, like prohibition, is not the answer to this central problem.

Shelley Roberts will lead the public pressure on the State Government, Parliament and Liquor Licensing Authorities to …

• strengthen Liquor licensing laws and remove loopholes
• deploy sufficient inspectors, particularly at night, to enforce those laws, particularly the responsibility of licensees to ensure alcohol is not provided to intoxicated patrons
• make a condition of a Melbourne liquor license the implementation and adherence to the terms of ‘The Responsible Practice Guidelines for Licensees within the City of Melbourne’

And Shelley Roberts will ensure that appropriate spatial design requirements are incorporated into ‘The Responsible Practice Guidelines for Licensees within the City of Melbourne’.

Residents Equity – Affordable Resident Rates

Shelley Roberts is deeply concerned with Melbourne City’s spiralling rates that are driving out the very residents who give Melbourne its character.
She is committed to an effective differential rating system which makes resident’s rates affordable and lowers the proportion of Council’s spending paid for by local residents. Commercial and industrial ratepayers have a 100% tax write off for their council rates. Resident’s rates are not tax deductible. She will work for an expanded system of differential rates to allow residents of all social and demographic backgrounds, especially families, the opportunity of living in Melbourne.

Shelley is a Melbourne based architect who, as a mature age student, graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture (Hons) degree from RMIT University in 2002.
Shelley runs her own architectural practice and is a passionate member of the Australian Institute of Architects.

Good design makes a difference to the way we live; working with Melbourne’s architects and urban planners, Shelley, as Lord Mayor will build on Melbourne’s reputation as a design city to bring about design lead solutions to urban planning issues. Her plan is to ensure quality design solutions for the safe and equitable integration of all modes of transport on Melbourne’s streets and to facilitate more community services and amenities for its residents.

Having lived in Melbourne’s CBD for 15 years with her teenage daughter, Shelley believes that she is in touch with the residents of the city and can see Melbourne’s great future potential.

How to Vote for Shelley Roberts

Making Melbourne Better: YES WE CAN!

"The choice in this election is not between regions or religions or genders. It's not about rich vs. poor, young vs. old. And it is not about black vs. white.

This election is about the past vs. the future. It's about whether we settle for the same divisions and distractions and drama that passes for politics today or whether we reach for a politics of common sense and innovation, a politics of shared sacrifice and shared prosperity.

There are those who will continue to tell us that we can't do this, that we can't have what we're looking for, that we can't have what we want, that we're peddling false hopes. But here is what I know. I know that when people say we can't overcome all the big money and influence ... I think of that elderly woman who sent me a contribution the other day, an envelope that had a money order for $3.01 along with a verse of scripture tucked inside the envelope. So don't tell us change isn't possible. That woman knows change is possible."

Change is possible.

Transcript of Sen. Barack Obama's remarks after he won the Democratic presidential primary in South Carolina.

City of Melbourne: Designed for Life

Shelley Roberts is a Melbourne city resident who is campaigning on fairer rates for residents and more livable community spaces. Shelley is also passionate about the city's living environment.