Submission to Council Local Laws Review 2025
Prepared by Shifrah Blustein (Community Lawyer) & Jorge Jorquera (Coordinator Borderlands Co-operative).
Review of Maribyrnong General Purposes Local Laws
INTRODUCTION
Maribyrnong City’s local laws review presents an opportunity to interrogate not only the utility of these laws, but also how they stand up against broader legal obligations and in the light of contemporary social needs and challenges. This submission is particularly concerned with how local laws deal with issues impacting on the rights of all members of our community.
Various federal and state legislation creates a positive duty for local government to work against discrimination, harassment and victimisation. These obligations are not limited to the responsibilities of local government under the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities, but also include anti-discrimination laws that prohibit local government treating community members unfairly or unjustly due to race, gender, disability and other individual circumstances.
Given these general obligations to uphold human rights and just and fair treatment, we make this submission urging Maribyrnong Council to consider the following in the current review of its local laws.