A proposal to fund Christmas lights in Berwick High Street was ultimately amended to share the $50,000 budget with Cranbourne’s High Street, following debate over alternative motions.
Akoonah Ward councillor, Scott Dowling, recently proposed to the council for Christmas decorations in Berwick Village, as well as other themed events in July this year.
While not originally included in Casey’s 2025/2026 budget, it was noted that the delivery of Christmas decorations in Berwick Village would cost approximately $50,000.
This original motion, for Berwick Village to be the single recipient of this budget, was only backed by three councillors, who consisted of Cr Dowling, Cr Dave Perry, and Cr Lynette Pereira.
It was opposed by all other councillors, with Cranbourne Gardens Cr Michelle Crowther putting forward an alternative motion, one that split the $50,000 between the Cranbourne and Berwick activity hubs.
Cr Dowling’s argument began by noting the common sentiment from traders and residents in Berwick High Street on how “bland and drab our festive season around Christmas time is”.
“Decorations were a big part of those conversations… they bring a sense of joy and warmth to our shared space, and transform an ordinary environment into something very uplifting.
“These decorations aren’t just ornaments, they’re visual expressions of hope, connection, and the simple joy of coming together,” he said.
Cr Dowling, who received verbal support from both Cr Pereira and Cr Perry, was countered by Cr Crowther’s alternative motion, adding that she “cannot support such an investment in just Berwick”.
Her proposal, instead, was to share the budget between the Berwick and Cranbourne High Streets, where, alongside the Fountain Gate Shopping Centre, had been identified by the city as central activity hubs in Casey.
“The first part is splitting the $50,000 budget equally between Cranbourne and Berwick High Streets,” she said.
“But also importantly, it’s finding savings in our quarter budget review process to counteract this unbudgeted cost… so this is a trial and a pilot to see what impact we can have to help our high street traders and our community.”
She further added that, depending on the trial’s outcome, it is then that the council would explore broader expansion of similar endeavours for other activity centres around Casey.
Deputy Mayor Ambros was the first to speak after Cr Crowther’s alternative, adding that “we have a responsibility to make sure our spending delivers value”.
“Ratepayers expect us to celebrate in a way that reflects our community and not in a way that wastes money.
“We want to ensure our investment in Christmas events is targeted, effective and connected to the main hubs of our city… these hubs are where people naturally gather and [by] focusing our celebrations there we can create maximum benefit,” she said.
Cr Eaves, whose ward neighbours Cr Crowther’s with Cranbourne High Street serving as the closest central hub, said that Cr Crowther’s alternative “recognises Cranbourne and Cranbourne Village on an equal footing with Berwick”.
“I do not support Cr Dowling’s motion, it fails to recognise those [other] suburbs, as well as Cranbourne, as equal,” she said.
Cr Dowling’s rebuttal was centred around the fact that $300,000 had been spent “in all other wards over the last 10 years”, and that Berwick has not had any grants, albeit no one had applied either, for Christmas specifically.
He emphasised that all suburbs are equal, and that he didn’t “think anyone else isn’t equal with us”, but also that “Berwick hasn’t had anything”.
Cr Dowling’s motion was ultimately defeated after nine votes in opposition, which included all councillors except himself, Cr Perry and Cr Pereira, as mentioned prior.
Other councillors, such as Cr Dizon and Cr Rowe, also spoke in support of Cr Crowther’s alternative, with the others adding that this new alternative motion, serving as a trial, is a good step forward to covering the whole city in the future.
However, the final vote was 11-1, as opposed only by Cr Ross, who spoke on the larger picture and said that “the fiscal responsibility that I have to my residents means that I can’t support this motion.”
“It doesn’t mean I don’t love Christmas, I’m not the Grinch, and I believe that there are many parts of Casey that could do with some Christmas spirit invigoration.
“But I can’t support us just giving money without a plan and without a commitment from the community about what this was going to look like,” she said.
Cr Ross’ issue was about the fundamentals of process, specifically rejecting the ad hoc allocation of unbudgeted funds, especially after councillors had spent a considerable period of time deliberating over the 2025/2026 budget.
She added that, as she was against Cr Dowling’s proposal, she too was against Cr Crowther’s, saying that “we spent days and days and many hours approving the budget”.
“And I think it’s really bad management to decide things like this on the run… of course everybody wants to do something special in their ward, of course we think our wards deserve more.
“This is not the issue; it’s not about Christmas, it’s about the process, and it’s about the responsible use of money, ratepayers’ money.
“Part of the problem is that we’re trying to make things up on the run and put it under the heading of a pilot project; I really object to this way of doing council business,” she said.
