Port Phillip ties council funding to values statement

The City of Port Phillip will require all community organisations it funds to commit to the Victorian Values Statement, with Mayor Alex Makin saying the change will set clear behavioural expectations and give council recourse against exclusionary conduct.

The policy, endorsed by council last month, will take effect with the next round of community grants opening in July. Organisations seeking funding must commit to the values statement developed by the Victorian Multicultural Commission, which promotes inclusivity across all faiths, beliefs and cultural backgrounds.

Mayor Makin spoke about the initiative during a visit to St Kilda Shule, where he was hosted by Rabbi Yaakov Glasman.

“It was a real privilege to host Alex as the Mayor of Port Phillip,” Rabbi Glasman said. “He really understands what community is all about and appreciates what needs to be done to ensure it works well.”

Mayor Makin said the policy responded to anecdotal reports of Jewish community members being excluded from community organisations and civic participation.

“Requiring as a condition of funding that the organisations that we fund commit to the values statement gives us an ability to take recourse, should it be required,” he said.

Terminating funding would be a worst-case scenario, the Mayor said, with training and development available to address breaches arising from misunderstandings.

“This is no different to any other organisation,” he said. “When you procure services, you set the standard in terms of those services you procure. When you’re a granting body, you set the standards and the conditions around the provision of that funding.”

The initiative builds on a joint statement on antisemitism signed by 85 per cent of Victorian councils, coordinated by Mayor Makin and Glen Eira Mayor Simone Zmood following the events at Bondi. The two mayors travelled to Bondi together on December 23, 2024.

The Mayor has a personal connection to the work. His grandfather survived the Lodz ghetto and Auschwitz, the only one of nine family members to survive alongside his brother. The family migrated to Australia in 1958.

In testimony lodged with the Melbourne Holocaust Museum, his grandfather’s message to future generations was simple: “Be more human.”