In short:
LeadWest has unveiled its latest list of election priorities ahead of the 2026 Victorian state election. The alliance is facing scrutiny over its effectiveness after years of similar advocacy pushes.
Biggest Asks Remain Undelivered
LeadWest is coming under increased scrutiny for its effectiveness as Melbourne’s west continues to face infrastructure pressures and rapid population growth across several municipalities.
The advocacy alliance represents the councils of Brimbank, Hobsons Bay, Maribyrnong, Melton and Wyndham and operates as a regional body intended to coordinate lobbying efforts aimed at securing greater investment from state and federal governments.
On 5 March 2026 the alliance unveiled its latest State Election advocacy priorities, presenting a list of initiatives it says are necessary to support a region that now houses more than one million residents and continues to expand rapidly.
The announcement has prompted renewed discussion about the organisation’s influence, particularly when compared with a similar set of priorities released ahead of the 2022 Victorian state election.
A comparison of the two campaigns shows that many of the central policy areas promoted by the alliance remain largely unchanged despite the passage of several years.
Both advocacy packages call for improvements to bus networks across the west, investment in the Sunshine transport precinct, progress on the Outer Metropolitan Ring corridor, expanded mental health services, stronger support for arts and cultural infrastructure and the creation of a wetlands centre in Altona Meadows.
What has changed most significantly is the scale of the requests being made through the alliance’s advocacy platform rather than the themes themselves.
The 2022 campaign identified six priority projects, whereas the 2026 advocacy platform now contains eleven initiatives covering a broader range of transport infrastructure, social services and environmental programs.
Despite the expansion of the list, several long-standing priorities remain unresolved, although this does not necessarily reflect a failure of LeadWest itself because the delivery of large infrastructure projects ultimately depends on funding commitments from state and federal governments rather than the advocacy body alone.
Critics Calling to Scrap Alliance
One of the most vocal critics of the advocacy alliance is Council Watch president Dean Hurlston, who argues that years of lobbying have produced little measurable change for residents across Melbourne’s western suburbs.
Hurlston said the release of another list of election priorities illustrates what he sees as a recurring pattern of announcements that have failed to translate into tangible improvements for the region.
“A new article proudly reports that LeadWest has released another list of election priorities for Melbourne’s west,” he said while criticising what he described as the alliance’s reliance on advocacy documents.
Hurlston delivered a blunt assessment of the organisation’s influence, stating that “no one cares what LeadWest thinks and frankly they never have.”
While acknowledging that the alliance exists to strengthen the regional economy and improve transport connections, he argued the western suburbs remain one of the most infrastructure strained regions in Victoria despite years of advocacy initiatives.
He also criticised the cost of maintaining the alliance, noting governance documents outline an annual membership fee of $50,000 for each council alongside an additional $6,212 contribution toward overheads.
With five councils involved, those contributions amount to roughly $281,060 each year being directed toward regional advocacy activities.
Hurlston argued the west remains under strain after years of reports, meetings and lobbying efforts, describing the organisation as a “talkfest” responsible for “years of talking, years of priority lists and years of political theatre.”
“If LeadWest’s biggest achievement is issuing yet another priority list before an election,” he said, “the conclusion is obvious.”
“It’s a joke. Shut it down.”
