Meet Cr Jasmine Nguyen (Mayor)

It’s with great pleasure to introduce your Brimbank City Council: Cr Jasmine Nguyen (Mayor)!

🤗💙 Today, we’re introducing you to Brimbank’s Mayor Cr. Jasmine Nguyen, who co-chairs the Brimbank Youth Council and represents her fellow Brimbank City Councillors.

Mayor Nguyen sits on the BYC committee alongside Cr. Sarah Branton. Together, they listen to and advocate for the voices of young people!

Tell us more about yourself!

My name is Jasmine Nguyen and I’m the Mayor of Brimbank City Council, and I was elected  in November 2021 when I was 24 years old (I’ve just turned 25).

• I am the youngest and first Vietnamese-Australian Mayor in Brimbank.
• I’m the daughter of Vietnamese refugees and I was born and raised in Brimbank, and proudly attended local schools.
• My parents instilled in me an immense gratitude for growing up in a richly diverse and multicultural community, and I developed a love for Brimbank and all that it has to offer.
• I have a double degree in Commerce and Economics, and I speak English, Vietnamese and German.
• My interests include youth empowerment; multicultural engagement; digital transformation and innovation; climate change and sustainability; and mental health.

Why did you want to represent Brimbank Councillors and sit on the Brimbank Youth Council Committee?

• As a young person of colour and Brimbank Council’s first Vietnamese-Australian Mayor I also want to be a role model for future generations.
• Given my age, it’s a perfect fit for me to represent my fellow Brimbank Councillors and to sit on the Brimbank Youth Council Committee.

What are you passionate about?

•  I am passionate about community, and I’m driven by innovation, collaboration and grabbing hold of opportunities.
• I want to make sure Brimbank gets a fair go and becomes a transformed city that is beautiful, thriving, healthy and connected.
• This is my passion and you can be sure I’ll be looking to explore all the many ways we can Bounce Brimbank Back as we respond and recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
• I want to lead change to improve how Council operates to deliver more responsive, efficient and effective services.

With young people in mind, what are you hoping to achieve as a Councillor/Mayor this year?

• Through my leadership I aim to demonstrate what can be achieved with a willingness to have a go, and I encourage young people to take every opportunity as a learning opportunity and collaborate with others who are passionate about building resilient and sustainable communities.
• One of my criteria for running for Council was to represent and drive better outcomes for young people and multicultural communities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• In the Brimbank Local Government Area (LGA) this means serving and representing almost 211,000 people in the one of the largest and the second most disadvantaged municipality in Melbourne.

 What does a better Brimbank look like to you?

• I want to see improved education outcomes for young people 15-24 in Brimbank because education is key to young people finding good jobs and a better future.
• I want to deliver better outcomes for youth, more jobs, mental health support and to create a sustainable and smart city.
• I want us to all work together to respond to the climate change emergency by protecting and enhancing our green spaces and getting to net zero by 2030.
• I will also work to deliver much needed infrastructure and services, and to advocate for investment on behalf of all our community in all wards.
• With the support of my Councillors, we will work as a team to make Brimbank even better.

 What’s one piece of advice you have for young people who want to create change in their community?

• Take opportunities that present themselves to you – just like this one where you can be part of change by joining the Brimbank Youth Council!
• In my formative years I developed a passion for giving back to the West by volunteering and working within the community, and I learned heaps of new things from taking that opportunity to serve.
• It was for these reasons I decided to run for Council to represent and drive better outcomes for young people and multicultural communities in response to COVID-19; serving and representing almost 211,000 people in one of the largest and the second most disadvantaged municipality in Melbourne.