Speaker, my question is to the Minister for Environment.

Will the Victorian Government declare the establishment of the Wallan Wallan Regional Parkland to protect the health of the Merri Creek waterway which runs downstream to Northcote?

I rise to express my gratitude to the people of Northcote.

It’s the greatest honour to represent the inner north. And it gives me heart to know I don’t do it alone. 

Every day, I fight for our community alongside the people, organisations, businesses, innovators and advocates who care deeply about our collective future.

Together, we’ve achieved remarkable things.

I rise to speak on the Inquiries Amendment (Special Prosecutor) Bill 2026. 

A bill about ensuring integrity and accountability are at the heart of the delivery of major government-funded projects. 

It establishes the office of the Special Prosecutor to work alongside the Royal Commission into the integrity of major public and civil infrastructure construction projects in Victoria. 

My question is to the Minister for Public Transport.

How is the government working to deliver more regular outbound Hurstbridge Line services during the weekday evening peak, so Fairfield, Alphington and Westgarth locals have more frequent and reliable options to get home from the city?

My adjournment is to the Minister for Housing and Homelessness.

I ask the Minister to seek confirmation from Nightingale Housing that the walking and cycling connection proposed as part of the 1A Hamilton Street development in Alphington, will be designed and delivered to fulfil its intended role as a C2 main route within Victoria’s Strategic Cycling Corridors.

First, I want to acknowledge what is a very positive project for our community.

People should not have to face threats or intimidation or violence just for doing their jobs and for serving people, so Labor does not accept that violence and abuse are simply part of doing the job.

That belief sits within a much longer record that we have in Victoria.

When we have seen gaps in the protections available to working people, the Victorian Labor government has acted.

How can our planning framework better moderate the proliferation of fast-food outlets like the McDonald’s slated for Northcote, and instead promote healthier communities?

as Parliamentary Secretary for Women’s Health I heard powerful and often heartbreaking stories from women whose pain began in childhood or adolescence but who were dismissed, ignored or told that severe pain was simply a normal part of being a girl.

The reality is that Victorian businesses and workers have embraced hybrid work arrangements. More than a third of Victorians already work from home regularly, and the data tells us that it improves workforce participation. It is not a perk. It is an essential part of adapting and evolving our modern economy into one that also enables livability, because we are not just economic units, we are people.

all that we have built here in Victoria under a long-term Labor government, a government that has spent the time and done the work and made the investment to deliver some of the best education outcomes that our state has seen.

That includes Victorian students having the best NAPLAN results in the country, better than any other time on record.

It includes our historic investment in our nation-leading disability inclusion program, and this is something that I speak to schools a lot about.

I have been proud to support the Northcote stationeers for many years, including advocating successfully for Metro to install taps so volunteers do not have to lug buckets of water to keep young plantings alive.

Led by Sharon, Alun, Ann, Stewart, Susan, Cathy, Jill and many more active volunteers, they have spent over a decade transforming Northcote station.

They have planted, pruned, weeded, watered and mulched to make a lush garden cherished by our community.

This is what good transport reform looks like. It is not one project, it is not one road or one mode. It is a network, it is safety, it is freight, buses, bikes, walking, enforcement, maintenance and accountability all working together in an integrated system.

Today is Budget Day and there’s a lot to be excited about in Northcote. 

Wales Street Primary School is getting a major upgrade, backed by over $21 million to deliver a new gym, library and classrooms. 

Solving the housing crisis means increasing supply, but it also means building the right homes, homes that are safe, secure and built to last; homes that people can confidently invest in; homes that draw on our knowledge of sustainability and good design; and homes that strengthen communities for the long term.

Northcote has incredible community spirit.

School fetes have been buzzing at Bell, Northcote and Wales Street primaries thanks to the immense effort of our school communities.

At St Mary’s primary Ride2School Day had kids learning lifelong healthy habits. Big thanks to principal Mary Kearney for inviting me along.

Last Saturday, in the rain, dozens of families joined our annual Easter egg hunt in All Nations Park, which I host with Ged Kearney. It was wet and fun, and the kids had a ball as we raised funds for the Good Friday Appeal.

There is no conversation right now that is more important than the one that we are collectively having on housing.

It is one of the defining challenges facing Victoria as our population grows, and it goes to the heart of how we support people right now and how we plan for the future.

My adjournment is to the Minister for Roads and Road Safety. I ask the minister to facilitate a meeting between her office, the Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) and local stakeholders to discuss traffic safety concerns in Thornbury raised through a parliamentary petition.

Deputy Speaker, last week Victorians watched the Four Corners investigation and heard allegations that were incredibly shocking.

Women seeking care for endometriosis, instead describing profound betrayal.  

These are women living with debilitating pain - seeking answers, relief, and the chance to reclaim their lives.

They placed their trust in someone to help them heal. Instead, they describe a profound misuse of power, mistreatment, and lifelong harm.

Most of us cannot fathom the depth of their anguish, nor the enormity of their courage in speaking out.

how will Victoria’s new violence reduction unit work with communities such as Northcote to prevent youth violence before it starts and deliver safer, stronger futures for local families?

I am also really proud to be standing up in support of this bill which recognises a pretty simple truth – that is, that when a child is at risk responsibility does not neatly fit into one department or one portfolio.

Decisions made in housing, health, education, justice and transport shape the lives of vulnerable children every day, and when those systems are not aligned, families feel the gaps and children pay the price. This bill looks to close those gaps by making supporting vulnerable children and families a shared responsibility across the Victorian government.