Portfolio — 15 August 2026

The window for Bundoora shows the Member for Bundoora, Colin Brooks, operating across two distinct registers: Assembly tributes honouring local figures and institutions, and ministerial announcements with direct bearing on skills, industry, and workforce policy. The most substantive policy development comes from the media lane, where the Member for Bundoora, in his capacity as Minister for Skills and TAFE, launched Australia's first accredited Certificate III in Prefabrication Installation through Melbourne Polytechnic's Future of Housing Construction Centre of Excellence [TA-260716-vicmed-6122b5401b55].

The qualification is designed to train workers in modern methods of construction, with the stated aim of enabling faster and cheaper home building — a direct skills-pipeline response to housing supply pressures. This announcement sits squarely at the intersection of the Skills and TAFE and Housing portfolios, reflecting a cross-portfolio connection the Victorian Government has been actively signalling.

In the Assembly, the Member for Bundoora used member statements to recognise two significant local subjects. The first was Michael Bourchier, co-founder of Amiga Engineering, which the Member characterised as one of Australia's leading advanced manufacturers — recognised for precision engineering, CNC machining, and metal additive manufacturing, including Australia's only certification to print in Scalmalloy [TA-260730-vichns-06b70b591935:s027].

The second recognition went to the Greensborough Football Club on its 133rd season, citing 500 members, 17 division 1 premierships, record junior registrations of 430, and the multi-generational leadership of the Brindley family [TA-260813-vichns-ff06af361824:s019]. Taken together, the Assembly contributions reflect a deliberate local profile — advanced manufacturing excellence alongside deep community sporting heritage within Bundoora.

A second ministerial media release in the window announced the appointment of 16 Parliamentary Secretaries spanning emergency services, housing, mental health, education, and multicultural affairs, with the Member characterising the cohort as part of a Labor team focused on cost of living, community safety, healthcare, and education [TA-260807-vicmed-f47dc3ccda2d].

This announcement sits outside the Member's direct portfolio responsibilities and reads as a whole-of-government communications exercise rather than a portfolio-specific development.

The thread connecting the Assembly tribute to Michael Bourchier and the ministerial launch of the prefabrication qualification is notable: both touch the Member's Industry and Advanced Manufacturing and Skills and TAFE portfolios, and together they sketch a consistent policy emphasis on building workforce capability in technically demanding, high-value sectors — whether aerospace-grade metal printing or the emerging prefabricated construction trades.