Portfolio — 28 August 2026

The window's dominant discourse arc for Geelong sits at the intersection of social harm, protective legislation, and regional economic investment. The Member for Geelong, Ms Couzens, contributed to two substantial legislative moments in the Assembly: the Legal and Social Issues Committee inquiry into cults and organised fringe groups, and the Justice Legislation Amendment (Family Violence, Coercive Control, Good Character, Risk Assessment and Other Matters) Bill 2026.

Both contributions cluster around coercion, harm, and the lived experience of victims — a coherent thematic orientation across two distinct legislative instruments.

On the committee inquiry, the Member for Geelong praised survivors who shared lived experience and commended the committee's delivery of 39 recommendations [TA-260826-vichns-9f81c0b98fb9:s054]. She specifically highlighted two: establishing a formal lived experience advisory body to co-design reforms, and referring legislative options to criminalise group-based coercion to the Victorian Law Reform Commission for a report by July 2028 [TA-260826-vichns-9f81c0b98fb9:s054].

The second recommendation is notable for its ambition — criminalising group-based coercion would represent a significant extension of Victorian law — and the July 2028 reporting deadline sets a concrete accountability point. On the family violence bill, the Member for Geelong acknowledged family violence workers and victim-survivors directly, framing the legislation as significant for addressing family violence [TA-260826-vichns-9f81c0b98fb9:s083].

The pairing of cult-related coercion and family violence coercive control in the same sitting window reflects a sustained focus on coercion as a category of harm requiring legislative response.

Geelong as a district featured prominently in third-party Assembly references across the window, spanning economic investment, disability inclusion, and clean energy. The opening of Nyaal Banyul — a convention and event centre delivered through the Geelong City Deal with joint state and Australian government funding — was cited in the Assembly as generating jobs and attracting conferences and major events [TA-260730-vichns-4c4a64b6b355:s009].

The Victorian Government announced a $36 million investment in the Gordon's Centre of Excellence in Disability Inclusion and signed the Geelong inclusive employment compact, embedding disability inclusion into recruitment, job design, and workplace support [TA-260813-vichns-3cfdce8de236:s012]. The compact's signatories include local employers, signalling a community-wide commitment rather than a purely government-led initiative.

The Victorian Energy Jobs Plan, announced by the Treasurer, the Minister for Industrial Relations, and the Minister for Development Victoria and Precincts, directly named Geelong as a beneficiary: the plan projects more than $2.4 billion in wages for Geelong out of an $18 billion-plus national total, within a broader projection of approximately 68,000 energy jobs across Victoria by 2040 [TA-260813-vichns-3cfdce8de236:s091].

The government simultaneously committed to a women in energy strategy to ensure equitable participation in renewable energy training and employment. These announcements position Geelong as a focal point for Victoria's renewable energy workforce transition, particularly given its existing industrial base.

Elsewhere in the Assembly window, the Greens moved to introduce an urgent bill placing a moratorium on all new hyperscale AI data centre approvals in Victoria [TA-260811-vichns-559d5117f54a:s016]. Ms Sandell and Dr Read argued that Victoria's 40 existing data centres, with an unknown pipeline of further approvals, risk irreparable harm to climate targets, citing Ireland's experience where data centres now consume over one-fifth of the country's electricity.

The proposed bill would require 100 per cent of data centre energy to come from new renewable sources and mandate community engagement before construction. The motion did not pass, but it surfaces a tension between Victoria's renewable energy investment agenda — including the energy jobs announcements that specifically benefit Geelong — and concerns about the energy and land demands of large-scale digital infrastructure.