Portfolio — 12 July 2026

The Assembly window for Croydon spans two distinct threads: a community recognition by the Member for Croydon, Mr David Hodgett, and two third-party interventions that drew the district into broader debates on public safety and regional housing.

Mr Hodgett used his Assembly time to recognise Tony Vallance of Building Better Brains, who received the 2026 Australian Counselling Association Excellence in Counselling Community Impact Award for developing Dads Chat [TA-260616-vichns-9dec69d94dd9:s072]. The program is a five-part strengths-based workshop series designed to address the support gap Vallance identified for fathers and male carers.

Delivered in collaboration with Building Better Brains and supported by Yarra Ranges and Maroondah City Councils, Dads Chat brings fathers and male carers together to build peer networks and equips them with practical tools covering communication, emotional wellbeing, child development, parenting styles and play.

The more contested Assembly activity touching the district came from Ms Vallence, who pressed for the reopening of Mooroolbark police station — a locality within Croydon — which she said is shut four days a week as a result of Victoria Police budget cuts [TA-260616-vichns-9dec69d94dd9:s052]. Ms Vallence cited a 22 per cent increase in crime in the area, against a 15 per cent statewide rise, and argued that the government's strategy of redirecting officers from stations into the community has not arrested rising rates of car theft, shoplifting, criminal damage, sexual offences and breaches of family violence orders in areas where hours have been reduced.

The family violence dimension of Ms Vallence's argument connects the public safety debate to a separate policy domain, since reduced station availability has implications for response capacity where intervention orders are in play.

The housing thread entered the record through Ms Addison, who reported on the Legislative Assembly Environment and Planning Committee's inquiry into regional housing supply, released in November 2025 [TA-260617-vichns-9fa22f0e851d:s132]. That inquiry produced 12 findings and 34 recommendations. The committee found regional Victoria's population growth is outpacing housing supply, with acute pressure on people on low incomes, older Victorians, young families, those experiencing family violence and Aboriginal Victorians seeking culturally appropriate housing.

Ms Addison welcomed the government's response, tabled the prior week, which accepted, supported in principle, or placed under consideration the committee's recommendations, framing the overall package as a long-term coordinated strategy built on existing planning reforms and infrastructure investment.

Across the window, the dominant concerns touching Croydon are community-level support infrastructure — illustrated by the Dads Chat recognition — and the adequacy of police station coverage in Mooroolbark, which is the sharpest live contest in the records.