Portfolio — 12 July 2026

The dominant discourse arc for Broadmeadows in this sitting window is community infrastructure and environmental amenity — pedestrian safety on Camp Road, illegal dumping on state-owned land in the outer north, and creek revitalisation along Moonee Ponds Creek — with the Member for Broadmeadows, Ms Matthews-Ward, driving action across all three fronts in the Assembly and drawing ministerial engagement in the process.

The sharpest convergence across the own-member and third-party lanes is on Camp Road pedestrian safety. Ms Matthews-Ward moved an adjournment seeking a safety review of Camp Road between Gibson Street and Railway Crescent and a feasibility study for a signalised pedestrian crossing, citing heavy traffic during school hours near St Dominic's Primary and Penola College [TA-260616-vichns-9dec69d94dd9:s226].

The Member for Greenvale raised the same Camp Road crossing issue separately in the Assembly, signalling that the concern extends beyond a single district's advocacy and reflects a shared pressure point for the Hume area [TA-260616-vichns-9dec69d94dd9:s228]. The adjournment itself carried a civic dimension: a work experience student, Rushil Raina, drafted the motion and was acknowledged by the Member for Broadmeadows as one of the young leaders in Hume — a detail that fused the district's youth engagement program directly with its infrastructure advocacy.

On illegal dumping, Ms Matthews-Ward brought the crisis affecting the outer north to the attention of the Minister for Environment, citing persistent concerns from residents and councils about rubbish left on state arterial roads and state-owned land [TA-260616-vichns-db6eb221750c:s392]. The Minister for Environment, Mr Erdogan, confirmed that the Member for Broadmeadows, the Member for Greenvale and the mayor of Hume Council had all raised the issue with him and described it as a matter of grave concern [TA-260616-vichns-db6eb221750c:s396].

The Minister outlined the existing government toolkit — an illegal dumping clean-up rebate established in January allowing land managers to claim up to 50 per cent reimbursement, an illegal dumping taskforce, and strengthened environmental protection laws enacted in 2017 — and committed to updating the EPA's statement of expectations to sharpen enforcement, noting that work was in drafting eight weeks into his role [TA-260616-vichns-db6eb221750c:s396].

The multi-member, cross-council pressure on this issue gives it unusual weight in ministerial consideration.

The environmental thread extended to creek revitalisation. The Member for Pascoe Vale, Mr Cianflone, acknowledged Ms Matthews-Ward's collaborative role in stage 1 of the reimagining Moonee Ponds Creek project, which delivered $10.2 million in upgrades across creek sections in Pascoe Vale, Oak Park and Strathmore — 43,000 plants planted and a 360-metre section renaturalised [TA-260618-vichns-682983134932:s359].

This cross-district acknowledgement positions Broadmeadows within a broader northern Melbourne environmental corridor investment.

Community recognition featured alongside the policy activity. Ms Matthews-Ward paid respects in the Assembly to Muna Yazdin, who spent 20 years at Hume Libraries running Arabic and Assyrian story times and volunteering at Gowrie Broadmeadows Valley — a tribute that reflected the district's multicultural character [TA-260616-vichns-9dec69d94dd9:s080]. The Member also hosted six work experience students over May and June, taking them to community meetings and school visits across Broadmeadows, Glenroy and Roxburgh Rise, including a visit to Broadmeadows Special Development School to inspect the new $20 million state investment in gym, performing arts and food technology facilities.

On 17 June the Member for Broadmeadows and the Minister for Environment attended a community event at the Shri Guru Ravidass Sabha gurdwara in Campbellfield to mark the 135th birth anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar and inaugurate a bust in his honour, a joint presence that underlines the district's significance to ministerial community engagement in the outer north.

In the partisan lane, Ms Matthews-Ward moved a motion in the Assembly asserting that the Opposition's plan would cut one in seven public sector jobs — including health workers, disability workers and child protection officers — and called on the Opposition to explain those cuts to affected families [TA-260618-vichns-682983134932:s014]. The motion placed Broadmeadows within a statewide argument about public sector workforce, framing the district's workers as directly exposed to any such reduction.