Portfolio — 29 August 2026

The dominant arc for Hawthorn across the sitting window is community advocacy — the Member for Hawthorn, Mr Pesutto, used Assembly time to elevate local organisations and causes, while third-party references positioned him in substantive policy debates on infrastructure, education, and school safety.

In his own Assembly contributions, Mr Pesutto drew attention to health awareness and volunteering as organising themes for the district. He highlighted the Old Scotch Football Club breast cancer awareness lunch, where Lesley Gillespie OAM — co-founder of Bakers Delight — spoke on resilience and community support [TA-260813-vichns-ff06af361824:s020]. He commended the Canterbury Cobras Junior Football Club for its inclusive model of boys and girls playing together, recognising the volunteer ecosystem of coaches, team managers, parents, and supporters [TA-260813-vichns-ff06af361824:s021].

His visit to the Epilepsy Foundation in Canterbury produced a direct call to action, citing the one-in-25 lifetime incidence rate for Australians and urging support through donations, op shop patronage, and awareness-raising [TA-260827-vichns-1d37da03d766:s031]. The Camberwell Sunday market — run by the Rotary Club of Balwyn and now in its 50th year — drew his recognition of its record of raising more than $26 million for community and humanitarian causes since 1976 [TA-260827-vichns-1d37da03d766:s032].

Taken together, these contributions present a consistent emphasis on civil society infrastructure: volunteer-led organisations, health advocacy bodies, and long-running community markets as the connective tissue of the district.

In third-party references, the Member for Hawthorn appeared in three distinct parliamentary contexts. The Minister for Housing and Building, Mr Staikos, cited his own evidence at the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee — in a context that arose from questioning in which Mr Pesutto featured — to reaffirm that the Suburban Rail Loop East project remains on time and on budget [TA-260730-vichns-06b70b591935:s066].

The Leader of the Opposition, Ms Wilson, drew on Mr Pesutto's involvement in judging the Kew first speech competition [TA-260826-vichns-9f81c0b98fb9:s009]. In debate on the Education Training Reform Amendment (Apprenticeships, Traineeships, Schools and Other Matters) Bill 2026, the Member for Ashwood, Mr Fregon, referenced Mr Pesutto's contributions on school community safety orders — a mechanism to manage trespassing and antisocial conduct on school premises — and detailed capital investment across multiple schools in the Ashwood district, encompassing gymnasiums, STEAM centres, playground upgrades, and specialist facilities at special developmental schools [TA-260827-vichns-1d37da03d766:s065].

The school safety thread is notable: it connects Mr Pesutto's Assembly engagement on the Education Bill to a broader legislative debate about student device restrictions and school community safety orders, both of which the records flag as active themes in that debate.