Portfolio — 31 July 2026

The defining moment in the St Albans window is the permanent closure of the Kealba landfill. The Member for St Albans told the Assembly that the EPA revoked Barro Group's operating licence on Monday, ending the facility's operation [TA-260730-vichns-06b70b591935:s037]. The Member framed the outcome as the product of sustained advocacy: she described consistent representation to the EPA and, most recently, delivering community petitions carrying hundreds of signatures to the Minister for Environment [TA-260730-vichns-06b70b591935:s037].

In her Assembly contribution she stated that Barro Group had operated with disregard for the local community, and she identified Brimbank City Council and Barro Group as the parties now responsible for remediating the site [TA-260730-vichns-06b70b591935:s037].

Across her ministerial media releases, the Member for St Albans — acting as Minister for Small and Family Business — announced two substantial small business initiatives in the window. She opened the $10 million Hospitality Security Fund, which provides grants of up to $5,000 to hospitality venues across the City of Melbourne, City of Port Phillip, City of Stonnington and City of Yarra to improve security and fire safety, with enhanced grants of up to $25,000 available to venues directly affected by the arson campaign under investigation by Operation Eclipse [TA-260702-vicmed-2b8bc36bb269].

Victoria Police has made more than 65 arrests and laid 350 charges through Operation Eclipse since April. The Minister also announced an expansion of the Business Skills Mentoring program, giving small business owners access to three free confidential one-on-one mentoring sessions, and flagged the forthcoming launch of the Multicultural Skills Fund and Small Business Activation Fund [TA-260721-vicmed-4725551e277c].

The two lanes of this window share an emphasis on direct community intervention — the landfill closure representing a locally specific outcome the Member claimed as the result of her sustained pressure, while the small business portfolio activity reflects a broader statewide role. The remediation obligation the Member placed on Barro Group and Brimbank City Council signals that the landfill story has an ongoing chapter that the district will continue to watch.