Portfolio — 12 July 2026

The Member for Eltham, the Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Natural Disaster Recovery, and Minister for Equality, Ms Ward, brought three distinct themes to the Assembly across the 16 and 18 June sitting days: a substantial CFA investment announcement, recognition of a community fundraising milestone within the district, and acknowledgment of five Eltham residents honoured in the King's Birthday list.

The centrepiece of the Assembly contribution was a $100 million commitment to new Country Fire Authority appliances over the next 10 years, building on $40 million invested in the prior budget year [TA-260616-vichns-9dec69d94dd9:s143]. Ms Ward attended a delivery event at Wendouree in Ballarat where the CFA took possession of a new next-generation medium pumper, illustrating the pace of rollout — on average, the CFA received one new appliance every four days over the preceding 12 months.

The government framed this as a record funding level and drew an explicit contrast with what it characterised as the opposition's policy of cutting emergency services funding by $1.6 billion [TA-260616-vichns-9dec69d94dd9:s161]. That framing positions CFA investment as a continuing point of political differentiation, not merely an administrative milestone.

Within the district, the Minister recognised an exhibition match between the Diamond Creek All-Stars and Northern Footy Show All-Stars — featuring guest coaches Terry Daniher and Dipper DiPierdomenico — that raised over $95,000 for motor neurone disease research through FightMND, with donations still accruing at the time of the parliamentary statement. Ms Ward named Diamond Creek Junior Football Club president Mark Shields and volunteers Cairenn O'Donoghue and Rachael O'Connor-Horan for coordinating the event, alongside FightMND CEO Matt Tilley.

Five residents of Eltham received King's Birthday honours, spanning a breadth of fields: Professor Grahame Coleman AM for animal welfare and science, Emeritus Professor Kaye Stacey AM for education and mathematics, Emeritus Professor Richard Dowell AO for audiology and the development of the cochlear implant, Ms Fiona Macken AFSM for service with the Diamond Creek fire brigade and the CFA, and the late Ray Wilton OAM for community volunteering and primary school education [TA-260618-vichns-682983134932:s296].

Ms Macken's recognition sits alongside the CFA investment thread — both Assembly contributions on 18 June touched on emergency services, suggesting a coherent district identity around community resilience and volunteer service.

Beyond the Assembly, the Minister for Equality released two successive funding announcements via ministerial media releases. The Midsumma Regional Activation Program offers grants up to $10,000 for regional and rural pride events in the lead-up to Victoria's Pride Street Party in Fitzroy in February 2027, with applications open until 3 August [TA-260616-vicmed-9372190143de].

The Pride Events and Festivals Fund runs concurrently, offering up to $10,000 for smaller events and up to $25,000 for larger-scale festivals statewide, with applications closing 7 August [TA-260701-vicmed-f1cc665e0ab5]. The portfolio frames both programs as continuity commitments: the Pride Events and Festivals Fund has supported more than 250 events since 2018, and nearly 10,000 people participated in Victoria's Pride regional events during the 2025–26 season.

Across the two sitting days and two media releases, the record for the district of Eltham in this window spans emergency services capital investment, grassroots community fundraising, national honours, and LGBTIQA+ inclusion funding — a breadth that reflects the Member's three-portfolio ministerial footprint.