Ms THEOPHANOUS (Northcote): My adjournment is for the Minister for Suburban Development, and the action I seek is that the minister meet with me to discuss opportunities for revitalisation in the inner north. The Northcote electorate is a diverse and dynamic community, home to thousands of small businesses and a vibrant arts and multicultural community as well as areas of significant need and disadvantage. If you walk down High Street, Northcote, or Station Street, Fairfield, you will see that our activity centres are major sources of employment, services and economic activity. We take pride in these precincts with their unique north-side character and charm, but if you speak to the traders, as I have, you will also hear many clever and creative ideas about how to make these precincts even better, from wider footpaths to more outdoor activation, better connections and wayfinding, more services that cater to our unique needs, sustainability projects, pop-ups and community activation, the opportunities are endless.

The suburban development portfolio has overseen significant initiatives that look to drive economic and social prosperity in Melbourne suburbs by taking a holistic view about what makes our neighbourhoods thrive. There have been wonderful partnerships with local governments across the state to deliver targeted, community-designed and hyperlocal investments that make suburbs more livable, breathe life into our activity centres and generate local jobs. As we continue our economic and social recovery from the pandemic, we have a chance to think about our neighbourhoods in a way that acknowledges the unique challenges facing our inner-north communities. To me that means balancing significant population growth and increases in density with improvements to our infrastructure, services, transport and jobs. It means considering how we live and move around, what activities we love to do, what services and supports we need better access to and how we can build in equity, sustainability, creativity and wellbeing. The suburban development portfolio is already delivering immense benefits to communities and businesses across the state. I would love to discuss the opportunities for the inner north and share with the minister my community’s aspirations for making our suburbs the best they can be.