Binusha
Introduce yourself and your role as Mayor of Melton?
Mayor Steve Abboushi
My name is Councillor Steve Abboushi, and I'm the current Mayor of the City of Melton. And I'm proud to lead a team of great Counsellors who are very passionate about the issues that affect our residents.
Binusha
What inspired your decision to represent Melton on Council and as Mayor?
Mayor Steve Abboushi
So I first ran for Council back in 2016, and one day I was sitting at the kitchen bench and my wife was there and we had those readings through the newspaper. And there was an ad and it said “Make a difference in your community, become a Council candidate”. And my wife turned to me at the time and said “Why don’t you do this?”
And I looked at her and I said “I don't even know what it is!” And it turns out that, you know, I found out that it could be an avenue to make a difference, and I was already a Youth Worker in the past or at that time. And I thought well if I can help steer services to the community, for the community, especially for young people then I'd be doing the job justice. And I’m very passionate about it, so I decided to put my hand up in my first election in 2016 and I got elected, surprisingly.
Binusha
Yeah, you’ve come a very far way now, and I’m sure the City of Melton really appreciates it.
Mayor Steve Abboushi
Thank you. It's been a lot of work and I'm very proud to still be here, into my third term.
Binusha
What are your top priorities for the City of Melton Council during your term?
Mayor Steve Abboushi
Well, there are opportunities for young people in delivering facilities and services for our community, advocating to the state and federal government to continue to invest in the City of Melton to meet the needs of our growing community. An example of this is, you know, major arterial road upgrades, improved rail and bus services and more schools and higher education opportunities.
Binusha
Yeah, definitely. How does Melton council involve local residents in its decision making processes and what efforts are made to ensure their voices are heard?
Mayor Steve Abboushi
So there's a number of ways residents can get involved in the decision-making processes. We've got consultation opportunities on a range of projects such as parks and playground upgrades, road projects and our draft budget, just to name a few. We engage with community in a number of different ways and it might be online, through surveys or in person at events. We also have just commenced a large deliberative engagement process to help inform the decisions, inform the directions and key priorities of Council, that we're going to be addressing over the next four years. Through an expression of interest process, we've formed a Community panel of over 40 people who are representatives of the community to discuss key issues, share their ideas, and offer recommendations to the Council.
Binusha
Yeah, that's fantastic. What new infrastructure or facilities are Melton Council working towards implementing?
Mayor Steve Abboushi
As a growth Council we've got a large capital works programme. This year it's valued over $230 million and we're also delivering over $200 million in services to our community. In terms of infrastructural facilities, we're upgrading key intersections in the city, delivering new sports facilities, children's and community centres and playgrounds, which is very exciting.
Binusha
How do you plan to create more job or employment opportunities for the people of Melton?
Mayor Steve Abboushi
Local job creation is one of our top priorities. We need more opportunities for our people and our residents to work in quality, diverse roles and to make sure it's close to home. Unfortunately, over 70% of our local workforce leave the City of Melton daily to access employment and we want to change that. We want our people to work in our community. We have a plan to attract investment and create more local jobs and we're one of the leading areas of industrial growth and investment in Victoria. Investment in our employment precincts will deliver 100,000 jobs and contribute $19 billion to the economy.
This is not something that Council can do on its own. We need communities to get behind us and also commitments from the state government to fast track development of employment precincts so we can achieve it. We also need support to increase our skilled workforce and the Victorian Government's investment to construct the new TAFE in Cobblebank by 2028 is a great start and we continue to advocate for a university as well.
Binusha
Yeah. I guess a question that kind of comes under that - what's being done to support the small businesses and local entrepreneurs of Melton?
Mayor Steve Abboushi
So in terms of Business Support, Council offers a range of programmes to support businesses to create relationships with each other to support growth and local development. We've got a series of workshops and webinars along with online tutorials. They're available to up-skill businesses and to support growth and development in areas like marketing, promotion, leadership, business planning and a lot more. Council also encourages local businesses to reach out to the economic and development tourism team for tailored support and consultations specific to their needs and business goals because we know every business is unique and different.
Binusha
Definitely. What efforts have been made by the Council to reduce rates of crime and violence within the city of Melton?
Mayor Steve Abboushi
Yep. So we all know that Victoria police, which is a state government body, is responsible for policing. But we do play an important role in creating a safe community. Creating a safe city is everyone's responsibility, and Council's role is planning, designing and facilitating engagement with our young people. For example we designed public spaces and public lighting, working in partnership with Victoria Police and other agencies on proactive community safety initiatives and holding events and activities to increase community partnership and participation. We also have our Safe City Advisory Committee, which aims to enhance road and community safety in the City of Melton through a whole of community collaborative approach.
If you want to know specifically about youth and youth particular initiatives. We know that offering young people more options to get involved in the community and form positive social connections can go some way towards helping address some of these issues and we have the prime prevention programme, which helps support young people at risk of going into the justice system. We also collaborate with local police to help support young people and their families.
Binusha
Going along with that youth support, how is the Council planning to provide more Youth Services and support for young people, in the city of Melton?
Mayor Steve Abboushi
Yeah. So we provide a range of programmes, activities and support for young people - school holidays and after school programmes, training opportunities, events and leadership programmes. We also collaborate alongside with the police and other stakeholders to support at risk young people.
Binusha
Yeah.
Mayor Steve Abboushi
Things like offering support to young people who are at risk of homelessness. We've got the U Turn 193 programme which helps young people avoid (and you would know about this, being a former member of our Youth Advisory Committee). So that programme helps young people avoid getting involved in a justice system and provides outreach support to help issues at home and school. As well as mental health, which is rising in the City of Melton.
All of our activities are free of charge or low cost, so they're really made accessible for young people.
Binusha
Yeah. What do you envision Melton to look like in the next 10 years, and how are you working to make that vision a reality?
Mayor Steve Abboushi
I want to make sure that our young people know that they can come to us for help and assistance. We have knowledge on how to help young people and we can connect them to services that might be able to help them. So when I look at vision, I look at building a community hub that has agencies located in them that are specific for young people. That's my vision.
Binusha
Do you have any organisations in mind that you would bring to that hub?
Mayor Steve Abboushi
Well things like Odyssey House, who do drug and alcohol, the YSAS, Headspace, you know and co-locate them in a big youth hub that is owned by the Council. So you've got all the services in one place and a young person doesn't have to go from place to place, travelling to different suburbs - public transport is also an issue. So they've got a service, all inclusive, they can get all their needs met and they can create a better future for themselves.
Binusha
Yeah that’s definitely a fantastic initiative. Do you know where you would locate it? Did you have an area in mind?
Mayor Steve Abboushi
I’d want it in the centre of the city of Melton. So when you look at the centre, probably that Rockbank-Aintree area, so that it's not too far from the other side of the municipality down in the Melton area. And then also up here where we are today in Caroline Springs and Taylors Hill they can easily get to the centre of the municipality, so it's at reach for everyone.
Binusha
What is your biggest success story or achievement whilst working for Melton Council?
Mayor Steve Abboushi
When I first got elected in 2016, I had an idea to develop a Youth Forum (you would know about the youth forum). The Youth Forum has now become a great success whereby we have an annual Youth Forum where we're talking to a few hundred young people in the city of Melton, and they get to tell us exactly what's on their mind. Are we creating services and programs that are tailored to them? What is the most pressing issues for young people? So the last time we had last year was at Diggers Rest at our brand new pavilion and community space. And it was fantastic and I'm very proud of that initiative because if I'm not here tomorrow, I know that there's a Youth fForum that is mandated, that Council has to facilitate, and young people's voices are heard.
Binusha
It's definitely grown over the years, like I remember the first one or the first few like were online and then it came to in person like Fraser Rise, Diggers Rest. We've seen it blossom and like, I didn't know you were the one responsible for it which is nice.
Mayor Steve Abboushi
Yeah, that was my initiative back in 2016.
Binusha
What advice would you give young people who want to create change in their community. And for young people who want to be on Council someday?
Mayor Steve Abboushi
I think young people, I think once they find where they fit in; where they belong, who they are as an individual, what they're passionate about, what they're calling is... You know some people, young people have ideas that are very specific about their passion. Just like I'm passionate about empowerment of young people. I think once they find what they're passionate about, I think to reach out to people who have had lived experience - mentors get a mentor. And to help them plan how they're going to fulfil their passion, I think that's really, really important and that's how they can influence change in the community. By working hard in connection with what they're passionate about. You get more out of someone when you see that they're passionate about something.
And you know, I encourage more young people to run in Council elections. I encourage them to put their hands up, if that's what they're interested in to be a representative of the community just like I did when I was probably 30 I think, I started a little bit late. And I think it's a great way to, you know, new ideas are fantastic. So when you get a changeover in Council, it's actually a really good opportunity to bring new ideas and fresh ideas to the table. And if that's something that a young person is interested in, I encourage them to start preparing what their campaigns are going to look like and what they're passionate about. And what they should tell the community, why they are passionate to get on to the Council 'cause that's what I did. And I was elected. And I was very fortunate and lucky and blessed that the community saw that I was passionate about the issues that were in that time.
Binusha
When you first started on council did you see yourself becoming Mayor someday? Or it just happened?
Mayor Steve Abboushi
No! Look, it’s an absolute honour to be the Mayor and to be the official spokesperson and to lead things like the council plan. I’m really enjoying being the Mayor because I’m learning more and I’m being challenged and I’m being stretched and a growth will come from that. But it’s also an honour to serve as the leader. And so, I didn’t think that this is where my life would be in 2025, but I’m the Mayor now and I'm absolutely honoured and very grateful for the commitment and for the opportunity.
Binusha
Last question, what's the best part about working for Melton within Melton Council?
Mayor Steve Abboushi
The thing that I love is we have the biggest, most diverse community in Australia, I believe. So we have 220,000 residents today - over half of them were born overseas. So we speak over 140 languages. We are born from all over the world, from every corner of the globe. We have communities that have come and chosen the City of Melton to be home. And I think our diversity is our greatest asset, and I absolutely love it and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.
