The Dandenong Local - Issue #11

G'day, and welcome to Issue #11.

The $1 billion question mark over Dandenong Market's future got a bit bigger this week — councillors couldn't even get a seconder for the motion to adopt the Precinct Plan, so it lapsed without a vote. More on what that means below.

The mayor's "events cap" saga rolls on, and it's Homelessness Week — a sobering reminder that Greater Dandenong carries the highest homelessness numbers in the state.

Safety Update runs three this week — Dandenong's now Victoria's number one suburb for numberplate theft, a run of unsupervised learners got caught out on Highway Patrol, and a Keysborough man's been arrested as part of a $17.5 million organised crime investigation.

We're kicking off round two of Suburb Spotlight with Keysborough — a genuinely different angle to our Issue #4 visit, promise. Resident Voice call-out continues, but we've got a joke about wallets and an Only in Dandenong about the impossibility of a "quick" trip to the Market. — Topher, Editor · The Dandenong Local

$1 billion Market Precinct Plan couldn't even get a seconder.

The 20-year, $1 billion vision for the Dandenong Market Precinct — unveiled back in March with about 1,000 new dwellings, apartment towers on "underutilised" car parks off Stuart, King and Sleeth streets, a pedestrianised "eat street" and an expanded Pioneer Park — has stalled. Cr Sean O'Reilly moved a motion to adopt the plan at the 20 July council meeting. It lapsed without so much as a vote, because no other councillor would second it.

Cr Rhonda Garad said the plan fails to answer the basic question of who's paying for it. "Given that we don't have $1 billion, the State Government doesn't have $1 billion, it's very likely to be developers," she said. Cr Lana Formoso wants more detail on the precinct's housing requirements before she'll back it. This is despite the draft plan attracting what council's own report called a "record level" of community participation during the March–April consultation, with "strong community support" reported.

So the plan isn't dead — it's just stuck in limbo, with no adoption vote scheduled and no clear next step announced. We'll keep watching council's agenda. Read full story here.

Keysborough

Round 2 of 10 · Postcode 3173 · 27km SE of Melbourne CBD

Back in Issue #4 we covered Keysborough's history, demographics and faith and school infrastructure. This time we're looking at growth — the community facility built to keep up with it, and the growing pains that come with being one of the LGA's fastest-changing suburbs.

The Keysborough Community Hub, on the corner of Villiers and Chapel roads, is coming up on its first anniversary — more than 1,500 residents turned out for its official opening in September 2025. It exists because the numbers demanded it: Keysborough South alone grew from 5,516 residents in 2012 to 11,838 by 2019, and that surge has kept going. The Hub now houses a kindergarten and long day care, maternal and child health services, a library lounge, and outdoor spaces including a basketball ring, amphitheatre and playground — built specifically to handle demand from young families that the suburb's older infrastructure was never designed for.

That growth hasn't slowed. New housing estates continue pushing into Keysborough's southern reaches, and the suburb's two councillors — Cr Isabella Do (Keysborough South Ward) and Cr Melinda Yim (Keysborough Ward) — both have active capital works programmes underway to keep pace.

Growth also brings less welcome attention. As covered in this issue's Safety Update, a Keysborough property on Scotch Avenue was raided last month as part of a $17.5 million organised crime investigation — one of two Keysborough addresses linked to a cannabis syndicate operating since 2019. It's a reminder that a suburb filling up with young families and new estates isn't immune from the sharper edges of a fast-growing outer suburb. Keysborough's story right now is one of a place still figuring out what it's becoming.

Dandenong now Victoria's #1 suburb for numberplate theft

New Crime Statistics Agency data shows Dandenong recorded 310 numberplate thefts from residential streets in the year to March — more than any other suburb in Victoria, ahead of Preston (213), Reservoir (197), St Albans (170) and Craigieburn (170). Local hotspots include Windale, Langhorne, Bennet and David streets. Police say stolen plates are commonly used to disguise vehicles involved in burglaries, ram raids and petrol drive-offs. To protect your plates: park off the street where possible, and fit anti-theft screws (available from hardware stores or free at police stations) — they're extremely difficult to remove and often render the plate unusable if forced off.

Six unsupervised learners caught out over four nights

Highway Patrol intercepted six unsupervised learner drivers over four nights of patrols in July. One was clocked doing 96km/h in a 60km/h zone; another returned a positive alcohol breath test — both now face mandatory licence losses. A separate driver, caught unsupervised for the second time in 12 months, had his (his father's) car impounded again and will face court. A reminder for learner permit holders: driving unsupervised carries fines of more than $1,000, and repeat offenders risk vehicle impoundment and a court date.

Keysborough man arrested in $17.5 million organised crime investigation

A 40-year-old Keysborough man was arrested at a Scotch Avenue property on Tuesday 21 July, as part of an ongoing Criminal Proceeds Squad investigation into an alleged organised crime syndicate linked to at least 41 cannabis crop houses dating back to 2019. Police restrained 14 properties connected to the syndicate last year, valued at roughly $17.5 million, including two in Keysborough. The man was charged with cultivating a commercial quantity of cannabis and committing an indictable offence while on bail; he did not apply for bail and was remanded to reappear in October.

🔒 A reminder: lock it, screw it, don't hand the keys to a 17-year-old.

Three very different stories, one theme — a bit of prevention goes a long way. Screw in your plates, and if you're supervising a learner, actually supervise them.

More info here.

"My wallet is like an onion..."

"...opening it makes me cry."

— Anon, Doveton

Got a good one? Send it to [email protected]

Thanks for reading Issue #11. A stalled billion-dollar plan, a mayor's diary under scrutiny, and a suburb figuring out what it's becoming — plenty to chew on this week.

If you've got a Resident Voice or an Only in Dandenong moment of your own, we'd love to hear it — see above for where to send it.

Know someone who'd get something out of this — forward it on. Free. Always.

See you next Wednesday. ☀️

— Topher · The Dandenong Local

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