The Dandenong Local - Issue #3

G'day, and welcome to Issue #3.

This week the big story is money — yours and council's. The 2026–27 budget heads to a council vote on 29 June, and the numbers are significant: $105 million in capital works, rates going up $53, and nearly $40 million to be borrowed. Public submissions are now closed, but the decision hasn't been made yet. There's still time to show up.

We're also in Springvale this week for the suburb spotlight — a place that's been quietly feeding Melbourne better than most of the city knows, and is now facing some significant change on the horizon.

And if you've driven past a shipping container on a Dandenong industrial estate and thought "that looks like a kebab shop" — yes, it is, and yes, council fought it. VCAT had other ideas.

— Topher, Editor · The Dandenong Local

Council is about to lock in $105 million in spending. Here's what's in it for you — and what it'll cost.

Greater Dandenong Council will vote to adopt its 2026–27 budget at its meeting on Monday 29 June — and the numbers are worth knowing before the gavel falls. The draft, tabled on 18 May, proposed $105 million in capital works, $39 million in borrowings, and a rate rise that will add an average of $53 to household bills.

The centrepiece is the new Oasis Aquatics and Wellbeing Centre at Mills Reserve — $40.28 million of the capital spend is headed there this financial year alone, out of a total project cost of $122 million. The centre is on track to open mid-2027. It will also carry $39 million in new borrowings, a figure that has generated debate among councillors.

Councillor Sean O'Reilly has been the loudest critic, questioning whether the long-term capital works plan is too heavily weighted toward Dandenong — he estimated approximately nine out of every ten dollars in the 10-year capital forecast goes to Dandenong-located projects. He has also raised the idea of selling the current Oasis pool site on Mason Street for around $20 million to reduce debt, a proposal that has drawn pushback from squash and table tennis users of the existing facility.

Beyond Oasis, the draft also includes $3.6 million for a glass-recycling bin rollout (still under scrutiny), $6 million to complete the long-delayed Dandenong New Art gallery (DNA), an $8 million-plus software systems overhaul, $10.4 million on road renewal, and $2.4 million to repair the Dandenong Market basement car park. There's also $1.1 million allocated to library books and resources — a line item that tends to get lost in the bigger numbers.

On rates: the 2.75 per cent cap set by the state applies, but a separate waste charge rise — outside the cap — means the average household bill will sit at $1,617, up $53 from this year. That $31 increase in waste charges reflects soaring council waste management costs, up more than $950,000.

There's also an ongoing industrial dispute that isn't going away. Council staff — members of the Australian Services Union — held a 24-hour strike on 5 May as part of what the union described as the largest-ever local government strike in Victoria. The ASU says it has not received a single wage offer from any of the eight councils involved, despite months of bargaining. A second strike is now confirmed for Wednesday 17 June, with more than 1,500 workers from Greater Dandenong and seven other councils expected to march to Parliament. Workers are seeking a 10 per cent pay rise in the first year to recover wages they say have fallen in real terms since 2021. Council has budgeted 2.75 per cent. Star Weekly

Community submissions closed on 2 June, but the public can still attend or watch the meeting on 29 June. It starts at 7pm at Dandenong Civic Centre, 225 Lonsdale Street — or on the Urban Screen in Harmony Square if the gallery is full. Details: greaterdandenong.vic.gov.au

Twenty-two kilometres south-east of the CBD, Springvale is one of those suburbs that the rest of Melbourne drives past on the way to somewhere else. That's their loss. Springvale has been quietly doing something extraordinary for the better part of fifty years — building one of Australia's most significant Vietnamese and Southeast Asian cultural precincts, one restaurant, one grocery, one herbalist at a time.

The story starts with European settlers in the 1880s and a railway line through to Dandenong in 1879. The real transformation came in two waves: post-World War II immigration from Europe, followed by the arrival of Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees from the late 1970s onwards. That wave changed the commercial character of the suburb permanently. The strip along Springvale Road became a destination for fresh Asian produce, street food, bakeries, grocers, and goods you genuinely cannot find anywhere else close to Melbourne.

Vietnamese is by far the most commonly spoken language after English in Springvale — around 24.5 per cent of residents — compared to about 13 per cent speaking Chinese languages. More than four times as many Springvale residents were born in Vietnam than in China. The Vietnamese community is the cultural backbone of the suburb. That said, the Chinese community has a significant commercial presence, and the broader mix — Cambodian, Indian, and dozens of other backgrounds — is what gives Springvale its layered, genuinely multicultural character. It is not Chinatown; Melbourne's Chinatown is on Little Bourke Street in the CBD. Springvale is something different: a working suburb that became a food destination without trying to be one.

Today, around 22,000 people call Springvale home. The Springvale Community Hub — a modern facility housing the library, community meeting spaces, and the Waa and Bulln Bulln Corroboree Ceremonial Firepit — sits at the heart of the suburb. The annual Springvale Winter Fest, returning this year on Sunday 21 June, draws visitors from across the south-east.

But Springvale is also in the middle of a significant planning debate. Earlier in 2026, the State Government released draft activity centre maps proposing apartment towers of up to 16 storeys in central Springvale — some of the densest housing proposed anywhere in the south-east. The suburb needs more housing; the rental market is tight. But residents are asking whether 16 storeys is development happening with the community or to it. Under the proposed "deemed to comply" system, traditional objection rights would be significantly curtailed.

The State Government's draft maps are still under review. What happens next will shape what Springvale looks like for a generation. In the meantime, it's still one of the best places in Melbourne to eat — and on Sunday 21 June, it's throwing a winter party.

"Proper capitalisation is the difference between helping your Uncle Jack off a horse

and helping your uncle jack off a horse."

— Lee, Springvale

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

Thanks for reading Issue #3. If something caught your eye — a story, a tip, a local moment worth sharing — hit reply. Everything that comes in gets read.

The big one to watch this month: council votes on the 2026–27 budget on Monday 29 June. We'll be across it.

If you know someone who'd find this useful — forward it on. Word of mouth is how we grow.

See you next Wednesday. ☀️

— Topher · The Dandenong Local

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