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3 MARCH, 2026
Festival to light up Craigieburn
Hume mayor Carly Moore with the Craigieburn Festival mascot. (Damjan Janevski) 535661_03
Hume’s iconic Craigieburn Festival is returning to Anzac Park again this year, promising a day of family fun and entertainment. The festival will begin at 1pm on Saturday 21 March, with carnival rides, live music and fireworks set to finish the event off with a bang. Hume mayor Carly Moore said the festival is Hume’s most iconic and well-loved event. “I have been coming to the Craigieburn Festival since I was a girl, it is a festival that we have always held here,” Cr Moore said. “There is something for everyone, rides, face painting, animal displays, community stalls and market stalls.” A new addition to the festival is the ‘Clean Up Hume’ spin the wheel attraction, where every visitor wins a prize for answering questions about keeping Hume clean. “The festival is great for families on a budget too, there are lots of free activities and if you get here before 5pm all rides are $5,” Cr Moore said. “These major events play a vital role in strengthening community spirit and supporting our local economy.“
Clean-up army A clean-up corps comprising people convicted of vandalism and illegal rubbish dumping, as well as Work for the Dole participants, could be hitting the streets in Hume. Cr Naim Kurt used the 23 February council meeting to ask Hume officers to consider establishing a community clean-up corps that would be part of employment and community participation programs. He said the corps – which were an idea raised by long-time Hume resident John Mitchell – would act as a consequence for anyone who damaged public spaces. “If you litter, if you vandalise, if you deface our streets and you are convicted, you should be held accountable and you should
be made to clean it up locally,“ he said. “It … sends a message that in Hume, if you do damage our community, you will be held to account and you will help to restore it. “I think that is tough, that is fair and that is what our residents expect as well.” Cr Kurt said the clean-up corps would not replace the work of council staff, but would focus on low-risk supervised tasks including graffiti removal, litter collection, gardening and general clean-ups, which he said are all permitted under Work for the Dole or corrections programs. He said the program would offer rehabilitation and build better pathways for the community. “Hume is one of the few councils not actively leveraging community work orders
or Work for the Dole style programs to support amenity outcomes,” he said. “Other levels of government already run and fund these programs. The framework exists. The participants exist. The need certainly exists. It’s up to us to start that partnership.” Cr Kurt said council officers had already provided advice that indicated the clean-up corps would ease pressure on Hume’s resources and save on contractor costs. Cr Steve Gagen said he thought the clean-up corps was an “excellent” idea. “Traditional methods of dealing with people who have done wrong are very expensive and we have probably all read … about the costs of keeping in prison,” “We are going to get something for this.”
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Council will now write to the federal employment minister and state corrections minister to express its interest in pursuing funding and partnership opportunities for amenity-focused employment and community participation initiatives. A report to the council meeting noted that council has been in negotiations with the Department of Justice and Community Services for a partnership opportunity for a graffiti removal program, with a provision for a litter collection component as an optional inclusion. Budget for the graffiti component is included in the 2026-27 proposed budget, the report stated, but should council wish to utilise the litter collection service, extra funds would need to be allocated.
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