Category: 3. Business

Restaurant owner Christopher Nguyen says he “feels sorry” for Victoria Street, a once-buzzing hub of Vietnamese restaurants sometimes known as Melbourne’s “Little Saigon” or “Little Vietnam”.

“It’s very bad now,” the owner of one of the street’s longest-running restaurants said. 

“All the customers say, ‘What’s wrong with this street? Why is everything closed?”

According to a report by consultants Colliers, 22.4 per cent of shops in the street, which forms the border of Richmond and Abbotsford, are vacant.

Amid the graffitied roller doors and tattered awnings, “for lease” and “free rental” signs are everywhere. The neglect — especially at night, when the street is much quieter than it used to be — is showing.

And business owners admit it can feel unsafe, particularly near the corner of Victoria and Lennox streets, where people tend to gather before or after visiting Victoria’s only supervised injecting room.

The Medically Supervised Injecting Room (MSIR), housed in North Richmond Community Health’s premises in Lennox Street, began as a trial in 2018 and has safely managed more than 11,000 overdoses since.

However, drug use is still a huge issue in the area, with the Yarra City Council area recording the highest number of heroin-involved overdose deaths in Victoria during the decade to 2024, with 173 deaths in that period, according to Coroners Court of Victoria figures. 

It’s not the sole issue facing the street though, with demographic shifts, the economy and changing consumer tastes all playing their part, traders say. 

Some businesses have also been slow to embrace change, such as using social media.

Such factors have resulted in a street that’s a far cry from its heyday, when there was a flurry of colourful activity as streams of visitors arrived from around Melbourne to buy fresh produce and Asian groceries, and take their pick of cheap eats.

Yarra City Council is now working on a revitalisation of Victoria Street, which promises to make it “greener, more attractive, and safer for everyone”, according to its website.

However, the plan doesn’t include the supervised injecting room, because that’s run by the state government.

This financial year, the council has allocated $900,000 to its multi-year revitalisation project, including what it says are “high impact quick wins” such as graffiti removal and garden bed renewals.

It has also received $250,000 in state government funding to make the area more vibrant.

A street in need of a new identity

Andrew Phu, who grew up on Victoria Street and is a member of the Victoria Street Business Association, says the street has “lost its touch”.

The 34-year-old spent much of his childhood living in a nearby social housing tower, after his grandparents arrived in Australia as refugees from Vietnam in the late 70s, following the end of the Vietnam War in 1975.

His family owned several restaurants along the streets from the 1980s through to about 2007, including Van Van, which operated under the street’s clock tower.

Mr Phu believes Victoria Street started losing its identity and going downhill in the 2010s.

“It was just the overall gentrification [of the surrounding area], house prices going up, the refugees moving out of the commission housing into normal housing,” he said.

He believes one of the keys to resuscitating the street is creating a new identity that no longer focuses just on Vietnamese restaurants, but rather a mix of cuisines and types of businesses.

“We’ve got to find a new identity for it, because the Vietnamese people, a lot of them, have moved to the western corridor and the northern corridor,” he said.

“So they’re living out that way — Thomastown, Lalor, St Albans, Deer Park. 

“If you go down St Albans to Alfrieda Street, it’s like Richmond back in the 90s.”

He says while some people have given up on fixing Victoria Street, he believes progress can be made over the long term.

“The vacancy rate in Victoria Street is 22 per cent, but if it gets into the 30s, that’s when you’re in a lot of trouble.”

A long way from the ‘golden times’

Ha Nguyen, the business association’s president, says in its “golden times” — from the late 90s to early 2000s — the street had 30-odd Vietnamese restaurants.

“That’s not going to be happening [again] any time soon,” Mr Nguyen, who runs a cooking school on the street, said.

“They need to have a little bit of a readjustment what kind of industries are going to come.”

Mr Nguyen said encouraging more residential development — so long as the right infrastructure was in place — would also help the street, and tie in with the state government’s Plan for Victoria, which includes the target of 44,000 new dwellings in the Yarra municipality by 2051.

As for the divisive supervised injecting facility, Mr Nguyen believed the state government should also explore other options, such as providing more rehabilitation services.

However, the state government rejected calls for the facility to be relocated.

“This is a critical service that has managed more than 11,000 overdoses and saved at least 63 lives,” a spokesperson said.

A plan to avoid the street becoming ‘Detroit’

Yarra City Council Mayor Stephen Jolly, speaking at a recent community forum about the revitalisation project, said there were only three ways Victoria Street could go.

“The first one is that it gets worse and worse and worse,” he said.

“It turns into somewhere like the central city of Detroit or LA South Central. Nobody wants that.”

The second, he said, would involve getting rid of public housing and gentrifying Victoria Street into a “mini Camberwell”.

“We want the third option, and it’s really, really difficult,” he told the meeting.

“What that means is we want successful businesses on Victoria Street, making money and having lots and lots of customers.”

Cr Jolly added that the area should work to hang on to public housing tenants and the Vietnamese community.

“And we also want to make it safer for those people who are neither public housing tenants or business owners, who are thinking of moving into the area, of setting up other businesses there, with quicker red tape and a safe community,” he said.

Others at the meeting presented ideas such as encouraging:

• More apartments to attract young professionals
• A focus on arts and more artists
• More cooking schools
• Start-up hubs
• Pedestrian-only sections of the street.

Many spoke of the need to make the street a destination in its own right.

Bringing new life to faded shopfronts

Down the Hoddle Street end, furniture designer John Morgan is among the business owners bringing fresh life to the strip.

He runs a mid-century furniture shop that also acts as an art gallery and event space.

Mr Morgan, who previously operated in a laneway in Collingwood, was attracted to Victoria Street by the affordable rent and the exposure.

“It’s busy. You’ve got the shopping centre right next door, the train station right there,” he said.

“I really love this area.”

Aside from some building problems at the start of his lease, and a customer’s car being broken into out the front, it’s been largely smooth sailing.

One of the first things Mr Morgan did was take off his security shutters to make the shopfront look nicer. It has worked in his favour, with no graffiti in three years.

To boost security and promote his business after dark, he leaves the lights on and has installed a small security camera.

He’d love to see more businesses on the street take pride in their facades.

“But there are sunshades that are ripped, covered in soot, torn signs and old sticker posters everywhere.

“It really hides the business I think, but it also looks like either there’s nothing there or it looks like a place you’d want to avoid.”

He points out that areas such as Brunswick and Collingwood also have their fair share of graffiti.

“It’s just the businesses below are busy, clean, used, operating — they take pride in their business side at the bottom, and then you don’t notice the rest,” he said.

As for people using drugs in the area, Mr Morgan understands the situation can be confronting for people who are not used to it, but having worked in disability support in housing towers, he is empathetic.

A dining institution in the thick of it

In Christophen Nguyen’s restaurant, the decor is old-school and the food is delicious.

Diners still stream in for the dumpling noodle soup, amongst other hot favourites.

Mr Nguyen said little has changed in the restaurant in the past few decades, with three generations of some families becoming regulars over the years.

However, around 8am each day, it also gets busy outside his restaurant, with people injecting drugs.

He says the cohort is “not really a bother to anyone, but a lot of people don’t understand”.

“To me, they are sick people, but [if] you come from somewhere [else], you don’t think that way,” he said.

“You’re scared. You don’t want your children to see that.”

Aside from a new location for the injecting room, Mr Nguyen believes anything that can be done to beautify the street is a step in the right direction.

Lives saved every day

North Richmond Community Health CEO Simone Heald understands many people would prefer the Medically Supervised Injecting Room (MSIR) was elsewhere.

“Let’s not pretend that it’s not confronting, having an MSIR within an area that you live,” she said.

“It is a concern for neighbours, and I don’t want to diminish that at all.”

However, Ms Heald said the issue was not the facility itself, but rather the drug trade that has existed in the area for a very long time.

“I think that’s something that gets forgotten in some of the conversations,” she said.

Often, she said, problems in the area — including a person who died of natural causes about a year ago — are wrongly associated with the MSIR.

Ms Heald said she wished the conversation could focus not on the facility’s location next to a school, but on how the community can work together to address the area’s illicit trade.

The centre has recorded 600,000 visits since 2018, and saved countless lives every day, Ms Heald said.

It has also provided 2,500 bloodborne virus tests and helped almost 400 people start treatment for Hepatitis C.

Perhaps just as importantly, it has also provided social care and kindness.

“We have these community members that are pretty much ostracised by society for the choices that they’re making, and they come to a place where they are safe,” Ms Heald said.

“People care for them, people accept them. So there’s that social kindness as well for them they don’t get for some parts of the day.”

Ms Heald said the community health centre was also considering options to provide a safe space for people to gather, other than at the corner of Victoria and Lennox streets, which could be “unnerving” for passers-by.

The Victorian government spokesperson said everyone had to right to feel safe in their community.

“That’s why we have made significant investments to improve safety and amenity around the MSIR, including more cameras, better police coordination and expanded outreach services,” they said.

Pho restaurant battles through

A few hundred metres away, Hung Vo and his family run one of the street’s busier restaurants, serving up affordable pho.

His parents, who arrived in Australia from Vietnam in 1981, opened their first restaurant on the street about 25 years ago, out of necessity, Mr Vo said.

“My mum had already been working at a restaurant in Footscray, and my dad had just been retrenched — he used to work at the old Dunlop factory,” he said.

Mr Vo said problems on Victoria Street had gotten worse recently, but his family has chosen to “battle through”.

“We’ve been here so long, we’re able to do what we do,” he said.

He believes improved lighting, CCTV and an increased police presence are among the answers.

And whilst the Vietnamese heritage of the street is important, he believes the street has to evolve, by introducing a wider mix of businesses.

He points to nearby Bridge Road, which was once a discount fashion mecca but has had to change with the times.

After all, in the 1950s and 1960s, before the wave of immigrants from Vietnam, Victoria Street was different again — comprising many immigrants from Italy and Greece.

A small garden fosters a sense of pride

Alan and Yvonne Perkins live just around the corner from Victoria Street.

When they arrived four years ago, Ms Perkins was surprised by the way some locals spoke about the area.

“I have never been in a place where people come and introduce themselves … with the words ‘people are terrible around here’,” she said

“If you come at it with the view that everyone’s terrible, then you don’t want to communicate with people. 

“And that’s part of the problem is that kind of social isolation is not good for you. It’s not good for the community that you live in.”

So far, the couple have enjoyed living where they do and accept the area for what it is.

Safety is not a huge concern, though Mr Perkins will meet their adult daughter, who lives with them, at the train station if she’s coming home at night.

To help foster a sense of community pride and stop rubbish being dumped, the pair have created a small garden out the front of their house.

At the beginning, Ms Perkins said, plants were being stolen. She was tempted to give up, until a forklift driver stopped by to admire the one flower left standing.

The garden has now become a source of connection, and prevented most rubbish being dumped there, she said.

The pair believes everyone needs to do their little bit — and have the difficult conversations — to help Victoria Street thrive.

“I actually feel we’re kind of at this difficult stage, but when you get into a difficult state, there’s a turning point,” Ms Perkins said.

For Hung Vo, any possible solution must involve looking to the future.

“The main criteria is we have to look forward, we can’t be looking back,” he said.

“But it doesn’t mean we have to lose our roots.”

The woman who oversaw the operation to keep coach travel as smooth as possible during the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II has been recognised in the New Year Honours list.

Fatima Benzbir from Horley, Surrey, is a senior transport manager for National Express and is based at Gatwick Airport, specialising in organising coaches for major events such as festivals.

During the funeral coach services that normally ran from Victoria were relocated to Wembley Stadium, an operation she led which her manager described as “one of the most significant and logistically demanding transport operations in recent history”.

Ms Benzbir has been awarded an MBE, something she said left her “thrilled and humbled”.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

1.  On July 1, 2025, the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) transmitted to me a report on his investigation into the effects of imports of timber, lumber, and their derivative products (collectively, wood products) on the national security of the United States under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended, 19 U.S.C. 1862 (section 232).  Based on the facts considered in that investigation, the Secretary found and advised me of his opinion that wood products are being imported into the United States in such quantities and under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security of the United States and provided recommendations for action under section 232 to adjust the imports of wood products so that such imports will not threaten to impair the national security of the United States.

2.  In Proclamation 10976 of September 29, 2025 (Adjusting Imports of Timber, Lumber, and Their Derivative Products Into the United States), I concurred in the Secretary’s finding that wood products are being imported into the United States in such quantities and under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security of the United States and adopted a plan of action to adjust the imports of wood products so that such imports will not threaten to impair the national security of the United States.

3.  In Proclamation 10976, I directed the United States Trade Representative (Trade Representative), in consultation with the Secretary and any senior official the Trade Representative deemed appropriate, to pursue negotiations of agreements or continue current negotiations of agreements to address the threatened impairment of the national security with respect to imported wood products from any country and from time to time update me on the status or outcome of those negotiations.  I also imposed a 10 percent ad valorem tariff on imports of certain softwood timber and lumber and a 25 percent ad valorem tariff on imports of certain upholstered wooden products, kitchen cabinets, and vanities.  I further stated that on January 1, 2026, the duty rate for upholstered furniture would increase from 25 percent to 30 percent and the duty rate for kitchen cabinets and vanities would increase from 25 percent to 50 percent except for countries with which the United States reached an agreement that addresses the threatened impairment of the national security posed by imports of wood products.

4.  The Trade Representative has informed me that the United States continues to engage in productive negotiations of agreements with multiple countries to address the threatened impairment of the national security with respect to imports of wood products.  After considering the information the Trade Representative has provided me, among other things, I determine that it is necessary and appropriate to continue these negotiations and to delay for an additional year the increase in the duty rates for upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets, and vanities.  In my judgment, the action in this proclamation will result in more productive negotiations of agreements to address the threatened impairment to the national security found in Proclamation 10976, while the tariffs imposed in Proclamation 10976 will continue to adjust the imports of wood products and address the threat to impair the national security found in Proclamation 10976.

5.  Section 232 authorizes the President to take action to adjust the imports of an article and its derivatives that are being imported into the United States in such quantities or under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security.  Section 232 includes the authority to adopt and carry out a plan of action, with adjustments over time, to address the national security threat.  That initial plan of action may include negotiations of agreements with foreign trading partners along with other actions to adjust imports to address the national security threat, including tariffs.  

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 232, and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, do hereby proclaim as follows:

(1)  Proclamation 10976 is amended by revising clause 5 to read as follows:

“(5)  The rates of duty established in this proclamation shall apply with respect to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on October 14, 2025.  Effective January 1, 2027, the duty rate in clause 2 shall increase to 30 percent and the duty rate in clause 3 shall increase to 50 percent, and shall continue in effect, except for countries with which the United States reaches an agreement that addresses the threatened impairment of the national security posed by imports of wood products.  Except as otherwise provided in this proclamation, the tariffs imposed in this proclamation are in addition to any other duties, taxes, fees, exactions, and charges applicable to such imported wood products.”

(2)  The Trade Representative, in consultation with the Secretary and any senior official the Trade Representative deems appropriate, shall pursue negotiations of agreements or continue current negotiations of agreements to address the threatened impairment of the national security with respect to imported wood products from any country.  The Trade Representative shall, from time to time, update me on the status or outcome of the negotiations described in Proclamation 10976 and this proclamation.  The Trade Representative shall provide one of these updates shortly before the date that is 180 days after the date of Proclamation 10976.

(3)  Any provision of previous proclamations and Executive Orders that is inconsistent with the actions taken in this proclamation is superseded to the extent of such inconsistency.  If any provision of this proclamation or the application of any provision to any individual or circumstance is held to be invalid, the remainder of this proclamation and the application of its provisions to any other individuals or circumstances shall not be affected.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fiftieth.

                               DONALD J. TRUMP

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Entergy Arkansas will host a series of in-person customer care events across the state beginning Monday, Jan. 5, connecting customers with tools, resources and community partners focused on providing on-site assistance and energy savings options.

Entergy Arkansas works with community partners that administer the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which provides financial assistance to eligible households to help cover energy costs.

The events are designed to help customers better manage their utility bills, learn about available assistance programs and access trusted community resources—all in one place. Customers can speak directly with Entergy Arkansas representatives, partner utilities and nonprofit organizations about payment options, energy efficiency programs and other support services.

“These events are about meeting people where they are, listening to their needs, and helping them access resources and tools that can help manage their household budgets,” said Ventrell Thompson, VP of customer service. “By bringing resources together in one place, we can help people better understand their options so they get the assistance they need.”

At each location, Entergy Arkansas customer service representatives will be available to help customers sign up for LIHEAP assistance; answer billing questions; provide details about flexible payment options, energy-saving tips and information about programs designed to help customers reduce monthly energy costs.

Customers interested in applying should bring the following items:

• A driver’s license or state-issued ID
• Social Security card or number
• Proof of all income
• A copy of their most recent electric bill
• Lease agreement (if living in subsidized housing or if utilities are included in rent)

The events are open to the public, and no appointment is required. The event schedule and locations is as follows:

Monday, Jan. 5 | 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Arkansas State Fairgrounds – Little Rock

Resources include:

• LIHEAP application assistance
• Entergy Arkansas customer support
• North Little Rock Electric
• Summit Utilities
• Arkansas Hunger Alliance
• Child Support Office representative
• Arkansas Department of Human Services
• Energy Efficiency programs
• Single Parent Scholarship Fund

Informational tables:

• Bill Toolkit and payment assistance programs
• Single Stop information
• Kids to College resources

Tuesday, Jan. 6 | 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.
828 Visor St. – Camden

Resources include:

• LIHEAP application assistance
• Entergy Arkansas customer support

Informational tables:

• Bill Toolkit and payment assistance programs
• Single Stop information
• Kids to College resources

Wednesday, Jan. 7 | 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.
100 W. 8th St. – El Dorado

• LIHEAP application assistance
• Entergy Arkansas customer support

Informational tables:

• Bill Toolkit and payment assistance programs
• Single Stop information
• Kids to College resources

Thursday, Jan. 8 | 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.
100 Meadowbrook Lane – Magnolia

• LIHEAP application assistance
• Entergy Arkansas customer support

Informational tables:

• Bill Toolkit and payment assistance programs
• Single Stop information
• Kids to College resources

For more information about Entergy Arkansas programs such as the Bill Toolkit, visit entergyarkansas.com or call 1-800-ENTERGY (1-800-368-3749). The Bill Toolkit consolidates helpful resources for customers interested in exploring ways to lower their electric use and costs and learn more about different payment options the company offers. It also provides information on energy efficiency programs and the incentives and rebates associated with these programs.

 

About Entergy Arkansas
Entergy Arkansas provides electricity to approximately 735,000 customers in 63 counties. Entergy Arkansas is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR). Entergy produces, transmits and distributes electricity to power life for 3 million customers through our operating companies in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. We’re investing for growth and improved reliability and resilience of our energy system while working to keep energy rates affordable for our customers. We’re also investing in cleaner energy generation like modern natural gas, nuclear and renewable energy. A nationally recognized leader in sustainability and corporate citizenship, we deliver more than $100 million in economic benefits each year to the communities we serve through philanthropy, volunteerism and advocacy. Entergy is a Fortune 500 company headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, and has approximately 12,000 employees. Learn more at EntergyArkansas.com and connect with @EntergyARK on social media.