Mail - Mt Evelyn Star Mail - 21st May 2024

This NationalVolunteerWeek say thanks to those who donate their time in keeping programs, services and shops afloat because of an innate need to give back.

Volunteering Australia found that between late 2019 and April 2021 there was a fall of about 25 per cent in volunteering but demand for volunteers has reach an all time high.

For organisations like Caladenia Dementia Care, volunteers are a necessary and much needed base for providing support to people experiencing dementia, as well as their carers. Turn to page 11 to read more

Village approved

By Mikayla van Loon

A heavily opposed planning application has been accepted by Yarra Ranges councillors after a number of amendments were made to the proposal.

The land at 375 Swansea Road Lilydale, adjacent to the Bellbird car park, will be developed into a 50 lot retirement village with councillors pushing through the application on Tuesday 14 May. A similar application was submitted to Yarra Ranges Council in 2018, where it was refused in May 2020 and then taken to VCAT by the applicant, where it was also denied permit approval.

The VCAT committee, chaired by Tim Hell-

sten and supported by Geoffrey Carruthers, found the original proposal “inappropriate within the Rural Living Zone” and “inconsistent with the Planning Policy Framework” based on the “scale and extent” of the build of 72 dwellings. Councillor Tim Heenan, who moved the motion to approve, said however, “we are looking at something entirely different from what we looked at back in May 2020.

“I can assure you I’ve seen a substantial change in this new application in relation to all of the matters that I so vehemently opposed.”

An emotional plea from Lilydale resident Kim-Maree didn’t persuade councillors to oppose the development, despite their thanks for putting forward a case for objection.

“375 Swansea Road deserves to be protected as it is part of a beautiful precinct, seen as a community wellbeing and enrichment space, where families not only from the Yarra Ranges, but other parts of Melbourne come together to explore, celebrate, relax and admire this precious environment we live in, not more urban sprawl,” she said. “We are aware of the pressure the State Government and councils are under to deal with the housing crisis.

“However, this is an inappropriate development on a floodplain for a retirement village, and with three lifestyle villages already in Lilydale with current vacancies on appropriate sites, this is not the right thing to do to protect our vulnerable community.”

Kim-Maree also spoke to the protection of the platypus in the Olinda Creek which runs along the boundary of the property.

“The destruction of the flora and fauna, especially six endangered platypus, that I have personally seen on several occasions that live in the Olinda Creek which runs along this development site

“The platypus conservation plan, authored (sic) by William and Serena in 2009, that was commissioned by the council itself for the Shire of Yarra Ranges, noted that the Yarra Ranges Council had a crucial role to play in conserving the platypus within the Melbourne metropolitan area.

Continued page 3

Caladenia Dementia Car volunteer Heather Barnard with club member Frank. 407528

Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS

NEWS Budget ‘misses mark’: MP

By Callum Ludwig

The Albanese Labor Government handed down its second successive operating surplus in the Federal Budget on Tuesday 14 May.

Casey MP Aaron Violi shared his thoughts on the budget with the Star Mail and said at a very top-line level, a surplus can look like it’s a good thing.

“But they’ve [the Albanese Government] significantly increased spending at a time when we’re in a high inflation environment and I believe in a high inflation cost of living crisis, any support for families in Casey is important because people are doing it so tough,” he said.

“But the reality is, for the last three budgets, this Treasurer and this Prime Minister have missed the mark, they’re treating the symptoms, not the cause of the challenge we face in high inflation.”

The underlying cash balance for Australia is forecast to be $9.3 billion for 2023-34, despite predicting a $1.1 billion dollar deficit in the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) released in December 2023.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers MP said in a press conference at Parliament House that this is a budget about near-term pressures and longterm priorities.

“It’s a responsible budget which eases cost of living, fights inflation and makes really important investments in the future of our economy,” he said.

“It is equal parts relief, restraint and reform; cost-of-living relief and spending restraint, which is expected to deliver a second surplus, and also reform and renewal to make sure that we’re getting our industrial base right to create good, secure, well-paid jobs into the future.”

This year’s budget marks the first backto-back surpluses in Australia in over two decades, though Treasury predicts this to be followed by large deficits over the next decade including predicted deficits of $28.3 and $42.8 billion in the next two years. These deficits are greater than previously anticipated in the MYEFO which Minister for Finance Katy Gallagher has claimed is due to ‘unavoidable spending’ on operational costs and renewing expiring government programs and initiatives.

In a press conference, Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor said what we need is a structural surplus, not a windfall surplus.

“It’s all well and good to see the biggest increase in personal income taxes we’ve seen for a long, long time, 23 per cent in two years,

that’s 23 per cent in personal income taxes being paid by Australians in two years, that’s robbing Peter to pay Paul where Paul’s the government,”

“If you want to beat inflation, you’ve got to do what every household in Australia is doing right now, which is showing restraint, Australians understand that.”

Despite their disagreements, the Government and the Opposition have agreed upon a few budget measures with the aim of easing the pinch on Australian households, namely the energy credit for every household, increased rent assistance, capped Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) medicine prices and changes to HECS debt indexation.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton told the ABC’s AM program that the Coalition will support those measures.

“We’ll support those measures because I think a lot of Australians are hurting a lot more than what we might realise at the moment,” he said.

Mr Violi wasn’t entirely as supportive of all the cost of living measures announced in the budget, indicating the relief could have been more targeted.

Native timber support available now

Native timber harvesting has ended in Victoria but support is still available.

Native timber businesses, workers and communities can continue to access a range of support including:

• The Victorian Forestry Worker Support Program –including payments and training, 1:1 case management, employment services, health and wellbeing support.

• Business support

– including exit packages and funding to help diversify.

• Community support

– health and wellbeing services and community development planning and funding.

For more information:

• Forestry Transition hotline1800 318 182

• Victorian Forestry Worker Support Program - 1800 122 001 vic.gov.au/forestry

“Australian people and people in Casey have a right to ask why this [energy bill] rebate of $300 is going to billionaires and millionaires, in what world does Clive Palmer need an extra $300 of taxpayer money,” he said.

“Very similar to the overall budget, it’s [the increase to Commonwealth Rent Assitance] is treating the symptoms, not the causes and the cause is there is not enough houses and not enough available for rent, so prices are getting pushed up,”

“I’ve heard the government call it [HECS debt indexation changes] cost of living relief, but let’s be clear, it’s not, because the weekly and monthly payments on the HECS is the same, it’s just reducing the overall amount which is a positive move, but if inflation didn’t bring the indexation to 7.1 per cent, it might not have been needed.”

The Australian Government’s budget outlook estimates its cost of living measures will directly reduce headline inflation by half of a percentage point in 2024–25 and may see headline inflation return to the target band of 2 to 3 per cent by the end of 2024, currently sitting at 3.6 per cent at the end of the March 2024 quarter.

Mr Violi did have some support for budget

expenditure in the areas of defence, health and migration.

“We need to make sure that we have a strong defence system and the best form of defence is deterrence, so investing more in our defence forces is crucial. To say that increase is good, we will need to await a bit more detail, understand what’s been funded and where it’s going to be spent but I think any increase in defence is important in the current environment,” he said.

“I’ve always been a strong advocate for a strong healthcare system and making sure that those in my community can get access to the healthcare that they need, so I’ll have a look at the detail, but anything that makes it easier for residents in Casey to get to the doctor, to get their medicines cheaper or to get access to a hospital, I’ll support,”

“With the pressure on infrastructure, we need to look at the migration numbers, but be very careful in how we do it, we need skilled migration and targeted migration to unblock some of the labour supply challenges we have but at the same time getting that right while investing in infrastructure for these people is important.”

Treasurer Jim Chalmers, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher delivered their third budget on Tuesday 14 May.

Picture: MICK TSIKAS/AAP

Plea for pool return

By Mikayla van Loon

A petition of over 1000 signatures calling for Yarra Ranges Council to rebuild the Kilsyth pool was lodged and accepted at the first May meeting.

Lead petitioner Janice Floyd presented the petition at the council meeting on Tuesday 14 May, urging the council to consider reconstructing the pool in the shell of what is left.

Sympathising with the council’s decision given the worse-for-wear state of the pool, Ms Floyd said she understood it was “old and tired” and “perhaps it was time to go”.

“I watched the agonising decision you had to make. You knew how popular our pool was, and how its decommissioning would affect us. You also knew how much it was costing to keep it limping along,” she said.

“It did not meet all the council’s strategic objectives. The decision was made not to consult the community and the pool was pulled down within a week but it was too late for us to say our goodbyes and now we were left with nothing.”

What Ms Floyd said she couldn’t understand, however, was the complete shut down of the pool.

“We have a 50 metre long hole in the ground that does not need to be excavated again. Our pool can be rebuilt,” she said.

“It’s a beautiful site. It has a big hole. It has

TheKilsythCentenaryPoolwas decommissionedanddemolishedlatelast year.

Picture:SUPPLIED

infrastructure, parking, lighting…the pavilions, the changing rooms, it has beautiful gardens.”

Putting forward a case for the potential positive outcomes of rebuilding a pool at the Hawthory Road site, Ms Floyd said it would meet four of the council’s strategic objectives.

“One, environmental sustainability. With sustainable design features, solar batteries, heat pumps, water harvesting and recycling, it is carbon neutral,” she said.

“Two, financial sustainability. With low operating costs and with the return of swim fees and pool hire it is financially sustainable and will produce a positive revenue stream.

“Three, economic benefits. With a positive revenue stream, funds can go towards other pools in the Shire and towards building the Lilydale aquatic and recreation centre. Four, participation, inclusion and access. A rebuilt pool achieves all of these 100 per cent.”

Councillor Andrew Fullagar said he appreciated the efforts of gaining close to 1200 signatures from the Kilsyth and surrounding communities but couldn’t promise the desired outcome.

“The question that we as council must wrestle with and consider carefully is what’s best for the Shire overall and that’s a tough gig,” he said.

“We can promise that we will thoroughly investigate the future of the site and ask that officers keep an open mind. We certainly note tonight, as we have done over the last number of months, the community’s strong desire for a pool to be back at that site.”

Ms Floyd said in all of her encounters with the community since starting the petition, she hadn’t“heard anybody say‘No, I don’t want the pool’, they all say ‘I miss it’”.

Cr Len Cox moved the motion to approve the petition for review by the council’s officers and said“I genuinely believe we’ve made a bad mistake in just closing it”.

The acceptance of the petition was moved unanimously.

375 Swansea Rd village plan approved

From page 1

“We ask you tonight in your role as elected councillors and trusted local government, to protect vulnerable elderly people in the community today and for future generations. Protect this beautiful place of open rural land that provides the biodiverse ecosystem for our flora and fauna, and for the community to enjoy.”

Satisfied with the proactive measures taken by the applicant, Lilydale Development, including the 30 metre buffer zone between the creek and the built structures, the native flora rehabilitation works and environmental management of pollutants through improved stormwater drainage, led to the council’s approval recommendation.

This was also supported by the reduction of site coverage from 25.8 per cent to 18 per cent, while impervious surfaces have been reduced from 38.7 per cent to 26.3 per cent.

Urbis town planner Lloyd Elliot, who represented Lilydale Development at the meeting, said improved drainage and flood modelling was a large portion of relooking at the original designs for sign off.

“It’s no easy feat to get Melbourne Water’s support for an application. This application has gone through multiple reviews including peer review by Melbourne Water, and one in 2000 year flood modelling that hasn’t been done before,” he said.

Standard flood modelling typically employs the one in 1000 method, indicating a rain rate that has a 0.1 per cent chance of occurring at that location in any given year, according to WeatherZone.

The Water Technology report, submitted as part of the planning application, outlined the Annual Exceedance Probability (AEP) of a one in 2000 model.

“The one in 2,000 AEP flood levels fronting the development are in the order of approximately 700mm above the one in 100 AEP flood levels (post-development).

“This would be a maximum of 150mm above the [nominal flood protection level] for part of the site. This is within the H1 hazard classification band (ARR 2019)... which is considered generally safe for vehicles, people and buildings.

“This represents a very high level of flood protection and extremely low risk to residents or visitors to the site.”

Mr Elliot said Lilydale Development was also budgeting a “quarter of a million dollars to enhance the drainage infrastructure” along Akarana Road and Swansea Road.

“So in rain events where it is higher, this will add extra capacity and enhance the protection for properties upstream,” he said.

Cr Sophie Todorov questioned the planning officers on the possible indemnification of the council from flooding claims of

council land under a Section 173 Agreement.

The officers responded saying “the 173 agreement is a restriction we put on title and that agreement is not indemnifying the council on flooding at all”.

Instead it’s looking at an age restriction to meet the criteria of a retirement village, maintenance and repairs of the access bridge to fall onto the landowner, ensuring the clubhouse cannot be rented out and the maintenance of the land and the creek meet the conservation zone of the application.

Cr Len Cox was the only one to oppose the application and said the uncertainty around the one in 2000 year flood estimates and the impact on the creek were reason enough for him not to support it.

Gaining support from Cr Jim Child, Cr Heenan moved the recommendation to approve the application, noting further approvals from Melbourne Water but said overall he was “convinced” the application was appropriate.

“I’m not concerned because I know the checks and balances have been done not only with Melbourne Water, with EPA and also with council on making sure the consolidation zone is there, that pollutants can be trapped, captured and make sure they’re dealt with in a substantial way before they make their way into Olinda Creek.”

The motion was carried unanimously.

IN BRIEF

Correction from Tuesday 14 May edition

In the article ‘Sanctuary set to turn 90’ in last week’s paper on Tuesday 14 May, it was printed that the activities at Healesville Sanctuary came ‘with free entry’.

It should have read ‘free with entry’. Witnesses wanted for erratic driver incident in Wandin North Police are appealing for witnesses who saw some concerning driving behaviour inWandin North on Thursday 16 May.

At about 12.15pm on the day in question, a Red Ford Utility was reported driving erratically on Warburton Highway, Wandin North.

The utility has allegedly forced a white sedan off the road and was followed by members of the public in an attempt to obtain the vehicle registration.

Investigators are appealing for any person/s who witnessed the incident/have dash cam footage or know the identity of the other vehicle that has been forced off the road to contact Leading Senior Constable Rhodes at Yarra Junction Police (03) 5967 1104.

On their

bikes

Mooroolbark Police members have commenced bike patrols to further complement community presence and engagement in the area.

With the addition of bicycles to the fleet, members can now cover additional areas including creek trails, bike paths, parklands etc, not easily covered by vehicles.

Members are actively looking forward to sharing a cheerful high five with residents at the park, and to lending an empathetic ear to their concerns.

1700 Mazda BT-50s recalled 1703 Mazda BT-50 (TF) 1.9 ltr models with a year range of 2021 - 2023 have been recalled. Due to a software issue within the Body Control Module, the parking lamps and number plate lamp may not illuminate when the vehicle is travelling below the speed of 10 kilometres per hour.

Ifthevehicle’slightsdonotworkasintended, other road users may not be able to identify the vehicle in parked position and when driven at night.This could lead to an increased risk of accident, resulting in serious injury and/or death to vehicle occupants and other road users.

When parts are available, owners of affected vehicles will be contacted by Mazda Australia to schedule an appointment with their preferred Mazda dealer to replace the body control module, free of charge.

Ryobi nailer/stapler recalled

A Ryobi S Airwave 2-in-1 Brad Nailer/Stapler, model RA-NBS1832, available at Bunning stores nationally has been recalled.

Affected products will display a date code on the side of the nail magazine betweenWeek (W) 43 and Year (Y) 2021 to Week (W) 9 and Year (Y) 2024.

It has been recalled as the safety device can get stuck and allow a nail or staple to discharge through use of the trigger alone and not via the usual two-step actuation process, creating a risk of laceration injuries if the nailer/stapler discharges unintentionally.

Return in store for a refund or contact the Ryobi customer service team on 1300 859 017 or email recall@ryobi.com.au

Hits and misses of relief

By Mikayla van Loon, with AAP

There were a number of measures announced in the Federal Budget under the scope of costof-living relief, some immediate and others over time.

Approved earlier this year, 13.6 million Australian tax payers will reap the benefits of tax cuts from 1 July with an average of $36 saved each week.

“Our new tax cuts for middle Australia are the biggest part of the cost of living relief in this Budget,” Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers said.

“This is about rewarding the hard work of our nurses and teachers, truckies and tradies… Our tax cuts are better for families, communities, women, and young people, and better for business and the economy.”

The most immediate relief for households will come in the form of energy relief, with a $300 rebate, broken into $75 lots, going to all as it won’t be means tested.

“We’ve found a responsible and affordable, but meaningful, way to help people with the cost of living, not just people on low and fixed incomes, but people in middle Australia too,” Dr Chalmers said in an interview with the ABC.

This has stirred some criticism from the opposition, with Federal Casey MP Aaron Violi stating the cost-of-living relief “missed the mark”.

“The reason they need to give money to everyone through a handout is because energy prices are having double digit growth every year for the last two years, and they don’t actually have any solutions to those problems,” he said.

“It’s a temporary fix, it’s a band-aid over a bullet hole. While the relief is welcome, it’s actually not making a big difference, and it’s not dealing with the underlying cause.

“I don’t think giving billionaires and mil-

lionaires $300 of taxpayer money is a great use of taxpayer money.”

Australian Council of Social Service chief executive Cassandra Goldie said the billions of dollars spent should have been used to increase income support payments.

“Somebody who is on $200,000 plus, who owns their own home, who possibly has an investment property ... they will be getting $300 extra when we’ve got somebody in poverty who is unable to feed themselves more than once a day,” she told reporters in Canberra.

Energy relief of $325 has been budgeted for small businesses, something Mr Violi said was “better than nothing” but was concerned “isn’t going to make a tangible and significant difference for these businesses that are, in many cases, struggling to survive”.

In total the energy relief equates to $3.5 billion and will come into effect from 1 July.

“The ABS has shown how cutting energy bills directly cuts inflation too,” Dr Chalmers said.

“Keeping the lights on for families and businesses – and keeping downward pressure on inflation.”

Businesses will also be supported by the extended instant asset write off, a welcomed inclusion from MrVioli.

“I’m a big fan of the instant asset write off and the more we can do it to allow businesses to invest in productive capital and decide how they want to manage their cash flow and their tax bill is a good thing.

“Credit where it’s due, it’s good to see the instant asset write off has continued and it’s a space where I think governments can continue to support small business because it’s not a handout, it’s just encouraging them to invest and make the most of their accounting situation.”

The cost of medicines will also be frozen, with a cap of $31.60 set for prescriptions includedinthePharmaceuticalBenefitsScheme.

Cost caps of $7.70 will also be in place for five years for pensioners and concession holders.

“We’re also investing $3.4 billion to add life-changing and life saving medicines to the PBS,” Dr Chalmers said.

“Cutting the cost of one breast cancer treatment from around $100,000 down to just $31.60.”

While not instant relief, the budget allocated funds to making the Food and Grocery Code mandatory, with CHOICE enabled for three years to produce quarterly price comparison reports.

The idea is that consumers will be able to make more informed decisions about the products they are purchasing based on the reports. The first one will be released at the end of June.

Reducing the burden for parents, especially women, the government has announced it will pay superannuation on government funded Paid Parental Leave (PPL) for parents of babies born or adopted on or after 1 July 2025.

Anglicare Australia executive director Kasy Chambers said while the budget makes headway in tax fairness, aged care and cost of living, “an increase to JobSeeker remains unfinished business”.

“Tonight’s Budget beds in the newer, fairer tax cut package. It also makes a down payment on aged care reforms. These changes are this Government at its best, listening to the community and taking action to get a fairer deal for everyone,” she said.

“We need to see them take a similar approach when it comes to giving relief for people who need it most.”

Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers unveiled measures for cost of living relief in the 2024-25 budget. Picture: AAP

NEWS Housing bump welcomed

By Dongyun Kwon

The housing crisis is one of the top prioritised sectors in the 2024-2025 Federal budget, handed down on Tuesday 14 May, aiming to ease housing shortages and affordability pressures by boosting existing house projects.

The Federal Government allocated $6.2 billion to increase the supply of social and affordable housing with an extra $1 billion being provided to states and territories to deliver new housing including for connecting essential services such as water, power, sewerage and roads.

Despite the multi-billion dollar announcements, those in the housing and homelessness sector, like Anchor Community Care’s chief executive officer Heidi Tucker, remain sceptical about affordability but welcomed the boost.

Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the $6.2 billion over the medium term in new investments is to achieve the Federal Government’s ambitious target of 1.2 million homes in the five years from July this year.

“The achievable target to build 1.2 million homes in the five years from July will be difficult and it requires everyone [including the local and state governments] to do their bit,” he said.

“Huge new investments in housing from a Commonwealth point of view, that’s us doing our bit. I’m confident the states, territories and local governments are prepared to do their bit as well. And one of the key parts of the investment that we are making is in the priority work stream, a billion dollars this year, which is about funding for headworks and the sorts of small-scale infrastructure that makes it possible to plan and release more land and to build more homes.

“We’re training more people, we’re investing in social housing, affordable housing.”

$1.9 billion was allocated for a 10 per cent increase in Commonwealth Rent Assistance and additional $1.9 billion in concessional finance for social and affordable homes along with an extra $423 million for the National Agreement on Social Housing and Homelessness.

Despite the large amount of money going towards the housing crisis, Federal Casey MP Aaron Violi is concerned that it is to treat the symptoms, not the causes.

Mr Violi said the cause is lack of houses available for rent which pushed the prices up.

“So, that’s what we need to focus on because

history says when you give people a subsidy, particularly when there’s a constrained market and there’s a limited supply, it’ll just increase the price of whether it’s a rental or anything else, by that much,” he said.

“That’s the bit we need to see. No doubt families that are renting and are eligible for the rent assistance will appreciate and will welcome the money, and I do welcome support for them in that sense. There’s no doubt they need it, but the real test will be in the next six to 12 months. Once they’ve received the subsidy, if their rent goes up by the same amount as the subsidy or more, it’s not actually achieving anything.

“Because again, unless there’s more supply in the market, it’s not going to alleviate the problem in the long term or the short term. There are fewer houses in the pipeline.”

Community Housing Limited (CHL) chief executive officer Danny Dracic, a leading notfor-profit housing provider for Australia which has built some social houses in Croydon and Lilydale, shared his thoughts about the Federal Budget.

Mr Dracic has welcomed the 10 per cent in-

crease in the Commonwealth Rent Assistance and an additional $1.9 billion in concessional financing for community housing organisations to deliver projects via the Housing Australia Future Fund announced in the Federal budget.

“They were important measures to address the rising rent pressures and growing housing shortage,” he said.

“However, these are not adequate to meet the anticipated demand of 1 million homes by 2036 and more needs to be done. The community housing sector is already delivering thousands of social and affordable homes and has established itself as a confident and capable partner for the Government to deliver innovative housing solutions in collaboration with the private sector.

“We are well-positioned and ready to ramp up the current momentum in providing more homes ensuring more people can be housed sooner.”

Mr Dracic has also welcomed the $13 million funding to support the building and construction industry sector to gain the Work Health and Safety accreditation required to

participate in Government-funded housing projects and said that will encourage construction companies to proactively partner with the community house sector to deliver new social and affordable housing.

Ms Tucker said although the housing sector is pleased with the attention the Federal Government is paying to it, there is still not a grand plan.

“People are in a situation at the moment where rentals are completely unaffordable. In fact, if you’re on a Youth Allowance, you can’t afford anything anywhere in Australia and you can barely, in the capital cities, afford a room to rent. Our concentration is on those people who are very much in that income support space,” she said.

“In terms of this Government, what we are pleased about is that a billion dollars of money that has already been announced as part of the housing fund has been put aside into another bucket from the national housing infrastructure facility, known as NHIF, and it’s been put towards housing for young people, women and children escaping violence.

“Now $700 million of that billion are grants to housing providers so that they can actually afford to provide social housing for those groups. What $700 million will do is that it’s able to provide grants that you don’t have to pay back. And it really means that they can start to build some new housing stock.”

As part of the Youth Foyer movement, which aims at providing accommodation and support for young people motivated to engage in education, Anchor operates Lilydale Youth Foyer.

“We already have a very small Foyer in Lilydale, and we’d like to have a bigger one for more young people,” Ms Tucker said.

“So the Foyer Foundation is looking at that $700 million, thinking that we’ll be able to apply for grants through that and potentially build some more Foyers across Australia.”

Besides that, the Government included $88.8 million in the budget to deliver 20,000 new fee-free TAFE places, including pre-apprenticeship programs, in courses relevant to the construction sector to train more skilled tradespeople.

The Federal Government also announced it would work with the higher education sector to develop regulations that will require universities to increase their supply of student accommodation.

‘Tokenistic’ funding not enough to support legal centres

By Mikayla van Loon

The handing down of the Federal Budget came with a wave of disappointment for community legal centres with only a fraction of the required funding to stay afloat allocated.

A total of $44.1 million was budgeted for legal assistance services in 2024-25, which includes community legal centres (CLCs), Family Violence Prevention Legal Services (FVPLSs), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (ATSILSs), and Legal Aid Commissions (LACs), with no forward estimates of potential funding beyond June 2025 indicated.

Eastern Community Legal Centre (ECLC) chief executive officer Michael Smith said with a “couple of crises going on” the funding appeared “tokenistic”.

“The figures we’ve seen say that there’s only about $9 million for community legal centres and most of that’s just to support wage increases, so it’s not going to help us really expand services and meet the crushing demand that we’re facing every day,” he said.

“There’s a crisis and just demand for legal help generally because we’re turning away hundreds of people a year in need of legal help, and particularly in the area of family violence.

“We are having so many women and children in particular that we’re not able to help because we just haven’t got the capacity.”

Despite the National Legal Assistance Partnership review, which was completed in

March, hinting at chronic underfunding in the sector and Community Legal Centres Australia (CLCA) requesting $125 million in this year’s budget, neither were acted on.

CLCA chief executive officer Tim Leach said the budget was a failure and sent a message that CLCs across the country should start to wind down services.

“The government’s failure to deliver sufficient legal assistance funding or long-term funding security in [the] budget means people and communities across Australia face the very real risk that free legal services they rely on will not be available in the near future,” he said.

“The $9.3 million bump for community legal centres is welcome and will go some way towards keeping some lights on in some centres.

“However, we have been very clear over recent months that our sector needed an extra

$125m for 2024-25. We have over 150 centres, so [the] boost is about $60,000 per centre.This may help some centres limp on, but that’s about it.”

Mr Smith said the uncertainty and insecurity of not knowing what June 2025 and beyond looks like was “concerning” for staff, the community and CLCs.

“Maybe the Federal Government has a long term plan to do something bigger and bolder. We were really hoping for that ongoing commitment in the forward estimates but at the moment, we’re left with a government saying ‘trust me it’ll be OK’. So that leaves people hanging and nervous.”

Last year, Mr Smith said ECLC had to “reduce some services and reduce some staffing positions because of the lack of funding from the State and Federal Government” with the risk of that happening again without sufficient funding.

Increasingly, Mr Smith said CLCs are a key pillar of the family, domestic and genderbased violence response and support system.

Off the back of the State budget, which also left a gaping hole in funding, Mr Smith said particularly at a time when there is a“national crisis” of gendered violence, despite the Commonwealth’s announcements and headway being made after Victoria’s Royal Commission, “we are concerned that legal support is sometimes overlooked in that family violence response”.

More broadly Mr Smith said the announcements following the national cabinet meeting on gender-based violence earlier this month were rather narrow focused.

“The announcements by the Prime Minister recently around the family violence funding, it’s a significant amount of money but it’s really around one particular program.

“We have a national plan to address family violenceinAustraliaandthatreallytalksabout working right across the continuum. So it talks about primary prevention, it talks about early intervention, it talks about response services.

“[The program] doesn’t really look at our strategic approach right across the board. We hope that the announcement after the national cabinet on family violence was just the first step and there’s a lot more steps the Federal Government needs to lead and provide resources for.”

While the Federal Government’s contribution of $6.3 million to reduce the pay disparity within CLCs was welcomed by Mr Smith “because historically, the Commonwealth Government has not provided that kind of support”, the urgency of service funding outweighed the positive impact.

“We want to keep reminding both governments that the situation is urgent, it can’t always be put off to another day. Every day we don’t have the supports we need is another day we’re concerned about women and children at risk of family violence,” he said.

“But also there are lots of other people in the community who need help with their legal problems in a timely way, they grow and become worse and become more expensive for the community, more expensive for the client and more expensive for the government.”

Eastern Community Legal Centre CEO Michael Smith was left disappointed by the Federal Budget for 2024-25. Picture: ON FILE

Heidi Tucker.

Picture: ON FILE

Violi push for urgent care

By Callum Ludwig

Support for some of the most pressing healthcare concerns in Australia received some support in the 2023/24 Federal Budget.

The first cab off the rank for boosting the health of Australians came prior to the Budget’s release as Labor announced that 29 more Medicare Urgent Care Clinics (UCC) will be delivered, though locations are as yet unknown.

Casey MP AaronVioli has been calling for a UCC to service the Casey electorate and said he is following up on the announcement to find out if one of the new UCCs will service the region.

“Our information is that in the next couple of weeks, they’ll be announced or start to be announced so we are very hopeful that we do receive one,” he said.

“It’s clear that Casey as an electorate and the Yarra Ranges needs at least one if not two urgent care clinics so I’ll watch with interest and obviously to those that have signed my petition, I say thank you,”

“We do know the government’s aware of the petition and the paper [the Star Mail] had an article about it with a response from the minister so they’re aware of our need and we’ll continue to lobby them.”

The announcement will bring the number of UCCs around the country to 87 and Health Minister Mark Butler said Medicare Urgent Care Clinics are already fulfilling their promise by making sure Australians can walk in and receive urgent care quickly and for free.

“Medicare Urgent Care Clinics are making a difference, for patients and for busy hospital emergency departments,” he said.

“More UCCs, in more locations, and all patients need is their Medicare card.”

The Federal Government will consult

state and territory governments and Primary Health Networks in implementing the UCCs.

The Australian Government will spend $146.1 billion on health and aged care in 2024–25 while the government claims $8.5 billion in new funding will be spent on health and $2.2 billion in aged care (mostly delivering reforms and implementing recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety).

In further efforts to reduce the pressure on the healthcare system, $90 million has been pledged over three years to implement recommendations of the ‘Independent review of Australia’s regulatory settings relating to overseas health practitioners’, which includes a new pre-fellowship program for nonvocational doctors to support international medical graduates to settle in small communities in Australia and work in primary care while $17.4 million has been spent to extend the General Practice Incentive Fund for another year.

The Royal Australian College of General

Forest Hills

Unlock the freedom of choice

Practitioners was disappointed by the budget with President Dr Nicole Higgins having said the Government has dropped the ball in its commitment to strengthen Medicare and reduce out-of-pocket costs for patients.

“The Government took the first step to repair decades of devastating underfunding of Medicare and general practice care last year – now this work will stall,” she said.

“There is no more support for rural and regional patients, or people with chronic conditions, which is where the need is greatest,”

“There is no substitute for the quality care provided by a GP who knows you and your history. General practice helps people live healthier lives and stay out of hospital. The smartest and most cost-effective health investment Government can make is increasing patients’ Medicare rebates, so they can access affordable care.”

The RACGP also believes UCCs are not ‘value for money’ and are an ‘inefficient use of limited health resources’.

The flagship funding for mental health in the budget came in three specific measures:

· $588.5 million over the next eight years to establish a new national low-intensity digital mental health service that can be accessed free of charge and without a referral to address mental health concerns before high-intensity mental health services are required and

· $71.7 million over four years to fund Primary Health Networks, in partnership with GPs, to recruit mental health nurses and other allied health supports to offer free care and support to patients with complex needs, in between their GP and specialist appointments and

· Upgrading the clinical capacity of the established Head to Health program to provide free mental health services through a net-

work of 61 walk-in Medicare Mental Health Centres.

The controversial decision from the Federal Government to halve the number of psychology sessions that are eligible for a rebate from 20 to 10 per year in 2023 has not been reversed, which has drawn the ire of Independent Senator David Pocock, Casey MP Aaron Violi and organisations like the Australian Association of Psychologists and Australian Medical Association.

Mr Violi said he would have rather that that money was invested in going back to the 20 sessions [subsidised psychology sessions], but any money spent on mental health is a step in the right direction.

“There’s definitely a role for digital health mental health but I don’t think it’s enough in terms of acute mental health, as let’s be honest, a face-to-face session is more impactful,” he said.

“If you think about it in a 12-month period, 20 sessions allow you to go roughly every three weeks, whereas 10 means you’ve got to stretch it out to every five to six weeks.”

People suffering from endometriosis have received another welcome boost as Medicare will cover longer specialist consultations for women with endometriosis and other complex gynaecological conditions like chronic pelvic pain and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) will now be covered from July 2025.

The two new rebates will be added to the Medicare Benefits Schedule to enable extended consultation times and increase the rebates for specialist care. The announcement follows the delivery of endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics and funding for research and awareness of these conditions since the Labor Government was elected in 2022. Women’s Health East was contacted for comment.

Healthcare has received significant funding in the Federal Budget, but criticisms stem from the effectiveness of the measures being funded. Picture: ON FILE

NEWS HECS HELP is not enough

By Gabriella Vukman

Following the release of the Australian Universities Accord on February 25 calling for HECS to be “simpler and fairer,” the federal government has announced new reforms for students with HECS and HELP loans.

Published just prior to the delivery of last week’s 2024 federal budget, the federal government has declared that they will be cutting roughly $3 billion from student debts Australia-wide. Financial support in the form of payments for student placement work is also a part of this new scheme.

Lilydale resident and student of biomedical science Cassidy Iedema said, “I am very concerned about paying my HECS debt back, especially because I owe so much at the moment and have so many years of university still to complete.”

“The fact that they are waiving some student debt makes me feel better but there is still so much more that needs to be done, especially regarding placements undertaken by students,” Cassidy said.

Currently, the government’s changes to the HECS and HELP loan programs mean that $1200 is deducted from the total HECS sum owed by students with a debt over $26,000. Students with a HECS debt of $40,000 will see a cut of $1800.

State president of the Country Women’s Association of Victoria Jennifer Nola said, “this debt cut is only a temporary measure. Our issue is that the indexation is still based on the CPI. For some people in the last three years, their loan has increased by 15.7 per cent which is absolutely huge and unmanageable compared to when debts rose by one to two per cent.”.

“The Australian Credential Regulation Authority (the financial services regulator) now requires banks to consider the HECS and HELP debt as similar to a credit card debt when you are applying for a housing loan.”

“We’ve already got a housing crisis and now

people are getting out there with a reasonable deposit and they might have a good job but with the addition of that $50,000-$60,000 HECS debt they are being knocked back for housing loans when previously they weren’t,” Ms Nolan said.

Where last year’s indexation rate sent HECS debts skyrocketing by 7.1 per cent, leaving students who had paid off thousands of dollars owing more by the end of 2023 than what they began with before they had made any payments, this year’s indexation rate is scheduled to be 4.1 per cent as of 1 June.

Ms Nolan said, “Last year’s 7.1 per cent increase meant that people who had been in their part time jobs and were trying to pay off their loans found that they owed more at the end of the 12 months than they did at the start, even though they had been paying it off for the whole year.”

“We are asking the federal government to remove indexation on tertiary students’ HECS/ HELP loans to enable young Australians to more quickly repay their debts.”

“This indexing is meaning that the debt just keeps going up and up and young people are becoming despondent about the prospect of

ever achieving the dream of owning a home.”

Today, the average Business, Arts and Law degree will cost roughly over $48,000, with degrees in STEM costing around $28,000.

Economist and HECS developer and consultant Bruce Chapman said, “Right now, humanities and arts students are most likely paying more than what it costs to teach them which is inherently unfair.”

“Arts have the highest charge for HECS per year due to the radical price changes elicited by the former government in 2020 and this is a major problem in the whole system.”

“The price for arts students, compared to four years ago, went up by more than double whilst prices for Science,Technology, Engineering and Medicine (STEM) which used to be high came down. Before the Accord process began when this price change happened, I thought that this was a major mistake and that the change in the prices was not going to achieve what the government at the time wanted, which was to encourage students to choose STEM subjects,” Mr Chapman said.

As the designer of the implementation of HECS in 1989, Mr Chapman obliged to help with the University’s Accord which commenced roughly 18 months ago and recommended that teachers, nurses and humanities students who expect to earn less from their degrees, should pay less than students who expect higher incomes.

Mr Chapman said, “When you change the prices for something like arts or anything, it is going to have very little effect on what people want to study.”

“There are thousands of students who think ‘this is unfair but I will enrol anyway because this is what I want to do.”

“I hope that the prices for humanities and other areas where people don’t expect to earn that much fall, and I hope that the other prices in compensation will go up for people who hope to do well in the labour market,” Mr Chap-

man said.

Highlighting another issue with the current HECS system, Mr Chapman noted the incentivisation for those with a HECS debt to earn below the threshold of $51,550 in order to avoid making repayments.

Mr Chapman said, “The current system is where you pay nothing until you earn roughly $52,000 per year, which means that if you earn just below that you pay nothing but if you earn just above that- even if it is just $10, you will have to pay $500 per year.”

“Collecting a tax on a certain proportion of every additional dollar over the threshold amount, like income tax, is a better way to manage this,” Mr Chapman said.

“That’s always been a problem with HECS. Other countries who have systems that are similar to HECS collect on the basis of additional income and they have avoided this problem.”

The accord published earlier this year, recommended a list of reforms for the tertiary sector from financial support for those undertaking placement as part of their degree (such as teachers and nurses) and the establishment of a new sector ‘watchdog’ titled the ‘Australian Tertiary Education Commission.’

Mr Chapman said, “The biggest impact for taxpayers will be for taxpayers who have HECS debts. They will be the people where the prices change importantly over time.”

“The government needs to find ways in which to do this without damaging taxpayers too much through the budget and because of this, I think change will be gradual.”

“The more the government thinks this is going to be politically popular, the more they will be interested in changing it,” Mr Chapman said.

From the impacts on the ability of current students to purchase housing to a petition that received over 233,000 signatures, the discussion of HECS debt and reform in the tertiary sector continues.

2024 HECS reform and student aid announced.

Picture: UNSEEN STUDIO

Positive on renewables

By Tanya Steele

The recent Federal budget drop has made decisive moves towards renewable energy future in Australia.

The budget has backed billions for clean industry, funding to deliver more EV vehicle charging infrastructure to help people make the switch to EV cars and eventually implement the New Vehicle Efficiency standard.

With plans to make Australia a renewable energy superpower the Government is unlocking more than $65 billion of investment in renewable capacity through the Capacity Investment Scheme by 2030.

President of Repower The Dandenongs (formally known under the name Dandenong, Ranges Renewable Energy Association) Neil Evenden said the recent Federal Budget was positive.

“Fortunately this budget is pretty good, better than we had in the past,” he said.

Australia is committed to reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and this Budget will invest $27.7 million to integrate consumer energy resources like batteries and solar into the grid.

“The investment in future manufacturing of renewables is really good for the long term.” Mr Everden said.

The Climate Council has described the 2024-25 Federal Budget as a decisive turn towards Australia’s clean energy future.

Climate Council CEO Amanda McKenzie said building a renewable future and clean industrial base will deliver good jobs and greater prospects for Australians.

“The budget makes an important and overdue opening bid to claim our place as one of the world’s clean energy market leaders,” she said.

“Both sides of politics should back this vision for Australia. It’s not political, it is for our kids.”

$300 energy rebates cost of living relief for

every household are another bonus for all Australian households and around one million small businesses - From 1 July 2024, more than 10 million households will receive a total rebate of $300 and eligible small businesses will receive $325 on their electricity bills throughout the year.

Mr Evenden said that he can see why there is a one-off immediate payment for the short term.

“We’re not going to get energy bill relief, until later down the track when all these plans play out,” he said.

Mr Evenden said he was disappointed by the lack of funding for community electrification

“I think the next budget or maybe the one after that, we’ll have funding to help people change their household appliances to more electric and get off the gas – but that wasn’t in this budget,” he said.

The government also recently announced it wanted to see more gas exploration and and has pledged to use to gas a source of energy until 2050 and beyond - there has been 19 billion allocated to accelerate investment in ‘Future Made in Australia’ priority industries like renewable hydrogen, green metals, low carbon liquid fuels (not gas and carbon).

With no new budget allocations for gas, Climate Council head of policy and advocacy Dr Jennifer Rayner said on 9 May that the recent announcement was more ‘Back to the Future’ than Future Made in Australia’

“Australia is already using less gas, so the suggestion we need more of it sounds like Scott Morrison’s ‘gas led recovery’, not Anthony Albanese’s ‘renewable energy superpower’,” she said.

Mr Evenden said that overall the latest funding is heading in the right direction.

“So some people are not happy certain things aren’t in – I’m talking about energy, it could have gone further,” he said.

The Federal Budget has made positive steps for energy. Pictured: Neil Evenden, president of Repower The Dandenongs. Picture: SUPPLIED

Cambridge Rd concept

Community members are being encouraged to provide feedback on a draft concept plan for the site at 150 Cambridge Road, Kilsyth.

The Draft Concept Plan comes after a round of community engagement from SeptemberOctober 2023, which asked community members what they would like to see developed at the site following Yarra Ranges Council’s purchase of it in 2022.

Walling Ward Councillor Len Cox thanked the community for their ideas and input which helped inform the Draft Concept Plan.

“We had a wonderful amount of feedback from the community on how best to develop this space, and I can’t thank them enough for their passion and ideas to help us with this next step,” Cr Cox said.

“One of the most common responses we had was to consider creating an urban forest, which is essentially an area that features indigenous trees, shrubs and grasses while maintaining good sightlines throughout.

“We also had requests for some recreation spaces, some more amenities such as shelters and seating, as well as a water feature.”

Other features of the Draft Concept Plan included nature play areas for children, paths that guide visitors through woodland and native grasses, bike jump tracks and a gathering and educational space around the existing Manna gum tree.

An upgraded car park, multi-purpose halfcourt near the sports pavilion, picnic area with shelter and public toilet area have also been included.

Community members will have until Monday 10 June to provide feedback on the Draft Concept Plan, and what elements of it they support.

For more information on the site and to have your say, visit shaping.yarraranges.vic. gov.au/150-cambridge-road-master-plan-development.

The northern parcel of land of the 150 Cambridge Road site was purchased by the council from the Department of Education in 2022, following a passionate plea from the community to have the site retained as open space.

It was previously occupied by theYarra Hills Secondary College.

Aside from the Draft Concept Plan, the council will also soon commence some minor landscape works to the site, such as paths, seating, trees and shrubs so that the community can begin using the area for passive recreation.

The council is also considering holding a community planting day to celebrate the attainment of the land and the advancement of the site. For notification, please provide your contact details if you are interested in being involved in the event as a planter or spectator.

Wear Orange with pride

By Tanya Steele

Wear Orange Wednesday approaches and the SES volunteers across the Yarra Ranges have been busier than ever this year.

Each year the Victoria State Emergency Service celebrates Wear Orange Wednesday in May.

The day is a national day of thanks to the thousands of VICSES volunteers who serve the Victorian community 24 hours a day, seven days a week through storm, flood, road crash rescue, and much more.

Ben Owen of Emerald SES said that people showing support any way they can means a lot to the volunteers putting their time in.

“If you can wear orange and show support that would be great,” he said.

As a volunteer, Mr Owen said it’s great to see when the public and organisations get on board for the day.

“Businesses and other places sometimes

make orange things and that’s really nice and noticeable.” Mr Owen said.

This year the Emerald unit of volunteers hasn’t had a chance to prepare for WOW 2024, but Mr Owen said it is nice to have a day dedicated to the work the SES do.

“We’ve just been so busy,” Mr Owen said.

“We’ve had over 600 calls for help just in February for the storm.”

People can show support for the SES by wearing orange on Wednesday 22 May.

Other ways to celebrate the SES include donating to your local volunteers nowvisit ses.vic.gov.au/donate, share photos via #ThankYouSES, host an orange morning tea or download SES colouring sheets.

Lastly, the SES ask the public to get prepared for the risk of storm and flood so you’re less likely to need them.

“If people can recognise the work we’ve already done, in terms of voluntary time, that is positive,” Mr Owen said.

Pictured: New Swing Set at Fernhill Preschool

Councillor Len Cox at the official purchasing announcement of the land at 150 Cambridge Road.

Picture: MIKAYLA VAN LOON

Fair access policy adopted

By Callum Ludwig

Yarra Ranges councillors have endorsed a new Fair Access Policy at the Tuesday 14 May council meeting.

The Melbourne East Region Sport and Recreation Fair Access Policy has been established across the wider group of councils in the east which includes Knox City Council and Maroondah City Council among others with the aim of improving recreational facilities for women, girls, transgender and gender diverse people.

Chandler Ward Councillor David Eastham spoke to the motion and said he sees it as a piece of a larger puzzle.

“If anyone saw what played out with Knox Football Club, you’ll see that as a society we have a long way to go and whilst a lot of this talks about infrastructure and how to support female participation in sport, there’s clearly also a lot of investment that needs to happen from a social side as well,” he said.

“The state government for this were not prescriptive in what the Fair Access Policy needed to be and I think for us that has worked out very much to our advantage, we just need to make sure that the work that we do as Council is relevant to local clubs.”

Adopting the mandated Fair Access Policy also opens up opportunities for Councils to access State Government funding avenues to upgrade facilities from 1 July 2024.

Cr Eastham said he also thinks taking an Eastern Region approach was a great move.

“Many of the sporting leagues and associations out here cross the local government boundaries, the Ringwood and District Cricket Association, Football Victoria, Eastern Football Netball League and so on, they aren’t just sitting within one municipality, a lot of them do operate across the entire Eastern Region,” he said.

“There’s the efficiency and use of resources so the cost of developing the policy that’s go-

ing to be shared but also the knowledge as well that will come from the representation across those councils,”

“While it is an Eastern Region approach, it will be targeted locally as well to ensure that the outcomes benefit us at a local level and council officers will work with the strategy working group to monitor and evaluate the outcomes of the access policy.”

As well as improving facilities, the policy will also aim to encourage women, girls, transgender and gender-diverse people to take up roles in sport, push for leadership positions,

have fair allocation and scheduling, create a positive and supportive culture and environment at sporting organisations and reward, celebrate and prioritise sporting clubs and groups that demonstrate an ongoing commitment to gender equality.

RyrieWard Councillor Fiona McAllister said fair access is something Yarra Ranges Council has been actively committed to and seeking to address for quite a long time and have been successful in starting to do so.

“Fair access, particularly through participation in sport, these simple things make a big

difference and we’ve had quite compelling presentations recently from clubs where change facilities and the necessary infrastructure has been a barrier, particularly for younger girls or to continue through sports as they get older,” she said.

“I’m very happy to see this come to us and as a council, we’ve fully committed fair access not just through our sporting facilities but also through everything we do and if this is formalising at a regional level it gives us a better platform for supporting the work we do as well as advocacy for funding.”

Pilot parking program set to be trialled in Warburton

By Callum Ludwig

A new pilot program for parking is set to be trialled in Warburton after being approved by councillors at the Tuesday 14 May Yarra Ranges Council meeting.

As part of Council’s Integrated Transport Strategy 2020 – 2040 and reviews of parking across the region, Yarra Ranges Council is trying to find ways to address the concerns of residents regarding parking, particularly in popular tourist areas.

O’Shanassy Ward Councillor Jim Child said the item is about parking management across the region, not specifically all about Warburton.

“The visitations to our municipality have been quite extensive, especially post-Covid but we could see signs of it happening at our hot spots like Olinda, Sassafras, Warburton, Healesville and other places,” he said.

“The majority of them are from people outside our municipality so if you look at visitations to other municipalities and I look at Mornington Peninsula and Cardinia Shire, they have management procedures in place to manage traffic flow and to manage that situation they have with an influx of visitors.”

Increased parking enforcement in tourist areas has already been underway in the Yarra Ranges since the start of the year, including in Warburton, with number plate recognition technology, physically chalking vehicles and new signage all being implemented.

Cr Child said people have become aware of the Yarra Ranges location in relation to Melbourne.

“What we’re seeing now is that they’ve all of a sudden been awoken to a journey they can take on a tank full of fuel, they don’t have to fill up their fuel tank at Warburton or Healesville and still make the return journey back to Melbourne,” he said.

“But now it’s about managing the visitations when they come to our hot spots.”

With Yarra Ranges Council predicting tourism to double over the next decade, the pilot program and increased enforcement, are part of a plan to reduce the impact on local com-

munities and traffic.

The pilot program in Warburton will involve the installation of real-time parking information technology to display parking availability as well as a new paid parking system for non-Yarra Ranges residents. A permit for Yarra Ranges residents would exempt them from parking fees.

Cr Child said they want to be able to improve parking outcomes through the pilot program.

“That’s to use information technology to identify parking positions, to be able to display their availability and to be able to notify the public when we reach saturation or very close

to,” he said.

“I draw the example of Thomas Avenue up in Warburton. it’s a decision at the moment, ‘Well I’ll turn left coming from Melbourne and let’s hope I can get a car park down in Thomas Avenue by theYarra’ but this technology will be able to say there are no car parks down there at the moment, visit one of the other locations, which there are many.”

Thomas Avenue in Warburton has become notorious for cars struggling to turn around after being unable to get to a park in busy times, usually in the summer, and a proposal to turn it into a thoroughfare in the Warburton Urban Design Framework was scrapped due to community backlash regarding the proposed relo-

cation of the Warburton Tennis Club courts.

The pilot program will be trialled for a period of up to 12 months, alongside the already increased enforcement.

Cr Child said it’s important for residents to remember that even though they will be exempt from parking fees, Yarra Ranges residents won’t be exempt from staying overtime in a parking space.

“Irrespective of if you live in Upway, Sassafras or over at Healesville, if you come over to Warburton and you’re a local, you won’t have to pay,” he said.

“It’s really about capturing those visitors that come and use our facilities that our ratepayers pay for so why shouldn’t there be user pays.”

Yarra Ranges Council expects the pilot program to improve traffic flow, safe parking behaviours and parking accessibility for the community, support local businesses by increasing traffic turnaround and patronage, provide clarity on the number of available parking spaces and contribute funds to go back into Council assets through the paid parking scheme.

RyrieWard Councillor Fiona McAllister said she was very keen to see how this plays out over the next 12 months.

“It is about getting the balance right about not charging local or charging residents but actually acknowledging that there is a cost and an impact on our infrastructure in our communities from the millions of people that love to come and visit this place that we call home,” she said.

“It’s a great opportunity to trial an approach that meets many needs and with residents and local communities very front of mind.”

Details of the permit process have not been finalised yet and expansion of the pilot would be considered after Council evaluation that would take into account operational performance, system performance (including the resident permit system), community and local business feedback and the endorsed Parking Management Framework.

The motion was carried unanimously.

Thomas Avenue,Warburton is a particular problem area for parking that will be involved in the pilot program. Picture: ON FILE

The Wesburn Junior Football Club has been one local sporting club calling to improve its facilities.

Picture: ON FILE

Aust-first program awarded

By Mikayla van Loon

Designing an Australian first perinatal first aid program supporting parents through not only the physical triggers of illness but the mental as well has led to industry recognition.

Emergcare co-directors Hendrik Gutwirth and Daniel Parks were presented with the KidsafeVictoria Program Partner of theYear award at the Gala of Enchantment on 3 May.

Hendrik, a Montrose resident, said initially the program started with running paediatric first aid classes for parents but they broadened the program to include mental health awareness from the time of conception to one year post birth.

“One’s quite vulnerable with mental health illnesses, particularly perinatal, anxiety, depression, and what tends to happen usually, a lot of women after giving birth they go through the maternal child health nurse and so forth in the journey and get screened for any sort of mental health conditions because they’re quite vulnerable in that period,” he said.

“But what was so unique about what we’ve done is you have the dads or the partners sitting in the course with them learning about what to do for bub, but they also learn how to take care of themselves.”

Inclusive of all parents who may have conceived via surrogate or IVF and even key caregivers, like grandparents, Hendrik said it means everyone is aware of what to do if a child is choking but also the signs of ill mental health in the parents.

Partnering with the Centre of Perinatal Excellence (COPE) to design the program has meant it is informed by the most accurate research and methods of delivery.

Hendrik said for parents to learn about how to care for themselves and their partners during pregnancy and post-birth allows a better bond with their child, forming great relationships and development outcomes in the long run.

Both Hendrik and Daniel are registered paramedics and fathers themselves so they understand the medical concerns parents

have in those early years but also the challenges of “parenthood and the juggle and the transitions”.

For Kidsafe Victoria, the leading injury prevention agency in the state, to partner with a first aid organisation and then award them for the program, Hendrik said is quite incredible and unique.

“They’ve never really partnered with any first aid provider before. There is that service gap that hasn’t been addressed and it’s another platform to get that message out there about child safety education, which we’re really passionate about as well,” he said.

The perinatal program still covers all of the basics of first aid like CPR, choking, identifying red flags and certain conditions with respiratory illnesses, fractures, fevers and bleeding but also emotional wellbeing, what anxiety and depression looks like and numerous resources for parents to access.

Expanding the program for online access and e-learning, as well as launching a course in Mandarin, Hendrik said it is about reaching

as many parents and caregivers as possible.

Operating in-person classes from Parkville to Ringwood and out to Olinda, Hendrik said there’s an opportunity for parents to get involved somewhere locally, no matter where they live.

Partnering with Kidsafe to work towards zero infant and child deaths caused by preventable harms, Hendrik said was absolutely the goal.

“[Kidsafe’s] whole mission is to reduce injuries and deaths.We tell parents we want you to get into your child’s world, get on the floor and crawl around.

“Grab chemicals out of the cupboard, grab the handle off the kitchen stove, leaving hot drinks on the side of the arm chairs and things you don’t even think twice about until you have a little one.

“But the actions can happen fast and can be catastrophic and as a paramedic, I’m dad as well, I’ve been on the other end.”

Find the website at emergcare.com.au/en/ home

Importance of volunteers at Caladenia Dementia Care

Caladenia Dementia Care was founded in 1983 and is a not-for-profit agency providing respectful care and support for people living with dementia and their carers from the day centre in Mooroolbark.

The programs aim to promote self-esteem and maintain the social, cognitive and physical skills of the person living with dementia and to give friends and family members a break, knowing that their loved one is happy, meaningfully occupied and safe.

Caladenia’s services are available to anyone with dementia - from very early stage, or first diagnosis - to separate programs for people with more advanced dementia.

The Day Centre runs six days per week with a variety of dementia-specific respite and recreational programs designed to meet the needs of people living with varying degrees of dementia. There is a men-specific outing group, several social outing groups as well as a group that runs further out in the Yarra Valley for those in more rural areas.

Services include support, information and advocacy for carers, as well as a monthly carer support group. Support for carers are available to anyone in the community caring for a person living with dementia. Caladenia’s programs are overseen by 20 qualified staff and 35 trained volunteers. Currently providing services to over 100 people each week.

Caladenia also provides the Commonwealth funded Staying at Home ProgramRESTED which provides education, resourc-

es and support for carers and the person they care for in a three day resort style break. This is also open to members of the wider community caring for someone living with dementia.

“We could not continue to provide this well regarded and important service without our loyal and passionate volunteers, who help us to make the time special for our cli-

ents, lending a listening ear, a smiling face, or some robust conversation during our in house programs or outings,” board chair Ronda Jacobs said.

“Our volunteers get just as much enjoyment and fulfilment from the day as they give, and are provided with support and training to assist the staff.”

Caladenia is now looking for additional

support from the community in two areas to assist with the maintenance, upgrades, and upkeep of the much-loved home of the service.

“We are very keen to meet local tradespeople who could spare some time or reduce their fees to help with maintenance and upgrading of our facility. We are very grateful to have such a lovely building supported by the Yarra Ranges Council, but we are responsible for the upkeep of the site which was built in 1893, and extended in 1998,”

“For example, at the moment we need to upgrade our kitchen so we can continue to provide wholesome meals during our programs. We are funded by government and donations, and try to put as much of that income as we can towards additional services, rather than building costs, so any help would be much appreciated by those who utilise our programs.

“It would also be fantastic if we could find someone who is interested in managing our modest fundraising activities! These funds directly help us provide extended programs or reduce our waiting lists, so we would be very grateful for a little extra help to plan, manage and implement our fundraising activities.”

Consider volunteering this National Volunteer Week and if you think you would like to help in some way, please contact the Caladenia CEO SarahYeates on 9727 2222 or caladenia@caladenia.com.au

Emergcare’s Daniel Parks and Hendrik Gutwirth with Kidsafe Victoria CEO Melanie Courtney at the awards gala.

Picture: SUPPLIED Infant CPR is taught in both first aid courses Emergcare offers.

Caladenia Dementia Care volunteer Heather Barnard having a grand time at her Thursday session. 40752 Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS

EXCITING NEWS!

We are thrilled to announce that Agpower & Transport Pty Ltd has been selected as a finalist in two categories in the prestigious VACC Automotive Industry Awards; Best Large Automotive Business –MetropolitanVictoriaandEmployee of the Year - Dylan Eagleton. This recognition is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our entire team. We take immense pride in providing exceptional servicesandsolutionstoourvalued customers.

Being a finalist among industry leadersisaremarkableachievement, and we are honoured to be recognised for our efforts in the automotive sector.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our loyal customers, partners, and supporters who have placed their trust in us. This achievement would not have been possible without your unwavering support.

Stay tuned for more updates as we eagerly await the final results!

Brendan O’Donnell, General Manager

Mustard Tree cleans up

By Mikayla van Loon

The Mustard Tree Op Shop and Cafe has been bolstered with funding supporting the work it does daily to give back to the community at many levels.

Community Bank Wandin/Seville donated over $5000 to the mostly volunteer organisation to purchase a new commercial dishwasher.

The Mustard Tree (TMT) manager Lisa Vincent said it was certainly an upgrade on what the cafe was previously using.

“Our old dishwasher was purchased second hand many years ago and was not coping with demand,” she said.

“The new dishwasher is more than a foodsafe compliance issue. Our cafe is becoming increasingly busy so this new equipment has enabled us to improve our productivity and continue to offer quality cafe food at reduced prices for a community doing it tough.”

Grants of this kind, Ms Vincent said, allows the profits made from the op shop and cafe sales to go back into one of the key programs TMT runs; the foodbank.

Ms Vincent said the foodbank this year alone has seen a 36 per cent rise in clients, a substantial indication of how the community is struggling.

Sales in the op shop and cafe ensure the foodbank can purchase pantry staples, meat, toiletries, petfood and other essential items for people to access by appointment.

In August 2022, TMT’s foodbank was seeing an average of 90 people per month, either as

an individual or representing a family.

Adding to the support of its output, TMT was this year a recipient of Casey MP Aaron Violi’s volunteer grants program.

“This grant will provide training across a wide range of programs for our 90 volunteers including electrical testing and tagging, barista coffee making, homelessness management and first aid,” Ms Vincent said.

Joining TMT on the list of recipients were Mooroolbark’s Caladenia Dementia Care, Yarra Ranges National Seniors Australia Branch, Mount Evelyn RSL, Chirnside Park Football Club, Rotary Club of Lilydale and Coldstream Football Netball Club, among others from across the region.

Each community group received a grant between $1,000 and $5,000 to support the efforts of their volunteers.

“We have so many volunteer-run organisations in our community that go above and beyond to provide places for friendship, sport, connection and support,” Mr Violi said.

“It’s really special to be able to give back to these organisations that make up the fabric of our community.”

Ms Vincent was extremely grateful to know the work of the volunteers and the needs of the organisation were being recognised.

“AaronVioli and his team and Bendigo Bank have been very supportive of the work we do at The MustardTree and I am very grateful for the opportunity to give back to our amazing volunteers in this way,” she said.

Council grants now open

By Dongyun Kwon

Yarra Ranges Council (YRC) approved the 2025 Annual Grants program including increasing the amount of money available to the community.

Councillors approved increasing funding to the three grants under the Annual Grants program along with changes to the Monthly Grants program.

In the Annual Grants program, the Community Development stream was increased by $25,000 to a total pool of $275,000, the Festival and Events and Arts and Heritage streams were increased by $50,000 to a total pool of $300,000 and the limit for large festivals was raised from $10,000 to $15,000.

Streeton Ward councillor Andrew Fullagar said it was his pleasure and privilege to recommend the motion.

“Our multi-year grants provide large amounts to support the key organisations across the shire, areas such as health, emergency relief, music and the arts,” he said.

“Our Monthly Grants provide funding to dozens of individuals and groups for a diverse range of projects and events, and these groups leverage this funding many times through in-kind volunteering efforts.

“The result is a profound rippling effect through the economy in the community, providing avenues to new connections, fostering inclusive actions and spreading goodwill.”

The maximum that community groups can apply for the Monthly Grants program was increased to $1500 aligning with the increase of the budget for this program.

The Business and Trader Group Development stream was increased from $10,000 to $18,000 per year, and another $12,000 was allocated for capacity-building support for not-for-profit Business and Trader Groups.

The Connected and Vibrant Communities Monthly Grants stream was enlarged by $20,000 to support small projects that focus on social connection.

“I’m also personally relieved and delighted that we’ve carefully scrutinised the application forms for our Annual Grants to cull superfluous questions, and it’s now nearly half the length of the previous,” Cr Fullagar said.

“That’s a major cut and it’ll be a huge time saver for applicants.

“Other improvements in the program relate to clear language, budgetary information and more efficient handling of in-kind provisions.”

Community memberWendy Rush raised a question about increasing funding to areas such as arts and events at the meeting.

“Unless they draw clear financial benefit to residents, we’re doing a tough at the moment, evaluating the shire’s wonderful events in the arts, however, I cannot see how we can justify this type of expenditure or increased expenditure in an environment where we have residents in hardship,” she said.

In response to the question, Ryrie Ward councillor Fiona McAllister said she loved being asked provocative questions and being made to think deeply about the money that the council is spending on the right things.

“There are many things we do as a council that are hidden, complex, not popular or controversial, but, I do think our grants programs deliver a huge return for the community,” she said.

“I’m reflecting on the events and the programs and the investment in the community that I’ve seen playing out with these grants in my time on council, and they touch the lives, whether people realise or not, almost everybody in our municipality.”

Due to the council elections occurring in October, panel recommendations for Annual Grants applications will be presented to the council’s Executive Leadership Team for consideration and final endorsement, in line with the council’s Election Policy. Applications for Annual Grants will be closed on 17 June.

New vehicle bolsters fleet

By Mikayla van Loon

The Mooroolbark CFA’s fleet of vehicles has been bolstered thanks to the generosity of Community Bank Mooroolbark and the broader community.

Welcoming a forward control vehicle in a more compact design, brigade captain Mark Drennan said it would enable a quicker response time and better safety procedures.

“It’s somewhere for our ops to be run straight out of and our incident controller can, on the bigger incidents, draw up a mud map and for the crews to understand where they’re going and what sectors are what and what’s happening at the incident,” he said.

“It’ll serve a massive purpose from not only Mooroolbark but it’s also a strike team vehicle, so in the summertime it could be deployed anywhere in the state controlling five tankers.”

Replacing a truck, Mr Drennan said this new four wheel drive style vehicle would be able to manoeuvre suburban streets better, as well as access hard to reach places whether in the Dandenong Ranges or somewhere across the state.

First lieutenant Daniel King said the advances in technology and design has brought the brigade and the CFA ahead in vehicle composition.

“The new vehicle takes over the old support vehicle that was a truck but they serve very similar purposes,” he said.

“But with the changes in technology and equipment that vehicle can service 90 per cent of the same job that the support vehicle did.”

With retractable tables, whiteboards, oxygen kits, first aid, in-built radios and electric vehicle isolation equipment to turn off the power in an EV, the only local brigade to have that kind of technology, the brigade has been able to fit out the vehicle completely.

This would not have been possible with-

out the commitment of the Community Bank to contribute $15,000 every year for five years to the purchasing of the vehicle, as well as additional grants to purchase the appropriate equipment.

The total $75,000 was matched by the brigade through fundraising efforts, interrupted and delayed slightly by the pandemic, taking an extra three years to actually get possession of the vehicle.

Community Bank Mooroolbark branch manager Ashley Wijey said 80 per cent of the profits the bank makes goes straight back into the community.

“The community banks were set up predominantly to help communities prosper. That’s the main objective. So we believe in investing back into the community, not profiteering from it,” he said.

“So when we receive a request on application, that’s the first thing we look at, is this going to benefit the community? As a result, predominantly the organisations that we support are not for profits. We’ve given back over $3.6 million over the last 21 years.”

An additional contribution of $140,000 via the Volunteer Emergency Services Equipment Program has also supported Mooroolbark

CFA in purchasing an ultra light tanker, which should arrive later this year.

Mr Drennan said as a smaller water carrying vehicle, it will function as a key response tanker for train line fires and other fires in tight bushland.

“It’s a smaller vehicle to get around the fire tracks in the Dandenongs and not only this area, but along the railway line where our big trucks can’t get into,” he said.

“It’ll be utilised as a whole in District 13 in what’s called a slip on taskforce. So there’s only four of those appliances in District 13.This will give us the fifth. At the moment, they’ve got a roll in fifth, and it’s not really a vehicle that’s dedicated to that strike team.

“So now that fills a district void, which then goes all across the state so it doesn’t just help us here but it helps get into those tight forest areas around the state.”

The smaller firefighting truck also allows any person with a standard licence to respond, not requiring a heavy vehicle licence like the tankers, meaning response times can improve.

Mr Drennan said if the brigade had to self fund even just one of the new vehicles by hosting barbecue fundraisers or other events it would have taken 12 years and countless extra hours of volunteer resources to achieve the $125,000 cost.

The maintenance costs on the forward control vehicle, however, will be brigade funded, meaning fundraisers will still be required to keep the vehicle running well and efficiently.

Mr Wijey said being able to support Mooroolbark CFA and learning of the dedication volunteer members put in to fundraise each year made the five year funding commitment all the more worthwhile.

“We’re not making a huge life saving impact like these guys do but in a small way we’re supporting them,” he said.

Community Bank Mooroolbark branch manager Ashley wijey and Mooroolbark CFA first lieutenant Daniel King with the new forward control vehicle. 408336 Picture: MIKAYLA VAN LOON

A new initiative targeted at young people has been launched by Eastern Community Legal Centre in partnership with Anglicare’s TRAK Forward Program.

For family law and young people Legal matters

The ‘Family Law & Young People’ (FLYP) project was funded by the Victoria Law Foundation and came about as the result of a gap identified by project partner Anglicare’s TRAK Forward program.

The FLYP resources developed by the project provide information for young people impacted by the family law system to help them be more aware of their rights.

CEO Michael Smith is proud of the partnership between ECLC and Anglicare’s TRAK Forward Program and believes that these resources are an excellent step forward for young people affected by the family law system.

“The FLYP information provides a basic understanding of common questions that arise for young people in the family law system in a

Great horror

Monster Starring Anantya Kirana, Sultan Hamonangan and Alex Abbad

Rated MA15+

4.5/5

An Indonesian remake of the American film The Boy Behind The Door, Monster is a harrowing horror film with a mostlysuccessful wordless gimmick.

The film follows Alana (Anantya Kirana) and Rabin (Sultan Hamonangan), two schoolkids who are abducted by a serial killer. After escaping from the killer’s clutches, Alana resolves to stay and rescue Rabin.

Kirana delivers a phenomenal performance of terror, courage and cunning as Alana, and the film has no dialogue whatsoever, with the characters’ names being the only spoken words in the whole film.

Director Rako Prijanto uses an extraordinary command of time, geography and perspective to craft excruciatingly tense cat-and-mouse sequences.

Every inch of the killer Jack’s (Alex Abbad) gloomy house is well-defined, with clear planting of crucial items, making every step of Alana’s ordeal easy to follow (but no less nerve-shreddingly suspenseful).

As a claustrophobic horror film about a resourceful child abducted by a serial killer, Monster is reminiscent of The Black Phone (and has a couple of scenes that pay tribute a little too closely to The Shining and Misery), but also reminds me of the 2014 Ukrainian drama The Tribe.

Set in a school for the deaf,TheTribe is told entirely through Ukrainian sign language with no subtitles; through context, gesture and expression, you still know what everyone is talking about. Even with no dialogue, the emotions of every character in Monster and the puzzle-solving gears in Alana’s head are unmistakeable; there are just a handful of scenes in which the lack of dialogue feels slightly forced.

Not to be confused with the 2003 Patty Jenkins serial killer thriller Monster or the 2023 Japanese drama Monster, Rako Prijanto’s Monster is a chilling, tightlycontrolled horror film available to stream on Netflix.

Anita Koochew

Eastern Community Legal Centre

way they can understand,” he said.

“Young people are largely excluded from the family law process, but the reality is that they can still come into contact with the system at various points and without proper access to information and support, the outcomes can have significant ramifications.”

The project developed a set of 10 one-minute videos and an informational brochure, that are available online.

CARTOON

The resources cover a range of topics, including how to access legal help as a young person handling disagreements with parents, and runs through key aspects of the family law system such as going to court, family reports and court orders.

“We believe these resources will be really useful for young people who need access to information about the family law system and is a convenient and less intrusive way for young people receive it,” Smith said.

All FLYP resources can be accessed on ECLC’s website, eclc.org.au/flyp/ Young people who live, work and study in the East can also seek further clarity or information about their personal situation, by contacting ECLC via the online application form here, eclc.org.au/help, by email eclc@eclc.org. au or calling 1300 32 52 00 during business hours.

Enjoy fun in the theatres

The 1812 Theatre

The Great Gatsby

The 1812 Theatre opened its May season with F. S. Fitzgerald’s classic The Great Gatsby.

A smooth running show with great acting from the cast.

The set was tabs on each side of stage with a dais in the middle rear with a screen above it.

This was used very successfully to illustrate various scenes in the production.

Set in the jazz age of USA the opening scene was the cast coming out individually doing the Charlton. Very effective and setting the scene for the era.

Jay Gatsby was well played by Rob Flowers, a good performance and Rob captured the essence of the character.

Daisy Buchanan, Rob’s true love? was portrayed by Melody Taylor.

Melody appeared natural on such a role and gave an excellent performance.

Nick Carraway was played by Luke Peverelle, whose role was Jay’s friend and also narrator.

A great performance and highly commended.

Tom Buchanan was played by Julian Campobasso who really caught the character as envisaged by F. S. Fitzgerald. Some of his scenes were very well done.

Jordan Baker was played by Madeline Broen giving a great performance and worked extremely well with Luke Peverelle.

Myrtle Wilson was given a good performance by Georgia Clare.

Her husband George Wilson waws played by Nathan Williams who added to the overall high standard of the evening.

Jackson Langelaan had the task of playing the MayorWolfsheim Mr McKee Policeman, all handled professionally.

Magical tale PASSION FOR PROSE

WITH CHRISTINE SUN

A review of A Hunger of Thorns by Lili Wilkinson Lili Wilkinson is one of Australia’s finest authors of books for children and young adults.

Her novel A Hunger of Thorns – winner of the 2024 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award forWriting forYoung Adults – is a captivating tale about missing girls who don’t need handsome princes to rescue them.

The story is dedicated to “every good girl who has a wild girl inside”. It begins by quoting Irish-Indian poet Nikita Gill: “They won’t tell you fairytales of how girls can be dangerous and still win.

They will only tell you stories where girls are sweet and kind and reject all sin.

I guess to them, it’s a terrifying thought, a red riding hood who knew exactly what she was doing when she invited the wild in.”

It’s worth keeping this quote in mind because A Hunger of Thorns is set in a world where magic is deemed dangerous and illegal, and those who defy the law are sent to detention camps where their magical life force is drained to make commercial products, synthetic and disposable potions, spells, charms and illusions that make life convenient and beautiful.

And this is a world where all girls are endlessly lectured about what is expected and appropriate, where they are made civilised and demure, unwrinkled and unstained, their voices disciplined, destined to become good wives and productive consumers.

As the first-person protagonist Maude confesses: “I cry out for every girl who was told to comb her hair and wash the mud from her face. To keep herself contained.

Kemp’s curtain call

Ellen Leask played Mrs McKee and Mrs Michaels. Both parts were up to the standard set by the cast.

The scene after interval was the cast doing the Charleston and jazz dancing, very smooth and a delight to see.

A good evening of theatre and a company not to be missed.

Comedy theatre Exhibition St. Melbourne. The Odd Couple Starring as Oscar and Felix are Shane Jacobson and Todd McKenney, the archetypal odd couple as different as chalk and cheese, but best mates and constant collaborators.

Two suddenly single pals – a sloppy sportswriter and a fastidious news writer – strain their friendship by becoming roommates and unconsciously repeating the same mistakes they made in the marriages they just left. Neurotic and neat, Felix Unger is thrown out by his wife, and moves in with his slovenly friend Oscar Madison.

The characteristics that drove each of them to leave their wives soon have them at each other’s throats un this classic comedy.

The play opensThursday 23 May and closes 23 June.

REMEMBER:

The Basin Theatre Jimmie the Beatle 13 – 23 June.

To be ashamed of her voice, her hair, her flesh. To be quiet and good and nice. Girls are not nice. Girls are wild and fierce and powerful, and I will not let anyone take that away. Not ever again.”

Maude is determined to find her childhood friend Odette, who appears to have been lost in an abandoned electrical power plant. Here the magic is lush and primitive, thriving and throbbing in exuberant trees, maliciously spying roses, carnivorous plants and mycorrhizal bacteria that connect it all together. There are also magical girls and a terrifying monster.

To counter all this, the only weapon Maude has is her stories, for she is a gifted storyteller.

In her words: “To me, telling a story felt exactly like doing magic – reaching for invisible threads and weaving them together to make something greater than the sum of its parts.” She soon realises her stories are so good that her characters come to life.

Like all good stories, A Hunger of Thorns is complex and full of unexpected plot twists as Maude discovers her true powers.

One particular focus is the importance of family and friendship, where strong yet less-than-perfect female characters go to great lengths to rescue each other.

Another memorable feature is the nature itself, which, like magic, cannot be contained.

Like roses always growing out of their pots, nature ultimately strikes back. Stories are pure magic, and this one is exquisite and compelling.

Highly recommended.

PROPERTY

GLORIOUS YARRA VALLEY LIFESTYLE

IMMERSE YOURSELF IN THE GLORIOUS YARRA VALLEY LIFESTYLE

WELCOME to 465 Douthie rd, a truly remarkable property in every aspect, situated on just over 17 glorious Yarra Valley acres featuring ever changing picturesque valley views.

A stunning Mt Gambier limestone masterpiece that will captivate you the moment you arrive at the impressive front gates.

Step inside and be impressed even more with this luxurious residence, versatile and innovative in every way.

Showcasing upscale family living at it’s finest featuring 4 large bedrooms all with built in robes plus a luxurious ensuite in the main bedroom and a king size walk in robe.

A focus on entertaining and relaxation with the main living, family and dining areas seamlessly and effortlessly connecting and blending with the outdoors via huge sliding doors.

The kitchen is exceptional with quality, premium fixtures and finishes plus a butler’s pantry and prep station.

Venture outdoors and be exhilarated and excited, a haven for the horse enthusiast

with multiple paddocks, quality fencing and numerous horse shelters plus a riding arena.

A large high clearance garage and ‘garaport’ offers plenty of space for floats, trucks, trailers, heavy equipment and caravans.

Off grid living with a high end state of the art multiple solar panel system, lithium battery bank and generator back up, intelligently designed with current high end components and with long term energy efficiency in mind.

A magnificent property showcasing the picturesque and colourful scenery of the Yarra Valley at it’s finest attractive and captivating from all angles. A premium property for those wanting quality, luxury, style and grace, a dream country and rural acreage lifestyle that the whole family will enjoy with something for everyone on offer, it’s a place you will love to call home.

Inspection by Private AppointmentContact David Carroll direct on 0419 539 320. ●

HOME FOCUS

’COLLIS HOUSE’- ALMOST AN ACRE OF GARDENS AND CONTEMPORARY LIVING

OVERLOOKING a peaceful view of the nearby valley, ‘Collis House’ Sits on over three quarters of an acre, surrounded by beautifully maintained gardens whilst offering both a character and contemporary finish both inside and out.

Elevated over two levels of versatile living space, the home includes a practical, versatile floorplan that includes four bedrooms, the master suite boasting full ensuite and parents’ retreat. There are two living areas, with the oversized fourth bedroom potentially a third. Open plan in its design, the central, sun filled family room adjoins the relaxed dining area and the expansive kitchen that is certainly a talking point, with its large island bench, stunning granite bench top, butler’s pantry, and quality appliances. Perfect for either growing or extended families, and also ideal for those who work from home, this well designed and well-maintained home offers a quiet space for everyone including a separate studio that is ideal as a music room, office, or hobby space.

With gas ducted heating, along with a split system and refrigerated cooling, temperature control has been well taken care of, and along with beautiful French doors that allow you to open up the home to the fresh afternoon breeze, makes heating and cooling convenient and cosy all year round.

Outside is a garden lovers paradise with bursts of colour, hidden seating areas and pretty pathways take you on a tour of this delightful property. A sealed, circular driveway with a double garage with workshop, single carport and large 3 car parking bay will be a bonus for those with extra cars, trailers, and other toys and along with a garden shed, offers a great amount of space and storage.

With access to local bus route almost at your front gate and within only a few minutes’ drive to Belgrave train station, shops and local schools, ‘Collis House’ is steeped in local history and offers an executive style property in an absolute sought after location. ●

HUGE FAMILY LIVING IN COURT LOCATION

BRILLIANTLY located in a stylish cul de sac, full of quality homes with mountain views sits this stunning four bedroom residence that boasts contemporary design and comfort, offering the perfect blend of style and functionality.

As you enter the home, you are greeted by quality flooring and a sense of space as you note the large master bedroom to your left, that boasts a walk in robe and ensuite. Ideally positioned adjacent to the stunning formal lounge, this makes a zone that is the perfect retreat for relaxation and privacy.

Continuing through the home, you’ll find yourself in the heart of the house - the expansive kitchen, dining, and family room. With its open layout, this area seamlessly connects to the outdoor entertainment area and private rear yard, inviting you to host unforgettable gatherings or simply enjoy the outdoors.

The kitchen showcases an island bench, ample cupboard space and all created with a stylish and clean, crisp palette to complement the home.

Venturing further through the house, you will discover bedrooms 2 and 3 in a separate wing, providing privacy and comfort for family members or guests. Meanwhile bed 4 is conveniently located off the family area, offering versatility and flexibility to suit your lifestyle needs.

With its thoughtful design and modern amenities, this home offers a harmonious blend of comfort, convenience, and style.

Some of the many features of this absolutely lovely home are natural gas ducted heating, split systems, double lock up garage with internal access, and all still within the builder’s warranty time frame.

This home is a surprise package waiting to unfold, as one of the largest blocks and homes in the court location gives you a very private frontage and opens to an expansive and very useable block where the family can all spread out and enjoy the good life in this wonderful location with quality schools, shopping and sporting facilities, and public transport all nearby. A gem indeed. ●

PerchedaboveandoverlookingtheWooriYallocktownshipandcolorfulsurroundingfarmland boastingfantasticviewsthispropertyoffersloadsofpotentialandscopeforimprovement.With approx1.5picturesqueacrestoexploreandenjoy,it’stheidealspottolivethesemirurallifestyle. Theoriginalfarmhouseownedandlovedforover50yearsoffers 2bedroomswitha combined lounge/livingareaandseparatekitchen.Outsideisthedreamsmallacreageescapewitha park likesettingon abeautifulallotmentandwithamplespaceforthebigandthesmallpetsplusplenty ofspaceforthekidstospreadout,enjoyandexplore.Amplestoragewitha lockupgarage,plusa gardenshedandsmallmachineryshed/workshoparea.A fantasticsmallacreagepropertysituated in aconvenientandpopularlocation,it’s agreatplacetobe.

60DonnaBuangRoad,Warburton$700,000 -$770,000

UniquelyWarburtonVibeonover1/2acre

Stepinsidetodiscover ahavenofcharmandcharacter.Multiplelivingzonesofferendless possibilitiesforrelaxationandentertainment,fromthecozywarmthofthewoodfiretothecharm ofanopenfireplace.Whetheryou’reinneedof 3or4bedrooms,thishomeadaptstoyourlifestyle withease.Ascendtotheupstairsloftroomandbecaptivatedbypanoramicviewsfromthepicture windowandenjoyfreshairfromtheJulietbalcony.Downstairs,twogenerouslysizedbedroomsand twobathroomsawait,completewithpedestalbasins,baths,andtoilets.Themasterbedroomenjoys awalkthroughrobetotheensuite,lovelysashwindowsandviewsofyourgarden.Theversatile layoutoffersendlessoptions-astudy,library,formaldining,orsimplyleaveitopenforextraliving spacethechoiceisyours!Don’tmissthechancetomakethisextraordinaryhomeyours.

SamanthaPrice M 0438795190

GorgeousfamilyhomewithValleyViews

Muchlovedandawaitingyourinspectionisthislovelyfamilyhome,lookingfor anewfamilytoenjoy. Thesplitlevelhomehas aspaciousandairyfeelwiththenaturallightandslidingdoorsthatopento thebalconyfromthemainlivingroom.A gorgeouskitchenthatshowcases aspaciousislandbench, glasssplashbacksandcrispwhitecupboards,andpositionedperfectlytoaccessthedining/living andthespaciousundercoverreardeck.Themasterbedroomhasanensuitewithshower,toilet anda niftylittlebasin,a deepdoublerobewithamplestorageanda thereare afurthertwowell proportionedbedroomswithbuiltinrobes.Addedfeaturesofthepropertyincludea doubleendto endcarport,a lovelyflatuseablebackyardforthekidsandpetstosafelyplay,naturalgasducted heating,ceilingfans,dishwasherandloadsmore!A specialhomethatyouwillbeproudtoown.

Thismudbrickhomehasbeenbuiltwithloveandistruly amagicalproperty.A picture-perfect setting,itsitsonwelloveranacre,whichincludesmountainviewsandwell-maintainedgardens. Featuringa fernery,Japanesegarden,spaciouslawn,largestudio,lock-updoublegarageapprox. 9x6,doublecarport,woodshed,veggiegarden,fruittrees,andisfullyfenced.Privatelytucked awayfromtheroad,delightfulsceneryawaitsateveryglance. Acosylayouttosuiteveryone,with3 bedroomsand abonusoptionfora 4th.Theupdatedkitchenfeaturesa stunningFalconovenand bamboobenchtopsandcountrylookcabinetsallfortheenthusiasticchefs.Devinecosyloungewith awoodfireandsplitsystemandbonusseparatestudiowithpowerprovides agreatwork-from-home space.Only afewminutesfromthebustlingtownofWarburton.A musttoinspect. 15GoldenPerchAveune,EastWarburton$770,000-$820,000

DUAL LIVING POTENTIAL WITH RURAL OUTLOOK

THIS property is a versatile gem! The dual living potential offers flexibility for various living arrangements, whether it’s accommodating extended family or creating separate workspaces. The rural setting with its scenic views adds a serene charm and the proximity to towns and amenities balances convenience with a peaceful atmosphere.

The main house boasts ample space with 3 bedrooms plus a study, featuring modern amenities like a walk-in shower, soaking tub and quality kitchen. The open-plan living areas and expansive deck make it perfect for entertaining or simply enjoying the countryside vistas. Comfort is ensured yearround including ducted heating, a wood fire and a split system.

The attached unit provides additional living space with its own bedroom, ensuite and kitchenette, making it ideal for guests or independent living. The option to incorporate the unit back into the main house offers even more flexibility for future needs.

Outside, the property offers practical amenities like a sealed driveway, remote gated entry and ample parking for vehicles, including designated space for a caravan or boat. The established gardens, shedding, garage and workshop add to the appeal, providing space for hobbies or storage.

Overall, this property seems to offer a harmonious blend of comfort, functionality, and rural charm, making it a desirable destination for families seeking an adaptable living space in a picturesque setting. ●

IdEALLOCATIONANdpONYREAdY

Private& perfect,thishomefeatures astunningensuite,mainbathroomincludes a walk-inrainshower,soakingtub &customvanity.Openplanlivingwithtimberfloors, contemporarykitchenwithinductioncooking,hugelaundry,woodheater,splitsystem studynook,twolargefencedpaddocks,doublegarage,3 bay7.5mx 10.5mshedwith mezzanine &power.MinutestoGembrookTownship,a shortdrivetoPakenham& rail connections,trailrides,hikes& adventurestobehadexploringthebushandsurrounds

JanetHawkins 0409117432

Erindavies 0493136937

AdREAmLIFESTYLE

Thisdelightfulhomeistheperfectblendofcomfort,convenienceandrusticcharm.step insideto find awarmandinvitinglivingspace,GDH,split systema/c, agenerousfront deckwithglassbalustrade,modernkitchen,BIr’s,anunder-decklockupworkshop/ storagearea, atieredbackyard, achookhouseandampleoff-streetparking.This locationoffers apeacefulescapefromthehustleandbustleofeveryday life.Located closetogreatrestaurants,publictransportandhighly regardedschools.

JanBrewster 0409558805

Theperfectblendofconvenienceandserenity,accessedvia asealedroad,with a buildingenvelopeinpositiontomakeyourvisiona realitya loteasier(sTcA).Thelandis mainlyclearedandisscenicallyblessed,overlookinga beautifuldam.Pleasenotedam iscommonproperty.youareminutestocafes,specialtyshops,restaurants,amenities primaryschool,busconnections,horsetrailsandhikes.connectionsatthegateare electricityandtelephone.Domesticwaterrightswithscopetoincrease.

JanetHawkins 0409117432

DUALLIVINGPOTENTIAL

Erindavies 0493136937

$1,100,000-$1,210,000

A 3 B 4 C

Theduallivingpotentialoffers flexibilityfor various livingarrangements &the rural setting withitsscenic views addsaserenecharm.Themainspacious househas 3bedrooms,a study,featuringmodernamenities,expansivedeck,DGH, awood fire& asplit system. Theattachedunitprovides additionallivingspacewithits ownbedroom,ensuite & kitchenette,idealfor independentliving.Outside,the propertyoffers asealeddriveway, remotegatedentry,ampleparking,establishedgardens,shedding,garage& workshop.

Erindavies 0493136937

JanetHawkins 0409117432

FAMILY HOME ON OVER AN ACRE IN EMERALD

THIS beautiful country home is immaculately presented and offers a rural vibe with all the conveniences of thriving Emerald township.

The expansive verandah welcomes you into this gorgeous home with large entrance. The slate flooring flows through from the entrance to the kitchen, that is well equipped with stainless steel appliances, including dishwasher, oven, and a gas stovetop. The kitchen overlooks the dining area which features a woodfire heater, ceiling fan and split system air-conditioner,

and has access to the fully covered entertaining area. The loungeroom is newly carpeted and cosy with bay windows, an open fireplace and formal dining room. There are high ceilings and under floor heating throughout the entire house.

Continue along the hallway to discover four bedrooms, a modern family bathroom with a bath, laundry with its own yard access. The master bedroom has a spacious walk in wardrobe and an beautiful ensuite with timber bench top and double vanity.

Externally the property features a gravel circular driveway with loads of parking, a lockable garden shed and a double carport.

There’s an array of neat shedding, including a high roofed shelter ideal for a boat/ caravan/horse float with separate access from Rawhiti Road, a shipping container with lean-to, and a rustic looking shed full of charm. The back yard is fully fenced and there is a large dog fenced area also.

Further features of this property is walk to Emerald’s township, manicured landscaped

gardens and plenty of room for the family and the four legged friends.

This property has it all so don’t miss outcall to arrange a private inspection today.

Please note: All property details shown are correct at time of publishing. Some properties may have been sold in the preceding 24 hours and we recommend that you confirm open for inspection times with the listing agent direct or the listing office. ●

ExpansiveFamilyHomeintheHeartofMonbulk!

PerfectlylocatedintheheartofMonbulkthisfamilyhomefeatures 4robedbedrooms, &2 bathroomsincluding afamilybathroomcompletewith abathtub,thishomehas afunctionalfloor plan.Themasterbedroomhasanensuite &WIR &islocatednear alargeformallivingroom,whilst2 oftheremainingbedroomsarelocatednearthespacious,openplankitchen &familyroom.Thereis aseparatediningroomwhichcouldbeutilisedas ahomeoffice/study.Addtothefeatures atoasty woodfireinthefamilyroom,gasductedheatingthroughout,floorboards, awell-appointedkitchen &securityshuttersonnearlyallwindows &doors.Outsideisthehuge,private,undercoverdeck, perfectforentertainingallyearround,a DLUG,2 furthergarden/woodsheds&alovelysideyard.

SamanthaScott M 0438680032

Beautifullymaintained 4bedroom,2 bathroomhome.Thehomehasductedheating &ispositioned tothefrontofthisflatparklikefullyfencedblockwithclearedlawnsamongstestablishedtrees. Featuring:leadlightfeaturefrontdoor,splitlevelliving, 2bedroomswithBIR,Mastersuitewithensuite, WIR& ceilingfan,familybathroomwith adualvanity,shower &bath, &a 4thbedroom/studywith ceilingfan.Thereis agranddiningroomthatisopenplanwiththekitchen &hasviewsouttothe expansivedeck.Thereis asecondlargeloungeroomwith acosywoodfire &splitsystemAC.The deckisgorgeous&floodedwithsunlight.TotherearoftheblockisaninsulatedAmericanbarn, with 1bayrollerdoor,a pedestriandoor,concretefloor,power,lights&amezzanine.Thereisalsoa handytapnexttothebarn,assortedfruittrees,a shedwithpower, &6 solarpanelswiththehome.

BeautifulHomeinEmeraldonapprox.23acreswithViews! Thisoutstanding3 bedroom,3 bathroomhomesituatedonapprox.23Acresoffersgorgeousviews acrossclearedpaddockstoCardiniaReservoir.Thisstoneconstructedhomehas awoodfireheater, acousticstrawboardvaultedceiling,giantwindowssoakingintheview &plentyofnaturallight.The kitchenisvast,with agasstovetop &electricoven, &plentyofbenchspace.Unwindinthesecond loungeroomwithanopenfireplace&astunningstudyarea.Thereisa masterbedroomfeaturinga walkthroughwardrobetotheensuite.Thefurther 2bedroomshaveBIRs& areservicedbya family bathroom.Externallythereisa clearedpaddockwith acentraltreedgully.Thegroundscontaina pizzaoven,a highdoublecarportattachedtothehome, &inthebackyardareais adoublegarage withpower,lights &concretedfloor.Thispropertyhasmainspower,gas& water.

AaronDay M 0407365994

BrennanMileto M 0422996451

ImpeccablyPresentedTurnKeyAcreagehome!

Thehomehas amastersuitewithwalkthroughwardrobe& anensuite.Loungeroomwithwood heater,& diningroomwithgardenviews.Thekitchenhasstonebenchtops,2 pyrolyticovens, integrateddishwasher,inductioncooktop&aductedrangehood.Thereis afamilyroomthat adjoinsa coveredentertainingarea.Thelaundrydoublesasa butlerspantry.Thezonedliving providesfor3 furtherbedroomswithBIRs& electricblinds,servicedbya renovatedfamilybathroom withwalkinrainshower,spabath,& automaticflushingtoilet.Furtherfeaturesincludegasducted heating,evaporativeductedcooling,solarpanels,watertanks,landscapedgarden,orchard, vegetablegarden,storageshed&a50sqmshedwith awoodheater,approx.1/2acrebush paddock,electricgateentry,asphaltdriveway,doublecarport,&asolarheatedswimmingpool.

48aBeaconsfield-EmeraldRoad,Emerald$1,600,000

HOME FOCUS

THE MAGIC HOUSE

AFFECTIONATELY known as ‘The Magic House’ by passersby, this unique, family friendly home is a rare treasure that takes in the tranquil mountain vistas and offers a flexible layout that spans over three spacious levels of living.

Bursting with character and natural light, the home offers an enchanting design making you feel welcomed and intrigued from the moment you walk through the front door.

The mezzanine top storey is home to both the master suite and separate sitting

room with Juliette balcony, allowing for views across the mountain ridge and also a glorious place to sit and read, whilst underneath, on the lower level, a large lounge with wood fire, French doors and pretty colonial windows provides a warm and cosy place to relax and enjoy a wintery night.

Overlooking the rear garden that has been carefully created to reveal itself with colour all throughout the year, a beautiful bay window is the feature of the relaxed meals area that also adjoins an updated, contemporary and well-designed kitchen.

There are three bedrooms in total, however, the versatile floorplan can provide an option for which rooms you choose, one being the formal lounge room that is centred around a glorious fireplace with gas fire and its very own French doors that lead to separate parking at the far end of the property.

Another adaptable living area is the opulent formal dining room where friends and family can gather on a large scale and enjoy a great night in. With gas ducted heating throughout plus evaporative cooling, and the wood fire plus gas fireplace, there

is nothing left to do here but move in and let the magic happen.

Outside, a timber verandah takes in the peaceful garden setting of 908m2 that is highlighted by an almost spiritual gathering place with fire pit but also a chorus from local birdlife that include Kookaburra, King Parrots, Yellow Crested Cockatoos and Rainbow Lorikeets whilst the occasional Echidna can be found wandering quietly whilst you sit and enjoy your very own peaceful oasis. ●

PUZZLES

To solve a Sudoku puzzle, every number from 1 to 9 must appear in: each of the nine vertical columns, each of the nine horizontal rows and each of the nine 3 x 3 boxes. Remember, no number can occur more than once in any row, column or box.

ACROSS

1 Possibility (6)

4 Oblation (8)

9 Fierce animals (5)

10 Originating city of The Beatles (9)

11 Australian rugby league player and former Senator, – Lazarus (5)

12 Grant (9)

13 Diplomatic representative sent on a mission (8)

15 Smear (6)

16 Nakedness (6)

18 Positions in a hierarchy or scale (8)

23 One half of Oxbridge (9)

24 ‘Not on your – !’ (5)

26 Point above focus of an earthquake (9)

27 Dwelling (5)

28 Number in fluid mechanics, symbol Re (8)

29 Hurries (6)

DOWN

1 Toiletry (7)

2 Sun-dried brick (5)

3 Gambling buildings (7)

5 Act of kindness (6)

6 Made of fired clay (7)

7 Quarantine (9)

8 Theatrical partners – and Sullivan (7)

10 Vital organ (5)

14 Insurance; immunity (9)

16 Atomic (7)

17 Sink (7)

19 Skyfall theme singer (5)

20 Relatedness (7)

21 Reserve (7)

22 Revised and corrected (6)

25 Cad (coll) (5)

Using the nine letters in the grid, how many words of four letters or more can you list? The centre letter must be included and each letter may only be used

No colloquial or foreign words. No capitalised nouns, apostrophes or plural nouns ending in “s”.

No. 186 No. 186

As

Silvan, VIC 3795 (RFNSA Site No. 3795003)

of the

The proposed works on site will involve the upgrade of existing technology upon the facility including and not limited to the installation of panel antennas, the removal and installation of a mini lens antenna and installation of ancillary works. nbn regards the proposed as a Low Impact Facility under the Telecommunications (Low-Impact Facilities) Determination 2018 In these circumstances, it does not require planning approval from Yarra Ranges Council.

Further information on these network upgrade works can be obtained by calling Ventia on +61 7 3033 3735. Written submissions can be sent to Level 1, 10 Browning Street West End QLD 4101 or via email to communityconsultation@ventia.com

The closing date for submissions is COB Monday 3rd June 2024. For general info on the nbn, visit our website at www.nbnco.com.au. For further site information, visit www.rfnsa.com.au (Site ID: 3795003) Our ref: R404-3LLZ-3WAD-5110 Silvan North

Classified deadlines for Tuesday, 11th June issue as follows: Friday, 7th June at 3.00pm

The

antenna, the installation of an equipment shelter and installation of ancillary works. nbn regards the proposed as a Low Impact Facility under the Telecommunications (Low-Impact Facilities) Determination 2018. In these circumstances, it does not require planning approval from Yarra Ranges Council.

Further information on these network upgrade works can be obtained by calling Ventia on +61 7 3033 3735. Written submissions can be sent to Level 1, 10 Browning Street West End QLD 4101 or via email to communityconsultation@ventia.com

The closing date for submissions is COB Monday 3rd June 2024. For general info on the nbn, visit our website at www.nbnco.com.au. For further site information, visit www.rfnsa.com.au (Site ID: 3795004) Our ref: R403-3LLZ-3WAD-5111 Silvan South

SPORT

One croquet win, one loss

By John Thomson

On Monday 14 May, there was no Division One game as Lilydale had a bye.

Division Two played and travelled to Kew to take on the might of the Kew Croquet Club.

The Lilydale team this week consisted of Alan Jones, Kerri McCracken and Drew Pawley. As always in level play the doubles is the first game, and Alan Jones and Kerri McCracken teamed up. This game was close all the way through with neither side giving their opponents an easy shot at the hoops. At the end of twelve hoops, the scores were six hoops each, so it was off to the thirteenth and deciding hoop. This hoop was also a battle with both sides playing a defensive game until Kew took a chance and was able to run the hoop and win the game 7 hoops to Lilydale 6 hoops.

In the first of the singles, it was Alan Jones to play. The Kew player got off to a good start and built up a reasonable break which in the end was difficult to make up. Kew 7 hoops Lilydale 4 hoops.

Drew Pawley played in the next singles game. This game was similar to the doubles as both sides were not giving an inch. After twelve hoops the scores were six hoops a piece, so it was again off to the thirteenth hoop to decide the winner.This time it was Lilydale who made the most of their opportunity and won the game, 7 hoops to Kew 6 hoops.

At the lunch break, it was Kew 2 games 20 hoops to Lilydale 1 game 17 hoops.

With two singles games to come the final result was still wide open. In the first singles after lunch, Drew Pawley was back on the court. The Kew player again got off to a fast start and Drew was finding it difficult to claw his way back into the game. Kew 7 hoops to Lilydale 4 hoops.

This win gave Kew the win for the day, so with just one game to play, it was just a matter of how close Lilydale could get to Kew.

Kerri McCracken played in this game. Kerri

was just not her normal self in this game and was missing hoops that she would normally run and consequently, the Kew player was able to capitalize on this and won the game 7 hoops to Lilydale 2 hoops.

The final score for the day was a comfortable win to Kew 4 games 34 hoops to Lilydale 1 game 23 hoops.

On Thursday 16 May, the Lilydale handicap team made the short trip down Maroondah Highway to Ringwood to take on the Ringwood Croquet Club.

These two clubs are not only close in distance, but have shared a close bond over many years now, but when it comes to playing one another that close bond goes out the window as it all becomes very serious.

Lilydale’s team this week consisted of Craig McCracken, Mick Crawley, Kerri McCracken and Liz Stewart.

Kerri McCracken was playing in the first singles and was starting with a two-hoop deficit. The game was very even all the way through and it was that two-hoop deficit that made the difference in the end. Ringwood 7 hoops Lilydale 5 hoops.

The next game was a doubles and both teams’ handicaps were even so there was no advantage to either team. Mick Crawley and Liz Stewart played in this game. The game was even all the way through with both teams playing very well. At the end of six hoops, it was six hoops a piece, so the thirteenth hoop had to be played to decide a winner, both teams set up well but Lilydale were able to make the most

of their chance and ran the hoop winning 7 hoops to Ringwood six hoops.

In the next singles Mick Crawley was playing, Mick was giving away a two-hoop start. Mick was playing well and made up his disadvantage and from then on the game was even, and after twelve hoops it was six hoops a piece again.The Ringwood player set up well in front of the thirteenth hoop and was able to run the hoop winning 7 hoops to Lilydale six hoops.

Craig McCracken and Liz Stewart played in the next doubles, Craig and Liz were giving away a two-hoop advantage to their opponents. Craig and Liz were combining well and soon had that disadvantage made up and took the lead in the game, Lilydale went on to have a comfortable win in the end, 7 hoops to Ringwood 3 hoops.

At the break, it was Ringwood 2 games 23 hoops to Lilydale 2 games 25 hoops. With Lilydale holding just a two-hoop advantage and two games to go the final result could go either way.

In the first game after the break, Craig McCracken was playing, The Ringwood player was starting with a two-hoop advantage and Craig was one hoop in arrears. Craig worked hard and with his extra experience was able to even the scores at six all after twelve hoops. With the thirteenth hoop to play to decide the winner Craig was able to set up well and run the hoop to win the game 7 hoops to Ringwood 6 hoops.

This win put Lilydale in front by a game and three hoops but there was still one game to play.

The last game was a doubles with Kerri McCracken and Mick Crawley teaming up. Kerri and Mick started well and were able to get on top of their opponents early and then control the game. Lilydale 7 hoops to Ringwood 4 hoops.

This win sealed the day for Lilydale, the final score Lilydale 4 games 39 hoops to Ringwood 2 games 33 hoops.

Cross country and chocolate enjoyed at Lillydale Lake

By Jamie Strudley

Yarra Ranges Athletics hosted round 5 of the YRA cross-country season at Lillydale Lake on Saturday morning. With sunny skies and great conditions underfoot, the opportunity for a course PB and resulting Freddo frogs and minties on offer.

The sunny conditions bought together another fantastic showing of eager athletes, young and not-so-young. Always great to see the support shown to all the athletes as they complete their event.

Next week we are off to Margaret Lewis Reserve in Coldstream where fitness will be tested again.

Results from Round 4 at Morrison Reserve are:

500m

· Kylan Milne 2.17; Sophie Ashton 2.34; Maisie McLeod 2.36

1000m

· Ivy Ingle 3.57; Noah Hewatt 4.06; Elliott Dawson 4.26; Jasper Dean 4.36; Aaron Zuo 5.23; Taylor Cox 5.38;

· Thea Christian 6.07

1500m

· Riley Yorke 5.47; Lucas Pauly 6.05; Amelia Sketchley 6.23; Milly Hall 6.25; Zahra Lehmann 6.45; Victoria James 6.47; Willow Neal 6.48; Etta Thoma 6.49; Sadie Hewatt 7.06; Harper Neal 7.12; Georgia Cooke 7.27; Iola MacKay 7.29; Kirrah Lehmann 7.32; Imogen McMillan 7.37; Indi Budin 7.44; Tahlia Dawson 7.47; Spencer Norman 8.28; Cody Buckland 8.49; Byron Stark 9.18; Micah Friend 9.28

2000m

· Samuel Thomas 7.37; Lexi Aders 8.55; Holly Yorke 9.04; Caitlyn McKerlie 9.23; Hugo Gibbs 9.25; Jonty Friend 10.08; Alice Sabo 10.16; Isla Haisma 10.22; Olivia Cox 10.43; Kirsten Mcerlie 10.54; Noah Eldridge 10.58;

Dominic Nealon 11.29 Pippa Congreve 11.54; Belle Gompertz 12; Isabella Martin 12.09; Eamon MacKay 12.14; Jake Buckland 12.18; Zuri Dawson 12.4; Blake Vine 22.11

3000m

· James Crome-Smith 11.12; Archie Budin 11.42; Zac McMillan 11.56; Cameron Yorke 12.1; Hamish Mcerlie 12.21; Mason James 13.15; Lily Clarke 13.32; Janna Rodriguez 13.4; Mackenzie Graham 14.06; Adele Ellis 14.07; Victoria James 14.25; Toby James 14.25; Tori Kincaid 14.28; Karlie Van Zyl

14.3; Laura Yorke 16.48; Amelia Eldridge 17.04; Elise Hall 17.17; Bradley McMeeken 17.27; Katie Clarke 17.28

Don’t forget to mark Saturday May 25 in your diaries... the Cockatoo Hills Challenge is a wonderful event.

Also please put your name down to be part of a team for the State XC Relays at Cruden Farm Langwarrin on Saturday June 8 - this event is open for any registered child in U9 and above.

Next week we are off to Margaret Lewis

Reserve in Coldstream where fitness will be tested again. Warm up at 8.45am with the first event starting at 9.00am. Anyone able to help with course set up (from 7.30am), timing, recording or pack up please contact the club on info@yarrarangesathletics.org.au or let us know on Saturday.

Our seniors have a week or two off with the next event being the Lakeside:10, a flat, fast road 10km finishing on Lakeside Stadium track at Albert Park on Sunday June 2. Entries close soon, no need to be a member to enter.

Cross country training for all club members us on Tuesday evenings from 5.30pm and Thursdays from 5.30pm at the Victoria Road Primary School gym. Yarra Ranges Athletics welcomes and encourages all athletes of any age or ability.

Go to www.lavic.com.au or www.athsvic. org.au or email info@yarrarangesathletics. org.au for information about events and registration. Cross Country is here!

For information on training, how to join or trial, photos, results and updated news, visit the website at yarrarangesathletics.org. au or check us out on Facebook. Run, Jump, Throw…too easy!

Xander running at pace.

Pictures: SUPPLIED

Elliott running hard.

There was one win, one loss and one bye at the Lilydale Croquet Club. Picture: ON FILE

Fortress stands up

By Peter Stephenson

‘Twas a cold, rainy Friday night at the Kennel as Barkerettes (2nd ) hosted Chisholm United (6th ) hoping to put the defeat at FC Melbourne Srbija behind them. A win would put Barkers temporarily on top, pending Sunday results.

On 10 minutes, Anita Caro Salve delivered a couple of probing corners from the right, from the first of which a point-blank shot was deflected over. Seven minutes later, United’s first chance came when a shot was blocked. Having had most of the game, Barkers then made their supremacy count. Kaity Farrance cleared to Amy D’Ortenzio at halfway. She headed the ball perfectly into the path of the oncoming Alizah Jones, who outpaced her markers and stuck the ball calmly into the bottom corner of the net for her first of the season and 1-0 Barkers.

Four minutes later, United had a dangerous chance when an Angelina Valiakas shot from the right was allowed to flash across the Barkers goal, but this was a rare threat from the visitors. Just after the half-hour, Emily Stokes,

with whom few defences can cope and with whom even I have trouble keeping up, raced down the right and crossed for Jones, who volleyed over. Half-time: Barkers 1-0 Chisholm, with the hosts being value for double that.

Not to worry. Barely a minute had passed in the second half when Barkers doubled their lead. Gracie Touliatos overlapped down the right but was forced into conceding a goal kick. The kick was intercepted and chipped back towards the keeper. She somehow failed to gather an easy ball, and Stokes was on hand to put the ball into an empty net – a great opportunist goal and 2-0 Barkers.

Just before the hour, Hannah Lee ran half the length of the pitch down the left before having a shot blocked. Twenty minutes later she did it again but won only a throw-in. Barkers really should have put the game beyond doubt by now, but they didn’t and were almost made to pay.

With 13 minutes to go, Chisholm won a corner on the right. It was headed clear, but the ball was crossed back in, headed on, and the Barkers’ defence was statuesque as Chisholm

was allowed to almost walk the ball into the net for 2-1 – their first attempt on target of the night.

Barkers, though, are almost impossible to beat at the Kennel. Two minutes later, they forced Chisholm into giving the ball away, and Kelly Butera crossed from the right to the far post. The shot came in, and the keeper almost fumbled as it hit the post and a grateful keeper gathered. This game, though, was too close for comfort. So who ya gonna call? Well, newlydiscovered scoring sensation Butera of course.

Four minutes from time, Barkers had a corner on the right. Caro Salve delivered to the near post, but it was allowed to bounce and run to the far post, where Butera, after an almighty scramble which left the keeper on the deck and Chisholm aggrieved that there was no foul, eventually forced the ball over the line to make it 3-1, which it remained at the end.

This was a fairly routine win in the end. Barkers were more or less full strength for a change and were too good for Chisholm. Next up is a Sunday lunchtime trip to Alphington.

Valiant efforts at Lilydale Tennis Club

By Joanna Campe

Junior Open Singles Doubles 1 Lilydale v Park Orchards

· After round 3 Lilydale was sitting outside the top 4 without a win yet for the season.

· Lilydale was represented by Joshua Jamieson, Ryan Taylor and Alex Paladino.

· Lilydale played at home this week against Park Orchards. The two teams were well matched and couldn’t be separated with the match ending in a draw with both teams winning 3 sets and 24 games each.

· Result: 4-6, 0-6, 6-4, 6-0, 2-6, 6-2

Junior Open Singles Doubles 8 Lilydale v Selby

· After round 3 Lilydale was sitting just outside the top 4 on the ladder.

· Lilydale was represented by Haady Aziz, Olivia Mason and Ivy Pieper.

· Lilydale played away this week against second-placed Selby. Lilydale played well but Selby eventually won the day 5 sets to 1 –winning 34 games to Lilydale 18.

· Result: 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-1, 6-3

Open Rubbers 11 Lilydale v Montrose

· After round 3 Lilydale was sitting outside the top 4 without a win yet for the season.

· Lilydale Blue was represented by David Halkidis and Adam Johnson.

· Lilydale played at home this week against Montrose. In a very evenly matched game, it was Montrose that eventually won the day 4 sets to 1– winning 30 games to Lilydale 22.

· Result: 6-7, 3-6, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 0-1 (super tiebreak)

Barkers win

By Peter Stephenson

A sunny cold Kennel was the venue as Barkers (7th) hosted Doncaster (11th), looking to build on a well-earned point at Bayside. Coach Paul Burrows named an unchanged side from that game.

On 7 minutes, Barkers had a big letoff when a shot from Luca Perna managed to hit both posts without crossing the line. Barkers capitalised on this luck with a goal from the most unexpected of sources.

John-Paul Cooper played a corner short on the left, it was played into the box, where Max Burrows, lurking in the 6-yard area, got a touch to the far post, where the ball struck Ahren Angulo and went into the net. Given that Newton’s third law of motion states that action and reaction are equal and opposite, his first-ever goal was a 2-yard screamer. Four minutes later, Liam Seaye had a throw-in on the right. From this, Jerome Valadon and Ross Clark combined to send a ball into the near post, where Geordie Scott executed a beautiful volley to give keeper Gabriel Vallese no chance and put Barkers 2-0 up.

Barkers were now well on top, but just before the break, Rovers forced 3 corners, which Mark Naumowicz dealt with comfortably. Rovers persisted, however, and played the ball down the left to Daniel Piazza. He crossed to the far post, where a towering header from Stefan Cardamone found the net to make it 2-1. Things then took a bizarre turn.

Open Rubbers 20 v Koonung Park

· After round 3 Lilydale was sitting just outside the top 4 on the ladder.

· Lilydale was represented by Levi Daly and Tim Bassett.

· Lilydale played away this week against topof-the-table team Koonung Park. Lilydale fought hard but were outplayed by Koonung Park on the day, who won the day 5 sets to 0 - winning 30 games to Lilydale 7.

· Result: 6-3, 6-1, 6-0, 6-2, 6-1

· Lilydale Tennis club welcomes all players of any age and ability. For information on how to join Lilydale Tennis Club please visit play. tennis.com.au/lilydaletennisclub.

· For all coaching enquires (Juniors and Adults) please contact Andrew at Pro Touch Tennis Academy ptta.com.au/contact.

Unbeknownst to all of us, defender Angulo, who hadn’t scored in 41 games but had already found the net today, secretly topped up his myki, allowing him to once more cross the halfway line. Barely a minute after Donny’s goal, Barkers had a corner on the right. Cooper delivered an inviting ball to the far post, where Brett Tronconi rose like a salmon to head home for 3-1. Except it wasn’t Tronconi, and the extraordinary truth dawned, that Angulo had scored a second – at least he knew something about this one.

Half-time: Mooroolbark 3-1 Doncaster Rovers, but we had been here before, 2-0 up against Hampton before snatching a draw from the jaws of victory, so no time for complacency.

But there was little cause for concern in the second half, as Naumowicz was on his game and was able to snuff out any Rovers threats. With 20 minutes left, a long Rovers clearance found James Karmis. He turned smartly and hit a shot on target, but Naumowicz was well behind it. At the other end, captain Scott was in no mood to be outscored by his defence…. So it was that Christian Porcaro played a long ball down the left wing, and Donny made the fatal error of standing off Scott. This was an open invitation for him to pick his spot, and as the ball sat up, he duly struck a beauty into the far corner of the net for 4-1.

Donny kept going, and Karmis forced a point-blank stop from Naumowicz. This cake, though, needed a cherry. Enter supersub Aaron Porcaro. Scott squared the ball from left midfield to Cooper, who put an incisive pass through a stretched defence for A.Porcaro. He looked to have taken the ball wide, but drew the keeper and subtly chipped over him into the net for number 5, for his own first Barkers goal. Full-time: Barkers 5-1 Doncaster Rovers.

This was just the tonic Barkers needed, but next is the annual trip to Berwick – always tense, rarely predictable.

L-R: Joshua Jamieson,Ryan Taylor and Alex Paladino.

Pictures: SUPPLIED L-R: Haady Aziz,Olivia Mason and Ivy Pieper.

The Barkers secured a comfortable win over Doncaster. Picture: ON FILE

The Barkerettes continued their strong home form.

Picture: ON FILE

They