Lost lights up Bunjil
of endangered plant species from around the world.
It’s especially magical after dark, when the internal glow of each species casts shifting shadows, creating immersive photo backdrops for families.
Climbing tensions
By Ethan Benedicto
Casey’s picturesque 1001 Steps and its adjoining Bayview Car Park, has transformed into a battleground between community peace and disruptive night-time gatherings.
While the park was built by the council to promote health and connection, residents have said
that what happens after dark tells a different story, one filled with idling vehicles, loud music and sleep disrupted by headlights.
Cries for action have grown louder, and the council’s response included new signage, road changes, and renewed conversations about gate closures and access.
But for many who live in the area, it may not be enough, with some saying that yellow lines and steel gates are just the beginning of an effective solution. For the full stories, turn to page 3
Teen sentenced to 15 months
By Ethan Benedicto
A Cranbourne North teenager has been sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment and a further 15-month community corrections order after pleading guilty to attempted aggravated burglary, affray, and theft offences tied to a violent, gang-related clash at a Narre Warren service station.
Mai Mut, 19, was sentenced in Melbourne’s County Court on Thursday, 10 July, with Judge Marks acknowledging the severity of the offending while also considering Mut’s young age, history of trauma, and signs of rehabilitation during remand.
“What happened in this period was that a group of six, including yourself [and others] arrived at the Coles Express, wearing hoodies and face coverings,” Judge Marks said.
The offences to which Mut was charged stemmed from a series of escalating events in late May 2024 between two groups of young men known to police as associated youth gangs.
In the background to the offending, between 26 and 27 May 2024, an Audi SUV was stolen from an address in Beaumaris.
The following day, between 27 and 28 May, a second Audi SQ5 SUV was stolen from an address in Hampton East.
On 29 May, Mut and five co-offenders, aged between 15 to 18, were caught on CCTV arriving at a Bunnings Warehouse in Narre Warren North.
Dressed in hoodies and face coverings, they inquired about machetes and left minutes later with a long axe visibly placed in one of the two stolen SUVs.
Roughly 20 minutes later, three members of a different and rival group rushed into the Shell Coles Express nearby on Narre Warren North Road, shouting for staff to lock the doors and to call the police.
All three members of the rival group were armed, including one with a machete and two with gas canisters that were picked up from outside the store.
Shortly after, Mut’s group arrived (a total of
six, including the accused) armed with an assortment of weapons, including a machete in Mut’s hands, as well as hatchets, poles and planks among the others.
“You were armed with various weapons, including a pole, an axe, hatchets, knives, machetes, a wooden plank; you personally were armed with a long machete.
“Your offending was deliberate, involved planning and preparation, and the attack at the Coles Express was a terrifying incident.”
They used the tools to smash the station’s glass doors while taunting those inside, with two in Mut’s group seen to be recording the attack.
CCTV and witness reports detailed the sounds of glass shattering, yelling, and the sight of terrified customers locking themselves in back rooms.
The attack lasted around two and a half minutes.
After initially fleeing, the group returned min-
Battery drop-off sites
The State Government is expanding battery collection points across the State.
Acting Minister for Environment Gayle Tierney announced $1.7 million on Monday 14 July, in funding through the Circular Economy Hazardous Waste Fund – Round 4 to improve access to battery collection sites.
Funding is available to local councils and registered charities to establish convenient battery drop-off locations, supporting battery recovery rates and keeping batteries out of household bins.
E-waste, one of the fastest growing waste streams in Australia, includes embedded batteries in vapes, e-scooters, shavers and toys, and poses an environmental and health and safety risk when not disposed of correctly.
Waste collectors and fire rescue organisations, including Fire Rescue Victoria, have re-
ported an increase in waste truck fires related to batteries being put in kerbside bins.
Local councils and charities are invited to apply for grants of up to $22,000 to support the purchase, installation and promotion of battery drop-off units. The funded facilities will accept a wide range of battery types, including loose household batteries, batteries from e-cigarettes, embedded batteries in small devices such as electric toothbrushes, and larger batteries weighing up to 60 kg.
Round 3 Hazardous Waste Fund had two projects share in $3.5 million to establish lithium-ion processing and recycling facilities, increasing Victoria’s capacity to process lithium-ion batteries by 19,500 tonnes per year.
For further information and to apply, visit: sustainability.vic.gov.au/ceif-hazardouswaste-round-4
utes later and attempted to ram the store with one of the stolen Audis, only to be blocked by a bollard.
The car left the scene again before police arrived and arrested the rival group once they emerged from the service station.
By midday, five African males in similar clothing to the assailants walked from The Strand in Narre Warren South to Casey Central Shopping Centre, where they entered a restaurant called Fat Jak’s.
At 12:25pm on the same day, police officers attended the restaurant and arrested the five assailants, including Mut.
A machete with Mut’s DNA and dried blood on the blade and hilt was found tucked into his pants.
Further weapons and blood traces were recovered from the stolen vehicle parked nearby.
No victim impact statements were submitted
to the court, but the prosecution noted the incident had a profound emotional effect on staff and customers.
One staff member was hospitalised with chest pains under stress.
This was Mut’s first time sentenced as an adult.
The judge ordered that, following his release, Mut be placed under strict supervision, undergo drug and alcohol treatment, mental health assessment, and avoid all contact with co-offenders.
The sentencing principles considered by Judge Marks included deliberate and groupbased violence, the use of weapons, public and bystander terror, and a long youth offending history.
Mitigating principles that were considered include an early guilty plea, youthfulness and PTSD, family and community support (including family letters and a letter from the AfriAus Care CEO) and rehabilitation during his remand period.
Mut was 18 years old during the offence, having lived in Cranbourne North with his mother and siblings, with whom he had constant contact during the same remand period.
Mut’s home in Cranbourne North was firebombed by a rival gang, with the Youth Justice Report stating that the nature of his and his group’s offending was retaliatory in nature.
He was also assaulted during his time in youth detention, which, after he was diagnosed with PTSD.
The judge also took into consideration the strong family ties aforementioned during the death of his cousin after a shooting in Melbourne CBD.
Specific conditions of Mut’s CCO include mental health and substance abuse treatment, non-association with the co-accused, supervision by Cranbourne Community Correction, as well as judicial monitoring.
He was also disqualified from driving for three months and formally credited with 407 days already served.
New bin app now available
The Bin it Right app is available for download in the App Store and Google Play, with the City of Casey inviting residents in a way to help them easily find out their bin night and which bin to put out.
The app is free, and works by users entering their address, with the user’s future bin collections listed.
Users are also able to schedule a reminder on the day prior to the day of bin collection.
No account is needed for the app, and once active, it also has features that detail what items belong in what bin, a 12-month bin calendar, service changes notifications and waste services near the user’s address.
For more information, visit www.casey.vic.gov.au/bin-it-right-app
Mai Mut, a 19-year-old from Cranbourne North, was sentenced to 15 months in prison and a 15-month CCO after pleading guilty to attempted aggravated burglary, affray and theft. (On File)
The City of Casey Mayor, Stefan Koomen, with the
Concerns over car park
By Ethan Benedicto
Residents of Quarry Road in Narre Warren North have been pushing for additional amenities at the popular 1001 Steps.
Signage, speed bumps, and locked gates are what’s on the cards after years of residents experiencing disruptive behaviour at the Bayview Car Park.
1001 Steps at Bayview Park is an officially designated walking track by the City of Casey, one that was inspired by the 1000 Steps at Ferntree Gully, and offers an expansive view of Narre Warren and surrounding areas.
However, its car park, located at the base of the hill and steps, has also been the go-to destination for disruptive behaviour, with residents reporting similar instances and incidents to the Berwick Lookout in Old Coach Road.
Grevillea Ward councillor, Dave Perry, said that 1001 Steps “was built to give more accessible green spaces to our community and encourage an active lifestyle for all Casey residents”.
Instead, he has received personal accounts from locals of vehicles idling in the parking space just after midnight, and more often than not, also playing loud music.
Residents have said to Cr Perry that installation of signs at the start of Quarry Road is a must, indicating that there is no entry to the Bayview Park after 8pm, or 9pm during daylight saving.
Another want from locals is two sets of speed bumps, one just after the intersection at Quarry Road and Ernst Wanke Road, with accounts of
cars speeding up and down the thoroughfare.
“Gates servicing the 1001 Steps at the Bayview Car Park should be getting locked up at 8pm every night by the security contractor we at council are paying,” Cr Perry said.
“However, even when gates are locked, cars are parking in the space outside the gates just to
hang out and socialise.”
The City of Casey, in response to these concerns, has detailed proposed works by Transport Operations on Quarry Road that include on-street parking being banned along a 150-metre section of Quarry Road that leads to the 1001 Steps car park, as well as signs reading “parking restriction
enforced” and no stopping signs.
“They are disturbing residents, and these people living around the 1001 Steps deserve the quiet enjoyment of their homes,” Cr Perry said.
The plans’ specific details have also been provided to neighbouring residents, informing them of upcoming works and the installation of signs.
Outcry on disruptive behaviour in Narre Warren North spot
By Ethan Benedicto
Disruptive behaviour has been a common occurrence at a walking trail’s car park in Narre Warren North, with residents recalling continuous incidents over the last five years.
Residents living alongside Quarry Road and the Bayview Car Park said that lingering and loitering vehicles, alongside loud music and bright headlights aimed at homes, are not just common, “they’re daily”.
Recently, the City of Casey, according to Grevillea Ward councillor Dave Perry, have issued letters of notice to nearby residents of the popular 1001 Steps walking trail detailing additional amenities of signs, and yellowed lines with parking banned along a 150-metre section of Quarry Road.
One resident, whose property’s rear is directly adjacent to Quarry Road, said that “I’ve been raising this issue for more than five years, when the steps first became a thing”.
“The council has successfully placed gates to stop them from going to the park after-hours, but what they do instead is they park in front of the gates on the road.”
The resident, a father of two, said that while the gates serve their purpose, he doesn’t believe that the added lines and ‘banning’ people from parking on Quarry Road is going to be much help.
stop them is putting gates here,” he said.
The man pointed at the beginning of Quarry Road, adding that residents should be the only ones to have access to the road after hours. He also added that it’s not only the weekends that the car park is busy with people, though they do tend to be more unruly.
“They’re here every night, right now [morning] it’s peaceful, but when it’s nighttime, you can hear them all,” he said.
“And my daughter and my son, when they’re
Looking at a Google Maps view of his home, he pointed out the hill just across the parking lot, saying that “what they do is they park there, and leave their lights on”.
home, they can see those lights in their room, and it’s just annoying.
“Yellow lines and a big sign aren’t going to stop people; the only thing that will actually
Another resident who lives on Milfull Court said that he knows when to expect noise and commotion, and it’s “something we unfortunately have to get used to”.
Grevillea Ward councillor Dave Perry has been advocating for local residents along Quarry Road in Narre Warren North after accounts of disruptive behaviour at the 1001 Steps Bayview Car park. (Supplied)
The car park, which has a small capacity, is at the base of the walking trail. (Ethan Benedicto: 489594_02)
A sign at the entrance of the 1001 Steps Bayview Car Park, with a sign from the City of Casey detailing opening and closing times. (Ethan Benedicto: 489594_01)
Worry over landfill dust
By Violet Li
Three years after the SBI landfill first came to public scrutiny for offensive odours, residents say they are still left in the dark about potentially dangerous dust drifting from the site, citing a lack of public statistics on dust monitoring.
Back in early 2022, residents near the SBI landfill in Cranbourne noted persistent rotten-egg odours linked to hydrogen sulfide gas, prompting thousands of complaints and further EPA action. Over the years, the odour has been significantly reduced, but the surrounding community have become more aware of the other impacts of the landfill activities, including the dust.
Star News first reported the dust concerns in early 2023.
At a community session by the EPA, residents raised strong concerns about respirable crystalline silica from the SBI landfill, which is known to cause silicosis, a disabling or even fatal condition.
Respirable crystalline silica is a very fine form of silica dust that is small enough to be inhaled deep into the lungs. It is a common mineral found in materials like sand, stone, concrete, and bricks. It’s often generated when materials containing silica are cut and crushed.
SBI landfill accepts solid inert waste from commercial and industrial, construction and demolition activities, and it conducts concrete crushing activities, which produce silica dust.
At the time, an EPA scientist said it was “highly unlikely,” citing past studies at similar sites and suggesting that if staff aren’t exposed, the community likely isn’t either.
But locals remained unconvinced, pointing to daily dust build-up on cars and homes, and demanded clear evidence that the air was safe.
EPA acknowledged the issue and said it would follow up, while urging residents to report visible dust alongside odour complaints.
Fast forward to July 2025, the community is still unconvinced and concerned, citing a lack of public statistics on dust monitoring, while being told the dust level was safe.
“From what I’ve seen, it (dust) seems to have got worse over the last couple of years,” a resident in the nearby Settlers Run estate, who preferred not to disclose their name, said. “That is probably because they used to crush dust at the bottom of the old quarry where the landfill now is, so that’s about 60 meters below the surface. Whereas now they do it on top of the ground, so, of course, the dust is more evident.
“There are two parts of the dust. There’s the dust in the air, the air emissions and then there’s the dust that gets on the ground and it gets flushed down into the waterways. Residents are concerned, and they made a lot of complaints about them getting dust on their cars, on their houses. Grey dust, which is the same sort of colour that you see from the SBI that comes out on the road.”
The resident recalled that in 2023, there was a dust-coated car abandoned on Ballarto Road outside the landfill.
“It was only there for a couple of days, and it
was just coated,” they said.
Residents in the local Facebook group noted that they wouldn’t expect much dust to be in the air in winter, but it was the spring-to-autumn season when they typically saw the dust around*.
In April 2024, in response to community reports, the EPA requested that SBI conduct dust monitoring, including respirable silica.
A letter from the State’s Environment Minister last month has revealed that in May and June, the EPA reviewed multiple versions of the dust monitoring report and found insufficient information for an accurate public health assessment of risks to the local community. Consequently, the EPA took regulatory action.
In November 2024, the EPA issued notices to SBI requiring them to develop a dust management plan and an ongoing dust monitoring program that considers health risks, including respirable crystalline silica.
EPA received a dust management plan for the site in February this year.
SBI is installing equipment and will start its dust monitoring program, including real-time monitoring, in July this year.
The resident questioned why SBI hadn’t al-
ready had a dust management plan and believed the environment watchdog didn’t act quickly enough to enforce the dust management plan and the dust monitoring.
They cited an Environmental Audit Report from December 2022, where the expert observed “significant dust generation from concrete crushing activities occurring near the site entrance” and “minimal dust across the remaining site area” during a visit in November 2022.
The audit report for the period between 1 January 2020 and 31 July 2022 told a different story about dust, which was inspected by SBI infrequently and not daily as required before.
It was noted that dust ranging from “very low” to “moderate” was observed at the northern boundary in June 2020 and September 2021, and ‘low’ dust was observed at locations 7 and 8 onsite (near the landfill and quarry) during June 2020.
Dust sources were noted to be from trucks, the landfill and concrete crushing activities. SBI confirmed to the auditor by email dated 28 November 2022 that no dust complaints were received during the audit period.
The inspection records also showed that dust was not detected during inspections undertaken by SBI in October 2021 to February 2022.
“As the landfilling operations are taking place below the natural ground level, it would be anticipated that dust emissions are minimised in part due to this,” the report noted. “The dust emissions that were observed appear to be sourced primarily from trucks on the haul road at ground level as well as from concrete crushing activities.”
The audit report recommended that dust inspections be undertaken daily at the required location.
The resident, who has been highly engaged, also pointed out that the April 2024 dust monitoring report had not been made public, despite
plans to release its key findings.
After they learned that the EPA was not satisfied with that undisclosed report and requested a dust management plan later, they found everything suspicious.
They recalled that it was mentioned in an SBI community meeting that respirable silica dust was detected at low levels.
“When I was at the meeting, they said that everything was okay. It was below the workplace threshold, and when I asked for more details, like what the readings meant, what the impact was, and whether it was totally safe, they wouldn’t answer any questions,” they said.
SBI’s May community meeting last year recorded a brief summary of the April 2024 report, including “inhalable dust concentration at 3 locations below Worksafe Australia exposure limits”, and “crystalline silica concentration at 3 locations all under APAC guideline limit”.
According to an EPA answer to a community question in November 2024, the WorkSafe safe work silica limits are based on an 8-hour exposure average, which means that you would need to be exposed to constant silica levels above the limits to be at risk, i.e. standing outside breathing high levels of silica for 8 hours.
EPA Air Pollution Assessment Criteria is based on a 24-hour exposure limit that does consider cumulative impact.
The resident said, however, there is currently no national or state-level regulation in Australia that sets a specific safe limit for respirable crystalline silica in ambient (outdoor) residential air.
“It’s like a big grey area,” they said.
They pointed out that a lot of people in the vicinity work from home, which means they could be affected.
“We went through another spring, summer, autumn of dust without what’s showing in the air,” they said.
When inquired, an EPA spokesperson said that while EPA had received only a handful of complaints about dust escaping the SBI site, this year, there was additional action that SBI has committed to so that any dust issues could be identified and addressed as early as possible.
“In March this year, following an inspection, EPA was able to confirm SBI’s compliance with two improvement notices, which also included the development of a dust management plan,” they said. “This will include the installation of new dust monitoring equipment and a commitment from SBI to share the results of that monitoring with the community.
“We will continue to monitor SBI and act if they become non-compliant and have been actively working in the area recently, testing for noise and odour issues.”
SBI landfill was contacted for comment.
*Reports on dust issues state that dust levels can fluctuate significantly with weather conditions. Wind can carry particles over long distances, dry temperatures increase dust lift-off, and atmospheric pressure can trap pollutants close to the ground.
Jennifer Mills exhibition is on its way to Bunjil Place
By Ethan Benedicto
Bunjil Place will soon be home to a major retrospective showcase of the delicate, bold, and quietly powerful works of renowned Australian artist, Jennifer Mills.
Titled, In the echo chamber, and set to open on 9 August, the exhibition brings together more than 100 pieces of work from Mills’ expansive 20-year career.
It looks to capture the nuanced depth of her artistic practice and the evolution of her ideas through watercolour, oil pastel, and physical erasure.
Moving from the playful surfaces of cult television shows and costume, to intimate reflections of childhood disability, Mills’ work invited viewers into a space where memory and ambiguity take the centre stage.
Mills is known for starting with found photographic images, and often disrupts the original narrative by obscuring, cutting, or altogether removing elements to shift the focus and meaning. Mills said that she was thrilled when the curator from Bunjil, Penny Teale, first approached her about the survey exhibition.
“It will be my first opportunity to see my working dialogue with one another in one space,” Mills said.
“This is a privilege that I will share with my son, Darcy Luker, who has collaborated on
many works with me over the past few years.”
Born in 1966, Mills was born in and also currently works in Naarm (Melbourne), with the upcoming exhibition marking a significant moment in her artistic venture.
A finalist in this year’s Dobell Drawing Prize, Mills’ accolades include being a consistent presence in prestigious awards.
While being a regular exhibitor with the Darren Knight Gallery since 1997, she was also a finalist in the Paul Guest Drawing Prize at Bendigo Art Gallery in 2024; a regular finalist in the Geelong Art Prize, Jacaranda Art Prize, and Mornington Peninsula National Works on Paper Prize.
In 2018, Mills won the Splash: McClelland Contemporary Watercolour Award; in 2012, she was included in Contemporary Australia: Women, Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane.
Mills’ work has also been included in group exhibitions, including Contemporary Australian Drawings 1; RMIT Gallery, Melbourne, Australia (2010); Magnetic Islands and more.
A series of public programs will run alongside In the echo chamber, giving local art lovers the opportunity to explore the themes of identity, presence, and the fragmented nature of meaning through an artist’s lens.
The exhibition will run for three months, ending on 16 November.
The story is developing, and more information will be added once available.
A truck was watering the Ballarto Road next to the SBI landfill. (Stewart Chambers: 490030)
A car that was abandoned on Ballarto Road outside the landfill, which was full of dust. The photo was taken in early 2023.
Jennifer Mills’ In the echo chamber piece called Falling. Circa 2013, created by watercolour, gouache, ink, pencil and oil pastel on paper; it measures at 38 x 52 cm. (Supplied)
Mark your calendars
Morning tea and tour
Come and envision your life at the vibrant and welcoming Summerset Cranbourne North
Enjoy a complimentary cuppa and morning tea and take the opportunity to explore the beautiful brand-new homes, thoughtfully designed with ease and comfort in mind.
Wednesday 23 July, 10am to 12pm
Join us at our July events
Wednesday 23 & Thursday 31 July
Summerset Cranbourne North 98 Mannavue Boulevard, Cranbourne North 03 7068 5642 | cranbourne.sales@summerset.com.au
Sip and stroll
Get a taste of life at Summerset Cranbourne North. Enjoy a guided tour of our beautifully designed village and available homes before joining our resident happy hour, with drinks and nibbles provided.
Mingle with residents already living in the village and learn why they love their life at Summerset Cranbourne North.
Thursday 31 July, 2pm to 4pm
Parenting centre a lifeline
By Violet Li
Murrumbek Casey Early Parenting Centre in Clyde North has become a vital lifeline for new families in the growth area.
Since its official opening in January 2024, the free wellness service has already supported more than 1000 families, offering them the care they need during the often-challenging early years of parenthood.
Lauren Savva, the acting nurse manager, recalled the centre’s beginnings and how quickly it had grown into an essential community hub.
“There is quite a demand for the service,” she said.
Ms Savva said what the centre provides is individualised support for families to achieve their goals.
“Families will come in with a huge range of different goals, and that could be from sleep and settling, learning to understand some behaviours. It could be feeding support, and that could be from the baby, like breastfeeding, bottle feeding, or introducing solids,” she said.
“Depending on what the family’s goals are, we will do an individualised plan for that, and then during the week, we support them through achieving that goal.
“We’ll do education sessions with the families as well, and then if there’s any more information they need, we do one-on-one education sessions as well.”
Delivered by the State Government in partnership with Monash Health, the centre provides a range of services including day stays, overnight stays, and telehealth support.
Families can access a range of programs: a residential program, which offers 10 private rooms with en-suite bathrooms, a day stay program for
OPINION
three days of the week, which has four separate rooms, each with its own cot, where parents can settle their babies with one-on-one support from staff, a sleep-settling program for babies aged four months to 12 months, a newborn program aimed at infants aged zero to three months, a home visiting program, which is usually an extension of someone who’s attended the residential of the day program, and telehealth if needed.
All programs are free and can be accessed via self-referral or through a GP or maternal child health nurse.
The centre has a team of nurses with different backgrounds, including paediatrics, newborn and mental health, midwifery, maternal and
child health, social work, play therapy, speech therapy and dietetics.
“Depending on the family’s needs or supports there, we can also offer those services to further enhance the patient experience,” Ms Savva said.
Ms Savva said the wait list at the moment for a day program is around five weeks.
For the residential program, it varies between six to 10 weeks depending on certain times of the year when the centre will see an increase in demand. “We’re constantly working on improving the service and how we can reduce the wait times to come into the program,” she said.
“We also collaborate with other early parenting centres to make sure that our families get the
support they need as soon as they can.”
Every month, the centre puts up one of its success stories to share with the community.
This month’s story stands out for Ms Savva.
Written from the perspective of a baby, the story captures the impact of the centre’s work.
“I’ve been co-sleeping with Mum and Dad since I was born. This week, I learned to sleep on my own in a cot, and my parents learned to understand my behaviours and body language. Thank you to the amazing staff for being so patient with me,” the story writes.
Ms Savva said they are constantly reevaluating what the community needs, and how they can support the community the best they can.
To know more about the centre, visit: monashhealth.org/services/child-youth-and-family/ murrumbek-casey-early-parenting-centre/
Steps for a unified Australia: Letter to the editor
I read with interest the recent opinion piece The Fires We Are Not Putting Out (Truth Be Told, Star News, 17 July) and wanted to share a different perspective.
Growing up in multicultural Australia during the 1990s, I remember a community that was genuinely diverse yet united.
Everyone was different—but still the same in the ways that really mattered.
Kids with Lebanese, Vietnamese, Greek, Italian, and Anglo backgrounds all played footy together, hung out at the same parks, and went to the same schools.
We were more hardened back then, but in a good way—people didn’t walk on eggshells.
You learned to take a joke and to give one
back. There was respect, but also a shared sense of belonging.
One part of the piece talks about the offence people take when asked “Where are you really from?”
I think that’s worth reframing. In my experience, that question wasn’t meant as an insult—it was an invitation to connect.
People were curious about your story, your heritage, your family’s journey.
It sparked real conversations, friendships, and understanding.
I worry that if we train people to see genuine curiosity as aggression, we lose one of the easiest ways to build bridges between cultures.
Another point I’d like to raise is about integra-
tion.
Back in the ‘90s, integration meant joining the same clubs, playing on the same teams, turning up to the same BBQs.
These everyday shared spaces made us neighbours first, regardless of our background.
Today there’s more of a tendency to emphasise separate cultural communities.
While it’s important to celebrate heritage, if we don’t also invest in shared spaces and experiences, we risk isolating ourselves from each other and creating the very divisions we’re trying to avoid.
If we want a more unified Australia, I believe we need to encourage local, grassroots integration:
- Support community sports that mix everyone together.
- Build parks and centres that feel welcoming to all.
- Hold neighbourhood events that invite everyone to bring their favourite dish and story.
- Encourage people to ask questions and share openly without fear of offending if their intent is respectful.
Ultimately, our best hope is not in top-down mandates or carefully managed cultural days, but in everyday, genuine interactions.
That was the strength I remember from my childhood in the 90s—and it’s something I hope we can reclaim.
Ragnarr Rasmusson, Dandenong
Regional news is the canary in the coal mine: CPA president
By Damian Morgan, President Country Press Australia
Recently, I stepped up as President of Country Press Australia (CPA), ostensibly to represent the best interests of independent regional newspaper publishers. But the responsibility is far greater than that.
The future of regional news publishing is inextricably linked to whether regional communities will continue to have a say in shaping the future of regional Australia.
In fact, regional newspapers are the metaphorical canary in the coal mine - their health signals the health of the voice of the communities they serve. And both are under threat.
The toxic combination of ever-expanding corporations and surging city populations dominating our politics is reducing regional communities to branch office status, with their futures determined by powerful elites in our CBDs.
With every small business that’s bought out and “rolled up” into a corporate machine - or shut down to make way for a big-box competitor - a local business owner is replaced by a corporate manager. The profits are siphoned off in the first electronic transfer back to the city, and a small part of the soul of our communities dies.
As our capital cities grow, the weight of our democracy and decision-making drifts further away
from the regions - away from where much of our nation’s wealth is generated, by the way.
Even local government is losing its voice.
Many locally elected councillors now fear speaking out on behalf of their communities, worried they’ll be reported by bureaucratic staff to increasingly powerful, city-based governance bodies. When this happens, our democracy is weakened.
Regional news publishers are among the last lines of defence against these forces.
At our best, we rally and amplify the collective voice of our communities. We stand up to power and fight for a fair go.
There’s a saying that the squeaky wheel gets the grease - but in regional Australia, it’s mostly the silent, hardworking wheels that keep the whole country moving.
That’s why regional newspapers promote local communities and give those doing the heavy lifting a voice.
We unapologetically champion independent regional businesses - the ones who make, grow, and fix things. The ones who only sell what they believe in and are proud of.
We’re also here for the bush cops and single-teacher schools, the nurses and doctors who are always on duty, and the junior sports coaches who drive the bus three hours each way so kids can get a game on the weekend.
We’re up for the fight. But it’s getting harder.
A decade ago, regional newspapers were thriving. Classifieds, display ads, and community notices funded large local newsrooms filled with trained journalists.
But the landscape has changed.
When news went online - and we’re online too - global tech giants like Facebook quickly came to dominate the advertising market, using their monopolistic power to take an overwhelming share of digital ad revenue.
Yet these platforms don’t produce news. They don’t employ journalists. And they certainly don’t hire anyone in regional communities where they glean enormous profits from the attention of local
people while contributing nothing back to local newsrooms or communities.
In fact, they profit from our content, created by local journalists, without paying fairly for it - undermining the very business model that sustains local news.
And big box retail corporations making huge profits from our regional communities are now choosing to advertise with these global tech giants, not with local publishers.
Like frogs in warming water, too many Australians are unaware of the growing danger of letting corporatism control our communities - and the new media platforms and AI systems that (mis) inform them.
My top priority as president of CPA is to fight for the publishers who, in turn, are fighting for their communities.
We’ll be wearing out the boot leather lobbying governments to protect our people from exploitation by tech platforms that profit from harmful content and put our children and democracy at risk. We’ll push back against bureaucracy that strips power from local leaders. We’ll shine a light on the creeping reach of corporatism. We’re proud to take on these battles.
All we ask in return is that you keep buying your local paper — or subscribe online — and support the local businesses that advertise with us.
Team photo of the staff at the centre: (rear) Mel, Andrea, Jaqui, Mel and Tahlia. (front) acting nurse manager Lauren Savva and Helen. (Gary Sissons: 489508)
2-year-old Arlo is a little angel, playing at the centre.
New CPA president Damian Morgan.
FOCUS ON … MEDICALLY SPEAKING
Addressing hearing loss
By The Better Health Content Team
Hearing loss among elderly individuals is a prevalent and significant health concern worldwide.
Approximately one-third of people over 60 years old experience some form of hearing impairment, with this figure increasing to nearly half of those over 75 and more than 80 per cent of those over 85. This condition, known as presbycusis or agerelated hearing loss, is characterised by a gradual decline in hearing ability, often affecting highpitched sounds first. Symptoms include difficulty hearing softer voices, such as those of women or children, and challenges in understanding speech in noisy environments. The impact of untreated hearing loss on elderly individuals is profound, leading to decreased quality of life, social isolation, depression, and cognitive decline.
The causes of age-related hearing loss are multifaceted, involving changes in the inner ear structures, blood flow, nerve function, and how the brain processes sound. Factors such as diabetes, poor circulation, exposure to loud noises, and certain medications can exacerbate this condition. Given its widespread nature, addressing hearing loss in the elderly is crucial. Solutions involve both prevention and intervention strategies.
Prevention includes avoiding loud noises, managing chronic conditions like diabetes, and limiting exposure to ototoxic medications. Early detection through regular hearing screenings is essential for effective management. Once identi-
fied, interventions such as hearing aids, assistive devices, and speech therapy can significantly improve communication and quality of life.
Hearing aids are a common solution for managing age-related hearing loss. These devices amplify sound to help individuals better understand speech and environmental noises.
Assistive technologies like telephone amplifiers and television captioning systems can also enhance communication. For severe cases, cochlear implants may be recommended.
Additionally, learning sign language or lip reading can be beneficial for those with profound
hearing loss. Counseling and support are vital components of care, helping individuals cope with the emotional and social impacts of hearing loss. By addressing hearing loss effectively, elderly individuals can maintain social connections, engage in community activities, and reduce the risk of associated mental health issues like depression and anxiety.
World Hearing Day, celebrated on 3 March, highlights the importance of addressing hearing health globally. This initiative by the World Health Organisation aims to raise awareness about hearing loss and promote ear and hear-
ing care. It emphasises the need for early intervention and support for those affected by hearing loss, particularly in older populations. By advocating for better hearing care practices and encouraging governments to invest in hearing services, World Hearing Day plays a crucial role in improving the lives of millions worldwide. The theme for recent years has focused on changing mindsets and empowering individuals to prioritise ear and hearing care, underscoring the importance of awareness and action in preventing and managing hearing loss.
In conclusion, hearing loss among elderly individuals is a significant health issue that requires attention and action. Through a combination of prevention strategies, early detection, and appropriate interventions, it is possible to mitigate the impacts of hearing loss and improve the quality of life for older adults. As the global population ages, the importance of addressing hearing health will only continue to grow, making initiatives like World Hearing Day increasingly vital for raising awareness and promoting better hearing care practices worldwide. By empowering communities and individuals to prioritise hearing health, we can work towards a future where everyone has access to the necessary resources to address this critical health concern.
Speak to us for more information, call (03) 9702 9300 or book online at https://betterhealthfamilyclinic.com.au
How artificial intelligence can improve dementia detection
Researchers from the National Centre for Healthy Ageing (NCHA), a partnership between Monash University and Peninsula Health, have developed a novel method for improving dementia detection in hospitals by combining traditional methods with artificial intelligence (AI).
Approximately 50 million people worldwide live with dementia, a number expected to triple by 2050, according to the World Alzheimer Report. In Australia, there is still a need to substantially improve our methods for counting people with dementia. Accurate Identification is critical to understanding the true size of the problem nationally, and to be able to effectively plan services. However, routine health data that are currently used for this purpose probably underestimate the numbers of people with dementia.
Regular healthcare contact and hospitalisations provide an important opportunity to address this issue. Currently, in hospitals, dementia is recorded based on gathering of information in the medical records by medical coders, who find it difficult to look through the vast amount of written information in the records.
In a study involving over 1,000 individuals aged 60 and above in the Frankston-Mornington Peninsula area, algorithms using traditional data approaches with AI in electronic health re-
cords demonstrated high accuracy in identifying whether or not a person may have dementia. Supported by national health bodies, the initiative could transform how dementia is identified, counted for national estimates, and managed in healthcare settings.
Given the global rise in dementia cases and the difficulty in accurately identifying patients through conventional medical coding, this approach has the ability to transform the Australian landscape in this field. The research team based at Peninsula Health, involving NCHA’s Healthy Ageing Data Platform group and clinicians from Australia and the USA, have tackled this problem using AI, and found that a particular type of AI called natural language processing (NLP) applied to written text in medical records significantly enhances dementia identification capacity.
The project was supported by grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Medical Research Future Fund, and the Department of Health and Aged Care.
Their peer-reviewed paper, “Dual-Stream Algorithms for Dementia Detection: Harnessing Structured and Unstructured Electronic Health Record Data,” published in the Alzheimer’s and Dementia Journal showed that algorithms combining traditional methods with AI demon-
strated very high accuracy for detecting the presence of dementia from information in electronic health records.
Lead author, Dr Taya Collyer, said the study was based on people aged 60 and over with dementia diagnosed by specialists using gold standard methods, and a comparison group without dementia.
“Accessing high-quality curated electronic health records from our Healthy Ageing Data Platform helped assemble the data efficiently to address this problem. Special software was used to harness the large amount of free text data in a way that NLP could then be applied,” Dr Collyer said.
“We then developed dementia-finding algorithms through a traditional stream for usual structured data and an NLP stream for text records.”
For the traditional stream, in addition to standard codes for dementia, information was also obtained that reflected demographics, socioeconomic status, medications, emergency and clinic health utilisation, and in-hospital events such as confusion or distressed behaviour.
For the NLP stream, the team used clinical experts to guide the analysis to ensure its clinical relevance.
NCHA Director and project lead Professor
Velandai Srikanth said the future impact of this novel approach is exciting, not only for the better counting of numbers of people with dementia, but also for the efficient identification of people with high probability of dementia who may need care and support but who may get missed otherwise.
“Given that clinical recognition of people diagnosed with dementia presenting to hospitals is poor, using this new approach we could be identifying people earlier for appropriate diagnostic and clinical care. I am sure that many people are missing out on good care because we are not very good at identifying them or their needs,” Professor Srikanth said.
“This new method offers a novel digital strategy for capturing and combining clues in written text, such as descriptions of confusion or forgetfulness, or alerts for distressed behaviour, to flag them for suitable care and support.
“Responsibly using AI in scientific research and dementia identification is potentially gamechanging. The NCHA’s Healthy Ageing Data Platform, an Australian-first initiative, has been able to bring together various sources of data from electronic health records, safety and governance, and the technical capacity to enable such high-value projects.”
Lost in one giant garden
By Violet Li
Internationally renowned artist Amanda Parer has brought her Lost exhibition to Bunjil Place this winter.
A careful local eye will notice the Plaza has been transformed into a wonderland of giant illuminated inflatables of endangered plant species from around the world.
It’s especially magical after dark, when the internal glow of each species casts shifting shadows, creating immersive photo backdrops for families.
Parer, Tasmanian-based, best known for her inflatable artworks that often explore themes of nature and humanity, said the exhibition is called Lost as it refers to Alice in Wonderland and how she enters a giant garden.
“She got a bit lost in the giant garden. Hopefully, when people visit it, they’ll get a similar sensation,” she said.
“The title also refers to the species that have been chosen for the artwork. All the different flowers that are in the artwork are either from endangered or extinct floral species from every continent around the globe.”
An artist coming from a background of exhibiting fine art in galleries, Parer extended out into installation to explore that invisible space between people and the artwork.
“The works (Lost) themselves are designed for people to sit amongst and take photos with, and to sit around them like they would in any other garden,” she said.
“Hopefully, they’ll enjoy themselves, and they’ll sit amongst the artwork and dig a little deeper to get to the more serious themes in the works, which is basically our effect on the natural world.”
Parer’s environmental focus stems from a trip to the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador, where she lived among wildlife while her uncle and aunt filmed a nature documentary.
“I spent sort of six months there, and we got to places where tourists aren’t allowed to go, so I got to really be amongst nature and animals in a very special way,” she recalled.
“I felt like they didn’t know man is a threat, so they came up to me and were just as curious about me as I was about them.
“Having that experience has really instilled in me the importance of our role as essentially the apex species on the planet and our role to look after it. That became my theme in my work.
“That’s important, and it’s broad enough for me to explore in my art throughout my career.”
Before arriving at Bunjil Place Plaza, Lost had already stunned audiences worldwide.
The large-scale botanical installation has appeared in countries such as Singapore, the USA, France, Spain, and England.
Parer previously brought her acclaimed giant rabbit installation Intrude to the Bunjil Place about five years ago. That collaboration planted the seeds for Lost to return.
“I had a really great working relationship with the team,” Parer said.
“I really admire how they respect artworks, and they have a great space there, not only with the building, but also the space out front.
“It seems to marry well with my giant installation works.”
The timing was also ideal as Bunjil Place had recently hosted Floribunda, an exhibition developed with the Museums Victoria and National Gallery of Victoria, which explored floral themes in art and culture.
Lost is part of the Casey Winter Arts Festival.
The Plaza has been transformed into a wonderland of giant illuminated inflatables of endangered plant species from around the world. (Rob Carew)
Trafficker granted mercy
By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A “ham-fisted” trafficker who accidentally shot his girlfriend while “mucking around” with a gun in Clyde North and falsely accused the victim’s brother has been granted “mercy” by a sentencing judge.
Anastassiou Papathanasiou, 44, pleaded guilty at the Victorian County Court to a string of charges including drug trafficking, recklessly causing injury and perjury in 2022.
His attempts to traffick were “ham-fisted” and “completely unsophisticated”, sentencing judge Duncan Allen said.
They reflected an “addled state of mind” and “chaotic lifestyle” at the time, as a result of drug addiction and mental illness.
It was “absolutely inevitable” that authorities intercepted his two mail-ordered packages of 9.9 kilograms of 1,4-butanediol – nearly five
times the commercial traffickable amount.
It was also inevitable that Papathanasiou would be caught, Judge Allen stated.
The parcels were addressed to Papathanasiou’s girlfriend’s brother, and the nominated address was the girlfriend’s home where Papathanasiou was staying at the time.
His close associate’s phone number was listed as a contact number.
Papathanasiou was also charged with similar “unsophisticated” attempts to traffick consignments of methylamphetamine and cocaine.
The packages were addressed to himself, relatives or associates.
Papathanasiou was prohibited from having a gun at the time he accidentally shot his girlfriend in the leg on 17 December 2022.
Judge Allen accepted he had the gun out of fear, after the couple were victims of a serious
aggravated burglary.
But it was no excuse, and another example of his “poor judgement” as a result of drugs and mental illness, the judge said.
As the man drove his girlfriend to hospital, they hatched a false story that her brother accidentally shot her. They later told the lie to police.
In a police raid of their home, officers seized the gun as well as an imitation gun and $11,000 cash.
Methylamphetamine, heroin, ketamine, cannabis, fentanyl products, 1,4-butanediol and cocaine were also found.
Police also found dashcam footage showing Papathanasiou driving while disqualified.
About $265,000 cash was discovered stashed in the body of a clothes dryer at another home.
The judge noted Papathanasiou had spiralled into a “raging drug habit” after being
More charges loom in alleged cybercrime
By Violet Li
A Cranbourne man facing a criminal charge of cybercrime has had his case delayed, as more charges may be on the way.
Patrick Michael Hric is currently facing a single criminal charge, but the prosecution revealed on Thursday 10 July, that additional alleged offences are likely to be filed.
Between 8 July and 30 July 2024, in Cranbourne and elsewhere, Mr Hric allegedly caused unauthorised modification of data held in a computer, knowing that the modification was unauthorised and being reckless as to whether the modification impaired the
reliability, security, or operation of the data.
The defence opposed the adjournment, stating they had come prepared to enter a plea to the current charge and expressing frustration over the delay.
“It’s not new facts or circumstances that I understand the charges are coming from. It’s what’s on the brief now,” the defence lawyer told Melbourne Magistrates’ Court.
The magistrate agreed to postpone the case until 15 August to allow the prosecution time to finalise the charges.
Hric’s bail condition was varied, where the reporting was reduced from three times a week to once a week.
Hric remains on bail under strict conditions, including weekly reporting to Cranbourne Police, a travel ban, and limits on communication devices.
He has surrendered his passport. He is not allowed to leave the State.
The Cranbourne man could face up to 10 years in jail if found guilty of the charge of ‘unauthorised modification of data to cause impairment’.
He is due to return to court on 15 August for a committal mention.
introduced to opioid medication for chronic, severe pain.
His offending was significantly driven by trying to fund his ice addiction and gambling while in “extremely fragile” mental health.
Since being bailed last year, Papathanasiou had made “positive” progress, including being free of drugs and alcohol.
He had complied with a CISP program, including counselling and medical appointments, drug screenings as well as a night curfew, Judge Allen noted.
He had emerged with “very good” rehabilitation prospects. His “profound”, “genuine” remorse warranted a merciful sentence.
Papathanasiou was jailed for three years, three months, and eligible for parole after serving 15 months. He had already served 302 days in pre-sentence remand.
Melbourne Magistrates’ Court. (FILE)
Tackling the English Channel
By Violet Li
It is choppier than forecasted in the English Channel, and it is colder than usual at this time of the year, but the French coastline finally comes into view – there is hope.
Bethany Forster speeds up.
The reality soon creeps in. She has been staring at a piece of land for too long.
“I’d forgotten about the whole S shape. I forgot we’re kind of going parallel to the coastline in a way,” she later recalls.
“I was like, man, I’m not getting any closer.”
The doomed destiny comes down to one thing: fuelling. The swimmer accidentally bought low-sugar gels, giving her far less energy than planned.
As her speed drops, she misses the tidal window. With no food left on board to fuel another several hours of swimming, her team has no choice.
The pilots, who are closely monitoring Bethany on a support boat nearby, pull the plug. They tell the swimmer to get out of the water. It’s over.
The Lyndhurst local’s first English Channel attempt: 3 kilometres short of the shore. 48.6 kilometres swum, through hundreds of jellyfish, but avoided being stung. 11.5 hours in the ocean. An odyssey that starts at 2am in the dark water.
It was all fine at the time, but the afterthoughts hurt, Bethany admitted.
“I’m tired. I’m cold, and we’ve been going for a long time. I swam through heaps of jellyfish, so at that point, I had been pretty over it for a long time.
“It was afterwards. It wasn’t really a little bit the same day, but it wasn’t really until the next day that I was like, oh, damn.
“I just cried.”
But she’s far from defeated. She already has her second attempt booked for next year.
Second attempt at the English Channel seems to follow a proud legacy, as nearly a century ago, Gertrude Ederle, the first woman ever to swim the English Channel, succeeded not on her first try, but on her second.
Stories of women undertaking long-distance swims have dominated public eyes in recent years, from iconic crossings like the English Channel to record-breaking swims in remote and challenging waters.
This time, the 23-year-old local swimmer is not hesitant to share her story, a story of failing, she would say, but never mind.
“The thing is, failing this time means that it makes for a better story in the long run,” she said. The decision came around about two years ago when the swimmer realised it was actually not worth it to climb Mount Everest.
“I went down a Mount Everest rabbit hole. Maybe I can do that. And then I went, the only reason I would do it is to satisfy curiosity. It’s not worth it. I’m not a mountaineer. That’s stupid,” she said when she thought of how this all started.
“Well, what’s my thing? My thing’s swimming. I’ve been swimming competitively for 15 years.”
What’s equivalent to climbing Mount Everest in the swimming field? That’s a question for Bethany.
She had been hearing about channel swimming for a long time. Of course, she wanted to do it, but initially, she was scared of jellyfish. She got over that and learned to deal with whatever animals were out there.
Two associations organise channel swims. Bethany sent out emails in early April this year to ask for a spot in 2026.
“One got back to me, and he goes, I’ve got no space for 2026, but I have a spot in June 2025, if you would like it, let me know quickly because I’m going to offer it to other people,” she recalled.
“I went, well, I was going to do it, but, like, why not do it earlier?
“For the crew, because it was earlier than I’d planned, the people who were originally going to come with me couldn’t.
“I was lucky that my best friend could come and her boyfriend. My mom’s cousin drove down from Nottingham.”
The narrowest point of the channel, if you just go directly across, is 32 kilometres.
When swimmers cross the English Channel, they don’t swim in a straight line from England to France because of strong tidal currents. These currents push swimmers sideways, so the actual path taken looks like a stretched-out “S” on a map. It can end up being over 50 kilometres of swimming.
Bethany put aside a window of three weeks
for the endeavour, at the mercy of weather conditions, but she got lucky. She swam the very first day of her swim window.
Looking back, she would say the most challenging part is the prolonged cold, and it does kinda get boring.
“I’m definitely ready for the channel because I know how to manage the cold. It was colder in the channel than it would even be normally at that time of the year. But because the temperature stayed the same the whole time, you get used to it,” Bethany said.
“Once I got into French waters, for some reason, it got really patchy, so some bits would be warm, some bits would be cold, which made it so much more uncomfortable…
“Frankly, you look down and you can’t see the bottom. It’s too deep. You’ve just got water in front of you. And when you’re right in the middle, you can’t see England and you can’t see France.
“It’s hard to hear from the boat. Conversation is not going to happen…It gets really boring because you’re all on your own in the middle, and
nothing to look at. Sometimes a ship would pass, and that would be fun. Otherwise, it’s like there’s nothing.”
That mental solitude did turn out to be as challenging as the cold.
“In the past, I’ve been really good at zoning out,” Bethany said.
“But this time, I couldn’t switch off.”
She found herself unusually alert the whole way, hyperaware of her body, the cold, the jellyfish, and how long everything was taking.
“It makes it a lot harder when you’re aware of how much it sucks, how much it hurts, and how cold you are,” she said.
So what keeps her coming back to something that she freely admits is, at times, cold, painful, and yes, boring?
“Well, for starters, I’ve got to finish it and tick the box,” Bethany said.
But it runs deeper than just unfinished business.
“It’s a hard thing to explain. When you work for something and you achieve it, that feeling is
so good. It’s almost addictive,” she said.
“It’s satisfying. It’s like that moment of, I did that thing, and just being proud of yourself.
“Competitive swimming and ultra marathon swimming are hard in different ways, but the thing with the channel swimming is I can just keep going until it’s done, and it doesn’t matter how fast I go.”
She cited British open-water legend Ross Edgley, who became the first person to swim all the way around mainland Great Britain in 2018, covering 2860 kilometres in 157 days.
“His thing was naive enough to start, stubborn enough to finish, and that pretty much was me,” she said.
“If I decide I’m doing something, I’m going to do it. No one’s going to stop me. It’s a weird thing, it kind of sucked, but it was kind of fun, and at the end it’s worth it.
“I didn’t get that feeling so much this time around because I didn’t get that moment.
“I’ll go back and do it again, hit land, and I’ll feel good for doing that.”
Bethany Forster at Noble Park Aquatic Centre. (Stewart Chambers: 488268)
Lyndhurst swimmer Bethany Forster is attempting the English Channel. (Supplied)
Olivier’s European odyssey
BY LEE MCCARTHY
Noosa-based Olivier Miller is owner and principal of four Laguna real estate offices on the Sunshine Coast and Gympie and specialises in prestige and waterfront properties.
She and her husband Ian have travelled extensively by sea and land throughout Olivier’s 40-year real estate career.
They have recently returned from the 23day Viking ‘European Sojourn’ sailing three rivers and eight countries and said she would absolutely recommend it.
Olivier and Ian added an extension option before and after the Sojourn, so they spent an extra two nights in Amsterdam prior to catching the cruise and two days after they embarked to explore Transylvania.
The cruise included nineteen guided tours across Amsterdam, Vienna, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Romania and more, cruising the Rhine, Main and Danube rivers through eight unique countries.
Olivier said they flew into Amsterdam and were met at airport and transported to accommodation by Viking staff and spent a couple of fabulous days sightseeing including a trip to the impressive Van Gogh museum.
“The accommodation was five stars, right in heart of the tourist spot and the Viking representative was based at the hotel to serve all clients needs which was great for new travellers and older travellers especially,” she said.
“We had a lovely room with food and breakfast included and it was fantastic.”
“We were transferred to the ship after two days touring the city and had booked a suite and I would definitely recommend doing the same again, however if you do all the tours, you don’t spend a lot of time in their room.
“The embarkation was really good, and they have two dining situations; sit down waiter service in the dining room with excellent ser-
vice and the other option is the al fresco dining which was my preference.”
The couple met up with Noosa friends on the boat and although they sat and dined with them, dining was a wonderful way of mingling.
There were only one hundred and eighty guests on board, around fifty were Australian and two dozen of mixed cultures the rest were from America and Canada. She said most were retirees of mixed fitness.
“I would highly recommend the tours, but many people choose not to and just relax,“ she said.
“Every day two or three tours were offered and rated by mobility so you can still go out and enjoy tours or more vigorous tours.
“They had it all covered. I enjoyed some of the leisurely tours which for me was perfect for this trip while my husband and his friend hired bikes on a few occasions and really enjoyed that.”
“The food and people in Germany were very hospitable. We did visit the war camps on our own, which was actually quite awful. We hired a car, and it was just something we wanted to do and see the museum where you really get a sense of what happened to these poor people.
“We hopped off the boat for tours in Cologne, Miltenberger, Wurzburg, Bamberg, Nuremberg, Passau, and Melk in Germany and we made sure we saw the most and the best of it.
“We decided we only wanted to do a morning or afternoon tour so we could do a bit of relaxing, and we found that worked really well so we would have a morning or afternoon off each day.
“Sailing through the UNESCO World Heritage Wachau was beautiful with castles on the river and lovely to see.
“We loved Vienna, we had a lot of fun. The buildings were absolutely amazing and had a look at those – you just don’t see anything like it in Australia and there were lots of offerings in regard to various tours.”
* The second part of the story will be published in next week’s Travel Today feature.
The twenty-three day Viking European Sojourn takes in eight countries and three rivers.
Sail through a serene tapestry of terraced vineyards, forested slopes, charming towns and castle ruins in Austria’s Wachau Valley.
Scenic Sailing on the Main River, Spessart.
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Full-Board River Cruise
3 night Murray River cruise on board PS Murray Princess with all meals and sightseeing
Tour of Murray River Bridge and historic Roundhouse
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3 nights four-star hotel stay in Adelaide with breakfast
1 night four-star hotel stay in Kangaroo Island with breakfast, lunch and dinner
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Shadow puppetry casts spell
By Violet Li
A little bit of cardboard. A splash of cellophane. Flick of a light. That’s all it took for about 60 children across Casey to fall in love with the art of shadow puppetry.
Renowned puppeteer Jenny Ellis led three fully booked workshops at Bunjil Place on Friday 11 July, where young participants created their own characters and brought them to life behind the screen.
“Each session had 20 kids in it. It was completely packed out,” Ellis said.
Children were encouraged to design any character they could imagine — animals, mythical beasts like unicorns or dragons, or wild hybrids like a lion-serpent.
After sketching their designs on cardboard, they cut them out, added coloured cellophane to bring vibrancy to the shadows, and mounted them on sticks. A few detailed cuts, like eyes, were handled with the help of the facilitators.
“They all had a chance to go up to the shadow screen and just do a quick little show that they improvised, which is really fun,” Ellis said. “They brought their characters to life, often gave them voices, and just explored movement on the shadow screen.”
Ellis said the shadow puppetry continues to resonate with today’s children because it’s so quick that they could create characters and bring them to life within an hour of the workshop.
“The idea of creating something original and bringing it to life, I think, those two ingredients make it really attractive,” she said. “But also, I think that shadow puppetry is very much related to animation. It’s very two-dimensional. They understand it from watching animation themselves. It’s kind of like they can create almost like a cartoon very quickly.”
Ellis speaks from nearly two decades of experience in the field. She made her first shadow puppet show in 2006 under the mentorship of Australian puppetry legend Richard Bradshaw and has continued to evolve her practice ever since.
“It’s a very visual form of storytelling,” Ellis said. “There’s something a bit magical about it. As soon as you introduce light and shadow, it becomes a little bit otherworldly, and the kids really get into it.”
Shadow Puppetry workshop is part of the Casey Winter Arts Festival.
Green light for long-awaited redevelopment
By Violet Li
The development at the old site of the Hampton Park Food Market has progressed as the Casey Council granted an amended planning permit earlier this month.
The development is expected to feature more than 100 apartments and retail/office spaces.
The address of 65 Hallam Road, located next to the Hampton Park Shopping Centre, has been sitting empty for over five years.
Star News reported in late January this year that the landowner was frustrated that a “minor” amendment approval held up the development.
Fast forward five months to early July, Sandra Le, the landowner, received the amendment permit.
“The delay has cost us tremendously, but I hope the Council won’t take this long to issue the building permit next,” Ms Le said.
Ms Le received a permit for the site in 2019 and endorsement in late 2022 for a development including basement parking, retail, commercial space, and over 100 apartments.
Rising construction costs delayed the project for about a year. Ms Le submitted a planning amendment in August last year once the situation stabilised.
Despite a pre-meeting with council support, Ms Le said her amendment application had taken longer than she expected, after the assigned planning officer went on leave in November and a new one had to take over.
Casey Mayor Councillor Stefan Koomen said planning officers had carefully reviewed the planning application and given it the green light.
“I want to thank the local Hampton Park community for your patience while our officers were considering this application. I know that many residents have been waiting to see
what would be made of this site,” he said.
“Granting of the amended permit now means the landowner can progress with the staged development of 79 apartments, and 86 serviced apartments in addition to retail/ office spaces.
“Once this site is developed, it will be fantastic to have short-stay accommodation offerings in Hampton Park. This will provide accommodation options for workers and visitors and will attract more business into the area.”
According to the Council, the permitted development will also see improvements to the road and drainage infrastructure within the site.
The planning permit requires the construction of a public road immediately south of the McDonald’s restaurant to provide a formal accessway.
This location has been a pain point for locals over recent years, due to issues related to
potholes and flooding.
“Councillors are aware of the ongoing flooding issues related to the Hampton Park Shopping Centre and McDonald’s car park entrance,” Cr Koomen said. “Now that officers have approved the amended planning permit, the landowner can take steps towards development of the site. This will include constructing a new road and appropriate drainage.”
River Gum Ward Cr Lynette Pereira said she was pleased to see the community given reassurance on this site.
“I’m really excited for the future of Hampton Park, there are some positive things coming. This development is one step forward in our work to ensure Hampton Park is an attractive and safe place to live, work and play,” she said.
Mayor Cr Koomen noted that as the land is privately owned, council has no role in the construction or timing of development.
Care for carers wins funding
A South East respite program for multicultural women who are carers has secured State funding.
The Wellsprings for Women program annually helps 54 unpaid carers for family members or friends with a disability, chronic illness, mental health condition, or age-related needs.
The Dandenong-based program provides a culturally safe, women-only space for carers to connect with others, share experiences and take a much-needed break from caring responsibilities.
It includes wellbeing sessions, coping strategies, and group excursions designed to reduce isolation, improve emotional health, and affirm the identity of women carers.
“Carers are the silent backbone of our communities, and many women from culturally diverse backgrounds are doing this work without recognition or support,” Wellsprings chief executive Dalal Smiley said.
“This program offers not just respite, but connection, validation and empowerment.
“We are deeply grateful to (Carers and Volunteers) Minister Ros Spence for recognising this need and enabling us to continue this essential support.”
Many of the carers come from migrant, refugee or asylum seeker backgrounds and face additional challenges such as language barriers, social isolation, trauma, or a lack of knowledge about available support services, Ms Smiley said.
In the past, a group of carers recently completed the nationally recognised 12-hour Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) course at Wellsprings. They are now certified Mental Health First Aiders, equipped to recognise and respond to mental health challenges in their families and communities.
Ms Smiley says the initiative reflected Wellsprings’ commitment to building capacity, leadership, and mental health literacy among multicultural women who are often underrepresented in mainstream service access.
About 60 children had fun at three sessions. (Ljubica Vrankovic: 489300)
(Ljubica Vrankovic: 489300)
(Ljubica Vrankovic: 489300)
The address of 65 Hallam Road, located next to the Hampton Park Shopping Centre, has been sitting empty for over five years. (FILE)
Renowned puppeteer Jenny Ellis led three fully booked workshops at Bunjil Place on Friday 11 July. (Supplied)
Casey governance endorsed
By Ethan Benedicto
The City of Casey’s revised Good Governance Framework was unanimously approved by the councillors following the 15 July council meeting.
Aimed at strengthening transparency, accountability, and decision-making processes across the council, its adoption reflects the recommendations from the Shape Your City 2024 community consultation period.
It also incorporates governance reforms in the wake of IBAC’s Operation Sandon, which scrutinised decision-making in Casey throughout the years.
Manager of Communications and Corpo-
rate Governance, Chloe Casey, said during the meeting that the framework, originally written in 2021, “has become a key document to support good governance practices across the organisation”.
“Although not legislated, this framework is seen as best practice across the sector and enables our community to better understand the mechanisms and commitment to governance,” she said.
In length, she added that the revised framework includes the following key changes: added leadership and accountability, including the council’s case management function, and added transparency to the framework relating to officers and councillors’ decision-making.
It also included conflicts of interest and publicly available documents, adding internal systems, processes and culture for external and councillor communications.
Community engagement was another highlight, where there was an update to the legislative requirements for publishing personal interest returns to the framework, as well as new reviews of practices such as delegation reviews and authorisation reviews.
Casuarina Ward councillor Kim Ross said that Shape Your City emphasised the fact that transparency was, and is, an integral factor for the community, especially when it comes to improving connection to the council.
Questions and overall discussions were ex-
tensive,
Council officers detailed on the agenda that the goal is to embed good governance in everyday operations, not just through compliance but through fostering a culture of ethical conduct and responsiveness to the community.
Since endorsed, the revised and updated framework will guide the council’s operations through to 2029, receiving regular reviews to ensure legislative adherence and best practice among the whole council group.
‘Cultural change’: Pledge to plumbing workplace equality
Bringing together unions, employers and training bodies to sign a Pledge for Change, an official, sector-wide commitment to safer and more inclusive workplaces for women, was passed in Narre Warren.
The Building Futures: Breaking Barriers for Women in the Plumbing Industry was recently held at the Narre Warren centre of the Plumbing Industry Climate Action Centre (PICAC).
The launch marked the beginning of a threeyear industry-wide initiative that aims to break down the systemic barriers against women and reshape workplace culture.
The Minister for Skills and Training, Andrew Giles MP, was in attendance and said that he was “proud to announce the launch of the program, a transformative initiative designed to dismantle systemic barriers and pave the way for greater gender equity across the Australian trade sector”.
“This project is not just about training, it’s about cultural change.
“Increasing women’s participation is not only a matter of fairness - it’s essential for the future sustainability, innovation, and resilience of the industry,” he said.
The program is backed by the Australian Government’s Building Women’s Careers Program, which looks to open doors for women in plumbing, pipe trades, and fire protection, fields that have long remained dominated by men.
The Pledge for Change was at the core of the launch, where ten key partners committed to creating respectful, inclusive workspaces and also to improving access and advancement for women in trade.
Looking deeper, the pledge includes promises to embed inclusive leadership, develop flexible work environments, and offer education that addresses the structural drivers of inequality.
Shayne La Combre, CEO of PICAC, said that the launch, program and the pledge weren’t “about awareness”.
“It’s about action, we’re not ticking boxes, we’re taking responsibility.
“As the Plumbing Industry’s Centre of Excellence for training, PICAC has seen firsthand what happens when we invest in skills, safety and people.
“Now we’re applying that same focus to culture; if someone wants to become a plumber, there should be absolutely no impediment, no cultural barriers, no unsafe environments, no
Farmers market booms again
By Afraa Kori
Shoppers turned out in droves at the Berwick Farmers Market, held at The Old Cheese Factory on Saturday, 12 July, for a morning filled with fresh produce, artisan goods, and community spirit.
The popular monthly event featured a wide variety of farm-fresh produce and handcrafted treats. Stallholders showcased everything from crisp fruit and vegetables to free-range eggs, ethically sourced meats, and smallbatch honey.
Visitors browsed artisan breads, gourmet baked goods, and dairy delights, including specialty cheeses and locally made yoghurts. The market also offered vegetable seedlings, house-made jams and preserves, and an array of wines, craft beers, and spirits.
Coffee lovers were kept caffeinated with barista-made coffee, while foodies enjoyed an assortment of ready-to-eat meals and snacks. Held every second Saturday of the month, the Berwick Farmers Market has become
outdated assumptions,” he said. Among the signatories were the Master Plumbers and Mechanical Services Association of Australia (MPMSAA), National Fire Industry Association (NFIA), Air Conditioning and Mechanical Contractors’ Association (AMCA), Cooke & Dowsett and Axis Plumbing, to name a few.
The program will be rolled out in stages over the next three years, beginning with research to understand the barriers facing women in the plumbing industry.
The program will provide practical tools and resources for employers, and it will also deliver targeted support to help implement change on the ground.
with Cr Ross, alongside Deputy Mayor Melinda Ambros, Cr Gary Rowe (mover), Cr Jennifer Dizon (seconder), Cr Carolyn Eaves, and Cr Lynette Pereira speaking to the importance of the motion.
Female plumbing apprentices with Andrew Giles MP (suit, middle). (Supplied)
Cathy McCulloch from “Thriving Foods Farm” in Kooweerup. (Rob Carew: 489780)
John and Nandi from “Tea by the Bay”.
What’s in a name? Plenty in Dillwynia
By Ethan Benedicto
Dillwynia Ward in the City of Casey will soon be the recipient of a swath of new names for its many facilities, reserves and landmarks ahead of a new naming program put forward by the council.
Scheduled for the 2025/2026 financial year, a total of five combined community facilities, recreation reserves and future council-owned reserves will take on new names, with the community able to partake in the decision-making process.
Called the Forward Works Program for Naming and Registration of Council-owned Reserves and Community Facilities, the council passed a unanimous vote on its endorsement following the 15 July meeting.
Overall, it aims to name nine places this financial year throughout the municipality.
Dillwynia Ward councillor, Anthony Walter, said that “as my ward has multiple projects on the horizon, I feel this is a good time for this to be coming to council for adoption”.
“It’s also to make sure that we are being transparent and having full community input on these upcoming places,” he said.
Councillors, including Deputy Mayor Melinda Ambros, Cr Kim Ross, Cr Lynette Pereira, Cr Carolyn Eaves, Cr Jennifer Dizon and Cr Scott Dowling spoke and asked questions, all revolving around the emphasis on said community input.
Manager of Growth and Investment, Kathryn Seirlis, responded by providing a swathe of methods in which residents can have their input on the new names.
She said that the process for naming a facility can be varied, ranging from nominations directly from the community, consultation with the Bunurong Land Council for Indigenous or First Nations names, and online methods such as Casey Conversations.
“Through the program, each project will take a different course depending on the size, scale and extent of impact of the naming opportunity,” Seirlis said.
“Most, if not all, will include community consultation as appropriate, and that’ll be undertaken through our Casey Conversations website.”
For the 2026/2027 and 2027/2028 periods, an additional nine, respectively, will also be named.
Looking back at Dillwynia Ward, the first category of community facilities and recreation reserves includes Hardys Road Family and Community Centre, Springleaf Ave Recreation Reserve, and the Alexander Boulevard Recreation
council during the July meeting. (Gary Sissons: 429633_01)
Reserve.
These three, like others included in the category, include reserves and facilities that are part of the council’s capital works program, meaning the naming will commence once said capital works program is endorsed.
Under the second category of future passive reserves, this includes St Germain State with a proposed name of Gill Park, and Minta Estate with a proposed name of Fantasy Park.
These names don’t refer to the estate itself, but rather future parcels of open space that will become council-owned and will have amenities accessible to the public.
Name selection considerations are stated on the agenda to have a preference for Indigenous female and female names in general, aligning with a Geographic Names Victoria campaign that addresses gender imbalance in place names. In terms of priority, requests from emergency services and GNV are to be considered, alongside the frequency and scale of public use, the size and extent of the land, existing infrastructure, and newer facilities. Building on community engagement, this will include letters and emails, as well as online consultations; it was also stated that a single naming process could take anywhere between one and six months.
Rotary governor with many missions
By Sahar Foladi
A new south-east district Rotary Governor has been chosen for the 2025-26 term from the Noble Park-Dingley Club.
Peter Behm was chosen as the new governor of District 9815 at a changeover event on Saturday 12 July.
He has spent 24 years of his life with Rotary and will lead over 2000 Rotarians in his district with a focus on “bringing the district together.”
“I think it’s a great honour,“ he says.
Mr Behm will lead District 9815 - a product of two districts merged into one just last year under the previous governor Colin Byron.
Whilst governors may have changed, Rotary’s mission to work for the local communities remains.
The district will also stay focused on expanding its volunteers and young generations in the clubs.
“Colin was an outstanding leader. We had two districts that needed to be brought together, he was able to bring those together with the help of the district committee.
“He was able to do many of the projects there, which I think were outstanding projects, such as fundraising for Monash Health Children’s Cancer Centre.
“We’re looking at continuing to support Monash Health in the longer term because they’re terrific people doing a great job.
“One of the other things which Colin just started, and we’ll be continuing, is relief for the farmers in Gippsland, where we’re looking at how we can best assist them.
“There’s a number of areas there in which they need assistance, so it’s not just food and water but also there’s all sorts of mental health issues too that we’re looking at.”
A number of grants are being explored to support this aim.
Another major project Mr Behm is passionate about is the partnership with primary schools. As well as a range of activities including setting up playgrounds locally.
“It makes you feel good to also actually help
people who are underprivileged. It makes me feel good that we can provide something on value to others that perhaps are doing a little bit tougher or developing as people.
“So, that’s the motivation from myself and I know that’s the motivation for many of us who give up our time as volunteers because we care about people.”
Rotary International has more than 1.4 million members across more than 200 countries, including members across Rotaract clubs for students and young professionals, Interact clubs for young leaders aged 12 to 18 in high schools and Earlyact clubs for primary school students.
Set sail on a journey of a lifetime with Viking
Imagine gliding through Europe’s most iconic landscapes, surrounded by history, culture, and luxury. Thanks to Viking and your local newspaper, one lucky reader will have the chance to do just that – by winning an eight-day “Rhine Getaway” river voyage for two, valued at $16,190, including return airfares.
Departing Basel, Switzerland on 22 November 2026, this unforgettable voyage visits four beautiful countries – Switzerland, France, Germany, and the Netherlands. Enjoy six guided tours, all onboard meals with beer and wine, and a host of cultural experiences, including UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
You’ll relax in a stylish Category F Stateroom, with all port charges, Wi-Fi and gratuities included – making this a truly seamless and elegant European escape.
Whether you dream of exploring medieval castles, strolling cobbled streets, or indulging in regional cuisine, this is more than a holiday – it’s a journey of a lifetime.
Have you entered yet?
Entries close at noon, Thursday 14 August 2025.
For details and to enter, go to starnewsgroup.secondstreetapp.com/Win-a-European-river-voyage-with-Viking
Whether you dream of exploring medieval castles, strolling cobbled streets, or indulging in regional cuisine, this is more than a holiday – it’s a journey of a lifetime. Scan this QR code to enter the competition.
Dillwynia Ward will see five of its reserves, facilities and other landmarks named in this financial year, among many others throughout Casey if the works program is endorsed by
Peter Behm outlines help for farmers, students and the underprivileged. (Ljubica Vrankovic: 489325)
WHAT’S ON
U3A Casey - Ballroom Dancing
When: Wednesdays, from 1:00pm to 3:00pm
Where: Main Hall, Brentwood Park Neighbourhood House, 21A Bemersyde Drive, Berwick. Keep fit and improve brain function with ballroom dancing.
Have an enjoyable cardiovascular workout to the beat of the Quickstep, Jive and Cha Cha Cha. Immerse yourself in the graceful Waltz. Glide across the floor dancing the Slow Fox Trot. Awaken your sensuous self to the rhythm of Rhumba. Learn to wriggle your hips to the Samba.
The aim of the ballroom dance class is that everyone enjoys themselves. We are teaching basic dance steps and technique before we start sequences or figures.
No need to bring a partner, just bring yourself and keep those happy feet dancing.
• Enquiries: Visit our website at www.u3acasey. org.au
• Phone our office on 0493 280 458 Narre Warren & District Family
Group July Guest Speaker: Patricia Dennis
From the age of seven Patricia Dennis was held in a prisoner of war camp at the Santo Tomas University in Manila, Philippines, for three and a half years. She was one of the lucky ones to survive the horrors of the camp and adopted a philosophy that ‘life meant a lot and she couldn’t waste a minute’. Patricia went on to become an international model, working in film and television, all while farming at a cattle and dairy farm in Beaconsfield.
When: Saturday, 19 July, 2pm
Where: 110 High Street, Berwick, behind the Guides building.
Price: admission $5, visitors always welcome.
• For more information, contact Jane at 0412 084 671 or president@nwfhg.org.au
Casey Winter Arts Festival
Time: 20 June - 20 July
In 2025, we are inviting you to “Cozy up“ at the Winter Arts Festival and get to know the talented local artists who make our community shine. Whether it’s exploring exhibitions and demonstrations, enjoying a live show, or participating in hands-on workshops, this festival invites you to experience the rich variety of artistic expressions
that make our local arts scene so unique.
Theatre companies, artists, crafters, dancers, community groups, venues and libraries are hosting an exciting range of events and activities for people of all ages, so join us and discover the diverse voices shaping our creative landscape.
• To see the programs, visit: casey.vic.gov.au/ winter-arts-festival
Imagine the Magic at Westfield
Bundle up and step into a FROZEN-themed world alongside beloved characters Elsa, Anna and Olaf to enjoy an immersive Sing-A-Long Experience. Featuring iconic FROZEN songs Let it Go, Do You Want To Build a Snowman, and Into the Unknown; fans of all ages can sing their hearts out and become part of the magic.
• Westfield Fountain Gate: Monday 14 July until Friday 18 July from 11am – 2pm daily, 4pm –7pm Friday 18 July, Saturday 19 July & Sunday 20 July 11am – 3pm daily. Located on Level 1, near Sephora.
Wilson Goes Wild - Casey Winter Arts Festival
Where: Basalt Lake, Wilson Botanic Park, Berwick
When: Friday 4 July - Sunday 13 July, sessional throughout the day; 9am - 3:30pm, every hour.
Ages: 1-10 years old and their grown-ups
Cost: $12.50 | Family ticket: $45
For a limited time, Basalt Lake will transform into a vibrant mini safari, complete with life-sized elephants, giraffes, zebras, hippos, rhinos, lions and tigers popping up along the lakeside.
• At this family-friendly event, kids can unleash their creativity with a range of nature-inspired craft activities and snap memorable photos alongside their favourite wild animals.
Sky of Flowers, an AR interactive experience - Casey Winter Arts Festival
Where: Outdoor Screen, Bunjil Place, Narre War-
ren
When: Friday 4 July - Sunday 20 July; daily from 10am - 12pm, 2pm - 4pm and 6pm - 8pm
Cost: Free, no bookings required.
Step into Sky of Flowers, an Augmented Reality experience that drifts all around you, as you float from one field to another.
As the audience moves through the space, plants bloom from the ground, petals swirl in the air, and
a breathtaking sky of flowers unfolds above.
• Each interaction shapes the ever-evolving landscape, making every moment unique.
Imagine Live - Casey Winter Arts Festival
Where: Bunjil Place, Narre Warren, Theatre
When: Thursday, 17 July, 10am (AUSLAN and RP) and 12pm.
Ages: 4 - 12 years old and their grown-ups
Cost: $19
Bookings: bunjilplace.com.au
Magical and meaningful, IMAGINE LIVE is a celebration of creativity, friendship and our precious natural world.
With the audience’s help, performers play and sing their way through the pages of Alison Lester’s iconic best-selling book, and quickly discover there is WAY more to these pages than they first thought.
Spot a leopard, dive with a dolphin or dig up a dinosaur as this iconic book springs into life before your eyes.
Live action and animation combine with digital puppetry in this interactive musical performance for families… Nannas are especially welcome!
Step into a world of wonder at Bunjil Place - Casey Winter Arts Festival
Where: Plaza, Bunjil Place, Narre Warren
When: Friday 11 July - Sunday 27 July, 10am10pm daily
Cost: Free
This winter, immerse yourself in the magic of Lost — a breathtaking, larger-than-life art installation that transforms nature into an unforgettable experience.
Created by internationally acclaimed Australian artist Amanda Parer, Lost brings endangered botanical species from around the globe to stunning life through towering, illuminated sculptures of flowers and foliage.
These glowing giants, delicately coloured and artfully lit, invite you to wander among them like Alice in her own Wonderland.
South East Music Student Showcase - Casey Winter Arts Festival
Where: Studio, Bunjil Place, Narre Warren
When: Monday 23 June, from 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Cost: $8
Bookings: bunjilplace.com.au
From Soul to Pop to Rock, each performance will reflect the students’ unique voices and style, offering a glimpse into their musical journeys. This exciting event features performances from talented students across Narre Warren South P-12 College, Alkira Secondary College, Monterey Secondary College, Fountain Gate Secondary College, and Cranbourne West Secondary College. Cranbourne Shire Historical Society
Annual Luncheon
Where: Tooradin and District Sports Club Recreation Reserve, Tooradin
When: Sunday, 20 July, 12pm
Cost: $30 per head, drinks at bar prices
Topic: Balla Balla Homestead; guest speaker: Judy Rand, owner of the homestead.
The Balla Balla Homestead was built by Dr. James Smith Adams and later Alexander Hunter from the mid-1850s to the early 1880s. Today, Balla Balla is architecturally significant in the City of Casey. The homestead is located in Cannons Creek and has magnificent views over Quail Island and Westernport Bay.
Ms. Judy Rand is the owner.
• RSVP including any special dietary requirements by 11 July, to either Barry Freeman at pauline.freeman2@bigpond.com or Sue Tobin at sustantobin@bigpond.com
Balla Balla Community Centre
Health & Wellbeing at Balla Balla
Feel good this winter! Join us at Balla Balla Community Centre for Term 3 Health & Wellbeing classes starting in July. Choose from: Yoga/Pilates/Zumba/Mindfulness Meditation & Compassion/Music & Guided Imagery Workshop
• Move, relax, and recharge – all in your local community! Term 3 enrolments open 30 June online https://ballaballa.com.au/health-wellbeing/ or phone 5990 0900.
Morning Melodies
• Book early to secure your spot! You won’t want to miss this uplifting morning of music and connection. Morning Melodies is held on 2nd Tuesday each month and bookings can be made online www.balla.balla.com.au or by phoning 5990 0900
Berwick rolls ladder leaders
By Jonty Ralphsmith
A pair of improbable goals sealed the improbable victory.
Berwick arrived at ladder-leading East Ringwood’s home ground with just two wins for 2025 against the premiership favourites which sat 10-1.
The Wickers departed with four premiership points, defeating East Ringwood 11.7(73) to 8.19(67).
Banana goals from deep in either pocket to James McLean and Ben Todd extended the margin beyond three goals midway through the last quarter.
“That was the theme of the day,” coach Andrew Williams said of his side’s opportunism.
“They were great up forward and some of their ball movement was elite so we didn’t have answers early in the game and we were fortunate they missed some opportunities and we were able to hang in there.
“When the moment was there for our guys, they certainly took it.
“You don’t get much tougher assignments than going to East Ringwood: it was a massive challenge to see where we were at.
“To hang in there and for parts of the game, outplay quality opposition gives us great confidence moving forward that we can match it against anyone.
“It’s a great win for the footy club.”
East Ringwood had all the territory after Todd’s major, Berwick’s last of the game, but the defence held out.
It was a mammoth effort against a forward line containing brilliant spearhead Josh Fox, and emerging talls Riley Weatherill and Remy MacLean who were both part of Eastern Ranges’ Coates League grand final team in 2024.
Remarkably given they occupy ninth spot on the table, Berwick have the fifth-best defence in the league, opposition sides regularly struggling to penetrate the competitive youngsters.
“They had their moments where they were clunking everything but the main focus was to assist each other in the air and limit as much as we could their influence,” Williams said.
“It’s easier said than done but Braedyn
Bowden competed all day on Fox and Blake Westra, Will Arthurson and Kane Hurst had terrific games and hung in there to make sure they weren’t getting easy marks inside 50.”
Young midfielder Tahj De La Rue led the midfield brigade, which took it up to East Doncaster’s on-ballers, led by Collingwood VFL-listed Josh Tovey.
De La Rue, Sam Frangalas and Tom Brennan, who crucially won the last centre clearance, were well serviced by Jordan Roberts all day.
“Jordan Roberts competed and jumped in the ruck all day,” Williams said.
“The way he’s going about it with Jesse Cirulis
out of the side allows us to play Dan Pinter more up forward.
“He’ll go home battered and sore but he gives us every opportunity.”
The victory moves Berwick two games and percentage clear of bottom-placed Mitcham, likely safeguarding Williams’ men from relegation.
Third-placed Balwyn awaits Berwick on Saturday.
EASTERNPREMIER
Berwick Goals: Tahj De La Rue 3, James McLean 2, Ben Todd 2, Sam Woodward 2, Caydn Lane, Jai Neal. Results 12: East Ringwood 8.19(67) v Berwick 11.7(73), South Croydon 18.8(116) v Doncaster East 14.10(94), Balwyn 21.18(144) v Mitcham 6.12(48), Noble Park 6.9(45) v Blackburn 21.12(138), Vermont 9.4(58) v Rowville 11.14(80) Ladder: East Ringwood 40, Blackburn 40, Balwyn 36, Rowville 28, Noble Park 24, Doncaster East 20, Vermont 20, South Croydon 16, Berwick 12, Mitcham 4
Fixture R13: Mitcham v Noble Park, Doncaster East v East Ringwood, Rowville v South Croydon, Blackburn v Vermont, Balwyn v Berwick
Laetisha’s love affair with Lonato a home away from home
By David Nagel
It’s a long way from the South East suburbs of Melbourne to Lonato Del Garda; but Berwick girl Laetisha Scanlan has certainly made herself at home on the banks of the biggest lake in Italy.
On Sunday, Scanlan secured her 14th and 15th World Cup medals, winning Gold at the International Shooting Sport Federation Shotgun World Cup.
Competing in the Women’s Trap event, Scanlan shot an impressive qualification score of 120 out of 125 targets to secure her finals berth, only one target behind top qualifier and world number two, Silvana Stanco (ITA).
Fellow Australian’s also competing in the Women’s Trap event included Molly Bretag who shot a score of 109 out of 125, and Penny Smith and Kiara Dean both shooting 107.
A score of 115 secured a place in the final.
Competition in the final was fierce with 50 world cup medals collectively across the top-four qualifiers, with a field complete with Olympians, Olympic medallists and top-10 world rankings.
This did not deter Scanlan as she remained calm and retained her composure, taking an early lead.
Scanlan had high praise for the depth of talent in the final.
“The level of competition in Women’s Trap right now is as high as it has ever been,” she said.
“I knew going into the final that I was up against some of the best in the world, so it was always going to be a high-scoring, high-pressure match.
“I’ve made some key adjustments over the past eight weeks, and it’s really encouraging to see those changes paying off.”
Stanco won the silver medal, two targets behind Scanlan, with Lada Denisova winning the bronze medal.
With success in Lonato spanning nearly a decade, and her second individual gold medal at the Lonato World Cup, Scanlan has found her happy place in the Italian province of Brescia.
“There’s just something about Italy that feels so special,” she said.
“Every time I come to Lonato I say to myself that no matter the result, I always have a wonderful time.
“Of course, I come here to compete and give it everything I’ve got, but some places simply resonate with you, and Italy definitely holds a special place in my heart.”
With 15 World Cup medals now in her collection, Scanlan describes the feeling of the new addition. “It’s always an incredible feeling to win a World Cup gold,” she explained.
“These moments are rare and never guaranteed, so I feel extremely grateful to still have the opportunity to compete at this level in a sport that I truly love.
“Every medal has its own story, and this one is
especially meaningful. “
At the age of 35, with her time in the sport spanning over two decades, Scanlan reflects on her development as a competitor.
“I feel like I’m constantly evolving,” she said.
“This sport has taught me so much about myself, and as I get older, I find that I appreciate the journey even more.
“I’m still learning, still growing, and moments like this remind me that I’m moving closer to the long-term goals I’ve set for myself.
“It’s a really fulfilling stage of my career.”
Scanlan made it a fantastic weekend in her career teaming up with Mitch Iles to also win the Trap Mixed Team event.
The gold-medal winner said she didn’t ap-
proach the team’s event any differently.
“My approach stays the same; I stick to my processes and routines,” she said after winning World Cup medal 15.
“I have full confidence in Mitch; he’s an exceptional shooter and a great teammate.”
In other results from Lonato; in the Men’s Trap competition, running parallel to Women’s Trap, Iles and James Willett both shot a qualification score of 120, narrowly missing a finals chance by one target.
Thomas Grice shot 115 out of 125 targets, Nathan Argiro 112, and Marco Corbo 108. A score of 121 was required for a finals opportunity.
-With Jane Vella-
James McLean (left) kicked an impossible last-quarter goal. (Rob Carew: 479942).
Laetisha Scanlan had a wonderful gold-medal-winning weekend in Lonato Del Garda in Italy. (Tertius Pickard/AAP: 489861)
Heartbreak for Beaconsfield
By Jonty Ralphsmith
Storm clouds circled intensely throughout the second and third quarters at Miller Park during Beaconsfield’s clash with Boronia.
A downpour threatened to drench the players for much of the match but the only deluge that came was in the form of Beaconsfield behinds, with the Eagles slumping from five goals straight midway through the first term to 5.11 at threequarter-time.
What begun as a frustrating trend became a seemingly incurable plague, setting the scene for an enormous last quarter.
In perfect alignment, the temperature plummeted off-field as it rose on the ground.
Four points separated the two sides vying for four valuable points on the quest for a finals double chance.
The Eagles kicked the first three of the term inside five minutes, two off the boot of talismanic skipper Jake Bowd, and the other he set up for Marley Appleyard.
It felt fitting: the old and the new standing tall to lead the charge towards a double chance, with Jaffar Ocaa extending the margin to 15 points at the 15-minute-mark.
But the match ended with a kick in hope after the siren from 70 out.
Ultimately, that was the most symbolic note to end the match on, for many of the Eagles’ forward forays after quarter time were up and under kicks lacking direction or purpose.
That followed a stylish first 20 minutes which provided Beaconsfield with a game-high 30 point lead before Boronia scored.
The Eagles’ procession of behinds, though, allowed Boronia to claw its way back through the middle of the game and then again in the last term by overwhelming a young defence and seizing its moments in front of goal.
The match-winner came at the 28-minute-mark via a clutch set shot on the boundary line.
For all the strong footy Beaconsfield has played across the last five weeks, it has just one win to show for it - by a solitary point over North Ringwood.
It has resulted in Mick Fogarty’s side plummeting to fifth on the Eastern League table - albeit with a game in hand and better percentage than North Ringwood above them.
CRUNCH CLASH
Another Beaconsfield loss has laid the platform for an enormous clash this Saturday against Montrose.
A win on the weekend could have set Beaconsfield up for an assault on the top three, but backing that loss up with another one to Montrose would leave the Eagles in a scramble just to qualify.
They would be equal on points with Montrose and both finish their season against top-two sides but otherwise have a fairly straight forward run home, so any slip up from either could prove decisive.
If there’s one certainty about Fogarty, it’s that there will be no panic, but opposition sides, pe-
EASTERN FOOTBALL NETBALL LEAGUE
DIVISION 1 REVIEW - ROUND 13
rennially challenged by them this year, will be hoping their losing form continues.
WITHERING BURST
Beaconsfield came out on Saturday with a point to prove, kicking three goals in the first five minutes - all before Boronia got it forward of centre.
The Eagles won centre clearances and found space inside 50, with Appleyard, Bowd and Hayden Brough the beneficiaries which effectively gave Boronia an 18-point handicap to overcome before the game settled into a rhythm.
Bowd added his second and Ocaa his first before Boronia started to stem the bleeding in stoppage time of the first term.
VFL contract for Canning
By Jonty Ralphsmith
Berwick teenager Harry Canning has won a VFL contract with Box Hill.
The key-position player signed with the club last week as an injury-replacement player, having been with the club as a train-on player this season after spending the entire pre-season immersed in the VFL program.
It follows a sustained period of form of local footy, capped off by taking a match-saving mark in Berwick’s upset win against Doncaster East three weeks ago.
Box Hill currently sit on top of the VFL table and with plenty of AFL players taking spots in the VFL lineup each week, he is no guarantee of getting a game, but the list spot means he will train with the Hawks full time, rather than splitting his time between the VFL club and Berwick.
“We’ve been super impressed with his attitude first and foremost,” Box Hill coach Zane Littlejohn said.
“It’s not easy to be on the list of an aligned program where there’s so much unknown, letalone being a train-on where there’s no guarantee at all but his attitude didn’t waiver and he’s always looking to get better and ask for feedback which is awesome.
“Ultimately, the flexibility of his role, allowing him to play at both ends is great and he’s spent time in the ruck as well at Berwick so that flexibility is great.”
While only standing at 189cm, Canning locked down several now AFL-listed tall forwards including Jobe Shanahan, Jonty Faull and Jack Whitlock during his time playing for Gippsland Power in the Coates League.
“He definitely plays taller and he’s a real competitor,” Littlejohn said.
“He jumps at the footy when he’s forward, he’s really hard when he’s behind the ball, he can crash a pack and do all that and he’s eager to learn and get better and he doesn’t use the ball too badly either which is always promising.”
INSPIRATIONAL DEFENCE
Jack Docherty, Finn Devine, Ethan Winterton and Kobe Shipp carried a huge load on Saturday as Boronia’s forward line got plenty of looks particularly through the middle of the game.
As has become a trend this season, though, all played above their age, experience and weight class.
Devine took two first quarter intercept marks which kickstarted a brilliant day, Winterton kept spearhead Ben Robertson to one goal, Shipp’s composure and drive was brilliant and Docherty also had some big contest wins.
Results R13: Park Orchards 19.7(121) v Mooroolbark 6.10(46), Bayswater 14.11 (95) v Norwood 6.10(46), North Ringwood 14.9(87) v South Belgrave 11.10(76) Ladder: South Belgrave 44, Park Orchards 40, Boronia 28, North Ringwood 28, Beaconsfield 24, Montrose 20, Mooroolbark 12, Bayswater 12, Norwood 0 Fixture R14: Mooroolbark v Bayswater, Montrose v Beaconsfield, North Ringwood v Boronia, Norwood v Park Orchards
Harry Canning is a graduate of Gippsland Power’s program. (Stewart Chambers: 402640)
Jake Bowd kicked four goals for Beaconsfield. (Rob Carew: 476846)
Triep leads charge for Rays
By Jonty Ralphsmith
Dandenong forward Kiara Triep has continued her strong form in the Stingrays 16.7(103) to 0.2(2) thumping of Sandringham at Belvedere Reserve, Seaford, on Saturday.
Having showcased her positional flexibility early in the season, Triep has kicked multiples in five of her past six matches, with her effort of 3.2 from 16 disposals arguably her most complete of the season.
She has settled in attack and looked comfortable, with her forward craft shining through to consistently hit the scoreboard and link up in offensive chains at critical times.
Alice Cunnington also kicked three goals, while Evelyn Connolly and Lily Snow managed two apiece, with Matilda Argus the leading possession winner with 26.
The ‘Rays broke the back of the Dragons with three goals in the last five minutes off the first quarter to open up a handy buffer, and never surrendered ascendancy thereafter.
Meanwhile, the boys were upstaged 12.11(83) to 9.9(63) against the same opponent.
In his return game from a repeat hand injury, highly-rated inside midfielder Sam Lewis gathered 22 possessions and was well-aided by tenacious bottom-ager Gus Kennedy who continues to look comfortable at the level.
Run-and-gun player Jasper Russell backed up his maiden Vic Country appearance with 32 disposals, while skipper Max Lee had 14 touches as he vies for a return for Vic Country’s last game of the National Championships on Sunday against Vic Metro.
Marcus Prasad (two goals, 17 disposals), JayDe Varlet (16 disposals) and Toby Sinnema were other Vic Country squad members in action for the hosts.
Noah Hibbins-Hargreaves and Tairon Ah-Mu were both rested ahead of that clash, while Jack Lawrence and Louis Hodder each had important moments.
Dees notch critical victory
By Jonty Ralphsmith
A blistering third quarter lifted Casey to a crucial 16.15(111) to 5.5(35) victory over Werribee at Mission Whitten Oval on Saturday night.
Four goals to Mitch Hardie continued a stellar month of form as the Dees broke the game open after halftime, kicking six goals to one in the third term, four of those coming in stoppage time as Casey covered the ground better and were cleaner.
The third term lift was due reward for Harry Sharp and Jack Billings’ work around stoppage, which had the Dees on top in contested ball, clearance and tackle numbers at the main break, but leading by just 16 points.
AFL-listed Blake Howes and Jed Adams led a brilliant backline effort which kept the Bees to just two goals after halftime.
The victory lifts Casey to 10th on the table, keeping alive the club’s finals hopes ahead of a must-win clash against Carlton VFL, 13th on the table but just half a win behind the Dees.
Meanwhile, Casey’s women were overpowered by Collingwood, going down 8.9(57) to 1.5(11) despite Meg MacDonald continuing her strong season.
OOZING IMPROVEMENT
Goal kicking accuracy was the only thing holding back Casey’s Noah Yze from a breakout performance on Saturday night.
He finished with 1.3 and three further score assists in what was probably his best game at the level.
The son of Richmond coach Adem took two contested marks and presented well all game, with his selflessness at times costing him good looks at the big sticks.
After playing the first three games of the season as 23rd player, opportunities have been spasmodic, but he looks to have earned at least another game.
HOW GOOD’S HARDIE?
Mitch Hardie was recruited by Casey from Geelong to add experience and class to a young VFL on-ball brigade.
That’s exactly what he has done, becoming a bankable asset all season, averaging 28 disposals, showing a wide skillset and consistently making good decisions and adding maturity
Noah Yze was important on Saturday night. (Rob Carew: 466727)
forward of centre.
He’s kicked four goals in each of his last two games and also leads the league in goal assists.
IRELAND GETS THE CALLUP
He’s becoming the Saturday night specialist.
After making his debut against Collingwood VFL in the Demons’ last Saturday night fixture, Patrick Ireland was recalled for his second game against Werribee.
It follows bags of 12 and nine across the past two games for Gippsland League club Leongatha, with hauls of two and five also coming in the games since his last callup.
He took a big contested mark in the goal square and kicked a goal on Saturday night and will be hoping to hold his place as 23rd player.
O’Keefe leads Power charge
By Jonty Ralphsmith
Gippsland midfielder Zach O’Keefe pressed his case for a return to the Vic Country setup with a clinical midfield performance on Saturday.
O’Keefe’s clean hands, silky skills and clearance-winning was crucial for his team, as he looked a class above his teammates and opponents in the engine room.
He finished with 27 disposals as he vies for a Vic Country return, having played in the first two games before being rotated out of the team for the third match in a Vic Country lineup that has taken a squad mentality throughout the Under-18s National Championships.
Gippsland went down 10.10(70) to 15.11(101) in a surprise loss to Calder, but both teams were missing several first choice players, with three Calder players lining up for Vic Metro on Sunday and the Power resting Vic Country pair Willem Duursma and Brodie Atkins.
Ollie Wilson was another to impress, with his intercepting a feature throughout the game, particularly late as he regularly won one-on-ones by outmanoeuvring
his opponents.
A Caulfield Grammarian, Wilson got a trial for Vic Country and has impressed when he’s played at Coates League level, averaging 22 disposals and six marks for the Power this year.
Jobe Scapin was acting skipper for the days and kicked two goals, as did fellow winger Max Woodall, who arguably played his best game at the level.
Inside 50, bottom-aged Vic Country squad member Wil Malady was the main threat, kicking back-to-back goals in the third term to keep Gippsland alive.
The athletic marking forward finished with three goals from nine
Defender Liam Masters and midfield pair Luke Cheffers and Cody Templeton were also typically reliable.
Meanwhile, Gippsland’s girls were beaten by GWV 8.10(58) to 8.3(51) at Shepley Oval on a windy Sunday.
Abby Hobson and Acacia Sutton kicked three goals apiece, while Baia Pugh continued her sterling form with 17 disposals and 12 tackles.
Kiara Triep is in red-hot form for Dandenong. (Gary Sissons: 489622)
Toby Sinnema receives a handball from Max Lee.
Matilda Argus advances it forward.
Max Woodall was one of Gippsland’s best. (Gary Sissons: 489623)
Karen Eyssens Star News Group
