Star Weekly - Brimbank North West - 1st August 2023

Boarding in Braybrook

The Sunshine Model Railway Club is inviting train buffs to head to its 25th annual model railway exhibition in Braybrook.

Joe Saliba said the exhibition was halted in its tracks for three years during the pandemic and he is hoping to see a big turn-out for the latest show.

“We are finally back and it feels great. We’ve missed seeing all the people that we normally see at every exhibition,” he said.

Mr Saliba said there will be model trains on show for “anyone and everyone”.

“Everyone has their own version of arts and crafts, and this is ours. The exhibition is open to anyone who wants to see something different. They can come down and see how we do arts and crafts. Over the many years I’ve spent as a member of the club, my favourite part has been meeting new friends and sharing with the community.”

The model train exhibition will be held at Braybrook College Sports Stadium, Burke Street, Braybrook, from 9.30am-5pm on August 5, and 9.30am-4pm on August 6. Tickets are $10, children can enter for free.

Nod for childcare centre

By Hannah Hammoud

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) has granted a permit for a childcarecentreinStAlbans,despiteobjections from Brimbank council and residents.

The applicant, Happy Childcare Centre, applied to council in 2020 for a permit to developlandat66CharlesStreet,StAlbans,for a two-storey, 49-place childcare centre.

The applicant also sought approval for signage and a reduction in car parking.

Council refused the permit on August 26, 2021.

Council’s refusal to grant the permit

was based on the view that the scale of the design showed little regard for the character of the neighbourhood and failed to provide appropriate landscaping.

Council also noted that the development did not provide adequate amenity protections by way of visual bulk and inappropriate drop off and pick up arrangements. Concerns also related to high fencing, the overly dominant upper level, and the development being not in keeping with residential typology.

Residents living in surrounding properties shared council’s concerns and were also worried about noise, parking, reduction of greenspace,heatislands,pollution,stormwater

issues, traffic, safety, oversupply of child care centres, and overlooking.

The proposed development sits opposite an existing two-storey childcare centre, sparking residents’ concerns about parking and traffic congestion. Despite these concerns, VCAT’s decision allowed for a reduction in the number of parking spaces. The permit was granted with the provision of nine car parking spaces, whereas the Brimbank Planning Scheme requires 10 to be provided.

Tribunal member Alison Slattery said she was “satisfied” that the use of the site for a 49-child, childcare centre is appropriate for the location.

“There is an expectation that much of the clientele will be drawn from the immediate area, or from those who utilise the Keilor Plains train station to the west. This reduces the impacts from car parking in the street, and reduces the quantum of traffic that is likely,” she said.

VCAT made the decision to approve the development on July 21, citing disagreements withtheareasofconcernmentionedbycouncil and other objectors.

Brimbank council acting director for city futures Tom Razmovski said council accepts the decision from VCAT and will be issuing a planning permit in accordance with the order.

Joe Saliba has been a devoted member of the Sunshine Model Railway Club since 1996. (Damjan Janevski) 349467_01

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Sadie Black Cafe Albion

Sunshine City Club Albion

Coles Supermarket Braybrook

Central West Shopping Centre Braybrook

Braybrook Hotel Braybrook

Braybrook Community Centre Braybrook

Braybrook News & Lotto Braybrook

Burnside Hub Shopping Centre Burnside

Burnside News and Lotto Burnside

Milkbar Burnside Heights

Cairnlea Town Centre Cairnlea

The Club Caroline Springs

Caroline Springs Civic Centre/Library Caroline Springs

CS Square Centre Caroline Springs

Smart Smile Dental Deer Park

Deer Park Club Deer Park

Community Neighbourhood Centre Deer Park

Foodworks Deer Park

Cellarbrations Liquor Store Deer Park

Australia Post Deer Park

Deer Park IGA Deer Park

Brimbank Shopping Centre Deer Park

Derrimut Village Shopping Centre Deer Park

Coles Supermarket Deer Park

Deer Park Library Deer Park

IGA Delahey Delahey

Delahey Community Centre Delahey

Sunshine Golf Club Derrimut

Wards Newsagency Footscray

Foodworks Hillside

Parkwood Green Community Centre Hillside

Hillside Neighbourhood House Hillside

Keilor Community Hub Keilor

Keilor Newsagent Keilor

Centro Shopping Centre Keilor Downs

Frank's Supermarket Keilor Park

Fergusson Plairre Bakehouse Keilor Park

Westvale Community Centre Kings Park

Melton Shire Offices Melton

St Albans Library St Albans

St Albans Senior Citizens St Albans

IGA St Albans St Albans

Sunshine Hospital St Albans

Joan Kirner Women's & Childrens Hospital St Albans

Club Italia Sporting Club St Albans

St Albans Newsagency St Albans

Brimbank Community Centre St Albans

St Albans Sports Club St Albans

Speedway Sunshine Petroleum Sunshine

The Youth Junction Sunshine

Brotherhood of St Laurence Sunshine

Sunshine RSL Sunshine

The Glengala Hotel Sunshine

Sunshine Library Sunshine

Brimbank City Council Sunshine

Sunshine Plaza Sunshine

Sunshine Marketplace Sunshine

Woolworths Supermarket Sunshine

North Sunshine Post, News and Lotto Sunshine North

Morgan's Super IGA Supermarket Sunshine West

Bottler Sunshine West Drive in Liquor Sunshine West

West Sunshine Community Centre Sunshine West

Coles Supermarket Sunshine West

Watervale Shopping Centre Taylors Hill

Taylors Lakes Lotto Taylors Lakes

Watergardens Hotel Taylors Lakes

Watergardens Shopping Centre Taylors Lakes

Centrelink Watergardens Taylors Lakes

Calls for Derrimut school boost

By Hannah Hammoud

The demand for a government secondary school in Derrimut is growing, with Brimbank council calling on the Department of Education and Training to provide an update on future planning.

Councillor Thomas O’Reilly raised a notice of motion at the most recent council meeting, requesting an updated assessment on future planning for secondary school education provisions in Derrimut to accommodate population growth in the area.

Derrimut resident and mother of two primary-aged children, Rebecca Xuereb, said

many families in the area are at the stage of considering high school enrolment for their children.

“There are a lot of young kids and families in the area, and there is a huge demand for a local state secondary school. We would love to

send our kids to a high school that is close to home, and easier to get to and from,” she said.

Ms Xuereb said many local parents rely on sending their kids to Victoria University Secondary College (VUSC) in Deer Park.

“There are not many options apart from VUSC, and we don’t know how many students that school is capped at. There is definitely a need for a government high school in Derrimut,” she said.

Cr O’Reilly cited findings from a Brimbank council commissioned research report in 2019 into secondary school demand and supply for Derrimut.

“A finding was that to get to Derrimut from

A spectacular showcase of talent

Students from St Albans Meadows Primary School are putting on their dancing shoes as they prepare for the 2023 Victorian State Schools Spectacular on September 9. Theannualschoolsspectacularperformance will take place at John Cain Arena, with 1100 students from across Victoria participating in the mass dance group this year

St Albans Meadows Primary School performing arts teacher, Emilia Rio-Scaddan said the students have been working tirelessly to put their best foot forward for the show.

“The State School Spectacular provides the students with an amazing opportunity to

perform in a professional setting as well as working with professional choreographers, directors and artists,” she said.

“We have 16 students participating across grades 3, 4, 5 and 6 and they absolutely love it.

“The students have a dance class each week to practice and then they are so excited that they rehearse through their lunch time as well.”

Ms Rio-Scaddan said she has been workshopping with the students for their performance from the beginning of the year.

“We break things down for the students, they continue to work on it and then they get

to perform the skills they’ve developed all year at the show,” she said “I am very proud of them and I’m really excited to see them perform and reach their full potential.”

This year’s show follows an intrepid group of hapless tourists as they traverse the globe in a cavalcade of circus mayhem.

Circus artists, puppeteers, musicians, singers, dancers and skaters are all included in the show, which will be broadcast at a later date.

Hannah Hammoud

West Gate Freeway overnight closures in August

VUSC, approximately five kilometres on public transport, it can take over one hour,” he said.

“… Families and young people in Derrimut face challenges in the distance that they must travel to attend a government secondary school and therefore lack a convenient secondary school in choices compared to students in other suburbs in Brimbank.”

The Department of Education and Training and the Victorian School Building Authority previously indicated there was not sufficient population to build a school in Derrimut, but noted the catchment had capacity to meet future demand.

Drive for volunteers

Not-for-profit organisation Big Brothers Big Sisters Australia is calling out for volunteers to mentor and support young people aged 10-17 years old in Brimbank.

The organisation is looking for volunteers who live locally, are over 18, and can commit to spending roughly one hour a week with their assigned little brother or sister for 12 months.

Those interested in positively impactingthelifeofachildareinvited to join the online information session about the mentoring program.

The mentorship can be beneficial for young people who may be facing challenges engaging in education, have issues within their household where they do not have a responsible adult or carer providing them with support.

The mentorship can also help young people who are starting to come into contact with police or courts, and can provide an opportunity for the young person to see their potential.

The session will be facilitated by Big Brothers Big Sisters chief executive Mark Watt who will be speaking with some special guests to share their experience being a mentor or mentee. It is an opportunity to learn more about the program, meet some of the team and get answers to frequently asked questions.

The online mentor information session will run on August 22, at 7pm.

Details: https://shorturl.at/mBHM8

Students from St Albans Meadows Primary School are participating in the Victorian State Schools Spectacular. (Damjan Janevski) 349900_01

‘‘ We would love to send our kids to a high school that is close to home, and easier to get to and from ’’

- Rebecca Xuereb

VU open day strike on the cards

By Hannah Hammoud

Union members at Victoria University (VU) are considering targeting upcoming open days with industrial action, including strikes.

In a fresh push for fairer pay and conditions, VU joins six other Victorian universities who have not yet reached an agreement on their enterprise bargaining, sitting alongside the University of Melbourne, Monash, Deakin, La Trobe, Swinburne, and RMIT.

At an online statewide National Teritary EducationUnion(NTEU]meetingheldonJuly

26, members voted on taking open day action, which could range from strikes and work bans to speaking out, leafleting and other campaign activity.

NTEU Victorian division secretary Sarah Roberts said members had the chance to send an emphatic message on university open days.

“Three months on from a massive day of strike action, university managements are still blocking staff claims for a fair pay rise and better working conditions,” she said.

“It seems like these seven university managements care more about their brands

than the welfare of the hard-working staff who are directly responsible for the reputations that institutions trade on at open days.”

Ms Roberts said union members have demonstrated time and time again that they are not afraid to take industrial action.

“Unfortunately, the stubborn approach of university managements across most Victorian universities has put us in a position where union members are saying enough is enough,” she said.

“Universitystaffdeservefairpayrises,secure jobs and safe workloads.“

Seeing Brimbank one step at a time

Rob Olifiers is not local to Brimbank, but after spending more than a year walking every single street in the municipality, he is perhaps more familiar with the area than most. Severalyearsago,MrOlifiersseparatedfrom his wife and found himself on his own, feeling a little flat.

“Life was a little hard to cope with and so I thought I would fight myself out of it. I wrote short and long term goals, and part of that was to get fitter,” he said.

Mr Olifiers first started walking around his local streets in Mitcham, before covering all of

Whitehallcouncilandmarkinghistripsonthe Melways.

“AfterIcoveredtheentirearea,theWhitehall SES congratulated me and I loved it so much I ended up doing other councils,” he said.

Mr Olifiers mission recently landed himself in Brimbank, making it the 20th metropolitan council that he has completed in the past eight years.

Mr Olifiers, who has been a volunteer at Whitehorse State Emergency Service (SES) for over 18 years, said he hopes to raise awareness of the SES as he treks across municipalities.

Part of Mr Olifiers’ mission is to improve both his own mental and physical wellbeing as well as others.

“I am a very community minded person and love chatting to people along the way,” he said. “Before this, I knew nothing about Brimbank, but it really opened my eyes to what it’s like, with a diverse population and vibrant communities.”

Melbourne city stands as the last remaining council for Mr Olifiers to march across, which he plans to begin soon.

Hannah Hammoud

Victoria University has scheduled to host its open days in August.

In July, VU announced a “voluntary separation program” which involves staff choosingtobemaderedundantandwouldshed 300 full-time equivalent roles by September, 2023.

In an email to staff after the announcement, Vice Chancellor Professor Adam Shoemaker said the cost savings target was required as the university’s spending currently exceeds its revenue.

Victoria University declined to comment.

Help shape park’s future

Brimbank council is looking for three people to join the Sydenham Park Consultative Committee and share ideas about the park’s future.

The committee offers an opportunity for discussion about the Sydenham Park Master Plan, as well as to help council advocate for future development of Sydenham Park.

The Sydenham Park Consultative Committee is being formed to provide a forum for sharing ideas and discussions about the Sydenham Park Master Plan.

The committee will help council advocate for investment and development of Sydenham Park, help withdiscussionsbetweenstakeholders on matters impacting the park and complement broad community and stakeholder engagement.

Alongside the three representatives from the Brimbank community, the committee will comprise of, an independent chair, two councillors, two council directors and/or representatives, a representative from the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation, a representative from the Brimbank Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Consultative Committee (BATSICC), a representative from the Sydenham and District Historical Society, a representative from the Friends of Sydenham Park and a representative from the Golf Club of Keilor Inc.

The selection panel will review all nominations, select three people to represent the community and notify successful nominees.

Council is encouraging nominations from people with diverse backgrounds.

Appointed nominees will be confirmed at the October council meeting.

Details: https://shorturl.at/dfhDV

Brimbank council is set to dust off Old Geelong Road

The unsealed section of Old Geelong Road in Brooklyn is set to be sealed following an agreement between the state government and Brimbank council.

The state government announced shared grant funding of $5 million will be made available to councils to seal local roads and help reduce airborne dust pollution.

Brimbank mayor Bruce Lancashire said council will accept part of the $5 million funding for the sealing of local roads and will put the money towards sealing the Old Geelong Road in Brooklyn.

“Brimbank City Council is pleased to hear that the Victorian government is taking air quality issues seriously in Melbourne’s inner west, and commend them for allocating funding to address this problem,” Cr Lancashire said Melbourne’s inner west experiences significantly higher volumes of heavy vehicle traffic than other parts of Melbourne due to its high concentration of industrial uses.

Traffic on unsealed dirt roads, like the Old Geelong Road in Brooklyn, causes dust to be stirred up and pollutes the local air quality.

The announcement included $15 million to target truck operators who regularly use inner western roads and make grants available to support a transition to trucks that produce fewer emissions.

The Department of Transport and Planning worked with Brimbank, Hobsons Bay and Maribyrnong councils to establish a list of potential local roads that most strongly met the program’s criteria.

The community was also able to provide input for improvements to air quality in the inner west through the Inner West Air

Quality Community Reference Group that was established in 2018.

The group met 22 times to investigate and better understand local air pollution issues, concerns, and sources across the Brimbank, Hobsons Bay and Maribyrnong local government areas, which have informed the next steps to tackling air pollution in the inner west.

Details: dtp.vic.gov.au/ports-and-freight/ clean-air-for-the-inner-west.

Hannah Hammoud

Rob Olifiers has walked almost every street in metropolitan Melbourne. (Damjan Janevski) 349987_02

Apples

Pears

Calder Freeway safety concerns

By Hannah Hammoud

The Calder Freeway has been named as one of the most concerning roads in Melbourne in a recent RACV survey.

The My Melbourne Road Survey asked more than 5000 motorists, cyclists, pedestrians and public transport users about their safety concerns of Melbourne’s transport network.

The Calder Freeway, running between the suburbs of Keilor Park, Keilor and Taylors Lakes, received the fifth most responses out of all roads in Melbourne.

The main issues raised in the responses referenced unsafe driving, with heavy congestion inducing risk-taking behaviours.

Robert Pelly is a member of the Calder Action Group and has been campaigning for improvements to fix the Calder Freeway for 20 years.

Mr Pelly said during peak times the Calder Freeway resembles a “car park” as heavy congestion forces motorists to a standstill.

“All around there is a lack of money spent on roads in the north west, and the Calder Freeway is the worst of them,” he said.

Getting women on site

Women Onsite has announced a ‘Try a Trade Day’eventinSunshineforwomeninterestedin undertaking a traineeship or apprenticeship in plumbing and electrical.

Participants will get the opportunity to participate in two workshops, gain hands-on experience and take home some of the projects they create. Women Onsite program lead Barbara Huggins said the ‘Try a Trade’ days were piloted across 2020-22 as a way to help women who have considered doing a trade but were not sure where to start.

“Our research over that time showed that the average age of women starting trades in Victoria is 28,” she said.

“… This event is for women who are considering undertaking an apprenticeship, in historically male dominated trades, and want to know more about the pathways and types of trades available to them.

“They get to make some things and talk with tradeswomen about what to expect and

what the pathways are. They hear about special initiatives by the government in the Big Build and also pre-apprenticeship opportunities.”

Ms Huggins said Women Onsite works to encourage more women to enter the trades industry.

“Women make up only 2 per cent of trades in historically male dominated trades, with 75 per cent of them joining a trade due to a male family member being a tradie,” she said.

“We work directly through union members in the construction industries to ask members to pass on information to the women in their lives. We also use social media and broad scale advertising to normalise people seeing women in hi-vis and trades.”

The event will take place at Victoria University Tafe Sunshine Campus on August 12, from 10am-1.30pm. Register: https://www. weareunion.org.au/try_a_trade_day_sunshine

Hannah Hammoud

“As more and more people move into the area, that means more and more cars are going to be on the road.

“If you’re going to encourage people to come live in these areas then you need to have the infrastructure to keep up with it.”

The 2023-24 state budget included an allocation of $10.693 million to improve the Calder Freeway but funding remains in limbo as the federal government undertakes its 90 day review of major infrastructure projects.

Mr Pelly said funding needs to be delivered

as soon as possible to get the job done.

“No more pushing the can down the road. We need to fund the Calder, start building and get it done.”

A Victorian Department of Transport and Planning spokesperson said the state’s transport network is continually monitored for potential improvements.

“Road safety is a broad and complex issue that requires a strategic, multi-faceted and coordinated approach and we welcome community feedback as part of that mix,” the spokesperson said.

Celebrating breastfeeding

This week marks World Breastfeeding Week, celebrated every year across the world from August 1-7.

TheglobalcampaignsupportedbytheWorld Health Organisation and UNICEF, aims to raise awareness about breastfeeding and its advantages.

Joan Kirner Women’s and Children’s Hospital (JKWC) in Sunshine is supporting womentobreastfeedprematurebabiesthrough a low-cost breast pump hire program.

LactationservicesteamleaderJessicaHughes oversees a team of clinical nurse consultants who are dedicated to supporting families to breastfeed.

“Patients at JKWC who give birth to babies whorequiresupportthroughnewbornservices are able to hire hospital-grade breast milk pumps at a low-cost to assist them to feed their babies,” she said.

Ms Hughes said the hospital found that many women in the community came from

low socio-economic backgrounds, leading to the hospital sourcing 24 electric breast pumps for eligible families to hire.

“We had women who were delivering their babies and those babies weren’t able to breastfeed directly at the breast because they were sick, so we asked mothers to pump milk to feed their babies through a feeding tube. However,wefoundthatmanywomensaidthey couldn’t afford a breast pump, and so in order to remove that barrier we launched a low-cost breast pump hire program in conjunction with Professor Linda Sweet at Deakin University.”

This year’s theme for World Breastfeeding Week focuses on breastfeeding and work, providing a strategic opportunity to advocate for essential maternity rights that support breastfeeding.

Staff at JKWC are also supported to breastfeed their babies, provided with a refurbished lactation room featuring appropriate equipment.

Women Onsite has partnered with Victoria University Polytechnic to deliver a free, one day ‘Try a Trade’ program. (Supplied)

Free skate lesson fun

Crime Stoppers Victoria is hosting free skate lessonsinBrimbankforlocalsagedbetween12 and 24, with a focus on building community resilience.

In addition to learning a new skill, every program participant is offered the chance to meet with local youth employment and transition-to-work services to discuss their future and employment pathway opportunities.

The free hour and a half skateboarding workshops are run by the Victorian Skateboarding Association and are open to all skilllevels,frombeginnersallthewaythrough toadvanced.

Term three of the program kicked off in July at the Keilor Downs Skatepark and will continue to run afterschool every Wednesday from4-5.30pm,upuntilSeptember13.

Community engagement manager Sam Boivinsaidthelaunchoftheprogramreceived

greatsupportfromthelocalcommunity.

“Thisprogramisalotoffunandengagesthe community with lessons to learn how to skate, and also addresses youth unemployment and disengagement,”hesaid.

“Wearelinkingyoungpeopletoemployment service providers and employment opportunities as well as giving advice on community safety and crime prevention to youngpeopleinthearea.”

The program is supported by the federal government’s Safer Communities Fund aimed at providing early intervention activities to at-riskyouth.Theobjectivesofthegrantinvolve working with youth to develop educational and vocational skills to prevent them from becoming entrenched in the criminal justice system.

Details:https://shorturl.at/itHOU

Briefs

Homes needed for kids

Leading foster care agency OzChild is urging compassionate individuals and families in Brimbank and across the west to consider becoming foster carers. With an increasing number of local children in need of forever homes, the organisation is calling on the community to step forward and make a life-changing difference. Details: ozchild.org.au

Home fire plans

Victoria’s fire services are calling on households to develop or review their Home Fire Escape Plans. Fire Rescue Victoria and CFA respond to more than 3000 residential fire incidents across the state each year, many of which are preventable. Details: frv.vic.gov.au or cfa.vic.gov.au.

Organics tour

Brimbank locals are invited to find out what happens to their garden waste and food scraps once it is collected, by coming along for an education tour of Veolia’s organics recovery facility. The tour will depart from the Brimbank Community Civic Centre on Friday, August 11, at 10am and will return by 1pm. Register, https:// shorturl.at/uAKSV

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Hannah Hammoud

Locals are invited to drop into the Keilor Downs Skatepark for free skateboarding lessons. (Jacob Pattison) 349473_01

Green future for old works site

By Hannah Hammoud

The Living Future Institute of Australia (LFIA) has cast its eyes on Sunshine North, launching a design competition to transform a local heritage site into a mixed-use development.

In partnership with Development Victoria, this year’s competition will centre around the heritage-listed building situated at 247 St Albans Road, Sunshine North.

The site was constructed in the 1970’s for the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works (MMBW)

The building is integrated within Development Victoria’s broader plan to facilitate a sustainable mixed-use development of the site with residential, retail and community uses.

Thecompetitioncallsonarchitects,designers and students to create the most sustainable, and restorative, heritage-listed building in Australia, which must live up to precise environmental, self-sustaining standards, including generating its own energy and captu ring and treating its own water.

The competition aims to break the misconception that only new buildings can be regenerative and bridge the gap in skills that exist within the current industry.

LFIAchiefexecutiveLauraHamilton-O’Hara said the project aims to maximise the positive.

“Usually the focus for the industry is on doing less bad, but actually it’s about doing better,forbothsocietyandtheplanet,”shesaid.

“A Living Building generates its own energy using renewables, acts as part of the

hydrological cycle of the site, and takes into account embodied energy in materials and tools used.

“Regenerative Buildings are our theory of change and what they do is create people who can see the world differently. They can see what’s possible, pushing the boundaries of design and architecture to become truly regenerative.

“TheLivingBuildingChallengeistheEverest of green building rating tools. We can’t wait to see the entries for this year’s challenge.”

LFIA invites architects, designers, students andindustryprofessionalstotrytheirhandand explore the untapped potential of revitalising our built environment.

Details: https://living-future.org.au/livingbuilding-challenge-design-competition-2023/

Crackdown on weapons

Police executed an operation at Sunshine train station on July 20, with a major crackdown on weapons in the community.

Police conducted Omni Operation at the station to detect weapons offences and enhance community safety.

Police spoke with more than 3800 people which resulted in five weapons being seized.

Two people were arrested; one for failing to provide identification and was subsequently fined, and the other for being wanted on whereabouts. He was released pending further inquiries.

Three people were issued with penalty notices for possessing prohibited weapons.

An omni operation provides police with additional powers to detect weapon offences within a designated search area.

Firefighters rally for brave little Ali

CFA firefighters from Caroline Springs recently made seven-year-old Ali’s wish of seeing a fire truck come true when not one, but four fire trucks visited his home.

When Caroline Springs Fire Brigade captain Craig Freshwater heard about little Ali and his special wish to celebrate the end of his chemotherapy journey, he said he knew he’d be overwhelmed with offers from fellow fireys.

“When I received the call from [Ali’s mum] Marlyn about brave little Ali, I knew that this wasaneasywayforthebrigadetomakeasmall difference to this young boy and his family,” he said.

“As we got chatting, Marlyn told me that

amidstAli’sstruggles,shealsosufferedastroke in late 2022, adding another layer of difficulty to the family’s already challenging journey.

“Ali is one of four children, so I made sure there was a fire truck for each of the children, so they wouldn’t feel left out.”

Ali was diagnosed with High-Risk Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in March 2021.

He commenced chemotherapy soon after and underwent treatment for a total of 833 days.

On the day of the visit, Marlyn said the children became curious as the sound of fire truck sirens drew nearer and their eyes widened with wonder as the bright red fire

trucks parked right outside their home.

“Ali was jumping up and down with delight, yet still politely asked if he could go for a closer look,” she said.

“They’ve all missed out on so many things these past few years, it was just so lovely to see the excitement on their faces.”

Given Ali’s keen interest and multiple questions during the visit, Craig said he promised the family a visit to the fire station and Ali is not letting his mum forget, by reminding her weekly.

“He’s definitely enthusiastic and who knows, we might have a future firefighter in the making,” he said.

Transit West Inspector Fiona Curnow said police had zero tolerance for those carrying weapons.

“People who arm themselves with knives and other weapons are placing themselvesandothersindanger–they can kill or seriously injure another person, or the weapon could be used against them. It’s just not worth it,” she said.

“We are committed to having a visible presence in the community with regular patrols and operations designed to detect and deter criminal offending.”

Volunteers recognised for keeping Brimbank beautiful

CommunityorganisationWesternEmergency Relief Network (WERN) has been recognised for its achievements by being shortlisted for the 2023 Tidy Towns and Cities Sustainability Awards.

TheawardsrunbyKeepAustraliaBeautiful recognise, celebrate and share environmental achievements and strong community spirit across Victoria.

From 132 entries, 70 projects have been shortlisted across 10 categories.

Western Emergency Relief Network (WERN) is shortlisted for the Community Award.

WERN is a volunteer-run organisation that provides emergency relief and assistance through its member welfare agencies. Its primary service is providing material aid, including furniture, appliances and bedding to people in need.

WERNmovedtoanewfacilityinRavenhall last year, and has been able to dramatically increase its services.

Since the move, WERN has helped provide for about 1400 families, and increased demand for its services has seen it go from providing an average of 11 to 35 items for clients.

WERN administration manager Ross Butterworth said the success of reaching the nomination stage reflects the work of the volunteers.

“We’ve got over 50 volunteers contributing to this program who have put in over 26,000 hours since the program started. That deserves recognition and that’s what this nomination provides,” he said.

Brimbank council’s My Smart Garden project has also been shortlisted for the Community Award.

The project is a free sustainable gardening program that invites locals to learn how to

grow food, shelter their homes from the sun and wind, create homes for local wildlife, use water wisely and recycle waste.

Shortlisted entries include initiatives that have tackled waste reduction, energy efficiency, wellbeing, positive Indigenous outcomes, and community engagement, exemplifying the innovative and impactful approaches taken to promote sustainability.

Finalists in each category will be revealed on September 13 and the winners announced at the Tidy Towns and Cities Awards Ceremony, held at ZINC in Federation Square on October 23.

CFA firefighters from Caroline Springs recently made seven-year-old Ali’s wish of seeing a fire truck come true when fire trucks visited his home. (Supplied)

The former Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works site in Sunshine North is set to be transformed. (John Jovic)

Tips for how parents can help their child learn to read

Helping your primary school child learn to read is an essential and rewarding journey that sets the foundation for their academic success and lifelong love for learning. As a parent or caregiver, you play a crucial role in fostering their reading skills and nurturing a positive reading environment.

Here are some effective strategies to support your child’s reading development:

1/ Read Together: Setasideregulartimetoread with your child. Choose age-appropriate books that interest them, and take turns reading aloud. Encourage them to ask questions and discuss the story, characters, and plot to enhance comprehension.

2/ Create a Reading Space: Designate a cozy reading corner in your home where your child can retreat to explore books independently. Make it inviting with comfortable seating, good lighting, and a collection of books at their level.

3/ Be a Role Model: Demonstrate your own love for reading by letting your child see you reading books, magazines, or newspapers regularly.Childrenoftenmimicthebehaviorof their parents or caregivers, so your enthusiasm for reading will be contagious.

4/ Phonics Practice: Phonics is a fundamental aspect of learning to read. Teach your child letter sounds and the relationship between letters and their corresponding sounds. Use fun games and activities to reinforce phonetic skills.

5/ Sight Words: Introduce sight words, which are frequently used words that may not always follow phonetic rules. Make flashcards and use

Continue reading aloud to your children, listening to more advanced books enhances their vocabulary and comprehension skills.

them in sentences to help your child memorize and recognize these words quickly.

6/ Reading Aloud: Continue reading aloud to

yourchild,evenastheybecomemoreproficient readers. Listening to more advanced books enhances their vocabulary and comprehension skills.

7/ Word Games: Engage in word games like Scrabble, Boggle, or word puzzles that make learning enjoyable and interactive.

8/ Library Visits: Take regular trips to the library and allow your child to choose books that intrigue them. This fosters a sense of ownership and excitement about reading.

9/ Encourage Writing: Reading and writing go hand in hand. Encourage your child to write stories, letters, or a journal. This practice reinforcestheirreadingskillswhilestimulating their creativity.

10/ Be Patient and Positive: Learning to read can be challenging, and every child progresses at their own pace. Celebrate their efforts, and avoid putting too much pressure on them. Create a positive and supportive learning environment.

11/UseTechnologyWisely: Utiliseeducational apps and online resources that are designed to promotereadingskills.However,monitortheir screen time and ensure it doesn’t replace real books and face-to-face interactions.

12/ Celebrate Progress: Praise your child’s achievements and milestones. Acknowledge their improvements and make them feel proud of their reading accomplishments.

Remember, every child is unique, so tailor your approach to suit their individual needs andinterests.Bymakingreadingenjoyableand fostering a love for books, you are nurturing a skill that will serve them well throughout their lives.Patience,consistency,andencouragement will go a long way in helping your primary school child become a confident and proficient reader.

1

Mayor’s message

Cr Lara Carli

This week I had the great pleasure to announce the 27 finalists in the 2023 Melton Business Excellence Awards. City of Melton businesses are the lifeblood of our community and Council is proud to showcase their innovation, resilience and strength.

Now in its 16th year, these awards are about recognising and rewarding the great contributions local businesses make to our city.

The winners will be announced at an awards night in September.

Work has also started on the business plan for upgrading the Western Highway between Caroline Springs Boulevard and Coburns Road – a road that supports 86,000 vehicles daily.

The business case is being developed by Major Roads Projects Victoria as part of Victoria’s Big Build, and has been funded jointly by the Victorian and Commonwealth Governments. Council understands there will be opportunities for people to have their say when community and business engagement opens on the business case later this year.

We have been advocating for an upgrade to the Western Highway and are pleased this planning has commenced.

And finally, I was saddened to hear the news of the recent passing of Lyn Holdsworth OAM, a champion of our city. Thank you Lyn for your friendship, support and advice during the past 11 years. You were such a gentle soul who was loved by all. I will miss your smiling face around town.

Feel free to contact me about Watts Ward or Council related issues on 0409 951 020 or email at: lara.carli@melton.vic.gov.au or visit my Facebook page at: facebook.com/Cr.LaraCarli

Learn something new

with us online: melton.vic.gov.au

Are you ready to learn something new?

There’s never been a better time to find a class or workshop on the Melton City Council Learning Directory.

Try yoga, take a cooking class, get help with technology, make social connections, find a class for your child and much more! Council has a whole range of programmes available

to individuals, social groups or community organisations because of our commitment to lifelong learning for all our residents.

Head to our website to find a program that suits you: meltonlearning.com.au

Immunisations

With winter in full swing, making sure you’ve got the current flu shot is critical to staying safe and healthy. Immunisation can protect individuals against a range of vaccine preventable diseases. Council provides a range of free immunisations and catch-up vaccines for infants, children, secondary school students and eligible adults.

Coburn Ward with Cr Sophie Ramsey

Council recently adopted the 2023/24 Budget focussing on strengthening our community by maintaining and upgrading existing assets and preparing for the future with new infrastructure that will support our growing population.

Highlights for Coburn Ward including $10.35 million for construction of Bridge Road; $5.7 million for construction of the Bridge Road Community Hub; $3.75 million to upgrade a section of Bulmans Road; $1.8 million for Synthetic Turf Renewal at Kurunjang Recreation Reserve; and just under a million dollars for bridge upgrades and to construct a roundabout at the

vibrant, safe and liveable City accessible to all

intersection of Exford and Greigs Roads.

To learn about projects being delivered in your neighbourhood, visit budget.melton.vic.gov.au

It was great to see so many of you attend our consultation sessions at Melton South Recreation Reserve, and Blackwood Drive Recreation Reserve over the weekend. Don’t forget, you’ve got until 6 August to provide input into the upgrades to these playspaces by visiting conversations.melton.vic.gov.au

Finally, I was heartbroken to hear of the recent passing of Lyn Holdsworth OAM. Lyn was a beautiful lady who

Food trucks now easier to register

Food truck vendors can now quickly and easily apply for a roadside trading permit in the City of Melton. Council has slashed approval times down 10 days to nearly instant thanks to a new program in partnership with Service Victoria!

Food truck vendors can now go online to view available slots, book and pay for their application and receive almost instant approval to trade at their chosen locations!

Check out melton.vic.gov.au/ MobileFoodVehicles

was passionate about our community and a true champion for local conservation issues. She was an active member of the Friends of Toolern Creek environmental group and driving force behind their annual Platypus Festival.

Lyn’s presence will be a greatly missed in our community. Her legacy will continue through her family, her friends and the community she has inspired. Rest Peacefully, Lyn. Don’t hesitate to contact me at sophie.ramsey@melton.vic.gov.au or on 0412 584 067. I’d love to hear your thoughts about Coburn Ward.

12587350-AA31-23

Mayor Cr Lara Carli

Deputy Mayor Cr Julie Shannon

Cr Steve Abboushi Cr Justine Farrugia

Cr Goran Kesic

Cr Kathy Majdlik

Cr Sophie Ramsey Cr Bob Turner Cr Ashleigh Vandenberg

MELTON BUSINESS EXCELLENCE AWARDS

Melton Business Excellence Awards finalists announced

The finalists are:

New business or start up

•฀Moui฀Produce

•฀Starboard฀Games฀

•฀Stoktake฀Australia

Visitation and hospitality

•฀Ms฀Peacock฀Restaurant฀&฀Bar฀

•฀Pecks฀Rd฀Cafe

•฀Russo฀Estate

Disability inclusion

•฀Autism฀Goals

•฀Discovering฀Strength

•฀฀NeuroRehab฀Allied฀Health฀Network

Professional services

•฀BudgetNet฀Plan฀Management

•฀Cat฀Napping฀Melton

•฀Varcon

Health, wellness and care

•฀FIT40฀Melton

•฀GMA฀Fitness฀Academy฀

•฀Western฀Region฀Health

Equality, diversity and inclusion

•฀Slan฀Finance

•฀Specialist฀Hoops฀Inc฀

•฀Watervale฀Dental

Young entrepreneur of the year

•฀Arcwell฀Homes

•฀Kiana฀Mei฀Designs฀

Thefinalistsinthe2023CityofMeltonBusiness

Excellence Awards have been announced.

Twenty-seven outstanding businesses from hospitality, trades, professional services, and creative industries are now in the running to win a business excellence award in nine categories.

Now in its 16th year, these awards are about recognising and rewarding the great contributions local businesses make to Melton. Meltoncouncilreceivedover80nominations

from businesses this year, which were were assessed by a judging panel during a two-stage judging process.

The winners will be announced at the City of Melton Business Excellence Awards Evening at WindmillGardensReceptiononSeptember27.

The winners of the Mayoral Achievement Award and Business of the Year will also be announced at the awards evening.

Mayor Lara Carli said Melton businesses are the lifeblood of the community and council is

proud to showcase their innovation, resilience and strength.

“These awards are one of many council initiatives helping local businesses thrive in the city of Melton and we look forward to celebrating their success at the awards evening,” she said.

“I would like to thank every business that took the time to nominate. Our judging panel was impressed with the overall, high quality of submissions.”

•฀Myles฀Gray

Innovation and transformation

•฀Aspire฀Lawyers

•฀Leap฀Real฀Estate฀

•฀Waypoint฀Digital Sustainable produce or process

•฀Bee฀Responsible

•฀Korvai฀

•฀Living฀Koko

Award winners at the 2022 Melton Business Excellence Awards. (Ivan Kemp) 309827_51

Fitbit rollout for older residents

A number older residents in Melbourne’s inner westwillbegivenfitbitsaspartofaninnovative programtohelpthemstayhealthyandlivingat home.

The program, operated by the Modern Medical Hobsons Bay clinic in Spotswood, is one of 10 new projects launched in the west to help older people be healthy, manage chronic disease, and stay out of hospitals and aged care homes.

Earlier this year medical clinics across Melbourne’s western suburbs were invited to design ways to help older people in their

areas live well and safely at home while being supported to manage their own health and wellbeing

The clinics are based in Sunshine West, Hobsons Bay, Altona North, Airport West, Hoppers Crossing, Williams Landing, Brunswick, Flemington and Sanctuary Lakes.

Each clinic will deliver a program geared towards its patients and neighbourhood, with no two alike.

Modern Medical Hobsons Bay is focused on using technology to help people stay healthy. It will use smart watches, mobile phones and

other fitness trackers, along with telehealth consultations, to help people stay active and make lifestyle changes to better manage their health and wellness.

The Our Medical Williams Landing medical centre will conduct three wellness clinics on site every week, where older locals can discuss their needs with two nurses, a care coordinator and a GP.

Utopia Refugee Asylum Seeker Health in Hoppers Crossing will be boosting the services it offers to its patients, most of whom have very few resources and have experienced significant

New president’s vision to give hope

New Caroline Springs Rotary Club president Vijay Susarla said it was seeing first-hand Rotary International’s work to immunise people against polio that got him interested in the organisation.

He said that with Rotary’s help, two million people were given polio drops in two days.

In 1984 Mr Susarla migrated to Australia, and in 1996 this experience from his youth inspired him to join his local Rotary Club.

He has been a part of a variety of clubs in the 27 years since. His proudest achievement was visiting Samoa to help rebuild following

the 2009 earthquake and tsunami.

He said he didn’t feel like it was much, but the thanks he got from locals proved the meaning of the effort.

“[The work was] a small drop in the ocean, for the devastation that happened, but they said ‘you helped us’. That means for me that drop in the ocean has value as well,” he said. Rotary Caroline Springs held a changeover event on July 21 where Ronald Moss handed the title over to Mr Susarla.

The theme for Rotary’s coming year is “Create Hope in the World”.

Mr Susarla said he has a range of ideas to help his local community surrounding this theme including addressing men’s mental health, creating more opportunities for youth and promoting peace.

MrSusarlasaidhelovesRotaryandisexcited for the responsibility of being president.

“Rotary is a platform where you can divulge your passion and make it happen,” he said.

“We always look for more volunteers and welcome any new people considering coming in and joining us.”

Liam McNally

trauma.

The clinic will offer face-to-face preventative health services in collaboration with a psychology service.

North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network chief executive Christopher Carter said at its best, health care responds to local needs and keeps people safe and well.

“The Early Interventions for Healthy Ageing program represents a great opportunity to tailormultidisciplinarycareforolderresidents, and to boost the services and connections offered by medical providers in our region.”

Environmental grant writing workshop

School staff, educators, teacher aides and playgroup leaders that live or work in Brimbank are invited to attend an upcoming environmental grant workshop to learn how to write a successful application.

The event is tailored towards school staff who are looking to apply for environment-related school grants for their respective schools.

The hands-on workshop will focus on transforming ideas into fundable concepts and will include step by step guidance throughout the entire grant making process.

Theworkshopswilltouchonarange of things, including, where to find the money for the grant, introduction to the grant making cycle, writing a 50-word grab, understanding the guidelines and assessment criteria, working with partners, answering the questions in the application form, building a project budget as well as support material.

The free workshop will take place at the Visy Cares Hub, located at 80B Harvester Road in Sunshine, on Thursday, August 17, from 4-6pm.

The workshop is a Brimbank Teachers’ Environment Network (TEN) professional development event and will be facilitated by community development practitioner and creative entrepreneur, Debby Maziarz. Ms Maziarz has experience insourcingfunds,includingfounding Melbourne’s Westside Circus and the Debby Maziarz Production.

Registrations are essential: https:// bit.ly/43r8wMc

Brimbank backs yes campaign for a Voice to Parliament

Brimbank council is pledging its support for the Voice to Parliament ahead of this year’s referendum to enshrine a First Nations voice in the Australian Constitution.

Earlier in the year, Brimbank council signed the ‘Mayors for the Voice to Parliament’ public statement, noting support for the Uluru Statement from the Heart and the upcoming referendum on the Voice to Parliament.

Council is now encouraging community members and staff to learn more about the Voice to Parliament.

As part of this commitment, council will

be actively promoting information among the community and council staff to build understanding and promote a ‘yes’ vote in the referendum.

The campaign will include videos, posters and social media to promote Brimbank’s support, along with opportunities to learn about the referendum later this year.

Council said it recognises that there are different views within the community, and is encouraging residents to have respectful conversations.

The Brimbank Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Consultative Committee

(BATSICC) has advised council in this work, and will continue to support Brimbank’s reconciliation journey.

Speaking about the campaign, BATSICC member and Aboriginal elder, Uncle Shane Charles said the Voice to Parliament is an opportunity for Indigenous Australians to be recognised in the constitution.

“It’s an opportunity for all Australians to walk together with First Nations people,” he said.

Brimbank mayor Bruce Lancashire said council is committed to reconciliation.

“We are a diverse municipality, and the

rich history and culture of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community is woven throughout Brimbank,” he said.

“... We acknowledge we are on a journey of listening and learning, and we continue to work actively in partnership with the Traditional Custodians of the land and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.

“We believe that enshrining the Voice to Parliament in the Constitution will enrich and benefit Australia.

“As local leaders, we are committed to building awareness in our communities about the upcoming referendum.”

Vijay Susarla with Rotary members at the Changeover event on July 21. (Supplied)

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Star Weekly looks back through the pages of our predecessors

40 years ago

August 3, 1983

Sunshine is unlikely to become the scallop centre of Melbourne – the seafood industry is offensive and not welcome, according to Sunshine council.

30 years ago

August 4, 1993

The Keilor and Sunshine councils would be forced to cut services to ratepayers and probably retrench staff if the federal government pushed ahead with a plan to make councils pay sales tax.

20 years ago

August 5, 2003

A powerful multimedia presentation wound up the campaign by the Sunshine Community Pool Action Group to urge Brimbank council to commit more money towards replacing the Sunshine pool.

10 years ago

August 6, 2013

Almostaquarterofthe1.3millionneedles provided to drug addicts in Melbourne’s western suburbs last year were used in Brimbank, a report by the HealthWest partnership reveals.

YOURNEWCAREER ...startshere

PRINT AND PRINT AND PRINT AND ONLINE SALES ONLINE SALES ONLINE SALES

EXECUTIVE EXECUTIVE EXECUTIVE

REQUIRED REQUIRED REQUIRED

Keeping an eye on tradie health

August marks Tradies National Health Month (TNHM), an initiative run by the Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) to raise awareness about the importance of tradies’ health and wellbeing. Hannah Hammoud spoke with advocates who are calling on labourers and tradespeople to be vigilant in looking after their eyes and ears on the job to avoid long term, often preventable, and in some cases irreversible, damage to their eyesight and hearing.

Optometrist Michael Angerame said each year TNHM works as a reminder for tradespeople to protect themselves from injury on the job. He said when it comes to eye and ear protection, prevention is always better than cure.

“Optometrists see a lot of tradies present that tend to have a foreign body in their eyes, either they’ve been grinding metal or using equipment without the correct safety protection for their eyes. They either have dust, metal, dirt or grit in their eyes that we have to remove,” he said.

“Optometrists are trained and we are able to remove these foreign bodies from the eye, butinsomecaseswhenwedoremoveitthere’s still impact on the vision that can potentially be long-term depending on the extent of the injury.

“While in most cases it’s just a matter of easily removing the object from the eye and prescribing some eye drops for the eye to heal, in some cases our patients aren’t as lucky and depending on the depth of the object in the eyeorthetypeofobjectitcanleadtoinfection or a number of complications to their vision.”

In April, research from the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital revealed a concerning increase in men presenting to the emergency department with work-related eye trauma, recording a 41 per cent growth over the past five years.

Mr Angerame said this data indicates a concerningdeclineofawarenessinpreventing eye related accidents.

“These statistics show that the public is not adhering to safety procedures as much as we would like them to,” he said.

Research by Specsavers echoes these findings, revealing that younger tradies aged 18-34 are already reporting concerns over worksite damage, with 37 per cent of tradies in that age bracket incurring a workplace eye injury that required medical attention.

Yaraville electrician Matthew Garbett, 31, said that an incident he had as an apprentice where hot steel landed into his eye forced him to take his health and safety more seriously.

“I had my safety goggles on but I wasn’t wearing them correctly, they weren’t sitting properly on my face. Back then we weren’t really trained on how to wear protective equipment and people didn’t really know how to wear them right,” he said.

“Hot steel landed into my eye on the jobsite and I had to go to the eye and ear hospital to get it scratched out. There was no lasting damage but the process was painful.”

Mr Garbett said it is more often younger tradies who underestimate the importance of protective equipment.

“As you get older you take your health a bit more seriously in every aspect … you realise that you’ve only got one pair of eyes,” he said.

Mr Garbett has been an electrician for 10 years and is currently working on the Melbourne Metro Tunnel Project. He said the culture on job sites has changed and safety breaches are now strictly policed.

“If you aren’t wearing the correct safety equipment you can get reinducted and taken off site,” he said.

“On these bigger projects, you go through a series of inductions where they show you

how to wear the equipment properly. So even ifpeopledon’ttakeitseriouslytheygetusedto wearing the equipment every time they’re on site because they have to.”

Data from the 2021 census lists technicians and trades workers as the third largest occupation sector in Victoria employing more than 399,000 Victorians.

As a working optometrist, Mr Angerame said he tends to see a higher number of

incidents occurring in regional areas.

Mr Angerame said professions such as tradesthatareregularlyexposedtorisks,need to keep in mind the importance of regular eye and ear tests. Recommending people to get their eyes and ears tested every two years, or every year if they are over the age of 65.

Other top tips include:

1/ Wear hearing protection when exposed to loud noise, such as earplugs, earmuffs or both.

2/ Wear safety goggles to protect from debris and small bits of metal, dust, dirt or grit from getting into the eye. These can cause the eyes to water, cause redness, pain, and a scratchy sensation on the eye. This type of irritationcancausevisiontobecomeblurryor sensitive to light and can even cause damage to the cornea.

3/ Wear full coverage sunglasses when working outside to protect from direct sunlight, as well as to protect from the reflective glare from machinery, buildings or the sidewalk.

4/ Reduce the number of different noises at any one time, such as simultaneous conversations, working power tools, as well as a loud radio which can place undue strain on the ears.

5/ Testthenoiseoftheworkingenvironment by using the ‘one metre rule’. If you need to raise your voice to talk to someone about one metre away, you can assume the sound level is likely to be hazardous to hearing.

National spokesperson for this year’s TNHM campaign, APA occupational health physiotherapist Lucia Tsui said the message of early intervention needs to be driven home, as it is key to stopping small issues from morphing into more serious conditions.

“Tradies put their bodies through a lot, and we want to encourage tradies to do what they can as early as possible in their career to promote longevity and keep their bodies healthy as they age,” she said.

“The pension age rose to 67 for tradies last month, which means tradies need to keep their body as healthy as possible – for longer than ever. A tradie’s body is their biggest asset, so taking care of it now will keep them healthier long into the future.”

Electrician Matthew Garbett takes his health seriously on the job site. (Supplied)

‘‘ A tradie’s body is their biggest asset, so taking care of it now will keep them healthier long into the future ’’ - Lucia Tsui

Optometrist Michael Angerame says when it comes to eye and ear protection, prevention is better than cure. (Supplied)

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

WANT YOUR EVENT LISTED?

Sunshine Repair Cafe

Do you enjoy fixing things or have skills in mending clothing and textiles? Kororoit Neighbourhood House is looking for volunteer repairers for the newly launched Repair Cafe in Brimbank. Events happen once a month and are an opportunity to meet others in the community and share your skills while helping fix broken household items.

■ sunshinerepaircafe@kcnh.org.au, or 0413 434 082

Senior citizens AGM

The Senior Citizens of Deer Park are holding their annual general meeting on August 14 at 1pm at the club rooms at 119 Station Road, Deer Park. The meeting is to elect the new committee and for general business.

■ 9693 7326

Information session

Brimbank council is hosting the first information session for the Sunshine Energy Park Vision Plan on August 7, from 11.30am-1.30pm, at the Brimbank Community and Civic Centre. Registration is required.

■ https://yoursay.brimbank.vic.gov.au/ sunshine-energy-park

Community consultation

Brimbank Neighbourhood houses are inviting the community to share their ideas for what they would like to see from their local Neighbourhood House and Community Centres. An in-person session will take place on August 8, from noon to 2pm, at 25 Kermeen Street, Sunshine West.

■ https://www.brimbank.vic.gov.au/events/ neighbourhood-houses-communityconsultations

Follow your organics tour

Brimbank council is inviting the community to find out what happens to garden waste and food scraps once it is collected by participating in an education tour of Veolia’s state of the art organics recovery facility. The tour will run on August 11 and depart from the Brimbank Community Civic Centre, 301 Hampshire Road, Sunshine, at 10am and will return by 1pm.

■ https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/ follow-your-organic-waste-tour-tickets637671381267?aff=oddtdtcreator

Be Bold Blakout art exhibition

Brimbank council has partnered with Aunty Jean Mason and Jinkigi Consultancy to engage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Artists and Youth that work and live in the Brimbank area. The exhibition is free and will be on until September 6 at the Brimbank Community and Civic Centre.

■ https://creativebrimbank.com.au/be-boldblakout-exhibition

Card games

Love playing the card game 500? Card games are played every Monday from 7-10pm at the Sunshine RSL offices, 99 Dickson Street, Sunshine.

■ Leisa, 0425768808

Palliative volunteers needed

Mercy Palliative Care is looking for volunteers to visit palliative care patients in their homes to offer social support.

■ 9313 5700 or MPCVolunteerCoordinators@mercy.com.au

Deer Park Lions Club

Deer Park Lions Club is looking for new members. It holds dinner meetings on the first Wednesday of every month at the Deer Park Senior Citizens Club, 119 Station Road, Deer Park.

■ Michael, 0417 307 572

Keilor Day View Club

The Keilor Day View Club meets at 11am on the first Thursday of each month at Green Gully Soccer Club, Green Gully Reserve, Club House Place,Keilor Downs. The club is inviting locals to come along and enjoy a meal and fun with a friendly group of ladies.

■ Robyn, 0425 387 880

St Albans senior citizens St Albans Senior Citizens group meet at the centre at the corner of Alfrieda and William streets, St Albans, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, from 9am-1.30pm. Annual membership: $10. Cost: $1 entry on attendance day.

■ Roma, 0435 991 064

Sunrise Social Groups

GenWest Sunrise Social Groups are currently seeking new members for their Melton, Brimbank and Wyndham programs. The free groups are organised by Genwest and provide a social space for women, gender diverse and nonbinary people, who have a disability, chronic health issues and/or mental health challenges.

■ https://genwest.org.au/what-we-do/ health-wellbeing-programs/

The Gap on Graham

The Gap provides a place for Melton youth to hang out, socialise, play games and learn new skills. The centre holds a night for girls aged 10 to 18 years at 5 Graham Street, Melton, on Wednesday evenings. There is also a drop-in night for anyone aged 12 to 25 years old.

■ Val, 0414 769 605

Melton Men’s Group

Melton Men’s Group meet every Thursday from 5pm to 8pm at Arnolds Creek Children’s and Community Centre, 19 Claret Ash Boulevard, Harkness. Focusing on Senior Men’s mental and physical wellbeing. Join the group for a cuppa and a chat, listen to guest speakers and participate in activities including carpet

bowls, pool or table tennis.

■ meltonmensgroup.home.blog

Sunshine Community Brass

Sunshine Community Brass is looking for trumpet and percussion players to join its vibrant band of musicians. With more than 90 years of history, the band rehearses at 45 Furlong Road, North Sunshine, on Tuesdays from 7.30pm.

■ Andrew, 0419 444 620

Parkinson’s support group

The Melton Parkinson’s Support Group meets on the second Thursday of the month 10.30am–12.30pm at Kurunjang Community Centre, 33-35 Mowbray Crescent, Kurunjang.

■ Helen, 0409 186 576

Melton Bridge Club

The Melton Bridge Club has recommenced weekly social Bridge sessions at the Melton Library on Fridays from 10am-noon. Come along to play an exciting, social card game and have loads of fun. Bridge offers the suspense of poker, the cerebral qualities of chess and the excitement of athletic sports, all in a relaxed and social setting. If you like playing cards this is for you.

■ Rosemary, 0407 894 817

Melton Friendship Group.

Join the Melton Friendship Group for singles 55 and older. Meet fortnightly for coffee and chat nights and organised affordable outings and events.

■ 0406 493 734

Melton Ladies Probus Club

The Melton Ladies Probus Club meets at 10am on the second Wednesday of each month, at the Melton Country Club.

■ Diane, 0438 611 552

Melton South Knit & Natter

All are welcome to join this social crafting group, running at the Melton South Community Centre each Monday from 10am-noon. Bring along any knitting or crochet projects and work on them while sharing tips, learning skills and catching up over a cuppa.

■ 9747 8576

Take weight off naturally

Struggling to lose weight? Struggling to get motivated? Want to try and do it in a friendly and less stressful atmosphere?

Come and join TOWN (Take Weight Off Naturally) every Tuesday at 6pm at the Darlingsford Barn, Darlingsford Boulevard, Melton.

■ Catherine, 0416 612 517, or Bob, 0411 824 739

Zonta club meets

Zonta is an international organisation bringing women together to support other women. The Zonta Club of Melton meets on the first Monday of each month at Melton Country Club, Reserve Road, Melton.

■ Suzanne, 0417 512 420

Melton Cycling Club

Melton Cycling Club meets for regular Sunday rides. There are three different riding groups to cater for different abilities starting at 7.30am. The rides finish at Lazy Moe’s for a cuppa.

■ 0403 057 003

Community singing group

If you love to sing, come join the Melton Singers. The group rehearses regularly and also performs at aged care facilities. The group is very relaxed and sings songs mainly from the 60’s and 70’s. It meets Tuesdays at 10am.

■ Val, 0418 667 150

Community Band

Greater Western Community Band, is based in Melton. Rehearsals are on Thursdays, 7.30pm to 9.30pm, at Blackwood Drive Hall, Melton South. The group welcomes musicians young and old to come along and join in with the band.

■ Sally Hamond, 0401 474 582

Melton Trauma Teddies

Melton Trauma Teddies are seeking volunteers to assist with knitting, stuffing, or stitching teddy-bears that go to children in their time of need.

■ Jean, 0412 931 498

Community Calendar is made available free of charge to not-for-profit organisations to keep the public informed of special events and activities. Send item details to Star Weekly Community Calendar, Corner Thomsons Road and Keilor Park Drive, Keilor Park, 3042, or email to westeditorial@starweekly.com.au by 9am Wednesday the week prior to publication

This week’s photographer’s choice picture is of writer, director and actress Alaine Beek and actor Ross Daniels from What Was That? 1000th Show at Werribee Mansion. (Damjan Janevski) 349109_01

PUZZLES

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

CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Detergent (4)

3 Very generous (10)

10 Examined (7)

11 Republic in northwest Africa (7)

12 Irascible (8)

13 Put to rest (5)

14 Domestic animals (4)

15 Annotations; game’s on-air description (10)

18 Keeping financial records (10)

20 Vicious (4)

21 Japanese dish (5)

23 Cherished (8)

26 Associate (7)

27 18th century Protestant theorist, Jonathan – (7)

28 Railway vehicle (10)

29 Biblical garden (4)

DOWN

1 Window frame (4)

2 Indifferent (9)

4 On the ground (9)

5 Actor, Oscar – (5)

6 Impress on the mind (7)

7 Actor, – Flynn (5)

8 Weepy; emotional (5-4)

9 Involving more than one country (abbr) 4)

14 Relating to European orchestral music (9)

16 Russian chemist who developed periodic table of the chemical elements (9)

17 Equipped (9)

19 Consistent (7)

22 Of sound waves (5)

23 Small in French (5)

24 US state (4)

25 Book ID (1,1,1,1)

WORDFIT

Using the nine letters in the grid, how many words of four letters or more can you list? The centre letter must be included and each letter may only be used once. No colloquial or foreign words. No capitalised nouns, apostrophes or plural words ending in “s”.

felt, floe, flog, floret, flour, flout, flue, flute, FORGETFUL, foul, fouler, fretful, furl, gelt, glue, glut, golf, golfer, gruel, gulf, left, loft, loge, lore, lour, lout, lure, lute, ogle, role, ruffle, rule, truffle

No. 144

QUICK QUIZ

1 In which decade did Australia implement the eight-hour work day nationally for all industries?

2 Which famous poem contains the lines "The time has come," the Walrus said/"To talk of many things:/Of shoes and ships and sealing wax/ Of cabbages and kings"'?

3 What field of study is concerned with moral issues of biological research and medical practice?

4 In March of which year did the Ansett Australia Group cease operating?

5 The Komodo dragon (pictured) inhabits five islands, including the island of Komodo, in which country?

6 What three colours are on the Jamaican flag?

7 Which sought-after medal depicts three men with their hands on each other’s shoulders?

8 What is the collective term for the odourless, colourless, single-atom gases such as helium?

9 In rowing, which member steers and coordinates the rhythm of the rowers?

10 What is the largest city square in the world?

No. 144

No. 144

No. 144

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Building drivers’ electric dreams

By Alistair Kennedy

Although the name BYD will be well-known to electricvehiclebuyers,it’sstilllargelyunknown in the Australian motoring mainstream – but that’s about to change.

SomewhatquirkilyBYDstandsforBuildYour Dreams and the Chinese company is actually the world’s second-largest manufacturer of fully-electrified vehicles, second only to Tesla.

When plug-in hybrids (PHEV) are added, it’s the largest, with over 1.6 million built in 2022.

Although there were a couple of BYD models sold in Australia from 2017 onwards these were private imports.

It wasn’t until the arrival of the Atto 3 in June, 2022 that the brand made any impact, and an impressive one at that, with sales of nearly 7000 in its first year.

A fully-electric compact SUV, the Atto 3 comes in two variants. There’s Standard Range and Extended Range, priced at $48,011 and $51,011 respectively (plus ORCs).

That’s around the same price as its closest competitor and compatriot, the MG ZS EV whichalsocomeswithstandardandlong-range variants.

Styling

With a length of 4455mm, Atto 3 is around the same size as Mazda CX-3, Nissan Qashqai and Toyota CH-R – but 135mm longer than the MG.

Although the overall design of the Atto 3 is neat and attractive, it’s relatively conservative especially when compared to the Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6.

As with most electric cars there’s no real or pretend grille.

A horizontal bar with the BYD insignia on it merges into narrow sweeping LED headlights with a thin band of LED daytime running lights between them.

The profile is similar to many similarly-sized SUVs although we did love the design of the 18-inch alloy wheels.

We find the ‘Build Your Dreams’ lettering spaced across the rear a bit too quirky.

We understand that some owners have been able to successfully remove the letters without causingdamage–butdon’ttakeourwordforit.

The rear also features a full width LED brake light and powered tailgate.

Four colours are offered. White is standard while the other three (grey, blue and red) are $700 extra.

Interior

When you step inside the BYD Atto 3 Monty Python’scatchphrase“AndNowForSomething Completely Different” springs to mind.

It is very different with a number of groundbreaking interior features.

We reckon buyers who are willing to think outside the square and buy a BYD will love the adventurous approach of this newcomer to the Australian market.

With predominantly sculpted soft-touch materials, overall build quality and fit and finish of the Atto 3 is excellent.

Some of the features are gimmicky, others are functional. Some are both, such as the three guitar-type strings that act as sides of the door storage pockets, but which are just asking to be twanged.

We shudder to think how annoying that couldbeonalongtripwithchildrenintherear.

After initially searching for the interior door handles, we found they were flip-up levers on top of the small round speakers in each door. In this case however form and function combined nicely and we quickly adapted to them.

Large circular air vents dominate the front of the centre console but are easy to adjust and provide excellent air flow.

In front of the driver is a 5.0-inch screen that effectively combines a head-up display with a digital instrument panel cluster.

The front seats are large, supportive and comfortable although the headrests are moulded into the seatbacks, so they can’t be adjusted.

They also partially block forward vision of rear-seat occupants.

Otherwise, rear passengers are well catered for with a similarly comfortable bench seat, although they do have adjustable headrests.

There’s plenty of leg, ankle and headroom with the flat floor making the centre seat more bearable than vehicles with a transmission tunnel.

The air vents are the same design as those in the front.

The panoramic sunroof extends across the full roof with a powered blind, although only the front section can be opened.

Available boot space ranges from 440 to 1340 litres with a powered bootlid and two adjustable floor levels.

There is no spare wheel, just a tyre repair kit below the boot floor.

Safety

Atto 3 scores a full five stars for safety, with an extensive list of safety equipment, starting with seven airbags, six radars, adaptive cruise control with stop/start, automatic emergency braking,frontandrearcollisionwarning,blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning, lane keeping assist, rear cross-traffic alert and braking.

There are front and rear parking sensors, rear-view 360-degree cameras, Isofix child seat anchor points and hill descent control.

Infotainment

The standout feature is the 12.0-inch high-definition tablet-style touchscreen which, at the touch can rotate between landscape and portrait format.

So, for features like map and camera displays it works best in landscape, while for most other features, portrait is not only more suitable but also brings the screen within closer reach of the driver.

The original Atto 3 did not come with either Apple CarPlay or Android Auto but these have been added with the MY2023 update and will also be installed as part of the latest upgrade for earlier models.

Apple CarPlay is wired, Android Auto is wireless.

There is a wireless smartphone charging pad at the base of the front console.

Sound comes through an eight-speaker Dirac digital audio system.

There are USB-C and USB-A ports underneath the centre console and also in the rear.

Thecamerasprovidealargevarietyoffeatures including a dashcam which automatically records and saves action in front of the car.

The videos are stored on a memory card which can be extracted and the videos transferred to an external source. Very handy if there are any incidents or even to monitor the driving habits of different drivers. Young or inexperienced drivers – you have been warned!

Driving

At this point in time, BYD doesn’t have the same media fleet as almost all other brands, so we weren’t able to conduct our normal week-long test.

Fortunately, however, one of our neighbours recently bought an Atto 3 and she was able to give us a guided tour of the car and let us take it around our usual drive route.

Apart from the normal key fob the Atto 3 comes with a plastic card which opens and closes the car by tapping it on the driver’s side door handle.

Entry is quite easy even for larger occupants and the seats are large, supportive and comfortable.

There’s an aircraft-style gear selector which is fun to use.

Like all other electrified vehicles, the instant torque provides exhilarating speed off the mark. The dash to 100km/h takes 7.3 seconds which is brisk but not nearly as quick as many EVs.

Drive is to the front wheels through a single speedtransmission,withasingleelectricmotor for the front axle that puts out 150kW of power and 310Nm of torque.

The standard model gets a 49.92kWh battery and the long range, 60.48kWh.

Regardless, energy consumption is 16.0kWh/100km with a driving range that is listed for the two variants at 410km and 480km under the old NEDC system or 345km and 420km using the more realistic WLTP measure.

Our test car was the Atto 3 Extended Range variant.

AT A GLANCE MODEL RANGE

Atto 3 Standard Range: $48,011

Atto 3 Extended Range: $51,011

SPECIFICATIONS

BYD Atto 3 fully-electric five-door SUV

Note: These prices do not include government or dealer delivery charges. Contact your local BYD dealer for drive-away prices.

Itslargerbatterybringskerbweightto1750kg -- 70kg heavier than the Standard Range.

Inevitably extra weight affects performance and we found the Extended Range Atto 3 a little more sluggish than competitors with lighter batteries.

So, something of a trade-off there.

The car’s regenerative braking has only two modes, standard and high, operated by a small toggle lever on the centre console rather than the more convenient steering wheel paddles of most EVs.

Nor is there a single-pedal option so the brake pedal needs to be employed to bring the car to a stop.

Atto 3 is built on 400-volt electrical architecture and supports maximum AC charging (Type 2) of 7 kW (standard) or 11 kW (option) as well as DC fast charging (CCS2) at a maximum rate of either 70kW (Standard Range) or 80kW (Extended Range).

It does have V2L (Vehicle-To-Load) charging which allows external items to be powered from the vehicle.

Summing up

More and more people are asking us about fully-electric cars. Our standard response is to hold off until prices reduce and the driving ranges increase.

That time is moving closer, triggered mainly by the arrival of Chinese EVs such as the MG ZS EV, GMW Ora and – most impressive of all – the BYD Atto 3.

Although it lacks the head-turning looks and performance of rivals such as the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV 6, the Atto 3 is significantly cheaper and, at the end of the day, most EV owners are looking for sensible, affordable transport rather than sportiness.

There’s no doubt the Atto 3’s interior, with its combination of quirkiness and gee-whiz technology, will attract most sales.

So, if you are going to take one for a test drive, and we’d certainly recommend doing so, thensetasideplentyoftimetoexperimentwith the many features.

It’s an ideal size for a small family and for urban commuting, with very competitive pricing.

And, with zero emissions, the planet will thank you.

Strikers need wins to remain in state league 3

WestsideStrikersneedtofindsomewinsinthe last month of the FV state league 3 north-west season to ensure their future in that division.

The Strikers sit in second last of the close competition after 18 rounds, which puts them in them in the relegation conversation.

Having only been promoted into state league 3 this season, Strikers coach Simon Vasconcelo is keen to make sure they stay up.

“We have a very important three games at the end of the season,” he said. “Hopefully we can get some more points.

“We’ve played the top five in the last four weeks and this week coming. It’s been a hard run and at the same time we’ve had players overseas and injured.

“We keep plugging in the holes.”

The bottom two teams from state league 3 north-west will be relegated, while the third bottom team will play off against a state league 4 team to save their spot.

Vasconcelo said they were keen to move outside of the bottom three so they don’t have to face a relegation game.

He said for much of the season it had been a close competition, but the top teams were now starting to break away.

“We want to keep the team up for the councilarea[Melton],”hesaid.“Wewanttoget Westside Strikers a bit higher to make it easier to retain players and talent in the council area.”

Currently the Strikers are equal on points with third last Fawkner and are three points behind Point Cook and four points behind the Sebastopol Vikings.

“We have Moreland [United] coming up and every team seems to be taking the points against them,” Vasconcelo said.

“That would put us one point behind Point Cook. Hopefully we can jump them and Sebastopol and finish in fourth last and we don’t have to worry about the play off.”

Last Saturday, the Strikers suffered a loss to Williamstown, 1-0, the Strikers third loss in a row.

Vasconcelo said despite the tough run, the group had taken plenty of confidence into the match.

“The boys played really well and their spirits were up,” he said.

“Williamstown converted in the first half and we then established ourselves. We had chances to get into the game.

“It could have gone either way in the second half. We should have scored right at the end, but it wasn’t to be.”

The Strikers this week face fourth placed Uni Hill Eagles, which was after deadline.

In other state league 3 matches on the weekend, Western Eagles face Heidelberg United on Monday night after deadline.

Danzaki joins United

Riku Danzaki is returning to the A-League Men’s competition, signing with Western United for the next two seasons.

The 23-year-old Japanese playmaker joins the green and black on a two-year dealfromScottishPremierLeagueoutfit Motherwell FC, where he made four appearances after signing in January havingspentthefirsthalfofthe2022-23 season on loan at Brisbane Roar.

It was with Roar that Danzaki emerged as one of the A-League’s leading creative midfielders, dazzling with nine goals and one assist as Brisbane reached the finals in 2020-21.

Danzaki has also spent time in the top two divisions in his native Japan, breaking through in the J1 League with HC Sapporo while also lining up in J2 with JEF United Chiba.

Playing on either wing or through the middle, Danzaki is an expert at arriving in threatening positions to either score a goal or create one for his teammates.

Ahead of his return to Australia, Danzaki spoke of his excitement and readiness to contribute for Western United.

“I am so happy to sign for Western United,” he said. ”I will do my best on the pitch for the club.

Lakers tough challenge

By Tara Murray

Caroline Springs’ finals hopes remain in its own hands in the Western Region Football League division 1.

Having had what coach Brian Lake describes as a ‘“rollercoaster’ season, the Lakers sit in fourth spot with four rounds remaining.

Spotswood is hot on their tails, only percentage outside the top four.

Lake said they know that there is still a lot of work to be done in the last month of the season.

“It has been a real rollercoaster season,” he said. “We’ve had some guys get opportunities at the [Northern] Bullants and we’ve had guys away like a lot of other clubs.

“Along with some injuries, it’s been such a rollercoaster season, but we are still in the finals hunt.”

Lake said offensively they had still been able to put the score on the board, but it was the defensive end where they were struggling.

He said not having continuity in the back half was one of those reasons.

“Defensively we’ve copped a number of changes and we haven’t had the continuity and synergy in the lines,” he said.

“We’ve been bringing in a lot of younger guys that are in different parts of their careers. Our ability to defence is not up to scratch.

“We have to tighten that up with the period to come and have a collective mindset.”

There was a division 1 wide bye on the weekend.

Lake said it was a chance to give some of the older guys a chance to freshen up. They would also get a couple of players back this week which would be a bonus.

“We will have a little bit of time out and reassess where we are before we refocus on the last month,” he said before the weekend.

“We can’t look towards finals. We have a long month of getting things right and getting the continuity as a team as well.

“We’ll get a couple of guys back who have been away and we’ve got a couple back the last

few weeks.

“We need to get some games into them.”

The Lakers run home is Yarraville Seddon Eagles, Point Cook Centrals, Hoppers Crossing and Altona.

Lake said they can’t take any of those teams easy starting with the Eagles on Saturday.

“The evenness in the competition has been really good,” he said. “We need to try and win all our games in the run home.

“Yarraville has been fantastic and their VFL [Victorian Football League] players have been crucial to the success.

“They’ve had some guys who have been there for a few years now and have really stood up and it helps the senior players to have that support.

“They are a contested team with a fantastic run and have some good mids as well. It will be a tough one.”

In other matches, Altona will host Point Cook as both teams push for second, Hoppers Crossing plays Spotswood and Point Cook Centrals will play Werribee Districts.

“Western United is a great team, lots of passion and good football. I like it, and I am so happy to be here. I will do my best to win something for the club.”

United coach John Aloisi hailed Danzaki’s creativity and eye for goal, elements that he believes will add even further to a dangerous-looking attacking contingent.

“WehavehadaneyeonRikuforsome time now after his performances with Brisbane Roar and we are extremely pleased to add his quality into our side,” he said.

“Riku can play anywhere in the final third and can hurt an opposition in a numberofways,whetherthatbescoring himself,settingupateammateortaking on a defender with his skill.

“He is coming into our squad that is rich with dynamic, exciting, young attacking talent and I can’t wait to see everyone working together in training and on the pitch this season.”

Danzaki will join his new teammates in pre-season training as the group continues to prepare for next month’s Australia Cup round of 32 clash against Edgeworth Eagles.

Tara Murray Westside Strikers’ Jordan Maksimov. (Jacob Pattison) 326659_06

Caroline Springs is fighting for finals. (Jacob Pattison) 337307_18

The Dragons are on the right track

Sunshine Heights will enter the back part of the Western Region Football League division 3 season confident it’s on the right.

The Dragons, who had the bye at the weekend, sit in third spot on the ladder, and have the chance to lock up their finals spot this week against West Footscray.

Dragons coach Colby Blyth said they were pretty happy with how things were tracking. The Dragons were knocked out in the semi finals last season, but have had a much stronger season this year.

“It’s important for us to lock in finals spot against West Footscray,” he said. “It’ll be good to give us a bit of breathing room.

“It’samassivepositiveforus.Wearehealthy and on the right path.”

Blyth said the side’s last match in when they lost to top side the Suns, again showed they

can match it with anyone on their day.

The Dragons are the only team to beat the Suns this season. Blyth said they knew the Suns would come out hard after their first clash.

“I was impressed on the weekend [against the Suns], he said. “I thought we controlled a fair bit of the play, but we didn’t make the most of the opportunities.

“It’s maybe one that we let slip. I was really impressed how we bounced back and played some really good footy.

“We fought to get back into the contest especially in the second quarter when we were four to five goals down and we then took the lead in the third quarter.”

Blyth said there was no good or bad time to have a bye, but said they would work around it.

He said they would look at the other results at the weekend and where they could look to get better.

TheDragonsarebackinactionthisSaturday against second placed Albanvale. The Cobras are the only team the Dragons haven’t beaten this season.

A win would keep the Dragons small top two hopes alive.

Blyth said they would continue to take it one week at a time.

“WewillassessweekbyweekandAlbanvale is another important one,” he said. “We got beaten at home by them pretty convincingly.

“We’ll work on things as we approach finals and get on the same page and get a bit more serious.”

Falcons get two through

By Tara Murray

The City West Falcons will again have two sides in the Victorian Netball League grand finals, but it was heartbreak for their third side.

The Falcons championship and under-19 teams won through the decider on Wednesday night, keeping alive their dreams of going back-to-back.

The Falcons division 1 side, which needed to win to make the preliminary finals, lost by one goal.

Falcons coach Marg Lind said it was exciting to get two teams in the grand final, but was it disappointing for the division 1 side to fall short.

The championship side had to pull on all their strength to beat the Geelong Cougars, 59-52.

Lind said the match was a challenging one.

“It was very physical,” she said. “I thought we had to stand up many times throughout the game and we responded really well.

“They have a little bit of a different attacking end. They can go a rolling circle and add some height with Daisy O’Kane.

“Ithinktheythrewoutjustabouteveryline up they had and it was about that adjustment and not panicking and staying calm.”

While the Cougars threw their combinations around, the Falcons were limited to just eight players.

Missing two players at the World Cup, the Falcons looked to qualify Kim Borger and Molly Kennedy in the final rounds.

While they did that, Borger wasn’t able to play due to injury, while Kennedy was sick and missed the game.

The only changes the Falcons made were in defence, which Lind said was what they needed with the Cougars changing circle.

Jane Cook shot 48 goals for the Falcons, while it was Maddie Gray that really impressed Lind.

It’s one of the rare times that Gray has played the whole 60 minutes this season.

“She was smashed all game and in the last quarter under pressure with the Geelong bench volume she really stood up and took it.

“Maddie has done the hard work and we are one of the hardest working teams. We were confident that we could run out the game well.”

Lind admits that with missing two key players at the World Cup, that they didn’t want to have to make the grand final the hard way.

The under-19s were made to work hard for their win, winning against Melbourne University, 55-53 in overtime.

Lind said it was a nerve wracking game for the coaches on the side lines.

“They gave us a bit of a heart attack,” she said. “We were 10 up and then MU came back and we went away again.

“The last few minutes they were standing

Sports shorts

VTCA

Sunshine YCW has announced its first signing for the Victorian Turf Cricket Association division 5 season. All-rounder Dilshan Kanchana, a former Sri Lankan under-19 player, joins Sunshine YCW after playing in the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association the past few seasons with Melton. At the Lions, he had the best figures of 8-33.

CVWCC

Sydenham-Hillside has announced the appointment of Michael Galofaro as its coach for its women’s program. The Storm last season had two sides, with the top side playing in the Cricket Victoria Women’s Community Cricket Competition. Galofaro has made his way through the junior ranks and consolidated his position in the men’s 2nd XI last season. The club said he’s excited by the challenge of continuing the growth and improvement of the women’s program.

EDFL

Three of the five senior Essendon District Football League grand final days will be held at Windy Hill. The women’s grand final day on August 20, the division 1 grand final day on September 16 and the premier division grand final day on September 23 will all be held at Windy Hill. The division 2 grand final day will be held at Coburg City Oval on September 9. The thirds grand final will be played at Sewell Reserve on August 25. The rest of the finals venues will be announced at a later day.

WRFL

All three Western Region Football League senior grand finals will be held at Avalon Airport Oval. The division 2 grand final and the women’s grand finals will be played on September 10, while the division 3 and division 1 grand finals will be played the following weekend on the Saturday and Sunday respectively. Other finals will be played at Yarraville Oval, Hansen Reserve, Saltwater Reserve and Laverton Park.

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still and it went to a draw. We started overtime well and that was it.”

Lind

Brimbank & North West Star Weekly

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Tara Murray James Vella. (Ljubica Vrankovic) 338828_08

said it was pleasing seeing the young players really step up when they needed to.

She highlighted the performance of Lani Fauonuku in over time, while Charlotte Sexton in her first VNL overcame early nerves to have a strong performance.

Maddie Gray stood up late for the Falcons. (Robbab Photography)

George Cross secures back-to-back promotions

Caroline Springs George Cross has secured back-to-back promotions and will play in National Premier League 2 next season.

The Georgies dominated in FV state league 1 north-west last season, before moving into NPL3 this year.

Theyweren’tsurewhattoexpectandstarted theseasonreallyslowly.Butsomethingclicked for the Georgies, with the side winning 12 games in a row.

The 12th of those on Saturday against Doveton was enough to seal a top two spot and promotion with three rounds remaining.

Georgies coach Eric Vassiliadis said it was pretty special to have locked up another promotion.

“It’s a huge sense of relief and I’m proud of everyone at the club,” he said. “We had

COVID, cancelled seasons and four red cards in games. Everything felt like it was going against us. We showed the right mentality and that resistance.

“There was a superb effort of resilience, determination and perseverance.”

The Georgies had to come from behind against Doveton after going 1-0 down in the fourth minute. Both sides went a player down in the 31st minute, with the Georgies able to level the scores just before half time.

The second half wasn’t without drama, but the Georgies were able to control the game to come away with a 5-1 win.

Vassiliadis said it definitely wasn’t the start they were after.

“We were determined to get off to a good start, but I thought we were a little bit flat,” he

said.

“We came in at half time and had a quick reset and changed a couple of things and changed our mindset.

“They got a couple of red cards and we got one too but finished off strongly. We have a lot of depth in the squad.”

Vassiliadissaidtheydon’tthinkmuchabout winning 12 games in a row during the season, but knows it’s an achievement that doesn’t happen often in the NPL competitions.

While promotion has been locked in, the Georgies are hoping to add a second straight title as well. The Georgies sit atop the ladder one point clear of Melbourne Victory, having played one less game.

Vassiliadis said they needed to continue to focus like they have to have some more

Blues aiming for more

By Tara Murray

Keilor is seeking more consistency in the back part of the Essendon District Football League premier division.

TheundefeatedBlueshavebeenthestandout teams both offensively and defensively, the players have had their challenges with personnel.

McGuane said changes to personnel each week had made it challenging at times.

“It’s been pretty good, but we probably haven’t had what we think our best personnel available,” he said.

“We get one back and then lose one or two. That’s the challenge of managing a playing group. We’ve played 34 players which is a huge number.

“We’re providing players for the development leagues of VFL [Victorian Football League], NAB League [Coates Talent League] and with a couple of injuries, it tests out the strength of the group.”

McGuane said one of the pleasing aspects was the continued squad mentality of the group, with players keen to take their opportunities when they present themselves.

“It’s the challenge in the community football landscape,” he said. “You pick a team and sometimes you have late withdrawal and it upsets things.

“Guysunderstandtheyhavetheopportunity to come into the senior team, there’s the opportunity for them to take it and perform at this level.

“Some do take it and some do not. We had a 16-year-old play against Strathmore. We weren’t afraid to put him in that situation as we’re on the journey to win games of football.”

McGuane said they were hoping the last few weeks they would have more consistency in the players they had available.

He said they would get the Coates Talent League players back for a couple of matches in a few weeks time, but would lose VFL guys at the same time.

“We want a healthy group from a numbers perspective,” he said. “No one wants to surround their spots.

“There is internal pressure which is a good thing. It only takes one or two bad games and we have to make decisions on a person. We want the players to make it hard to take them out of the team.”

The Blues were set to face bottom side MaribyrnongParkonSaturday,afterdeadline.

The Blues are coming back from week off due to the split round. McGuane said the week off was just one of those things they couldn’t control and they just stuck to business as usual.

McGuane wasn’t going to take the Lions easily.

“They are more than competitive,” he said.

“Sometimes those breaks are good for one team and not good for another.

“It’s always intriguing. Sometimes it can take 15-20 minutes to get themselves going,

we hope that’s not us.”

The Blues this week face East Keilor, with another tough clash with Greenvale set down for the following week.

success this season and hopefully have some more long term success.

“We were really excited and we want to see where the next three weeks take us, we’re not finished,” he said.

“We’ll continue speaking as a coaching group to try and find solutions. We’ve had a special set of events and we’ve achieved our first goal in promotion.

“We now want to win the next three games and win the championship.”

The Georgies this week face Nunawading with Vassiliadis saying it would be a tough challenge.

“I’m so proud of this club, but I’m not built to go sideways. As a club we’ll see what the future holds and I want to go harder again next year.”

Western United isn’t resting on the back of an A-League Women’s grand final appearance, signing one of the competition’s biggest name players.

United last week announced the signing of American attacker Catherine Zimmerman, who crosses from Melbourne Victory.

The29-year-oldhasforgedareputation as one of the competition’s deadliest and most explosive attacking players.

Across three seasons at Victory, Zimmerman has racked up 14 goals in 37 appearances and won consecutive championships in 2021 and 2022, scoring in the latter year’s grand final.

Eager to make the switch across Victoria, Zimmerman is raring to get started and help to take Western United to another level in the A-League.

“I’m super excited to be joining Western United this season,” she said. “I’ve had the privilege of playing with a lot of these girls when I first came to Australia so I’m really looking forward to sharing the field with them again.

“The team made a huge statement last year, and if I know anything about these girls it’s that they’re all about consistency.

“I believe I have that same mentality and with my few years of experience in the league and my relationship with the girls, I’m inspired to add something special to the group so we can have another successful season.”

United coach Mark Torcaso, who worked with Zimmerman throughout a trophy-laden period at Calder United, said Zimmerman’s qualities would perfect the green and black’s attacking stocks.

“Zim has been a star in this league for the last couple of years and she will add so much quality into the final third for us,” he said.

“Her finishing is up there with the very best, she has great pace and skill on the ball and she is a brilliant person who already has a strong connection with a number of our players and staff, so she will fit seamlessly into our group.

“I’ve known Zim for a long time and it will be special to reunite with her now in the A-League. I can’t wait to work with her again and I can’t wait for our fans to see what she can do.”

Zimmerman will join a stacked Western United front line which includes compatriot Hannah Keane and Kahli Johnson.

Zimmerman joins Western

Damien Cavka has been a welcome addition for Keilor. (Ljubica Vrankovic) 344657_30