Established in 1981 as the
proudly serving Sunbury and Macedon Ranges
9 JANUARY, 2024
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SIG N U P N O W!
YEAR IN REVIEW... STORIES OF THE YEAR
The Kyneton Cup returned this year in highlight for the Macedon Ranges. (Damjan Janevski) 369554_01
A year of pains and gains As another year ticks over for Sunbury and Macedon Ranges residents, Star Weekly looks back on a year of community gains as well frustration and growing pains. Highlights in the region include the return of the Kyneton Cup after its four-year hiatus, Sunbury’s Kaur and Singh family visa extension until the end of January, and a local schools Melbourne International Film Festival feature. But with COVID-19 well and truly in the rear view mirror, residents grappled with the cost of living crisis, infrastructure blowouts, growth pains, council tension and level crossing removal shock decisions. Hume council hit the front page and the
courtroom with its backflip on booking the 2022 NAIDOC Pride Winner for its IDAHOBIT event, and its supreme court appeal withdrawal against VCAT’s decision to clear councillor Trevor Dance of serious misconduct. Macedon Ranges council dealt with its own push back from residents following the release of the draft Romsey and Gisborne structure plans, with councillors sharing concerns about flaws in the plans. The state government made its own impact on the region, with the implementation of a 7.5 per cent tax on short-stay accommodation platforms’ revenue, and its refusal to confirm whether its own $50 million investment for
Calder Freeway upgrades will go ahead. Despite these events, residents rallied to support each other with a $1,055,000 charity auction from Rosenthal development to be distributed between 60 local not-for-profit organisations. Flash Dance Performing Arts in Sunbury joined a dozen dance schools from across the north-west for a charity gala to raise money for Exford Primary School following its school bus crash in May. Macedon Ranges residents dived head first into supporting health promotion charity, Youth Live4Life, with swimmers clocking a total of 29,522 laps to raise $38,050. But for Sunbury residents, it was a dry 2023,
with the public indoor pool’s unexpected closure since May and $1,147,594 repair and improvement bill. For residents in Diggers Rest, fears of compulsory land acquisition for level crossing removal were confirmed with designs for the two road bridges. Local resident Bob Rau organised a town meeting on the matter and said he was “stunned” by the compulsory acquisition announcement. Looking ahead this year, residents can expect further growth in Sunbury and the Macedon Ranges following a suite of housing reforms announced last 2023 in the government’s housing statement.
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