The Traralgon parkrun community marked parkrun's 22nd birthday on Saturday, October 3, with participants wearing tutus. Since starting in 2015, the Traralgon event has had more than 6000 participants and over 600 volunteers. Local runner Errol Poole has completed 591 parkruns over more than 14 years. In NSW, Kylie Murray was the first woman to finish the 57 kilometre Port Stephens Trail Run. The Harriers' summer season began on Thursday, October 8, with trail and hill runs.
Leongatha residents can now book an Uber after the rideshare company switched on its service in the town and 14 other regional Victorian centres. The Leongatha zone also covers Korumburra, Mirboo North and Inverloch. Uber said driver availability would build over the coming weeks, and riders should allow extra travel time during peak periods. Eligible Victorian Seniors Card and Seniors Savers Card holders can get discounts on their rides. Uber is still recruiting drivers in all 15 new centres.
A storm cell struck Leongatha around 7pm last Saturday, bringing wind, rain and heavy hail. Leongatha SES received calls about fallen trees, collapsed ceilings and flooding. Three SES teams attended nine fallen trees or branches and five building damage incidents. One rescue was carried out. SES controller Teresa Jans said some drivers showed little courtesy to police and emergency crews at the scene, which she described as a concern. Local SES also cleared trees in Inverloch.
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The Meeniyan Marty Gras drew crowds to South Gippsland for its drag and rainbow-themed events under the theme Rainbow Country. The main night at the Meeniyan Town Hall was briefly disrupted by a hailstorm and a power cut, but a live band kept the party going. The festival raises funds for Opportunities of Development thru Art in Cambodia and the Gippsland Pride Initiative. Organisers say the event has grown since it began in 2018 and that close to 180 guests attended this year's main event.
Transport Victoria has confirmed the final design for intersection upgrades along Sunshine Avenue in Taylors Lakes. Construction is expected to begin in 2027. Two roundabouts at Melton Highway and Old Calder Highway will be replaced with signalised intersections, with additional lanes and new signalised pedestrian crossings. New walking and cycling paths and street lighting will also be built. A bus stop on the northern side of Melton Highway will move to the eastern side of Sunshine Avenue.
New nursing labs have opened at The Gordon's Geelong City Campus, giving 416 Diploma of Nursing students hands-on clinical training in simulated hospital wards. The Gordon chief executive Joe Ormeno said the facilities include assistive technology for deaf and hard-of-hearing students, wheelchair access, adjustable furniture and low-stimulation spaces. Deputy premier Gabrielle Williams said the labs are the first stage of The Gordon's TAFE Centre of Excellence in Disability Inclusion. Work on the remaining stages is underway, with the centre due for completion next year.
Victoria will add 11 AI-powered cameras to its bushfire detection network across the state's east and west. The $3.8 million project is jointly funded by the Victorian Government, Hancock Victorian Plantations and the Green Triangle Fire Alliance. The cameras use artificial intelligence to scan for smoke and fire around the clock, and the expanded network is expected to monitor more than 1.4 million hectares. The new cameras are scheduled to be in place by November 2027. Minister for Emergency Services Paul Edbrooke said early information would help emergency services respond more quickly.
Ken Bodinnar, a 73-year-old former State Emergency Service worker from Paynesville, is fighting to have his workers' compensation claim recognised. His doctors believe his small-cell lung cancer resulted from years of service, including the Black Saturday fires. The insurer rejected the claim, and a medical report later found his exposure to firefighting smoke and diesel fumes was a significant contributing factor. The dispute will go to trial in November. Mr Bodinnar is in intensive care in Geelong and hopes the claim will support his family.
A 62-year-old man from Caroline Springs has been charged after an alleged incident in a change room at the Brimbank Aquatic and Wellness Centre on Sunday 25 October. Police allege he used a recording device to film several people in a change room cubicle around 11.10am. He faces charges of producing child abuse material and producing intimate images. Brimbank council says it has terminated his membership and banned him from all council leisure centres. He is bailed to appear before Sunshine Magistrates' Court on 23 March 2027.
Wyndham local David Hatfield says he was 12 when his mother was diagnosed with bowel cancer, and she died within nine months of a later liver cancer diagnosis. In 2025, Mr Hatfield, 48, was diagnosed with kidney cancer after an emergency visit to Stawell Hospital during a holiday in the Grampians. He says being diagnosed himself gave him a deeper understanding of his mother's experience. Ahead of Canteen's Bandanna Day on 29 October, he is asking people to listen to the stories of those affected and support the organisation's work.
Authorities have shut 100 shops under newly granted powers aimed at stamping out the trade in illegal tobacco. Since those powers took effect on 9 September, the VIPER Taskforce and Tobacco Licensing Victoria officers have confiscated over four million unlawful cigarettes, roughly 70,000 vaping devices, three tonnes of leaf tobacco and close to $1 million in cash. The drive is directed at criminal networks that profit from the illicit product, including groups run from overseas. Retailers across a string of Melbourne suburbs have been inspected, and the operation is still underway.
A new $770,000 dog park at VR Michael Reserve in Lalor is now open for dogs and their owners. The park has separate active and quiet zones designed for dogs of different sizes, ages and temperaments. Facilities include accessible pathways, shelters, seating, drinking fountains, solar lighting, shade trees and landscaping. The project followed community feedback and key improvements identified in the VR Michael Reserve Master Plan. Whittlesea council contributed $470,000, with the Victorian government providing $300,000.
Victoria will add 11 AI-powered cameras to its bushfire detection network, covering more than 1.4 million hectares before the 2027-28 fire season. The $3.8 million project is jointly funded by the Victorian Government, Hancock Victorian Plantations and Green Triangle Fire Alliance. The cameras will scan landscapes around the clock for smoke and fire, flagging possible incidents for investigation. Installations are scheduled across western and eastern Victoria by November 2027. Officials say the network will give firefighters more time to respond. Most of the monitored area is non-plantation land.
Mornington Peninsula Shire mayor Stephen Batty and local psychologist Danielle Jacobs have started a petition calling for urgent safety upgrades at three busy Mt Eliza intersections. The intersections are Volitans Avenue, Mount Eliza Way and Baden Powell Drive. The petition, addressed to the Victorian Parliament, seeks independent safety audits, a review of speed limits, signage, line marking, lighting, vegetation and sightlines, and a clear timetable for any recommendations. Batty said the intersections needed fixing and could not wait. Jacobs said the petition was about neighbours and asked residents to sign and share it.
A Geelong-region state MP has claimed more than $60,000 in taxpayer-funded allowances for a second Melbourne home since early 2024, despite appearing to miss 70 per cent of parliamentary sitting days. South Barwon MP Darren Cheeseman was expelled from the Labor Party in April 2024 after allegations of persistent, inappropriate behaviour towards staff, and has sat as an independent since. The allowance helps regional MPs living more than 80 kilometres from Melbourne. Mr Cheeseman declined to respond to questions from the ABC. Victoria has no public record of MP attendance, and the Greens and former premiers support introducing one.
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A 59-year-old man has been charged with reckless cause injury, criminal damage and unlawful assault after an alleged attack on the husband of Liberal candidate Amanda Dow. The incident happened on Sunday in Mernda, where police say the victim had gone to retrieve campaign signs. He suffered facial injuries and was discharged from hospital. The accused is due to face Heidelberg Magistrates' Court on February 1. Meanwhile, the latest Newspoll shows Labor trailing the Liberal-National coalition by 10 points ahead of the November 28 state election.
A medical centre in Melbourne's north-west was extensively damaged by fire in a suspected arson attack early today. Police say offenders smashed a front window of the Shuter Street clinic in Moonee Ponds before using an accelerant and setting it alight just after 2am. About an hour earlier, two cars were set alight outside a Brighton home on Manor Street in what police describe as a suspected targeted attack. Police will investigate whether the two incidents are linked. An arson chemist will attend both scenes today, and anyone with information or dashcam footage is asked to contact CrimeStoppers.
Old glasses cannot go in household recycling bins because they are made from mixed plastics and metals. Many optometrists, including Specsavers, take part in the Opticycle program, which accepts prescription and non-prescription glasses. Some stores also take contact lens blister packs. The glasses are separated into lenses and frames, and the materials are recovered. They are then used to make products such as pavers, bricks, blocks and eco-aggregates, while metals are recycled into new uses. Recycle Mate can help people find a nearby drop-off point.
Apartment residents and renters across Victoria will be eligible for rooftop solar rebates under an expanded state government program. Eligible applicants can receive up to $2,800 per apartment, capped at $140,000 per building. The changes raise the maximum building size from 50 to 150 lots and let owners corporations allocate up to 20 per cent of generated solar energy to common property. Applications are open until June 2027. Savings for individual households will depend on installation costs, electricity use and how power is shared among residents.
Musician G Flip and actress Chrishell Stause have announced in separate statements that they are no longer together. G Flip, who is non-binary and born in Melbourne, asked people to respect their privacy. Stause said she was in love with G Flip and would always love them. The pair met at a Halloween party, and Stause first spoke publicly about their relationship on the Netflix series Selling Sunset in 2022.
Australia Post Group chief executive Paul Graham has announced he will retire at the end of the financial year. Graham was appointed to the role in September 2021 after a career in logistics and supply chain. Communications Minister Anika Wells thanked him for his service during a period of significant change at the national institution. Foreign Minister Penny Wong has also named Derek Bopping as Australia's next Ambassador for Cyber Affairs, Artificial Intelligence and Critical Technology, and Rachel Moseley as Ambassador for Arms Control and Counter-Proliferation. Several senior public service roles were also filled.
