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.
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.
A recent news item highlights a program that has broadened job aspirations among young people in the Colac district. Three local young people took part and were exposed to the variety of career paths across the agricultural sector. The same listing page also features items on heifer prices recovering, a Probus club celebration, and an upcoming historic flower show. The provided text offers no detail on the program's organisers, its duration, or how many young people overall have taken part, so those specifics remain unstated.
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A community group has questioned the Victorian government’s transparency after the Planning Minister failed to respond to a request for information about changes to a planning permit. Save Our Seat sought details about changes to the Arthurs Seat Eagle’s luge permit conditions, which were reportedly modified before final approval. The group claims the government is withholding information about the process, raising concerns about accountability. The state government declined to comment on the lack of response.
A five-bedroom character home in Drumcondra, near Geelong's foreshore, has sold for $2.3 million after barely three weeks on the market. The buyers, who are moving from the Mornington Peninsula to be closer to family, had previously lived in the suburb. Agent Malinda Leonard of Jellis Craig Geelong said the property drew two potential buyers during the campaign. The home was originally built in 1914 and combines its period features with a modern extension and a solar-heated pool. It last sold for $1.08 million in 2010.
Aireys Inlet Primary School will host its annual Aireys Fair on 31 October, running from 9am to 3pm. The fair, which has run for more than a decade, is organised by a committee of parents with help from grandparents, relatives and the wider community. It will be held alongside the Aireys Inlet Market, with rides and activities on the oval overlooking the ocean. A community-run bookstore will also operate, with all profits going back to the school.
Paid parking will start at Rosebud Hospital and The Mornington Centre from 27 October. Bayside Health says the fees will cover rising operational and maintenance costs. Staff will pay $4.50 per eight-hour shift, matching other Peninsula Care Group sites. Nepean MP Anthony Marsh opposes the changes, calling them tone-deaf during a cost-of-living crisis. Parking will remain free for visits under 30 minutes.
The Community Broadcasting Association of Australia has concluded its annual conference in Geelong. Around 400 volunteers, staff and board members from across the sector attended. The conference explored the future of community broadcasting and its role in connecting communities and giving a voice to underrepresented groups. Among the attendees was Lizzie Wait from Nambucca Valley Radio in Tewinga, south of Coffs Harbour, who was attending for the first time.
The Greek Community of Geelong has marked 70 years since it was founded in April 1956 by a small group of Greek immigrants. Those first members met on Swanston Street to elect a board, and the community later built a church and a Greek school. Today it has around 300 to 400 families. President Andrew Alexander says the community is now focused on engaging young people and planning its next 25 years. He credits the sacrifices of the first immigrants for the community's achievements.
Premier Ben Carroll has promised to cut emergency department wait times by 20 per cent if Labor is re-elected. Speaking at University Hospital Geelong, he said 12 hospital emergency departments would be expanded by 25 per cent. The plan also includes 1500 new health workers, among them 750 nurses, and 250 more beds. Health Minister Ingrid Stitt said the changes would allow more than 210,000 patients to be treated each year. The state average emergency department wait is currently 15 minutes, though some patients wait more than two hours.
Police are appealing for witnesses after the body of a 60-year-old man was found in the waters off Avalon on Saturday. The discovery followed an unoccupied kayak found near Limeburners Bay in Corio at about 1.30pm. Water Police want to speak with the group of kayakers who found the vessel, and anyone else who may have seen anything in the area. The man's death is not being treated as suspicious, and a report will be prepared for the coroner. Anyone with information can contact Crime Stoppers.
A Geelong woman has shared her three decades of gambling on poker machines during Gambling Harm Awareness Week, which runs from 24 to 31 October. Punters lost more than $152 million in the City of Greater Geelong and Borough of Queenscliffe in 2025-26, the highest amount recorded locally. Jan, a recovering gambler, said she hopes her story will show others that recovery is possible. After reaching out to Meli's Gambler's Help, she said she regained control of her life.
The Victoria State Rose Garden at Werribee Park will mark its 40th anniversary on 9 November. A volunteer group saved the garden from being bulldozed in the early 1990s, when the state government agreed to continue work only if enough volunteers could maintain it. The supporters group was registered in 1993 and now has about 80 members, with more than 50 helping regularly. The garden holds more than 2000 rose varieties. A celebration is planned for Sunday 8 November, and entry is free.
Residents of the Borough of Queenscliffe will soon be able to borrow and return library items at any time, day or night. An 18-locker system is being installed at Queenscliff Library, funded with $28,660 from the Victorian Government. Holders of a free Geelong Regional Libraries membership can reserve items for delivery to a locker. Member for Bellarine Alison Marchant announced the funding at the library, alongside local council and library leaders. Council will share further updates as the project progresses.
It is a company profile of Mornington Peninsula News Group, a locally owned and independent media business established in 2006. According to that text, the group publishes five weekly community newspapers, including the Western Port News, Mornington News and Frankston Times, along with two glossy magazines, Peninsula Essence and Peninsula Kids. Because the material provides no details about the shopping centre, the fire, its closure or any response by authorities, no summary of those events can be reliably written from it.
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An artificial intelligence system fitted to an RACV roadside assistance van has detected more than 300 road defects across 1,000 kilometres of Victorian roads. The system, called RoughSense, was developed by RMIT University and tested with RACV. It identifies cracking, rutting and emerging potholes as the van completes its normal duties. The highest concentration of defects was found along the Frankston-Flinders Road corridor. Researchers are still assessing the system's accuracy, and the trial runs until January 2027.
A renovated home at 21 Lascelles Avenue, Manifold Heights, is on the market for $2 million to $2.2 million. McGrath agent Georgie Shaw says the outdoor space is a key drawcard, including a playground, swimming pool, covered deck with a built-in barbecue and outdoor fireplace. The red clinker brick home has a renovated kitchen, bathrooms and plantation shutters. A former games room has been enclosed to create a multipurpose pool house or extra living space. Shaw says the vendors, who are moving to acreage, have added extras that make it a ready-to-move-in home.
Home building approvals in Geelong have risen 34 per cent over the past year to August, close to levels last seen in the 2022 Covid boom, according to KPMG analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics figures. The pipeline now sits at around 4000 new homes. KPMG urban economist Terry Rawnsley said the rise shows growing confidence in the city's long-term growth, but stressed that approved projects must now move through to construction. Lara has overtaken Armstrong Creek as the region's top approval area, with the activity shifting north.
