Get the appBenton's Square Shopping Centre has reopened, with Woolworths and Dan Murphy's trading again. A fire gutted Harcourts Family Butchers, formerly Lindens Meat. Neighbouring businesses Top Pho and The Pantry House also suffered significant damage.
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.
A bullet engraved with the word 'rat' and the ID number of Victorian Emergency Services Minister Paul Edbrooke was left on his car windscreen in Frankston. Edbrooke alleges the threat was planted by aggrieved union members, days after an MP was critically injured in an alleged ramming attack. Union secretary Peter Marshall condemned the threat and pledged cooperation with police, while Premier Ben Carroll and Opposition Leader Jess Wilson both condemned the incident.
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Get the appA birthkeeper who allegedly groomed pregnant women to fear hospital could be referred to prosecutors over potential criminal charges, a Victorian coroner has heard. Emily Lal was paid $6,000 to support Stacey Warnecke through her pregnancy. Warnecke died in September 2025 at Frankston hospital after a home birth and a postpartum haemorrhage. Counsel assisting the coroner said phone evidence contradicted Lal's earlier testimony, and that it would be open to find she was untruthful, which could lead to a perjury referral. The coroner will deliver her findings at a later date.
Victorian Emergency Services Minister Paul Edbrooke says he found an engraved bullet on the bonnet of his family car after a Melbourne engagement on Saturday. The bullet bore his firefighter ID number and the word RAT. Edbrooke alleges it was planted by aggrieved union members, a claim the United Firefighter's Union condemned. Victoria Police are investigating the incident, which was reported on Sunday. Union secretary Peter Marshall said the threat did not speak for firefighters and that the union would co-operate fully with police.
Victoria's emergency services minister, Paul Edbrooke, says he believes he is being followed after finding a bullet on his car bonnet following a community event in his Frankston electorate. The bullet was engraved with the word "RAT" and his former firefighter identification number, which he says few people would know. Edbrooke said the discovery was frightening, particularly because his children, who are young adults, also use the vehicle. He said the only people sending him aggressive threats and abuse online were members of the United Firefighters Union, which is in a dispute with Fire Rescue Victoria.
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.
Police are investigating after Victorian emergency services minister Paul Edbrooke found a bullet on his car on Saturday. The bullet was inscribed with the word RAT and his old firefighter number. Mr Edbrooke called it a death threat and said he had reported it to police. The United Firefighters Union condemned the threat and asked police to find the person responsible. Union secretary Peter Marshall later questioned whether the bullet had been placed on the car at all. Victoria Police said its Security Investigation Unit is investigating.
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.
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The Local Paper network publishes localised editions across Melbourne, Victoria and selected country areas, with its North-West edition covering suburbs such as Brimbank, Hume, Melton and Wyndham. The page is largely publisher information, including office addresses, subscription and classified contacts, editorial standards and a list of the company's websites, registered business names and local newspaper titles. It states that the publisher is bound by the Standards of Practice of the Australian Press Council and that complaints may be made in writing.
PLOS Musical Productions will stage Grease at the Frankston Arts Centre from December 31 to January 10. It is the first of the company's The Next Generation productions. The musical follows young love at Rydell High and includes familiar songs such as Greased Lightnin' and You're the One That I Want. A cast is supported by crews working on lighting, sound, music, make-up, costumes and staging. Performances are scheduled across several afternoons and evenings.
Payal Tiwari, a 45-year-old engineer and former management consultant, is the Greens' candidate for the Victorian state election in the Labor-held seat of Kalkallo. She moved to Australia as a child in 1991 and has worked with organisations addressing family violence. Tiwari's priorities include a Beveridge train station, a hospital at Cloverton, and a high school, citing under-representation of multicultural communities in Victorian politics.
Mornington Lions Club has donated $5000 to the peninsula branch of the Blue Ribbon Foundation. The money helps pay for two new ultrasound machines at Frankston Hospital. The cheque was presented at Mornington Police Station on 16 October. The Lions Club raised the funds for Blue Ribbon Day, held on 29 September, which honours Victoria Police members who have died in the line of duty. Foundation president Rhon Nation said the donation helped the group reach its target. The foundation has given Frankston Hospital more than $1 million over fifteen years.
Bushfires could cost Australia $181bn over the next three decades unless homes are protected and fire risks are cut, a group of former emergency service chiefs has warned. The Emergency Leaders for Climate Action is calling on state and federal governments to fund a national fire-ready plan. A key recommendation is funding to help homeowners retrofit at-risk homes to national bushfire standards, at an estimated average cost of $39,466 per home. The group's founder, Greg Mullins, said the costs could be vastly reduced through investment in prevention.
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Get the appMelbourne's large retail car parks, including Bunnings sites and shopping centre edges, are being examined as possible housing locations. The state wants 60,000 new homes near public transport, jobs and services. Monash University's Liz Taylor says parking spaces directly trade off against housing. Urbis's Hamish McKnight says market conditions, construction costs and borrowing costs are the biggest constraints. Building apartments above operating shopping centres is possible but among the most expensive options.
A growing number of Victorian councils are moving to ban smart glasses from pools, childcare centres, playgrounds and recreation centres. Sixteen of the state's 79 local authorities are investigating or introducing such measures. Frankston City Council has resolved to look at further restrictions, and the City of Melbourne has installed signs prohibiting smart glasses at its pools and recreation facilities. Disability advocates want exceptions for people with accessibility needs. Behavioural scientist Stephen Fisher says signs and bans are unlikely to deter people who intend to harass or secretly record women.
Wheelchair user and bike rider Dion Woodward has invited State Election candidates in Frankston, Carrum and Hastings to experience the difficulties of a missing shared user path link along Fletcher Road. He says paths often end suddenly, crossings are difficult and busy traffic makes trips unsafe, including for support workers. A connection there would close one of the largest gaps in Frankston's network, linking the city centre with education and health destinations. Frankston City Council has committed $5.85 million to five shared user path projects, including Fletcher Road, and is asking candidates to match that funding.
Two Frankston City Council waste projects have been selected as finalists in the 2026 Waste Innovation and Recycling Awards. The council is a finalist for Community Engagement Success of the Year, for its rollout of the FOGO food and garden organic bin service, and for the Operational Excellence Award, for the Frankston Regional Recycling Recovery Centre. Since the FOGO service began, food waste in red household bins has fallen by 20 per cent, and less than 1 per cent of FOGO bin waste is contaminated. The awards gala will be held on Thursday 29 October.