More than three in four Boroondara residents want some form of cat curfew, but council officers are recommending improved education instead.

What's happening? At the council meeting on July 27, councillors will be able to choose from five options, including a complaint-based enforcement model — where the council would only investigate reports from residents rather than actively patrol for cats — or a night-time curfew trial from January 2027 to July 2029.

The problem: Boroondara is estimated to have 14,987 cats, including 4,816 registered and 10,171 unregistered.

• Between October 2025 and May 2026, the council received 22 complaints about cat nuisance, half involving people feeding stray cat colonies. During the same period, it received 282 dog-related complaints, including 94 dog attacks.

Calls for council crackdown on stray cats in Knox (again)

Knox Council issued 28 infringements and 10 cautions to cat owners during 2024, after a 24-hour cat curfew was put into place more than two years ago.

How would it work? Under a curfew, residents could humanely trap roaming cats and ask the council to collect them.

• The owners of registered cats would usually receive a warning for a first offence before a $102 fine for follow-up infringements. Unregistered cats would be impounded, with fines only issued if an owner claimed them.

Boroondara council votes to allow solar panels on 14,800 heritage properties without permits after marathon debate

Two councillors have demanded a rethink as the plan waits for a new vote.

The broader issue: Council officers say a curfew would likely increase impoundments, nuisance complaints and the number of unregistered cats.

• The number of cat impoundments in Boroondara has risen from 264 in 1998 to 2,058 in 2024-25. The report estimates the council would need to trap up to 5,085 unregistered cats every six months for more than a decade to significantly reduce stray numbers, resulting in many cats being euthanised.

Locals split: More than 3,650 residents responded to consultation, with support almost evenly split between a night-time curfew (38.4 per cent), a 24-hour curfew (37.8 per cent) and no change (23.8 per cent).

Thumbnail Image Credit: Hasan Ölker/Pexels

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This quiet creek less than an hour’s drive from Melbourne changed Victoria forever.

About 175 years ago, one man discovered gold here, sparking a rush that would transform the colony.

Watch the video below.

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⏱️ The 151st edition of our newsletter is a six-minute read.

Hi there 👋 

Matthew Sims here, your reporter at the Eastern Melburnian.

🌳 The fight for open aaaaand green space for Melbourne’s eastern suburbs is raging on more passionately than ever.

📍 Earlier, a planning panel released its recommendations for development on the historic Box Hill Brickworks site. This included advice that future developments only be required to set aside five percent of the land as open space.

🗯️ I reached out to Box Hill Brickworks Parkland Association president Vincent Mennilli, who said the community felt “betrayed” and “totally ignored” by the advice. Whitehorse mayor Kirsten Langford said the council was now urging the Planning Minister to reject the suggestion.

🏗️ The final plans and planning scheme amendments for the SRL East precincts will be released soon, so residents from Box Hill and other communities will surely be crossing their fingers their concerns will be considered.

✍️ Researching, writing and editing stories like these is time consuming. If you'd like to support our work, please jump on the link below.

Click this banner to donate!

Today, we’re covering:

• The local reaction to a planning panel’s recommendation for five percent of the Box Hill Brickworks site to become open space;

• Boroondara council’s successful bid to ditch permit requirements for installing solar panels on heritage homes hits a hurdle; and

• A review of the Federal Government’s gambling reforms.

📰 THIS WEEK’S HEADLINES

🏗️ Box Hill residents call five percent Brickworks open space recommendation a betrayal

A planning panel has recommended just five percent of the seven-hectare Box Hill Brickworks site be set aside as public open space, a decision Whitehorse council and community groups are urging the Planning Minister to reject.

Released in March 2025, plans for the Suburban Rail Loop East identified the Box Hill Brickworks site as a future mixed-use residential neighbourhood.

On July 1, a planning panel released its recommendations for the area, including advice that future developments at the Box Hill Brickworks site only be required to set aside five percent of the land as open space.

The site’s owner, Phileo Australia, first proposed a fixed height limit for apartment buildings of 21 metres or five to six storeys, but later sought approval for housing up to 10 storeys around the edge of the site, with the potential for taller buildings toward the centre.

Whitehorse council argued the entire site should become open space, with 25 percent its second preference.

Mayor Kirsten Langford said setting aside just 0.35 hectares was "not good enough".

"Densification plus open space equals liveability," she told the Eastern Melburnian.

Box Hill Brickworks Parkland Association president Vincent Mennilli said the community deserved a “more common-sense approach”.

"It really feels like we're being betrayed and totally ignored," he told the Eastern Melburnian.

The Planning Minister has approved the final structure plans and planning scheme amendments for all six SRL East stations. The release of the approved plans is expected later this month.

Once approved, developers can then prepare a master plan within the amended planning scheme.

Box Hill residents call five percent Brickworks open space recommendation a betrayal

Whitehorse council is still pursuing negotiations with current owner Phileo Australia to buy the land.

☀️ Boroondara council votes to allow solar panels on 14,800 heritage properties without permits

Boroondara Council has voted 5-3 to remove planning permit requirements for rooftop solar on heritage-listed properties, but a three-and-a-half hour debate and post-meeting rescission motion means change is still delayed until at least the next time councillors meet.

Around 14,800 properties in suburbs including Kew, Hawthorn, Canterbury and Camberwell are covered by heritage overlays, meaning owners of these properties have to overcome planning restrictions to renovate or develop their homes.

These overlays have meant visible solar panels on these properties require a planning permit.

Council officers said this approach meant heritage was prioritised over environmental goals.

Boroondara Council’s July meeting saw councillors consider whether these requirements should change.

A motion was brought forward and eventually passed 5-3 after a marathon debate that continued for almost four hours. One councillor abstained from the vote and two others were absent.

According to the Australian PV Institute, 21 percent of low-rise dwellings in Boroondara have solar.

The council aims to cut community greenhouse gas emissions by 60 percent by 2030, compared with 2020 levels. Its BooST program offers free home energy assessments and subsidies of up to $2,000 for energy-efficiency upgrades.

Councillors opposing the change argued removing permits could damage heritage, while supporters said heritage protection, lower energy bills and climate action could co-exist.

The councillors who voted against the motion argued removing the permit requirement could undermine the council's ability to protect heritage-listed properties, despite the potential financial benefits of making rooftop solar easier to install.

Nineteen residents addressed the committee over a span of about two hours. Eight supported removing permit requirements, nine backed reducing permit requirements and two wanted no change.

To inform its decision-making process, the council distributed a postal survey to 4,000 owners of heritage properties and received 1,075 responses. Of those without solar, more than half said they would likely install it within 12 months if barriers were addressed. Cost, aesthetics and planning controls were the main factors, with 29 percent saying permit requirements were a barrier.

A Notice of Rescission was filed after the meeting, meaning the CEO must now postpone any action until the council returns to debate and vote upon the motion.

If the rescission motion is lost, the original motion will stand unchanged and council staff will write to the Planning Minister, seeking authorisation for a planning scheme amendment.

Boroondara council votes to allow solar panels on 14,800 heritage properties without permits after marathon debate

Two councillors have demanded a rethink as the plan waits for a new vote.

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🍫 🍦 Going on a drive through the east the other day got me thinking about something: What happened to milk bars? You still see a couple open, but I remember them being a hub for kids looking to splurge away their pocket money on a Bubble O’Bill or a Curly Wurly or two.

📬 Does your local milk bar have an interesting story or has it found a unique way to stay afloat and compete with supermarkets and servos. If so, please email us via editor@easternmelburnian.com.au.

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Cheers,

Matthew

Tarni James watched her family's former Canterbury home burn down in an arson attack in December 2023.

Speaking to the Eastern Melburnian after Boroondara council approved plans to demolish and rebuild the 121-year-old mansion, she said a decision to refuse extra planning protections on the property was "a heartbreak" for her family.

🗓️ The history: Built in 1905-06 and known as “Shenley Croft”, the 1,332sqm property at 7-9 Mangarra Road is an Edwardian villa covered by the council’s heritage overlay, which protects it from inappropriate development and demolition.

• Robert "Rob" James bought the house in 1963 for his wife Merle and their four children. Merle lived there until her death in June 2020.

• The family sold the property for $3.1 million in November 2020, although the land was later estimated to be worth up to $6 million.

• Victoria Police confirmed the house was destroyed in an arson attack in the early hours of December 9, 2023. No charges have been laid and the investigation remains ongoing.

The house was destroyed by arson in December 2023.

✉️ Council's push: Since February 2024, Boroondara council has urged the State Government to introduce a planning control requiring the house to be faithfully rebuilt.

• However, in a June 25 letter to mayor Wes Gault, the Planning Minister said there was not "sufficient evidence" to show the owner was responsible for the fire or had deliberately allowed the property to deteriorate.

• Councillors unanimously approved a permit this week to demolish and reconstruct the front of the house and build a two-storey rear extension.

💔 Family reaction: Ms James said watching her family home of more than 55 years burn was "gut-wrenching" and "tragic", but the approved plans were "the best we could hope for".

Tarni James with her mother Merle, who lived in Shenley Croft until her death at the age of 98.

• In a letter she sent to the Planning Minister, she described the government's response as "totally inadequate".

⏭️ What’s next? Before work begins, the owner must enter into a legal agreement with the council requiring the house to be rebuilt in accordance with the approved plans.

A planning panel has recommended just five percent of the seven-hectare Box Hill Brickworks site be set aside as public open space, a decision Whitehorse council and community groups are urging the Planning Minister to reject.

❓ What happened? Released in March 2025, plans for the Suburban Rail Loop East identified the Box Hill Brickworks site as a future mixed-use residential neighbourhood.

• On July 1, a planning panel released its recommendations for the area, including advice that future developments at the Box Hill Brickworks site only be required to set aside five percent of the land as open space.

📍 What’s coming: The site’s owner, Phileo Australia, first proposed a fixed height limit for apartment buildings of 21 metres or five to six storeys, but later sought approval for housing up to 10 storeys around the edge of the site, with the potential for taller buildings toward the centre.

Whitehorse Council bids to buy iconic Box Hill Brickworks to keep as open space

An online petition advocating for the site to be retained as open space has more than 6,900 signatures.

🪧 Council campaign: In a statement, Whitehorse council said open space in Box Hill could fall from 19 square metres per resident to 7.15 square metres without more passive green space.

• The council argued the entire site should become open space, with 25 percent its second preference.

Mayor Kirsten Langford said setting aside just 0.35 hectares was "not good enough".

• "Densification plus open space equals liveability," she told the Eastern Melburnian.

• Langford said the council remained willing to negotiate with current owner Phileo Australia to buy the land.

Rents jump by 58 percent in Box Hill as city struggles to meet affordable housing targets

An outlook has estimated there will be more than 2,000 residents requiring low-income accommodation support by 2041.

📣 Community response: Box Hill Brickworks Parkland Association president Vincent Mennilli said the community deserved a “more common-sense approach”.

• 🗣️"It really feels like we're being betrayed and totally ignored," he told the Eastern Melburnian.

⏭️ What's next? The Planning Minister has approved the final structure plans and planning scheme amendments for all six SRL East stations. The release of the approved plans is expected later this month.

• Once approved, developers can then prepare a master plan within the amended planning scheme.

Thumbnail Image Credit: Bob T

Boroondara council has voted 5-3 to remove planning permit requirements for rooftop solar on heritage-listed properties, but a three-and-a-half hour debate and post-meeting rescission motion means change is still delayed until at least the next time councillors meet. 

❓ What happened? Around 14,800 properties in suburbs including Kew, Hawthorn, Canterbury and Camberwell are covered by heritage overlays, meaning owners of these properties have to overcome planning restrictions to renovate or develop their homes.

• These overlays have meant visible solar panels on these properties require a planning permit. 

• Council officers said this approach meant heritage was prioritised over environmental goals.

• Boroondara council’s July meeting saw councillors consider whether these requirements should change.

• A motion was brought forward and eventually passed 5-3 after a marathon debate that continued for almost four hours. One councillor abstained from the vote and two others were absent. 

Gym, cinema and basement for 140-year-old Camberwell villa, but conditions apply

A new pool has to be on ground level, not the first floor.

🏡 Zoom out: According to the Australian PV Institute, 21 percent of low-rise dwellings in Boroondara have solar.

• The council aims to cut community greenhouse gas emissions by 60 percent by 2030, compared with 2020 levels. Its BooST program offers free home energy assessments and subsidies of up to $2,000 for energy-efficiency upgrades.

🗣️ The debate: Councillors opposing the change argued removing permits could damage heritage, while supporters said heritage protection, lower energy bills and climate action could co-exist.

• Boroondara councillor Rob Baillieu said the cost of energy is “hurting families”, arguing more homeowners should be able to install rooftop solar.

Boroondara councillor Rob Baillieu

• 🗣️ “There is no heritage to enjoy when you can’t pay the bills,” he told the chamber.

🙅 Those opposed: The councillors who voted against the motion argued removing the permit requirement could undermine the council's ability to protect heritage-listed properties, despite the potential financial benefits of making rooftop solar easier to install.

📣 Public opinion: Nineteen residents addressed the committee over a span of about two hours. Eight supported removing permit requirements, nine backed reducing permit requirements and two wanted no change.

• To inform its decision-making process, the council distributed a postal survey to 4,000 owners of heritage properties and received 1,075 responses. Of those without solar, more than half said they would likely install it within 12 months if barriers were addressed. Cost, aesthetics and planning controls were the main factors, with 29 percent saying permit requirements were a barrier.

⏭️ What’s next? A Notice of Rescission was filed after the meeting, meaning the CEO must now postpone any action until the council returns to debate and vote upon the motion.

• If the rescission motion is lost, the original motion will stand unchanged and council staff will write to the Planning Minister, seeking authorisation for a planning scheme amendment.

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⏱️ The 150th edition of our newsletter is a five-minute read.

Hi there 👋 

Matthew Sims here, your reporter at the Eastern Melburnian.

🥳 We did it — 150 editions of local news, features and more. This week is a little bit of a shorter edition, as I was a crook on Monday after my daughter’s birthday weekend. I also forgot to highlight it here, but we recently surpassed 15,000 subscribers!

❤️ I know I’ve said it before, but you — our readers — are what make what I do important. I want to keep sharing and shining a spotlight on the hidden stories that matter to you.

✍️ However, researching, writing and editing stories is time consuming. If you'd like to support our work, please jump on the link below.

Click this banner to donate!

Today, we’re covering:

• Warrandyte’s housing market pushes the entry-level home to a million dollars; and

• The family behind The Basin Bakery, who have served the local community for the past 22 years.

📰 THIS WEEK’S HEADLINES

🏡 Warrandyte’s entry price to housing hits $940,000. 10 years ago, the cheapest house sold for $610,000

The cheapest house currently for sale in Warrandyte is listed at $940,000, with a wave of luxury properties and a narrowing housing supply pushing the suburb's entry-level price toward seven figures.

Twenty-four kilometres north west of the Melbourne CBD, Warrandyte is secluded from city views and surrounded by the Mullum Mullum Creek and Warrandyte State Park.

With a population of around 5,500, the small community has a reputation for attracting artists, families with older children and eco-conscious professionals looking for a place on the border of Melbourne’s metro and regional areas.

Modelling from economic research company Informed Decisions (ID) projects an increase of only two new dwellings per year until 2046, due to planning controls, environmental protections and a Bushfire Overlay preventing housing growth.

At the moment, the cheapest house for sale is at 56 Yarra Street – with three bedrooms and one bathroom across a 0.19-acre lot. It comes with a price guide of $880,000 to $940,000.

The next two cheapest properties are over $1 million. The current median price is $1.5 million.

For a three-bedroom house in Warrandyte, the median price is $1.21 million. This bumps up to $1.3 million for four bedrooms or $1.94 million for five bedrooms.

Ten years ago, the median price was $900,000.

Jellis Craig Doncaster director Chris Savvides said owners often held onto houses for longer in the suburb than other regions with higher turnover and a higher vacancy rate.

“People come here for the lifestyle,” Savvides told the Eastern Melburnian. “People that buy in Warrandyte generally stay until their kids grow up and move out of home. It’s an area where there’s not a lot of chopping and changing.”

Featuring four bedrooms, five bathrooms and space for seven cars to park, a property at 100-110 Husseys Lane on the market for $5 million to $5.5 million represents just how luxurious some parts of the area have become.

Built on a five-acre estate, the property at 100-110 Husseys Lane has been on the market for the past 28 days and was last sold in November 2004 for $705,000.

Highlighted features include a solar and gas-heated infinity swimming pool, an outdoor fireplace, equestrian facilities, an “ornamental dam” and an entry foyer.

Warrandyte’s entry price to housing hits $940,000. 10 years ago, the cheapest house sold for $610,000

The median price of homes in the area has risen by 66.6 percent to $1.5 million.

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❤️ EAST SIDE STORIES

🥖 22 years working in the dark: Inside The Basin’s family bakery

On weekends, The Basin Bakery co-owner Fiorella Catalano starts work as early as 4am.

Her husband, Mario, usually begins at 11pm and finishes around 8.30am – a routine he has followed through seven years as an employee and more than 22 years as director and head baker.

Opening at 6am every day, the bakery is rarely empty or quiet.

From the kitchen, roars of laughter and the clanging of baking trays. The air is filled with the smells of fresh coffee, bread, pies, quiches and cakes.

Mario and Fiorella took over the business in 2004, with Fiorella having no experience in running a business or baking full-time, departing a 13-year stint in retail.

“I felt at home straight away,” she told the Eastern Melburnian. “As long as you do the right thing by your customers, they'll give it back in return.”

In 2021, the couple expanded into the vacant fruit shop next door, turning the original bakery into a larger kitchen. A year later, they began serving coffee, sandwiches, rolls and ice cream.

There are 24 staff on the weekly roster who cook or serve. Fiorella said cakes were the most difficult and time-consuming items to bake, and that the most often injuries were burns, which she suffers about once a month.

Their 26-year-old daughter, Mikayla, has worked at the bakery since she was 15, but started helping out from the age of three.

She remembers sleeping on flour bags out the back when she was sick because her parents were too busy to take her home.

Despite the long hours, Fiorella said seeing regular customers and turning ingredients like flour and sugar into a "beautiful looking product” was “rewarding”.

“Every day is different here,” she said. “Food waits for no one.”

Retirement has come up in conversation around the dinner table, but is not on the immediate horizon.

“There's going to be a time when we do have to move on, but I could probably make coffee all day, every day, given the chance,” she said.

22 years working in the dark: Inside The Basin’s family bakery

“Every day is different here. Food waits for no one.”

🏚️ Over the coming week or so, I’m planning to look a little deeper into the minimum rental standards set to come into effect next March. I recently highlighted the current landscape for those wanting to rent and facing poor conditions.

🗣️ However, the onus for properties to meet the standards won’t be on renters, it’ll be on landlords.

So, I was hoping to speak with a local landlord or two about how they feel about the standards, what impact they think they will have and maybe even if they have recently installed insulation — or better heating — to meet the standards early. If that’s you, please email us via editor@easternmelburnian.com.au.

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Cheers,

Matthew

The cheapest house currently for sale in Warrandyte is listed at $940,000, with a wave of luxury properties and a narrowing housing supply pushing the suburb's entry-level price toward seven figures.

📍 The location: Twenty-four kilometres north east of the Melbourne CBD, Warrandyte is secluded from city views and surrounded by the Mullum Mullum Creek and Warrandyte State Park.

• With a population of around 5,500, the small community has a reputation for attracting artists, families with older children and eco-conscious professionals looking for a place on the border of Melbourne’s metro and regional areas.

• Modelling from economic research company Informed Decisions (ID) projects an increase of only two new dwellings per year until 2046, due to planning controls, environmental protections and a Bushfire Overlay preventing housing growth.

📈 The price range: At the moment, the cheapest house for sale is at 56 Yarra Street – with three bedrooms and one bathroom across a 0.19-acre lot. It comes with a price guide of $880,000 to $940,000.

56 Yarra Street, Warrandyte

• The next two cheapest properties are over $1 million. The current median price is $1.5 million.

• For a three-bedroom house in Warrandyte, the median price is $1.21 million. This bumps up to $1.3 million for four bedrooms or $1.94 million for five bedrooms.

🗓️ How we got here: Ten years ago, the median price was $900,000.

• Jellis Craig Doncaster director Chris Savvides said owners often held onto houses for longer in the suburb than other regions with higher turnover and a higher vacancy rate.

Jellis Craig Doncaster director Chris Savvides

• 🗣️ “People come here for the lifestyle,” Savvides told the Eastern Melburnian. “People that buy in Warrandyte generally stay until their kids grow up and move out of home. It’s an area where there’s not a lot of chopping and changing.”

💰 The high end: Featuring four bedrooms, five bathrooms and space for seven cars to park, a property at 100-110 Husseys Lane on the market for $5 million to $5.5 million represents just how luxurious some parts of the area have become.

Built on a five-acre estate, the property at 100-110 Husseys Lane has been on the market for the past 28 days and was last sold in November 2004 for $705,000.

• Highlighted features include a solar and gas-heated infinity swimming pool, an outdoor fireplace, equestrian facilities, an “ornamental dam” and an entry foyer.

• In terms of the hardware on site, there is bronze-tinted double glazed windows, hydronic heating, zoned ducted refrigerated air conditioning, additional split systems, underfloor bathroom heating, automated blinds, ducted vacuuming, sound systems, security cameras, and 80,000 litres of water tanks.

Thumbnail Image Credit: Bob T

On weekends, The Basin Bakery co-owner Fiorella Catalano starts work as early as 4am.

Her husband, Mario, usually begins at 11pm and finishes around 8.30am – a routine he has followed through seven years as an employee and more than 22 years as director and head baker.

No rest: Opening at 6am every day, the bakery is rarely empty or quiet.

From the kitchen, roars of laughter and the clanging of baking trays. The air is filled with the smells of fresh coffee, bread, pies, quiches and cakes.

⏳ The history: Mario and Fiorella took over the business in 2004, with Fiorella having no experience in running a business or baking full-time, departing a 13-year stint in retail.

• “I felt at home straight away,” she told the Eastern Melburnian. “As long as you do the right thing by your customers, they'll give it back in return.”

Mario Catalano

• In 2021, the couple expanded into the vacant fruit shop next door, turning the original bakery into a larger kitchen. A year later, they began serving coffee, sandwiches, rolls and ice cream.

🗓️ No day is the same: There are 24 staff on the weekly roster who cook or serve. Fiorella said cakes were the most difficult and time-consuming items to bake, and that the most often injuries were burns, which she suffers about once a month.

❤️A family affair: Their 26-year-old daughter, Mikayla, has worked at the bakery since she was 15, but started helping out from the age of three.

• She remembers sleeping on flour bags out the back when she was sick because her parents were too busy to take her home.

⏰ Clocking off: Switching off after work is a challenge.

• “We try not to have mini family work meetings at the dinner table, but it's 22 years of our life that we've put into this,” Fiorella said.

Burning passion: Despite the long hours, Fiorella said seeing regular customers and turning ingredients like flour and sugar into a "beautiful looking product” was “rewarding”.

• 🗣️ “Every day is different here,” she said. “Food waits for no one.”

⏭️ What’s next: Retirement has come up in conversation around the dinner table, but is not on the immediate horizon.

• 🗣️ “There's going to be a time when we do have to move on, but I could probably make coffee all day, every day, given the chance,” she said.

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⏱️ The 149th edition of our newsletter is a seven-minute read.

Hi there 👋 

Matthew Sims here, your reporter at the Eastern Melburnian.

🏊🏼 A reader wrote this week to say Lilydale Swimming Club would be wrapping up operations after 123 years. This is undoubtedly sad news for club members past and present, but there is one silver lining: the committee isn’t giving up yet.

⏸️ Club president David Macrae and secretary Samantha Wahrenberger spoke to me about the club’s plans, and you can read more about that in this newsletter.

💰 Yarra Ranges Council’s plan for a new aquatic and leisure centre is in a holding pattern. It says it will stump up $15 million, but only if the state and federal governments kick in $20 million each. The usual dance between all three levels of government.

✍️ Researching, writing and editing stories like those above is time consuming. If you'd like to support our work, please jump on the link below.

Click this banner to donate!

Today, we’re covering:

• The Lilydale Swimming Club suspending operations after 123 years, due to declining membership numbers and cost pressures;

• Hundreds of local councils, including Knox and Boroondara, calling for the Federal Government to look at making coal, oil and gas companies pay for climate-driven infrastructure damage.

📰 THIS WEEK’S HEADLINES

🏊🏼 Lilydale’s 123-year-old swimming club suspends operations

Lilydale Swimming Club president David Macrae said he and fellow executive members were “terribly sad” and “disappointed” to suspend operations after membership fell from 75 to 39 in three years, largely driven by the closure of the Kilsyth pool.

However, the committee behind the 123-year-old swimming club – the second-oldest in Victoria – hopes this isn’t the end, with plans to keep the club dormant while it waits for a new home.

Club secretary Samantha Wahrenberger said membership dropped sharply after Yarra Ranges Council closed and demolished the club’s former home – Kilsyth Centenary Pool – about three years ago, after its infrastructure became unsafe.

“We had about 70 members and lost almost half because of the closure,” she told the Eastern Melburnian.

The club relocated to the Yarra Centre in Yarra Junction, but Wahrenberger said the 60km round trip for members in suburbs including Lilydale and Kilsyth contributed to further losses. Membership stood at 39 at the end of the 2025–26 financial year.

Macrae said when the club’s coach left recently to take a new position, some swimmers ended their membership in order to follow the coach.

“We really couldn't justify the expense to employ another coach with the numbers that we had left,” he said.

Yarra Ranges Council has dedicated $15 million towards a new indoor aquatic and leisure facility, dependent on a commitment of $20 million each from the state and federal governments.

Wahrenberger said the committee was “trying to figure out what [its] next steps are” while it waits for a potential new home.

Lilydale’s 123-year-old swimming club suspends operations

“We had about 70 members and lost almost half because of the [Kilsyth] closure.”

💲 Knox and Boroondara back push for fossil fuel companies to pay for local weather damage

Knox and Boroondara were among more than 500 local councils last week calling for a $1.3 billion “national climate compensation fund” sourced from levies on coal, oil and gas companies to help pay for infrastructure damage linked to climate change.

The impacts of the fossil fuel industry vary between councils, but local governments say they are increasingly carrying the long-term costs of the damage caused by more frequent and severe weather events.

In Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, those impacts include increased insurance premiums and infrastructure damage linked to heat, storms and changing rainfall patterns.

Last week, more than 1,100 local government leaders from the nation’s councils met in Canberra for the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) national conference to debate issues affecting communities nationwide.

One of the key topics was the rising financial burden of climate change. Councils said the costs were rising faster than their budgets could cover.

The councils argued fossil fuel companies, rather than ratepayers, should contribute to clean up and repair costs, due to their emissions.

Natural disasters cost Australia an estimated $38 billion annually — about $3,800 per household — and are projected to rise to $73 billion by 2060, according to Deloitte Access Economics.

ALGA said local governments bear a disproportionate share of those costs because councils maintain a third of the nation’s infrastructure, including 75 per cent of roads, forcing more spending on repairs and recovery.

ALGA, representing 537 councils, voted to ask the Federal Government to establish a $1.3 billion Climate Compensation Fund – consisting of $400 million per year for local government climate adaptation and $900 million per year for improving disaster management.

The motion specified these funds should come through “the implementation of taxes or levies on the coal, oil and gas industries”. The motion passed.

Research from the Australia Institute found the cost of insurance from climate-related disasters is now 12 times higher than 20 years ago, while local government revenue has only tripled.

Knox mayor Paige Kennett told the Eastern Melburnian a dedicated fund would “ensure the costs aren’t borne by ratepayers through insurance premiums or hefty rebuild costs”.

Boroondara mayor Wes Gault said climate-driven weather events mean “heatwaves will get hotter and longer, rainfall will get more erratic and storms will get stronger”.

“Our support for this motion is not about the threat to Boroondara specifically, but reflects our desire to see more action taken by state and federal governments to support councils and the communities we serve,” Gault told the Eastern Melburnian.

Knox and Boroondara back push for fossil fuel companies to pay for local weather damage

Councils maintain a third of Australia’s infrastructure and say footing the repair bill is increasingly difficult.

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🤢 During this week’s Monash Council meeting, councillors voted to hire an expert to establish where underground gas is leaking at various former landfill sites. One councillor suggested residents were being impacted. If that’s you, please email us via editor@easternmelburnian.com.au.

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Cheers,

Matthew

Lilydale Swimming Club president David Macrae said he and fellow executive members were “terribly sad” and “disappointed” to suspend operations after membership fell from 75 to 39 in three years, largely driven by the closure of the Kilsyth pool.

However, the committee behind the 123-year-old swimming club – the second-oldest in Victoria – hopes this isn’t the end, with plans to keep the club dormant while it waits for a new home.

📉 Beginning of the end: Club secretary Samantha Wahrenberger said membership dropped sharply after Yarra Ranges Council closed and demolished the club’s former home – Kilsyth Centenary Pool – about three years ago, after its infrastructure became unsafe.

• 🗣️ “We had about 70 members and lost almost half because of the closure,” she told the Eastern Melburnian.

“If we don't count, we can't sync”: Ringwood swimmers land in Singapore ahead of Masters

Have you ever wondered how synchronised swimmers stay in time? We spoke to members of a local club competing in an international competition this week to find out.

🙏 Holding on: The club relocated to the Yarra Centre in Yarra Junction, but Wahrenberger said the 60km round trip for members in suburbs including Lilydale and Kilsyth contributed to further losses. Membership stood at 39 at the end of the 2025–26 financial year.

👋 Without a trainer: Macrae said when the club’s coach left recently to take a new position, some swimmers ended their membership in order to follow the coach. 

• 🗣️ “We really couldn't justify the expense to employ another coach with the numbers that we had left,” he said.

Lilydale’s connection with swimming dates back to 1893, when locals created the Lilydale Baths by damming sections of Olinda Creek, followed by the creation of the Lilydale Swimming Club in February 1903.

The aftershock: Macrae said his 14-year-old daughter was “absolutely devastated” by the news.

• 🗣️ “She won't ever get back that sense of camaraderie and friendship that she's had for the last four years,” he said.

⏭️ What’s next? Yarra Ranges Council has dedicated $15 million towards a new indoor aquatic and leisure facility, dependent on a commitment of $20 million each from the state and federal governments.

• Wahrenberger said the committee was “trying to figure out what [its] next steps are” while it waits for a potential new home.

Knox and Boroondara were among more than 500 local councils last week calling for a $1.3 billion “national climate compensation fund” sourced from levies on coal, oil and gas companies to help pay for infrastructure damage linked to climate change.

The impacts of the fossil fuel industry vary between councils, but local governments say they are increasingly carrying the long-term costs of the damage caused by more frequent and severe weather events.

In Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, those impacts include increased insurance premiums and infrastructure damage linked to heat, storms and changing rainfall patterns.

📍 What happened: Last week, more than 1,100 local government leaders from the nation’s councils met in Canberra for the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) national conference to debate issues affecting communities nationwide.

• One of the key topics was the rising financial burden of climate change. Councils said the costs were rising faster than their budgets could cover.

• The councils argued fossil fuel companies, rather than ratepayers, should contribute to clean up and repair costs, due to their emissions.

From fringe to your feed: how climate misinformation spread across Australia

MPs are investigating false claims around renewables and weather trends.

💰 The growing costs: Natural disasters cost Australia an estimated $38 billion annually — about $3,800 per household — and are projected to rise to $73 billion by 2060, according to Deloitte Access Economics.

• ALGA said local governments bear a disproportionate share of those costs because councils maintain a third of the nation’s infrastructure, including 75 per cent of roads, forcing more spending on repairs and recovery.

📍 The motion: ALGA, representing 537 councils, voted to ask the Federal Government to establish a $1.3 billion Climate Compensation Fund – consisting of $400 million per year for local government climate adaptation and $900 million per year for improving disaster management.

• The motion specified these funds should come through “the implementation of taxes or levies on the coal, oil and gas industries”. The motion passed.

📈 Rising risk: Research from the Australia Institute found the cost of insurance from climate-related disasters is now 12 times higher than 20 years ago, while local government revenue has only tripled.

• Kooyong Climate Change Alliance organiser Leigh Naunton said insurance pressures were already affecting communities across Melbourne’s east.

• 🗣️ “Some people simply can't get insured in flood-prone areas,” Naunton told the Eastern Melburnian. “The underwriting costs more, so the insurance premiums go up right across the board for everybody.”

• Naunton said councils were facing rising costs from increased tree canopy and roads damaged by greater stormwater runoff.

Knox mayor Paige Kennett and Boroondara mayor Wes Gault supported the motion.

📍 Council support: Knox mayor Paige Kennett told the Eastern Melburnian a dedicated fund would “ensure the costs aren’t borne by ratepayers through insurance premiums or hefty rebuild costs”.

• Boroondara mayor Wes Gault said climate-driven weather events mean “heatwaves will get hotter and longer, rainfall will get more erratic and storms will get stronger”.

• 🗣️ “Our support for this motion is not about the threat to Boroondara specifically, but reflects our desire to see more action taken by state and federal governments to support councils and the communities we serve,” Gault told the Eastern Melburnian.

Thumbnail Image Credit: Lilydale SES and Heinz van Jaarsveld

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⏱️ The 148th edition of our newsletter is a seven-minute read.

Hi there 👋 

Matthew Sims here, your reporter at the Eastern Melburnian.

Last week, I spoke to Archie Milligan from the National Account about the approved application to increase the number of poker machines at the Dorset Gardens Hotel from 97 to 105, and the $6 million loan offer from ANZ Bank that came with conditions. You can watch the full video below.

This week, I continued to look into the broader harm created by pokies across Melbourne’s east, starting with how the maximum limits still have a lot of wiggle room to allow more pokies to be approved.

✍️ Researching, writing and editing stories like those above is time consuming. If you'd like to support our work, please jump on the link below.

Click this banner to donate!

Today, we’re covering:

• Data surrounding the potential for more growth in the number of pokies across Melbourne’s eastern suburbs

• VCAT’s final rejection of a proposed 400,000 cubic-metre clean fill site in Lysterfield;

• One of Australia’s only Rummikub clubs, and;

• The ultimate guide to July’s events and live music.

📰 THIS WEEK’S HEADLINES

🎰 In 12 months, gamblers lost $440 million on 3,871 east Melbourne pokies. The state reckons that’s not the half of it

Across eastern Melbourne in 2024/25, gamblers lost more than $441.9 million on 3,871 pokies but according to the state regulator, the region could accommodate another 4,240 machines.

According to regulator the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC), there are 58 venues operating poker machines - also known as electronic gaming machines (EGMs) - across Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.

There are 955 pokies in the Monash local government area (LGA), 711 in Knox, 640 in Maroondah, 460 in Manningham, 452 in Yarra Ranges, 431 in Whitehorse and 162 in Boroondara.

That is 3,871 pokies. However, according to the VGCCC, which doles out pokie licences in Victoria, there is a cap of 7,992 pokies across those LGAs, meaning the state is prepared to more than double the current number.

In November 2017, former State Gaming Regulation Minister Marlene Kairouz announced revised municipal EGM limits. The changes took effect in August 2022 and will remain in place for 20 years.

The State Government has not introduced further changes to those entitlements since.

According to the VGCCC, the limit for EGMs across the state is currently 27,372, with no more than 13,273 or 48.5 percent allowed in clubs and no more than 14,099 or 51.5 percent permitted to operate in pubs/hotels.

The municipal cap is calculated at a maximum of 10 pokies per 1,000 adults.

Any operators looking to increase the number of pokies at a venue must apply to their local council and the VGCCC.

According to legislation, the commission cannot approve an application unless it's satisfied that “the net economic and social impact of the proposal will not be detrimental to the wellbeing of the community”.

In 12 months, gamblers lost $440 million on 3,871 east Melbourne pokies. The state reckons that’s not the half of it

Ten machines are allowed for every 1,000 adults.

🚛 A cleanfill disposal company wanted to dump 400,000 cubic metres of matter in Lysterfield. A tribunal just said no

A Victorian tribunal has refused a permit for a company to dump 400,000 cubic metres of unspecified clean fill, which could include uncontaminated soil, sand, gravel rock or clay, at a site in Lysterfield.

The plans for 465 Lysterfield Road proposed spreading the clean fill across 15 hectares over three years, with hundreds of trucks arriving each week.

The clean fill, which would have been trucked from undisclosed State Government infrastructure projects, is commonly disposed of in landfills, quarries or transfer stations.

Yarra Ranges Council received the application in February 2023 before refusing it in October, finding it did not adequately protect Monbulk Creek and conflicted with the Green Wedge zoning intended to preserve non-urban land.

Applicant ESG Lysterfield Pty Ltd appealed to VCAT, with hearings held between February 2024 and September 2025.

VCAT member Judith Perlstein upheld council’s refusal on June 24, finding the proposal “does not produce a net community benefit and does not constitute orderly planning”.

She also said the clean fill would be “incompatible” with the environmental significance of the Lysterfield Valley, including risks to the last remaining platypus population in the Dandenong Creek Catchment.

According to EnviroDNA ecologist Josh Griffiths, more sediment run-off caused by the proposed loss of vegetation was likely to negatively impact the platypuses as increased cloudiness in the catchment could lead to limited light entering the water, therefore restricting the productivity of the ecosystem and reducing the availability of a food source for the platypuses.

An applicant can appeal a VCAT decision to the Supreme Court of Victoria or the Court of Appeal within 28 days of the decision.

A cleanfill disposal company wanted to dump 400,000 cubic metres of matter in Lysterfield. A tribunal just said no

The proposal “does not produce a net community benefit and does not constitute orderly planning”.

🔢 “It’s about inclusion”: Inside one of Australia’s only dedicated Rummikub groups

A group of Maroondah and Knox locals have found a “second family” through their love of Rummikub and the Yarrunga Community Centre’s weekly Rummiklub social group.

For its five members, the weekly games at the Yarrunga Community Centre in Croydon Hills have become more about being part of a community than winning.

Rummiklub facilitator Suzanne Tobin said the group highlights the importance of community centres and social groups, especially for those living alone.

Rummikub is a game where players take turns placing numbered tiles to create ‘sets’.

A ‘set’ consists of either three or more tiles of the same colour placed in ascending numerical order, or three or more tiles of the same number – but different colours – placed next to each other.

Despite being one of the most popular board games, selling over 50 million copies worldwide, Tobin said she was unable to find anyone other than her daughter to play with, prompting her to create ‘Rummiklub’.

Tobin said the game is the perfect social glue, easy for anyone to pick up and understand, and often the backdrop for the group’s socialising rather than the main event.

“We like to win, but we’re not competitive, " says Tobin. “We’ve been playing for a while now, and we’ve never had any arguments or disagreements.”

Games at the Rummiklub are informal and focused on connection with rules bent to allow all five members to play together, often helping each other make moves.

Most of the members live alone, with the club providing an opportunity to meet people with similar interests.

“It’s about inclusion,” says Tobin. “We’ve become really close as friends, and we care about each other.”

For Tobin, the hours of volunteering are a no-brainer, with the group offering a place of connection for anyone who needs it.

“It gets you out of the house … [and] it keeps you connected with the community. You get to meet all these wonderful new people,” she said.

Tobin said she hopes to expand ‘Rummiklub’ to a second group.

“It’s about inclusion”: Inside one of Australia’s only dedicated Rummikub groups

“We like to win, but we're not competitive.”

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🎉 OUR ULTIMATE GUIDE TO JULY EVENTS AND LIVE MUSIC

Rare birds, gaming in groups and interactive art

Melbourne’s eastern suburbs will host a range of comedy, culture, gaming and food celebrations in July.

What’s on across Melbourne's eastern suburbs in July

Spotting rare birds, Indian food stalls and group gaming.

Soul sisters, French swing and jazz giants

From a selection of Dandenong Ranges’ up-and-coming artists to a celebration of French music and culture, here are some of the gigs to check out across Melbourne’s eastern suburbs in July.

July’s live music events in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs

Sisters singing soul, one of the country’s most prolific bands and a country music legend are among the headliners this month.

Lilydale Swimming Club is ending after 123 years of operation.

📬 If you’d like to share any photos or tell us about what the club meant to you, please let us know via editor@easternmelburnian.com.au.

Click this banner to donate!

Cheers,

Matthew

Across eastern Melbourne in 2024/25, gamblers lost more than $441.9 million on 3,871 pokies but according to the state regulator, the region could accommodate another 4,240 machines.

📍 The current spread: According to regulator the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC), there are 58 venues operating poker machines - also known as electronic gaming machines (EGMs) - across Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.

There are 955 pokies in the Monash local government area (LGA), 711 in Knox, 640 in Maroondah, 460 in Manningham, 452 in Yarra Ranges, 431 in Whitehorse and 162 in Boroondara.

That is 3,871 pokies. However, according to the VGCCC, which doles out pokie licences in Victoria, there is a cap of 7,992 pokies across those LGAs, meaning the state is prepared to more than double the current number. 

📈 Room to grow: Last week, the Eastern Melburnian reported on a VGCCC decision, published in March, approving an application from the owners of Croydon’s Dorset Gardens Hotel to increase pokies at the venue from 97 to 105.

• The VGCCC caps the maximum number of pokies at any single venue at 105.

• According to the regulator, Maroondah alone could accommodate another 111 machines before reaching its legislated limit of 759.

❌ No changes: In November 2017, former State Gaming Regulation Minister Marlene Kairouz announced revised municipal EGM limits. The changes took effect in August 2022 and will remain in place for 20 years.

• The State Government has not introduced further changes to those entitlements since.

⚖️ The right balance: According to the VGCCC, the limit for EGMs across the state is currently 27,372, with no more than 13,273 or 48.5 percent allowed in clubs and no more than 14,099 or 51.5 percent permitted to operate in pubs/hotels.

• The municipal cap is calculated at a maximum of 10 pokies per 1,000 adults.

⏭️ What’s next: Any operators looking to increase the number of pokies at a venue must apply to their local council and the VGCCC.

• According to legislation, the commission cannot approve an application unless it's satisfied that “the net economic and social impact of the proposal will not be detrimental to the wellbeing of the community”.

A Victorian tribunal has refused a permit for a company to dump 400,000 cubic metres of unspecified clean fill, which could include uncontaminated soil, sand, gravel, rock or clay, at a site in Lysterfield.

📍 The proposal: The plans for 465 Lysterfield Road proposed spreading the clean fill  across 15 hectares over three years, with hundreds of trucks arriving each week.

The clean fill, which would have been trucked from undisclosed State Government infrastructure projects, is commonly disposed of in landfills, quarries or transfer stations.

🧑‍⚖️ The battle: Yarra Ranges Council received the application in February 2023 before refusing it in October, finding it did not adequately protect Monbulk Creek and conflicted with the Green Wedge zoning intended to preserve non-urban land.

• Applicant ESG Lysterfield Pty Ltd appealed to VCAT, with hearings held between February 2024 and September 2025.

"Death by a thousand cuts": Yarra Ranges green groups rally against massive soil dump

“Devastating destruction of the local environment”: A green fill site in Lysterfield has gone to VCAT after council said no.

❌ The decision: VCAT member Judith Perlstein upheld council’s refusal on June 24, finding the proposal “does not produce a net community benefit and does not constitute orderly planning”.

• She also said the clean fill would be “incompatible” with the environmental significance of the Lysterfield Valley, including risks to the last remaining platypus population in the Dandenong Creek Catchment.

• According to EnviroDNA ecologist Josh Griffiths, more sediment run-off caused by the proposed loss of vegetation was likely to negatively impact the platypuses as increased cloudiness in the catchment could lead to limited light entering the water, therefore restricting the productivity of the ecosystem and reducing the availability of a food source for the platypuses.

“Same destruction, new name”: Environmental groups say loopholes are allowing Victoria to log native forests

“We've seen trees over 13 metres in diameter, hundreds of years old, being removed.”

✅ Local reactions: Friends of the Glenfern Green Wedge has long been lobbying against the clean fill proposal. President Johanna Selleck said the decision prevented a “terrible precedent”.

• 🗣️ “It would have really made a mockery of the planning scheme,” Selleck told the Eastern Melburnian.

⏭️ What’s next? An applicant can appeal a VCAT decision to the Supreme Court of Victoria or the Court of Appeal within 28 days of the decision.

Instagram post

Watch the video below.

Instagram post

A group of Maroondah and Knox locals have found a “second family” through their love of Rummikub and the Yarrunga Community Centre’s weekly Rummiklub social group. 

For its five members, the weekly games at the Yarrunga Community Centre in Croydon Hills have become more about being part of a community than winning.

Rummiklub facilitator Suzanne Tobin said the group highlights the importance of community centres and social groups, especially for those living alone. 

❓ What is Rummikub? Rummikub is a game where players take turns placing numbered tiles to create ‘sets’.

A ‘set’ consists of either three or more tiles of the same colour placed in ascending numerical order, or three or more tiles of the same number – but different colours – placed next to each other. Image Credit: Ryan Harvey

💬 More chat than competition: Despite being one of the most popular board games, selling over 50 million copies worldwide, Tobin said she was unable to find anyone other than her daughter to play with, prompting her to create ‘Rummiklub’.

• Tobin said the game is the perfect social glue, easy for anyone to pick up and understand, and often the backdrop for the group’s socialising rather than the main event. 

• 🗣️ “We like to win, but we’re not competitive, " says Tobin. “We’ve been playing for a while now, and we’ve never had any arguments or disagreements.”

🫂 Strangers turned family: Games at the Rummiklub are informal and focused on connection with rules bent to allow all five members to play together, often helping each other make moves.

• Most of the members live alone, with the club providing an opportunity to meet people with similar interests.

• 🗣️ “It’s about inclusion,” says Tobin. “We’ve become really close as friends, and we care about each other.”

Rummiklub is held every Monday from 10.30am to 12.30pm, with participants often only getting through two games between catching up about the past week.

⭐ Rewarding work: For Tobin, the hours of volunteering are a no-brainer, with the group offering a place of connection for anyone who needs it.

• 🗣️ “It gets you out of the house … [and] it keeps you connected with the community. You get to meet all these wonderful new people,” she said.

• Tobin said she hopes to expand ‘Rummiklub’ to a second group.

⏱️ The 147th edition of our newsletter is a seven-minute read.

Hi there 👋 

Matthew Sims here, your reporter at the Eastern Melburnian.

🍻 Affectionately known by locals and regulars as the “Dirty Dorset”, the Dorset Gardens Hotel has become an icon of Melbourne’s eastern suburbs over the years. It’s even been immortalised in Australian Crawl’s 1980 hit “The Boys Light Up” and was used as the venue for the reception for John Farnham’s marriage to Jillian Billman.

The Australian Women’s Weekly covered the wedding ceremony and reception in April 1973.

🎰 But that’s all in the past. My reporting this week has focused on the future — namely the hotel’s plans to install an additional eight poker machines.

🔎 When I was researching my piece last week on Maroondah Council cutting ties with pokie venues, I discovered a document from the state’s gambling and casino regulator regarding an application from the hotel to increase its machine numbers from 97 to 105.

It stated that the increase would allow the pub to potentially borrow $6 million from ANZ Bank as part of renovations slated to cost $7.4 million (including GST).

💰 ANZ Bank was interested in backing the project with a $6 million loan, but one of the conditions was that the pub have 105 pokies instead of 97.

✍️ Researching, writing and editing stories like the one above is time consuming. If you'd like to support our work, please jump on the link below.

Click this banner to donate!

Today, we’re covering:

• The renters in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs freezing through winter and the relief that could be on the way thanks to new minimum rental standards;

• ANZ Bank showing interest in supporting Dorset Gardens Hotel’s proposed redevelopment, if it installs eight new poker machines, and;

• The ultimate guide to winter school holidays events.

📰 THIS WEEK’S HEADLINES

💡 Eastern Melbourne renters paying $20 a day for energy in poorly insulated homes

When the gas heater in 60-year-old Ben Kreunen’s Ringwood East rental broke, his landlord replaced it with a new gas system, but did not attend to the home’s poor insulation.

He spends about $400 a month on gas and $200 on electricity.

Under Victoria’s new minimum rental standards, to be implemented early next year, landlords in similar situations would be required to install efficient electric heating and improve insulation — cutting bills for renters across Melbourne’s east.

From March 1 2027, landlords and rental providers will be required to deliver new and more efficient systems in heating, cooling, hot water, shower heads, ceiling insulation and draught proofing.

The standards would apply when an existing system fails or can’t be repaired, at the start of a new rental agreement, or if an annual agreement becomes monthly.

In terms of ceiling insulation, the standards would only apply at the start of a new rental agreement and if there is currently no ceiling insulation in place.

For heating and cooling, landlords would be required to replace an existing heater – most commonly a reverse-cycle system that can heat a space in winter and cool it in summer – when it is broken or malfunctions to a point beyond repair.

For hot water, property owners would have to put in an efficient heat pump water heater or an electric-boosted solar water heater when the current system breaks down.

According to the new legislation, all rental properties must have cooling installed from July 1, 2030, regardless of the rental status.

An uninsulated ceiling accounts for 25 to 35 percent of a home's total heat loss during winter, while upgrading from a conventional hot water heater to an electric heat pump can cut a home’s energy usage by up to 75 percent.

Sasha, who spoke on the condition of only giving her first name, has been living in community housing in Box Hill for eight months, and said poor insulation led to her family power bills increasing by at least 25 percent compared to their last rental.

“In the summertime, it’s like an oven and in the wintertime, it doesn’t keep the heat in,” Sasha told the Eastern Melburnian. “This summer, it hit 31 degrees at 9am in the morning. In winter, I run the heating as soon as the temperature hits 15 degrees.”

The weather extremes worsened her migraines in the heat and, in the cold, respiratory issues caused by moisture and mould.

Renters and Housing Union delegate Harry Millward said while the union supported the new standards, the real test would be seeing if they were appropriately enforced.

“If you've got rights and they're not being upheld by the system, then they're not real rights,” he told the Eastern Melburnian.

Better Renting is a national organisation working with renters to secure affordable and healthy homes. Deputy director Bernadette Barrett told the Eastern Melburnian: “How standards are enforced are basically as important as the standards themselves. Currently, the onus sits with renters to report non-compliance.”

Kreunen hoped the new standards would give him more confidence to ask for things like better insulation, as he was currently fearful his landlord would prematurely end the lease.

“Eventually, over a long period of time, you begin to feel like second-class citizens,” he said. “They can always get rid of us.”

“Second-class citizens”: Eastern Melbourne renters paying $20 a day for energy in poorly insulated homes

New laws will force landlords to make changes to reduce costs and emissions.

🎰 ANZ said it would consider lending Dorset Gardens Hotel $6 million, but only if it added eight more pokies

ANZ Bank told the owners of the Dorset Gardens Hotel it would consider lending them $6 million, but only if they met conditions, including increasing the number of poker machines at the venue from 97 to 105.

The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) approved the increase in March – a move slammed by anti-pokies campaigner Tim Costello.

Poker machine players lost more than $20 million at the pub last financial year, and it is expected the extra eight machines will add between $1.1 million and $1.7 million annually to those losses.

VGCCC documents viewed by the Eastern Melburnian show the hotel’s owner - DG Hotel Pty Ltd - applied in September 2025 to increase its poker machine numbers from 97 to 105 “as part of a proposed redevelopment … including an upgrade to modernise the bistro, the nightclub, the sports lounge and the function rooms, increasing the capacity of the bistro by 100 seats, and creating casual lounge areas”.

DG Hotel Pty Ltd said the proposed redevelopment was estimated to cost $6.7 million excluding GST.

The VGCCC said DG Hotel Pty Ltd included a letter from ANZ Bank “expressing the ANZ’s interest in working with DG Hotel Pty Ltd with a view to providing facilities of up to $6 million to finance the proposed capital works”.

“The ANZ letter expressed its interest in considering the loan subject to, among other things, DG Hotel Trust obtaining an increase of eight EGMs [Electronic Gaming Machines].”

Opened in 1967, the Dorset Gardens Hotel was one of the first venues in Victoria to install poker machines, in July 1992.

A world away from a corner pub, the Dorset Gardens Hotel has a seven-day-a-week bistro for 350 diners, sports lounge with capacity for 650 patrons, TAB, nightclub, drive-through bottle shop, 45 motel units and self-contained apartments and a gaming room with 97 pokies.

Hospitality entrepreneur Mario Scerri bought the hotel - which inspired a line in Australian Crawl’s 1980 hit “The Boys Light Up” - for $44 million in 2006 and transferred ownership to his brother Joseph Scerri in 2011.

Alliance for Gambling Reform (AGR) chief advocate Tim Costello said the community benefit from adding eight pokies would amount to “nothing”.

“I’m always shocked when a regulator allows more pokies,” Costello told the Eastern Melburnian. “At every opportunity, we should be reducing the number of pokies. Pokies are a job destroyer.”

The VGCCC states that “minimising harm caused by gambling is central to the Commission’s functions. Reducing gambling harm experienced by patrons of gambling businesses is also a key objective of the Commission”.

According to the VGCCC, Maroondah has the capacity to soak up more poker machines. The LGA currently has 640 machines, but the maximum allowed is 759.

It said Maroondah Council was notified of the hotel’s application to increase poker machine numbers from 97 to 105, and made a submission.

The Eastern Melburnian sought the submission from Maroondah Council, however it did not respond by publication.

The VGCCC document states that Maroondah Council’s submission objected to the application, arguing the extra eight poker machines “did not align with Council’s plans, policies and strategies to promote a safe environment for gambling activities”.

The VGCCC held a public inquiry on February 2 and 3. It said the Maroondah Council “elected not to appear”.

ANZ said it would consider lending Dorset Gardens Hotel $6 million, but only if it added eight more pokies

The venue has since successfully applied to increase its poker machine numbers to over 100.

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🎉 OUR ULTIMATE GUIDE TO WINTER SCHOOL HOLIDAYS FUN

Fairytale princesses and green thumb fun

Here are some of the kid-friendly events to check out across Melbourne’s eastern suburbs in July.

Did we forget any? Let us know by reaching out via editor@easternmelburnian.com.au.

From shadow puppets to comic book fairs: kids’ events across Melbourne's east in July

Youngsters can dig up plants, buy pop culture memorabilia or watch world music performances.

🌶️ This week, I’m rekindling my search for the spiciest dish in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.

📬 If you’ve got a suggestion, please let us know via editor@easternmelburnian.com.au.

Click this banner to donate!

Cheers,

Matthew

When the gas heater in 60-year-old Ben Kreunen’s Ringwood East rental broke, his landlord replaced it with a new gas system, but did not attend to the home’s poor insulation.

He spends about $400 a month on gas and $200 on electricity.

Under Victoria’s new minimum rental standards, to be implemented early next year, landlords in similar situations would be required to install efficient electric heating and improve insulation — cutting bills for renters across Melbourne’s east.

Ben Kreunen has been renting in Ringwood East for the past 26 years.

🌡️ Better benchmarks: From March 1 2027, landlords and rental providers will be required to deliver new and more efficient systems in heating, cooling, hot water, shower heads, ceiling insulation and draughtproofing.

• The standards would apply when an existing system fails or can’t be repaired, at the start of a new rental agreement, or if an annual agreement becomes monthly.

• In terms of ceiling insulation, the standards would only apply at the start of a new rental agreement and if there is currently no ceiling insulation in place.

• For heating and cooling, landlords would be required to replace an existing heater – most commonly a reverse-cycle system that can heat a space in winter and cool it in summer –  when it is broken or malfunctions to a point beyond repair.

• For hot water, property owners would have to put in an efficient heat pump water heater or an electric-boosted solar water heater when the current system breaks down.

• According to the new legislation, all rental properties must have cooling installed from July 1, 2030, regardless of the rental status.

✅ Many benefits: An uninsulated ceiling accounts for 25 to 35 percent of a home's total heat loss during winter, while upgrading from a conventional hot water heater to an electric heat pump can cut a home’s energy usage by up to 75 percent.

• The Energy Efficiency Council’s Rachael Wilkinson said the standards would make rental homes cheaper to run, more comfortable to live in and improve tenant health.

• A spokesperson for the Victorian Council of Social Service said the health benefits for low-income renters living in the hottest suburbs with pre-existing health conditions would be “life-saving”.

🥵 🥶 Weather whiplash: Sasha, who spoke on the condition of only giving her first name, has been living in community housing in Box Hill for eight months, and said poor insulation led to her family power bills increasing by at least 25 percent compared to their last rental.

• 🗣️ “In the summertime, it’s like an oven and in the wintertime, it doesn’t keep the heat in,” Sasha told the Eastern Melburnian. “This summer, it hit 31 degrees at 9am in the morning. In winter, I run the heating as soon as the temperature hits 15 degrees.”

The weather extremes worsened her migraines in the heat and, in the cold, respiratory issues caused by moisture and mould. 

⏭️ What’s next? Renters and Housing Union delegate Harry Millward said while the union supported the new standards, the real test would be seeing if they were appropriately enforced.

• 🗣️ “If you've got rights and they're not being upheld by the system, then they're not real rights,” he told the Eastern Melburnian.

Better Renting is a national organisation working with renters to secure affordable and healthy homes. Deputy director Bernadette Barrett told the Eastern Melburnian: “How standards are enforced are basically as important as the standards themselves. Currently, the onus sits with renters to report non-compliance.”

Left: Renters and Housing Union delegate Harry Millward. Right: Better Renting deputy director Bernadette Barrett.

🤞 Fingers crossed: Kreunen hoped the new standards would give him more confidence to ask for things like better insulation, as he was currently fearful his landlord would prematurely end the lease.

• 🗣️ “Eventually, over a long period of time, you begin to feel like second-class citizens,” he said. “They can always get rid of us.”

Thumbnail Image Credit: Brett Jordan/yanagi

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ANZ Bank told the owners of the Dorset Gardens Hotel it would consider lending them $6 million, but only if they met conditions, including increasing the number of poker machines at the venue from 97 to 105.

The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) approved the increase in March – a move slammed by anti-pokies campaigner Tim Costello.

Poker machine players lost more than $20 million at the pub last financial year, and it is expected the extra eight machines will add between $1.1 million and $1.7 million annually to those losses.

🤔 Commission considers: VGCCC documents viewed by the Eastern Melburnian show the hotel’s owner - DG Hotel Pty Ltd - applied in September 2025 to increase its poker machine numbers from 97 to 105 “as part of a proposed redevelopment … including an upgrade to modernise the bistro, the nightclub, the sports lounge and the function rooms, increasing the capacity of the bistro by 100 seats, and creating casual lounge areas”.

• DG Hotel Pty Ltd said the proposed redevelopment was estimated to cost $6.7 million excluding GST.

• The VGCCC said DG Hotel Pty Ltd included a letter from ANZ Bank “expressing the ANZ’s interest in working with DG Hotel Pty Ltd with a view to providing facilities of up to $6 million to finance the proposed capital works”.

• “The ANZ letter expressed its interest in considering the loan subject to, among other things, DG Hotel Trust obtaining an increase of eight EGMs [Electronic Gaming Machines].”

🗓️ The history: Opened in 1967, the Dorset Gardens Hotel was one of the first venues in Victoria to install poker machines, in July 1992.

• A world away from a corner pub, the Dorset Gardens Hotel has a seven-day-a-week bistro for 350 diners, sports lounge with capacity for 650 patrons, TAB, nightclub, drive-through bottle shop, 45 motel units and self-contained apartments and a gaming room with 97 pokies.

• Hospitality entrepreneur Mario Scerri bought the hotel - which inspired a line in Australian Crawl’s 1980 hit “The Boys Light Up” - for $44 million in 2006 and transferred ownership to his brother Joseph Scerri in 2011. 

ANZ said it would consider lending Dorset Gardens Hotel $6 million, but only if it added eight more pokies

The venue has since successfully applied to increase its poker machine numbers to over 100.

🪙 Anti-pokies response: Alliance for Gambling Reform (AGR) chief advocate Tim Costello said the community benefit from adding eight pokies would amount to “nothing”.

• “I’m always shocked when a regulator allows more pokies,” Costello told the Eastern Melburnian. “At every opportunity, we should be reducing the number of pokies. Pokies are a job destroyer.”

The VGCCC states that “minimising harm caused by gambling is central to the Commission’s functions. Reducing gambling harm experienced by patrons of gambling businesses is also a key objective of the Commission”.

👍 Space for more: According to the VGCCC, Maroondah has the capacity to soak up more poker machines. The LGA currently has 640 machines, but the maximum allowed is 759.

• It said Maroondah Council was notified of the hotel’s application to increase poker machine numbers from 97 to 105, and made a submission. 

• The Eastern Melburnian sought the submission from Maroondah Council, however it did not respond by publication.

• The VGCCC document states that Maroondah Council’s submission objected to the application, arguing the extra eight poker machines “did not align with Council’s plans, policies and strategies to promote a safe environment for gambling activities”.

• The VGCCC held a public inquiry on February 2 and 3. It said the Maroondah Council “elected not to appear”. 

📱 Contact attempts: The Eastern Melburnian sought comment from DG Hotel Pty Ltd by email and phone, but did not receive a response.

• Croydon MP David Hodgett thanked the Eastern Melburnian for bringing the matter to his attention, but said he had no comment on the VGCCC decision. 

• Deakin MP Matt Gregg did not respond to a request for comment.

• ANZ Bank said it could not comment “on individual customer cases”.

“In the long run, you always lose”: An eastern suburbs local on escaping the cycle of gambling harm

Often, broad reform looks at total losses and the impact on industry. However, the real impact on individuals often creates irreversible consequences.

📍 Widespread impacts: According to the VGCCC, the Maroondah local government area has 6.79 pokies per 1,000 adults (the third highest concentration in Victorian metropolitan municipalities). This is 54.6 percent greater than the metropolitan LGA average and 44.5 percent more than the state average.

• In the 2024-25 financial year, if you divided the overall losses on pokies by the number of adults in the LGA, the average loss per person - irrespective of whether they actually gambled - was $681.38.

• This is 17.7 percent higher than the metropolitan average and 20.6 percent more than the state average.

DG Hotel Pty Ltd said in its application 10-15 FTE (full-time equivalent) jobs would be created in the construction phase for builders, equipment contractors and material suppliers.

The eight extra pokies and renovations would create two to four FTE jobs in the gaming room and six to eight FTE jobs in reception, bistro, functions, sports lounge, TAB, nightclub, bottle-shop and accommodation, the company assured the commission. 

The Dorset Gardens Hotel is open until 4am, seven days a week.