Doncaster East resident Andrew says the Australian government’s current tax on gas exports is “very far behind” the rest of the world.

He’s one of many eastern suburbs locals backing growing calls for a 25 percent tax on the country’s gas exports that could generate $17 billion in revenue a year.

Advocates across the political spectrum say the money could be spent on things like fixing roads, upgrading hospitals and becoming less dependent on foreign energy sources.

The Eastern Melburnian spoke to locals about the proposed levy, asking them what the extra $348.9 million a week could do for local communities.

🪙 State of play: Australia’s gas exports account for a fifth of the global market.

• The Federal Government taxes gas export projects via the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT) – a profits-based levy which collects about $1.5 billion a year.

• In contrast, the 2025-26 beer excise is expected to bring in $2.7 billion.

• According to modelling from the Australia Institute, a 25 percent flat tax would raise $348.9 million a week or $17 billion a year.

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

MPs are investigating false claims around renewables and weather trends.

🧑‍🍼 Parental pressures: Warrandyte resident David Rush, 71, said young families undergoing financial hardship should be the primary recipients of any potential tax revenue.

• 🗣️ "I think, currently, the gas is probably sold too cheaply overseas,” said Rush. “People with young families, they get no concessions at all.”

🔨 Home improvement: Balwyn North resident Karen said the surplus wealth should go back into Australia’s infrastructure as needed, including building more oil refineries or upgrading hospitals and schools, arguing Australians should come first.

• 🗣️ “We're virtually giving it away and we don't have enough in this country,” said Karen.

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💰 Losing out: Doncaster East resident Andrew said the money should be spent on fixing local roads, education and health networks.

• 🗣️ “When we look around the world at what other countries have done with their fossil fuels and income from them, we are very far behind,” Andrew told the Eastern Melburnian.

✍️ Rule shifts: Labor Chisholm MP Dr Carina Garland said while she believes “Australians deserve a fair return from the natural resources they own”, she stopped short of supporting the call for a 25 percent levy, instead highlighting recent changes to the PRRT have meant offshore gas companies pay more tax sooner.

Chisholm MP Dr Carina Garland and Greens Senator for Victoria Steph Hodgins-May

⏭️ What’s next? On March 30, the Senate agreed to launch an inquiry into gas taxation, which is due to report back on May 7, only five days before the federal budget on Tuesday May 12.

• Greens Senator for Victoria and inquiry chair Steph Hodgins-May spoke with the National Account recently, saying Australians should reap the rewards of gas exports.

• 🗣️ “Our modelling shows that from January to April this year, every Australian would be $400 better off if we taxed gas properly,” said Hodgins-May.

Thumbnail Image Credit: Ken Hodge/Flickr

⏱️ The 129th edition of our newsletter is a seven-minute read.

Hi there 👋 

Matthew Sims here, your reporter at the Eastern Melburnian.

☕️ While being a journalist has its fair share of stress, watching a barista at work puts me to shame. Grind the next cup, steam the milk, remember 10 names shouted at you in the span of five minutes — and don’t forget to put a swan doing a handstand on my foam.

⏳ Recently, I’d heard from a reader that Boronia’s Two Cats Espresso Bar had been dealing with the opposite problem: low foot traffic due to ongoing upgrade works at the Boronia train station. So I hopped into my car on Tuesday morning to take a look. Spending the morning there and chatting with owner Kalyani, only six or seven people turned up from about 9am to 2pm.

💰 It is not great timing, as the cafe opened last January and has to deal with at least six months of her cafe’s main access to commuters being blocked off by construction work, all while fuel levies are packing on extra costs.

❤️ I hope the Boronia community continues to support the cafe and other businesses impacted by the planned closure of the station. We can all benefit from the new infrastructure and new interest when it reopens.

Today we’re covering:

• The 135-year history of the push for a Doncaster rail connection — and the plans in place for a new station;

• A chat with a Boronia small business owner who has seen her sales cut in half by the station upgrades; and

• The struggles of local food businesses dealing with rising fuel levies and anxiety about reduced foot traffic due to the ongoing fuel crisis.

I love receiving feedback of any kind to newsletters — even if it’s just a emoji reaction. However, if you ever think of something people aren’t talking about enough, I can always look into it — you never know, it may turn into a future story.

Cheers,

Matthew

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story includes a misspelling of Kalyani Parkale.

We regret the error.

Boronia cafe owner Kalyani Parkale says she has lost 50 percent of her sales revenue since rail station upgrades began, closing the main pedestrian walkway to her coffee shop in late March.

With completion timelines changing, Parkale isn’t sure how she’ll keep the lights on before the crucial access point is reopened.

🏗️ What’s happening? Cranes, trucks and workers have descended on the Boronia station precinct as part of a $60 million rail upgrade, including a landscaped plaza between the station and Dorset Road, widening of the station concourse and new platform shelters.

• Boronia station will be closed from 11.30pm on Friday May 8 to late 2026, with a shuttle bus running commuters between Boronia, Bayswater and Ferntree Gully.

🗓️ Changing dates: In works notices seen by the Eastern Melburnian, the Big Build Rail team notified businesses in January that Lupton Way would be closed from February 24 to March 11.

• However, in March, the project team returned to say the thoroughfare would instead be closed from March 27 to late September.

• According to a public notice, the Big Build Rail team would “be in touch with impacted traders directly and work to mitigate this impact”.

• According to a Level Crossing Removal Project spokesperson, the extended closure of Lupton Way was necessary to “minimise further disruptions for locals…allowing crews to safely relocate underground services and drainage and begin works on the new plaza”.

• 🗣️ “We are working closely with local business owners to provide project updates and support during disruptions, including tailored marketing, vouchers and support with deliveries,” said the spokesperson.

☕️ Drips and drabs: Parkale said the morning traffic of commuters on the way to their train had “reduced drastically” since works began on March 27.

• A mother of three, Parkale opened the business last January, leaving her full-time job and investing her family’s savings.

• 🗣️ “There’s lots of stress and sleepless nights,” said Parkale. “I put my heart and soul into this business.”

❤️ Happy patrons: Regular customer Theresa Dolphin said it would be a shame to lose the cafe.

Boronia local Theresa Dolphin

• 🗣️ “It's as good as if her business was built into the station,” Dolphin said.

⏭️ What’s next? Parkale said the Big Build Rail team had offered no compensation, with support including pre-purchasing coffees for workers and spending $250 for free coffees.

• 🗣️ “That doesn’t help me pay any bills,” said Parkale. “I have to somehow stay afloat for the next six to eight months.”

71-year-old Doncaster East resident Frida sits and waits for a bus at the main bus interchange at Westfield Doncaster Shopping Centre.

It’s a daily routine for the retired pensioner – but unfortunately she says it isn’t likely she’ll be able to catch a train from Doncaster in her lifetime – with a planned station not set to open for at least another quarter of a century.

“It is a bit of a nuisance to connect to the different buses,” Frida told the Eastern Melburnian. “The train service would make it a lot easier. With all the new housing…a lot of newcomers and now the shortage of fuel, it’d be good to have a train.”

At the turn of the century, Doncaster Hill was transitioning from a low-density residential area into a higher-density hub.

Now, the area is in a type of limbo, awaiting a new train station as part of the Suburban Rail Loop North proposal, which is still more than 25 years away from completion.

🏗️ Big things grow: At 120 metres above sea level, Doncaster Hill is one of the highest points in Melbourne and covers 58 hectares along the major corridors of Doncaster Road, Williamsons Road and Tram Road.

• Major developments in the area included the Westfield Doncaster Shopping Centre in 1970 and the MC Square Community Centre in 2012.

The Mercure Melbourne Doncaster hotel opened atop a Bunnings store in 2021.

• The State Government first named Doncaster Hill as a “Major Activity Centre” in 2002.

❓ What’s that? Major Activity Centres are areas identified as preferred locations for increased housing growth and diversity, as well as retail, commercial activity, community services, employment and public transport hubs.

✍️ Plans in place: First endorsed by Manningham Council and introduced in 2002, the Doncaster Hill Strategy was a 20-year outline, detailing $2 billion worth of development across 4,080 new residences by 2021.

• As of 2019, about 1,770 apartments had been constructed, with permits issued for an additional 1,000 apartments.

• The 2026 population forecast for Doncaster Hill is 4,832 and is forecast to grow to 9,318 by 2046.

📈 Rising prices: The median house price between April 2025 and March 2026 in Doncaster was $1,550,000 based on 309 sales –  2.85 percent up compared to the April 2021 to March 2022 period.

• However, in terms of rent, prices have skyrocketed over the past four years – sitting at a median weekly rent of $820 a week from April 2025 to March 2026, an extra $260 compared to the April 2021 to March 2022 median weekly rent of $560.

🚊 Train dreams: The push for train connections to Doncaster date back as early as 1890, with plans entering discussions periodically throughout the decades, with the main push imagining the line to run along the median strip of the Eastern Freeway.

• Plans took initial steps but costs blew out and words became too heated to see them over the line.

• In March 2008, local councillors sent a petition of 7,000 signatures supporting the Doncaster rail line to then-Transport Minister Lynne Kosky.

• The North East Link project and associated busway, which included a narrowing of the Eastern Freeway median, quashed any hopes for a Doncaster rail line as it was first imagined.

🙏 New hope: The State Government has proposed a new station at Doncaster as part of the Suburban Rail Loop North, but plans have put the start date for construction at 2035 at the earliest.

No work will take place until the SRL East section is complete.

No site has been locked in for the station as the project remains in the early planning stages.

📍 Change on the horizon: Manningham councillor Geoff Gough said while Manningham Council would be involved in talks around the SRL, planning and housing development in the area would come under the State Government’s responsibility.

• 🗣️ “As I see it, the biggest challenge is to have enough open space accessible for a much higher population,” Gough told the Eastern Melburnian.

Thumbnail Image Credit: Bob Tan

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story included a misspelling of Kalyani Parkale.

We regret the error.

Restaurant and cafe owners across Melbourne’s eastern suburbs are waiting to see how the next month will play out before rising prices, but the pressures of increasing fuel levies and slowing foot traffic could force action.

Babaji’s Kerala Kitchen brought its Indian food and culture to the small Yarra Valley township of Warburton in November 2023.

Owners Billy and Max Crombie put their house on the line to launch their second location and are now sitting on the edge of launching a third, but are unsure whether the leap is too risky.

⛽ What’s happening? Limited supply and rising demand of fuel due to the Middle East conflict have pushed petrol and diesel prices higher, with the median price of unleaded in Melbourne’s east at about $2.16 per litre and the median cost for diesel at around $3.15.

• A number of suppliers have begun to charge emergency fuel levies on top of their service costs.

🇮🇳 🇦🇺 A long and winding road: Monbulk local Billy Crombie met her husband Max 18 years ago in the beachside town of Varkala in the Indian state of Kerala.

Husband and wife Max Kamil Hassan and Billy Crombie with Babaji’s head chef Jithin Pattiyal.

• The pair began their hospitality journey with a market stall selling their food 13 years ago, followed by a take-away and 65-seat restaurant spot in Belgrave about seven years later and a second, 200-seat location in Warburton in November 2023.

👀 Uncertain future: Billy told the Eastern Melburnian the pair were considering a third restaurant, but were reluctant to do so in the current economic climate.

• 🗣️“I have my house on the line,” said Crombie. “If Babaji’s Warburton is not successful, I personally will lose my house because I owe money to be able to set up Babaji’s Warburton.”

⏰ New day, new hurdles: Crombie said she could not guarantee they wouldn’t have to bump up their prices to account for increased fuel levies from their suppliers or reduced patronage.

• 🗣️ “It isn't about greed, it's about survival,” said Crombie. “Are we going to be down to 30 percent of our turnover? We’re a very resilient business, but nobody knows what’s coming.”

🪙 Digging deep: The fuel crisis is not just impacting larger businesses, but small local business too. Boronia’s Two Cats Espresso Bar is among those dealing with new costs.

• Owner Kalyani Parkele said while her suppliers used to waive the delivery fee if she ordered past a certain threshold, they were now placing an extra $8 to $10 on top of each delivery, adding up to $40 to $50 per week.

• 🗣️ “A month ago, we were not spending that additional cost for the same product,” Parkele told the Eastern Melburnian. “For a small business, that becomes too much week on week.”

Two Cats Espresso Bar owner Kalyani Parkale

☕ Brews bypassed: A mother of three, Parkale opened the business last January, leaving her full-time job and investing her family’s savings.

• Parkale said the timing of the increased bills was unfortunate, as she had seen a 50 percent reduction in her sales revenue since rail station upgrades began.

• 🗣️ “The cost is just going up and the income is going down, so it’s not balancing,” said Parkale.

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⏱️ The 128th edition of our newsletter is a five-minute read.

Hi there 👋 

Matthew Sims here, your reporter at the Eastern Melburnian.

Going to the tip most weeks, I often see mountains of car batteries piled high. It’s a shame to think that this technology often goes to waste. However, when it comes to batteries from electric vehicles, there is often still plenty of life left in them to power homes, industrial sites or other infrastructure.

Last week, I took a deeper look into the second-life market for EV batteries in Melbourne’s east, with Dandenong’s Nissan parts factory among the local companies using old batteries — in this instance, taken directly from old Nissan EVs — in new contexts.

In other news, Victoria Police has charged a 47-year-old Bonnie Brook man with murder in relation to the fatal shooting of a 32-year-old man in Box Hill last Thursday morning.

Today we’re covering:

• The growing second-life market for “retired” electric vehicle batteries in Melbourne’s east; and

• High-rise dreams on hold as costs stall Boronia CBD growth.

We hope you enjoyed this edition, but if you ever have an idea of something you’d like to know more about or a corner of your neighbourhood you think deserves more of the spotlight, let me know!

Cheers,

Matthew

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated there were more than 100 developments ongoing in the Boronia CBD.

We regret the error.

Boronia locals thinking the recent flurry of CBD building sales will lead to more high-rise developments are mistaken, according to a local commercial real estate director.

George Takis, the south east Melbourne director of commercial real estate firm TeskaCarson, told the Eastern Melburnian investors and businesses had snatched up recent building sales, but none had gone to developers with plans to knock down and build high.

Knox Council has confirmed it currently has no more applications from developers to build multi-storey blocks in the Boronia CBD.

What’s being built? One of the current developments underway is a three-storey Arcare aged care facility next to the Boronia Hotel that will have more than 150 beds.

One of the current developments is a brand-new five-storey development in Erica Avenue that will have an Aldi supermarket and two smaller retail premises on the ground floor as well as 58 apartments above.

📈 Rising prices: Takis said high costs of development had hindered urban renewal, with not much interest from developers in Boronia despite Knox Council’s adoption of the Boronia Renewal Strategy last year, which had increased height limits to 10 storeys for CBD buildings.

• 🗣️ “Building costs are going up, land costs are up,” Takis said. “The end result is to sell properties they can afford, which does not meet the increased costs.”

🫸 Getting things moving: “Major Activity Centres” are areas identified as preferred locations for increased housing growth and diversity, as well as retail, commercial activity, community services, employment and public transport hubs.

• Takis said while the State Government hoped its 2002 declaration of the Boronia CBD as one of Melbourne’s “Major Activity Centres” would expedite residential development around transport hubs, the current reality was different.

• 🗣️ “The current year was not a good time for developers with interest rates and land tax increasing,” said Takis. “Developers do not feel safe, investors do not feel safe.”

• Tom Schouten, a long-time owner operator of the independent Metro Cinemas in Dorset Square, said he was sure Boronia would develop but it would take some years.

• 🗣️ “Boronia is struggling at the moment but it will take off,” Schouten told the Eastern Melburnian. “It will happen to Boronia as the economy turns.”

😴 Lacking variety: Drop In Cafe owner Alpa Patel said Boronia’s CBD did not have the diversity and standard of businesses most people wanted, with most customers only coming into the Dorset Square carpark for Coles or Kmart.

• 🗣️ “They are going to Knox Westfield or to Eastland,” Patel told the Eastern Melburnian.

• Patel also said Boronia’s CBD being stretched across three shopping centres separated by busy roads made the area feel “very disjointed”.

`Drop In Cafe owner Alpa Patel

👷 A facelift for transport: One area undergoing major development is Boronia’s train station, where cranes, trucks and workers have descended as part of a $60 million upgrade. This will include a new station forecourt canopy, a landscaped plaza between the station and Dorset Road, widening of the station concourse, new platform shelters and extra lighting and CCTV cameras.

The upcoming upgrade includes the demolition of two shops on Dorset Road for the landscaped plaza.

What’s next? State Bayswater MP Jackson Taylor said the upgrade of Boronia Station was “the biggest State Government investment in Boronia in a generation”.

• 🗣️ “I can safely say Boronia’s brightest days are ahead of it,” Taylor told the Eastern Melburnian.

Victoria Police has charged a 47-year-old Bonnie Brook man with murder in relation to the fatal shooting of a 32-year-old man in Box Hill last Thursday morning.

What happened: Emergency services responded to reports of an altercation at a high-rise apartment building on Whitehorse Road about 1.50am on Thursday April 9, with residents evacuated for a number of hours.

• Late Thursday evening, Homicide Squad detectives arrested two 47-year-old men from Bonnie Brook and a 27-year-old Maryborough woman.

• Police have released one of the Bonnie Brook men and the Maryborough woman pending further enquiries.

• The charged man appeared before the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court Friday evening.

In a factory in Dandenong, more than 190 employees help make the components for two million cars per year, including new electric vehicle models.

Now, “retired” batteries still holding most of their charge are being reused to store solar energy at the plant, as part of the growing second-life market in Melbourne’s east.

How long do batteries last? According to the Electric Vehicle Council, while most EVs are sold with eight to 10-year warranties on their batteries and motors, they are expected to have an average lifespan of about 15 years.

• A battery is considered at the end of its lifespan when it only carries about 75 percent of its original capacity.

🌍 International efforts: Overseas, second-life EV batteries are already being used in a range of settings – from storing solar energy in schools in Africa to supporting grid-connected systems like the Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam, where hundreds of retired Nissan Leaf batteries are combined into a large storage system.

EV-curious out and about in east Melbourne following petrol price spike

“The demand is real and it’s not slowing down.”

🇦🇺 Local leaps: Nissan’s Dandenong plant recently installed a new energy storage system, made from the materials from nine repurposed EV batteries. The system stores solar power that’s used to run parts of the factory as well as an EV charging station.

Angus Robinson, the new projects and business development manager at Dandenong’s Nissan Casting Australia Plant, the capacity left in old batteries was enough to power the plant’s operations.

• 🗣️ “Once a battery drops to around 70 percent in a vehicle, it loses range — but in a static system, that doesn’t matter, and it can actually last much longer,” Robinson told the Eastern Melburnian.

The project aims to reduce NCAP’s annual carbon dioxide emissions by 259 tonnes, while saving 128 megawatt-hours of energy every year.

❓ Facts vs fiction: North Warrandyte father-of-two Richard Laxton is a Victorian branch committee member of the Australian Electric Vehicle Association. He made the transition to electric in 2019, and said he was often frustrated when people parroted the claim EV batteries only lasted five years.

• 🗣️ “It's not myth, it's disinformation,” Laxton told the Eastern Melburnian.

😮‍💨 No concerns: Laxton said after driving his EV consistently over long distances for the past six years or so, the range has only fallen by less than 10 percent.

• 🗣️ “I would get in it tomorrow and drive it to pretty much anywhere in Australia without any stress or hassle whatsoever,” said Laxton.

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Victoria Police has arrested three people in relation to the fatal shooting of a 32-year-old man in Box Hill in the early hours of Thursday morning.

What happened: Emergency services responded to reports of an altercation at a high-rise apartment building on Whitehorse Road about 1.50am on Thursday, with residents evacuated for a number of hours.

• Late Thursday evening, Homicide Squad detectives arrested two 47-year-old men from Bonnie Brook and a 27-year-old Maryborough woman, with the trio set to be interviewed in relation to the incident.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit www.crimestoppersvic.com.au

⏱️ The 127th edition of our newsletter is a seven-minute read.

Hi there 👋 

Matthew Sims here, your reporter at the Eastern Melburnian.

🎬 I’ve been a lover of movies ever since I was a kid. Admittedly, I probably did see some gory flicks a bit early, including Alien and Bad Taste. However, I still have never been to a drive-in theatre. All my awareness of them come from Grease’s Danny Zuko singing “Sandy”.

🎞️ When I started to look into the history of them in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, I was surprised to see how many there were back in the 1960s.

I spoke with the former co-owner of Dandenong’s Lunar Drive-in about why they were special and what led to most of them shuttered for good. While he listed many reasons, including many changing half of their schedules to R-rated flicks, I think ultimately the changing face of movies and entertainment made them less appealing to a wider audience.

🍿 I hope there is still life in the two left standing in Melbourne and they can cater to all audiences for as long as possible. And maybe like vinyl, we’ll see a resurgence in popularity. Driving sure is a luxury at the moment.

Today we’re covering:

• How a trip to the drive-in went from a popular pastime to a distant memory;

• A deeper look at the history of Croydon’s former drive-in site;

• How a new plan will serve as a blueprint for Chirnside Park’s growth; and

• A fatal shooting in Box Hill on Thursday morning.

We hope you enjoyed this edition, but if you ever have an idea of something you’d like to know more about or a corner of your neighbourhood you think deserves more of the spotlight, let me know!

Cheers,

Matthew

The east was once a major hub for drive-ins, with their heyday lasting about 35 years. Home of the first drive-in cinema in Australia, screenings would feature elephants and traffic around the block. 

But what was once a thriving industry has all but shuttered now. 

One of the last hangers-on, Dandenong’s Lunar Drive-in, closed up shop in 2023. 

So how did the eastern suburbs even become such a hot spot for cinemas – and what caused it all to shut down?

🍿 Parks and popcorn: Australia’s first drive-in opened in Burwood in February 1954. It was the work of George Griffin Jr, Hoyts Theatre’s southern division manager, who spent six months in the United States and decided to try and make open-air theatres the next big thing in entertainment for Australia.

• Newspaper articles from the time said the opening gala caused “one of Melbourne’s greatest traffic jams” along Burwood Road.

• Originally offering 652 car parks, the capacity grew to 743 before its closure in June 1983.

An unusual moviegoer pulled up to a parking space at Burwood. Image Credit: David Kilderry/Drive-Ins Downunder

📈 Chain reaction: In 1955, cinema chain Village – later known as Village Roadshow – opened its first drive-in theatre in Croydon. Soon other locations began popping up across the east, including Hoyts Oakleigh on 658 Old Dandenong Road in March of that year.

• Other locations over the years included Village Rowville – 1233 Stud Road – in July 1956, Village Hawthorn East – 800 Toorak Road – in November 1956 and the Metro Twin Drive Clayton – corner of Blackburn Road and Wellington Road – in May 1957 and later taken over by Village.

Image Credit: David Kilderry/Drive-Ins Downunder

✂️ Late openings: Hoyts later opened two extra locations: Hoyts Bulleen at 49 Greenaway Street in March 1965 and Hoyts Wantirna on the corner of Mountain Highway and Boronia Road in August 1968.

📉 Why did drive-ins die out? Drive-ins started to close across Melbourne’s east in the early-to-mid 80s, with the majority gone by the early 90s.

Former projectionist and Lunar Drive-in co-owner David Kilderry said one of the major downturns in overall traffic and profitability was the decision to bring in R-rated “sexploitation” films – like Flesh Gordon and Alvin Purple in the 1970s, turning families away.

• 🗣️ “You couldn't run Case of the Smiling Stiffs one week and the next week, have 101 Dalmatians and expect the families to come,” Kilderry told the Eastern Melburnian.

• Kilderry said rising land values meant many cinema chains decided to cut their losses, sell up for a high price and reinvest the money into launching another new multiplex.

🥳 Second wind: Kilderry said he and his brother Matthew bought and reopened the old Dandenong drive-in in 2002, after it had been sitting empty and unused for 18 years with a capacity of about 950 cars.

• 🗣️ “Ultimately, we became the busiest drive-in in Australia – we had four screens and had over 400,000 people come in each year,” said Kilderry.

David Kilderry

• With the impacts of Covid, a changing appetite in films and a shift towards watching movies at home on streaming platforms, Kilderry said he and his brother accepted “the best days were definitely behind us,” closing the doors in 2023.

⏭️ What’s next? Kilderry said while he would never say never to there being a resurgence in the popularity of drive-ins, there were more challenges to overcome than ever before.

• 🗣️ “You need someone with deep pockets and someone with lots of drive-in operating experience,” said Kilderry.

• Only two drive-in cinemas remain open in Victoria, with about a dozen still operational nationwide.

Thumbnail Image Credit: David Kilderry and Thisbe Schultz

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Victoria Police has confirmed it will be treating the fatal shooting of a man in Box Hill in the early hours of Thursday morning as a “targeted” attack.

What happened: Emergency services responded to reports of an altercation at a high-rise apartment building on Whitehorse Road about 1.50am on Thursday, with residents evacuated for a number of hours.

Police have not formally identified the man who died at the scene.

Homicide Squad detectives have established a crime scene and are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the death.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit www.crimestoppersvic.com.au

Nestled between Wonga Park and outer eastern suburbs like Lilydale and Croydon, Chirnside Park prides itself on its “city meets country” character.

But a 2024 plan to transform the area into a hub of activity for the eastern suburbs could shift the township into a key regional connection.

As the community stands on the verge of change, what could the future look like?

🐑 🛍️ Rams to retail: Chirnside Park’s history begins with its namesake – sheep farmer Thomas Chirnside – and his family, who held most of the land from 1838 to 1950.

• Subdivision was approved in 1956, with development centred around a stone homestead, country club and now-closed golf course.

• Major developments followed, including Chirnside Park Shopping Centre and Oxley Christian College in 1979.

👀 Prices under the microscope: The median house price between April 2025 and March 2026 in Chirnside Park was $950,000 – up 13.1 percent year-on-year and not far behind the Melbourne median of $980,000.

• Median rent over the past 12 months reached $665 a week, a 5.6 percent increase and $85 more than the median weekly rent in Melbourne as of the September 2025 quarter.

Weed feed: Goats gnaw their way through eastern Melbourne

“It’s a great life.”

📈 Build it…and they will come? According to the 2021 Census, 11,779 people lived in Chirnside Park – a 19.3 percent increase since 2016, with growth mostly driven by families with young children aged up to nine and adults aged between 35 and 49.

• Estimates place the current population at 13,008, with projections of 14,280 by 2046.

🔭 Future scope: Yarra Ranges Council is currently developing a draft Chirnside Park Structure Plan with a 20-year vision to transform the suburb into a higher-density “Activity Centre”.

• The State Government first named Chirnside Park as a “Major Activity Centre” in 2002.

❓ What’s that? Major Activity Centres are areas identified as preferred locations for increased housing growth and diversity, as well as retail, commercial activity, community services, employment and public transport hubs.

💭 Dreams realised: The council has already achieved a number of goals outlined in a 2010 plan, including:

• The completion of the “Green Spine” – a two-kilometre long concrete shared path connecting Manchester Road to Brushy Creek;

• The construction of an urban park at Belsay Reserve; and

• The completion of $10 million worth of upgrades to the Chirnside Park Shopping Centre, including new flooring, ceilings and modern mall furniture.

✍️ High hopes: The new plan will outline ways to overcome a number of challenges threatening the area’s ability to grow, including housing affordability pressures, a lack of tree canopy and an over-reliance on cars due to the suburb having no train station.

• Potential opportunities listed in initial documents include identifying appropriate locations for higher housing densities, encouraging the development of Kimberley Drive as a “main street”, introducing targets for increased canopy cover and advocating for more frequent and flexible bus services.

• The plan also outlines the strategic development opportunities at four large undeveloped or underutilised pieces of land – 270 and 335 Maroondah Highway, 325 Manchester Road and 1 East Ridge Drive.

⏭️ What’s next? Councillors are set to vote on releasing the draft plan to the community for feedback later this month, before approving the final plan later in the year and implementing it in 2027.

• The draft plan will draw on 487 community submissions, highlighting preferences for low-rise housing, retaining open space, and supporting local businesses.

• Other concerns included parking, traffic and design quality issues often associated with high-density developments and the red tape and cost pressures the plan may place on small businesses.

Thumbnail Image Credit: Rob Deutscher

The old Croydon Drive-in Cinema was once the hub of Melbourne’s eastern entertainment scene.

Now, the site on Maroondah Highway hosts a run-down abandoned restaurant, fast food stops and a pub – with plans for further development unclear.

Left largely vacant for close to three years, what does the future look like for one of the east’s former amusement landmarks?

🗓️ The history: The Kirby family opened the theatre on what was then known as Whitehorse Road in January 1955. It was the first cinema to fall under the Village Cinemas branding – now known as Village Roadshow, a multi-million dollar company running cinemas and theme parks across the country.

• Village got its name from the nearby Croydon Village Shopping Centre.

• At 75 feet high, the initial screen catered for 741 cars. In 1982, Village received a second screen from the closed Moorabbin drive-in cinemas.

• The drive-in closed in August 1990, with both screens dismantled within 24 hours.

• Village auctioned off a range of memorabilia from the cinema’s history, with the site then subdivided and snatched up by fast-food outlets and housing developers.

Croydon Cinemas has been empty for two years – these locals want to change that

The complex opened on Boxing Day 1977.

🥳 The heyday: The Croydon site was not the first drive-in theatre in Australia – that was the Skyline in Burwood in February 1954 – but it was quickly celebrated as a novel place for young families to visit.

• A 1955 piece in the Argus reflected that the attraction for many was the “easy atmosphere of informality”: “You can wear slippers; make loud comments to your heart's content; go without a shave; do your knitting.”

• The Croydon site also set itself apart from its competitors by offering a swimming pool, dance floor, mini-golf course, dining options and an amusement park.

“It’s magic, you don’t get that at home": How has Metro Cinemas Boronia survived the age of streaming?

The four-cinema business is nearly 20 years old and plans to keep on screening for years to come.

🍕 New names, same buildings: The site became home to a range of family restaurants, including Pizza Hut and Sizzler.

• The Sizzler building later became an Italian restaurant, but due to increasing rent and operational costs, the site closed in September 2023 and is now an abandoned shell covered in graffiti.

• According to a real estate listing, the site was leased for development in November 2024, with plans to construct a 100-place childcare centre behind a proposed drive-thru restaurant. The Eastern Melburnian has contacted real estate agents to seek comment from the current owners.

⏱️ The 126th edition of our newsletter is a two-minute read.

Hi there 👋 

Matthew Sims here, your reporter at the Eastern Melburnian.

🍫 A belated happy Easter from me — a tired father of a toddler raging through her “terrible twos” like it’s going out of style. In all honesty, we had a great four-day break, complete with me pretending to be the Easter Bunny.

🔌 As petrol prices continue to cause concern for regular commuters, I’m planning to continue my reporting on electric vehicles — or EVs. In my comments recently, I’ve seen people question the efficiency and lifespan of EV batteries, so this week I’ll be taking a bit of a deeper dive into how far batteries have come in terms of value for money.

💨 This is a much shorter newsletter than normal due to the long holiday, so please let me know if you prefer this shorter style or want more in-depth discussions by reaching out at editor@easternmelburnian.com.au

Thanks for checking in on this extra short edition of the newsletter. I hope we’ll have more substantial news and stories to share come Friday morning.

Cheers,

Matthew

Always thought about visiting some of the attractions around the edges of Melbourne but never wanted to endure the hustle and bustle? 

Here are some easy day trips you can pull off in, well… a day!

Did we forget any prime locations? Let us know by emailing editor@easternmelburnian.com.au

Mornington Peninsula

The view from atop Arthurs Seat. Image Credit: calvciri

Views of Port Phillip Bay and Melbourne’s CBD skyline are the main attractions on offer throughout the Mornington Peninsula – including via a gondola ride up the 318-metre-high hill of Arthurs Seat – or a clifftop walk in Cape Schanck.

Or if you’re chasing serotonin more than adrenalin, the Peninsula Hot Springs offers a warm and relaxing retreat or check out wine tastings at a number of wineries along the coast.

Drive time: About 90 minutes

Yarra Valley

Snow falling on Mount Donna Buang. Image Credit: Bob Tan

Hop on the Maroondah Highway towards Lilydale to take in the scenic drive with views of vineyards and 2,800-plus hectares of agricultural land.

It would take you a full week to cover all of the things to see and do in the Yarra Valley, but highlights include Healesville Sanctuary, a trip up Mount Donna Buang (check to see when the next forecasted snowfall is) or a chocolate treat at the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie.

Drive time: About 70 minutes

Phillip Island

The Penguin Parade. Image Credit: Wildvik

Start with a visit to the main jetty at Cowes and embrace the brisk sea breeze. Then you can trek to the south of the island for whale spotting along the Whale Discovery Trail – or book a spot to see the nightly penguin parade at Summerlands on the island’s west coast.

If your taste leans a little more high-octane, there is Phillip Island Go Karts – which features a 750-metre scale replica of the former MotoGP track – or drift jet boat tours to see the coast from the ocean waves.

Drive time: About 110 minutes

Dandenong Ranges

Puffing Billy. Image Credit: Andy McLemore

The Dandenongs cover a wide range of ground from Upwey out to Warburton, so there’s no shortage of stops along the way. 

Key attractions include Puffing Billy in Belgrave, the Kokoda Track Memorial Walk or “1000 Steps” in Tremont or the Treetops Adventure in Belgrave.

For a more relaxing day out, simply go for a slow drive between the villages of Sassafras, Olinda and Kallista for some leisurely browsing of the various shops, stopping in at Sassafras’ Miss Marple’s Tearoom or the Kallista Tea Rooms on the way.

Drive time: About 60 to 90 minutes

Toolangi State Forest

Image Credit: Julia Minicz and Tirin

Strap on your best hiking shoes for this hike along a range of trails, including the Toolangi Sculpture Trail or the Wirrawilla Rainforest Walk.

To see some special flora and fauna up close, take the short Kalatha Giant Tree Walk and check out the 400-year-old Mountain Ash. The one-hour Yea River Walk loop offers the (somewhat slim) chance to spot some wild platypuses, too.

Drive time: About 90 minutes

Warrandyte

Right on the border of north-eastern suburbia and bounded by Mullum Mullum Creek and the Yarra River, Warrandyte is a quiet and quaint township.

Connect with the town’s main claim to fame by fossicking for gold at Andersons Creek - the site of Victoria’s first discovery of gold in 1851. Don’t forget to grab a Victorian miner’s right for about $28 online.

Casual hikes are also available, including Pound Bend and Jumping Creek.

Drive time: About 40 minutes

Instagram post

⏱️ The 125th edition of our newsletter is a seven-minute read.

Hi there 👋 

Matthew Sims here, your reporter at the Eastern Melburnian.

🛍️ Walking through a busy shopping district like Box Hill’s Station Street makes you think every business is trucking along just fine. While the fuel crisis isn’t seeing business stop as drastically as the Covid pandemic did, the impact of rising fuel prices is hitting everyone in one way or another.

☕️ I popped into a few different businesses and cafes in Box Hill this week to ask how they were doing, and also spoke to a couple of cab drivers. One told me the fuel crisis may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back — with plans for him to leave the industry.

👋 I’m a firm believer in supporting everyone in the community, so if you get the chance, have a chat with the owners at your local cafe, or jump in a cab and get to know the driver. Even saying hello to the owner of your local milk bar is worth doing.

Today we’re covering:

• A group of parents, teachers and students pushing for the Government to consider installing solar panels on every school in the country;

• A chat with a couple of taxi drivers at Westfield Knox about how they are coping with the high price of fuel; and

• Box Hill small businesses feeling squeezed by rising petrol costs.

We’ll be back with our edition next Wednesday, so have a happy and relaxing Easter break!

Cheers,

Matthew

Cab driver David pulls up to the taxi rank at Westfield Knox on Thursday, air-con blaring during a hot Thursday afternoon, eagerly looking for a new customer.

However, on his passenger seat is something a little different – his resume. After about five years behind the wheel, facing rising operating and petrol costs, he says he is ready to leave the job.

❓ What’s happening? Limited supply and rising demand of fuel due to the Middle East conflict has pushed petrol and diesel prices higher, with unleaded in Melbourne’s east at about $2.30 per litre and diesel around $3.10 — if available.

• On Monday, the Australian Government announced it would halve the fuel excise on petrol and diesel from April 1 to June 30 – meaning fuel would be 26.3 cents per litre cheaper.

• Still, many are waiting for the change to come through at the bowser. And perhaps the most eagerly awaiting relief? Taxi drivers. 

🛞 Courier change: David worked as a taxi driver in 2008 and picked up the keys again in 2021, but now is searching for a new job, with hopes to secure one as a courier driver.

• 🗣️ “I’m only averaging about seven or eight dollars an hour, so just enough to pay the bills,” David told the Eastern Melburnian.

⏳ Slow and long days: Cab driver Maurice, waiting nearby, said it was especially difficult to cope with the fuel crisis during the quiet period of the Easter school holidays, with most of his days taken up waiting for customers to walk up or book a trip online.

• 🗣️ “It’s hitting us very hard,” Maurice told the Eastern Melburnian. “Now, it’s costing me double to fill the cab. It’s not worth staying on the road for nothing…I just go home.”

🤝 Holding on: Maurice said he hoped some relief would arrive soon so he could support his wife and two children.

• 🗣️ “The fares are still the same, there’s no work and I just paid for a battery,” said Maurice. “We hope it will finish soon but we are not sure.”

A national push to install solar on every state school roof would save each campus $20,000-$30,000, as one Camberwell school has already seen a quarter of its bill slashed thanks to the sun’s power.

❓ What’s happening? Representatives of advocacy group Parents for Climate descended on Canberra this week to push for a national program that would see solar panels installed on the roof of every public school and childcare centre.

• More than 25 parents and 16 children from across Australia met with over 25 MPs and senators on Wednesday to support the push.

• The movement is supported by the Parliamentary Friends of Climate Action, a non-partisan forum for MPs – including New South Wales’ Independents Zali Steggall and Nicolette Boele, as well as Labor’s Jerome Laxale – to discuss how to drive Australia’s efforts towards climate emission reduction and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

💰 How would this work? Parents for Climate is pushing for a nationally-based solution that would allow more funding to flow from federal coffers towards the state government – similar to the Cheaper Home Batteries Program. The initial funding goal is at least $1 billion to deliver solar infrastructure to Australian schools.

⌚ The right time: Climate Energy Finance founder and director Tim Buckley said installing solar at all schools was a “massive opportunity” towards decarbonising the grid as installations would only take as long as two weeks.

• 🗣️“It takes you five years to build a wind farm, it takes you two years to build a utility-scale solar farm and it takes you five or 10 years to build a coal fired power plant,” Buckley told the Eastern Melburnian.

• According to Buckley, schools could save between $20,000 and $30,000 each year on their electricity bills if they install 100-kilowatt-plus solar systems – and that’s before batteries or EV chargers.

• Buckley is a former Director of Energy Finance Studies at the nonprofit Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

At Camberwell Grammar School, 2,600 panels cover the rooftops across six buildings as part of a 888 kilowatt-hour system installed in 2018 – one of the largest school-based solar arrays in the country.

🗓️Years of savings: Camberwell Grammar School sustainability project co-ordinator Jo Menzies said the system had seen an average reduction of 25 percent on its annual energy costs compared to 2017, with more than 885,000 kilowatt-hours produced in 2025 alone.

• 🗣️ “Weekend and school holiday-generated electricity from the solar systems is exported back into the grid,” Menzies told the Eastern Melburnian. 

✍️ Public processes: With support from the State Government’s Greener Government School Buildings Program, Camberwell Primary School – a seven-minute drive down the road from Camberwell Grammar – installed a 29.6 kilowatt-hour system in 2021, with plans it would cut their bills by $6,500 annually.

• The program fully funds installation at government schools, with schools required to pay the cost back over five years while retaining half the savings.

• 🗣️“It’s not about coercion…but providing carrots and encouragement,” said Buckley. “The cost of not doing it is extreme. There's no point having eight solutions, let's have one national solution.”

Liberal Senator for South Australia Andrew McLachlan (left) and Climate Energy Finance founder and director Tim Buckley (centre).

⏭️ What’s next? Federal Climate Change and Energy Assistant Minister Josh Wilson, Liberal Senator for South Australia Andrew McLachlan and MPs Jerome Laxale and Zali Steggall were among the senior representatives attending the event.

• Parents for Climate chief executive Nic Seton said the popularity of the event demonstrated “nationwide support for cost-saving resilience through solar and batteries on every school and childcare centre”.

• 🗣️ “The policy is ready and the support is there, now it’s time for the Federal Government to deliver,” said Seton. “When parents and kids speak directly to decision-makers, it cuts through. We heard again and again that this is a ‘no brainer’.”