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Victorian Greens propose public supermarkets to cut grocery bills
The Greens propose a $350 million trial of 10 public supermarkets across Victoria, promising cheaper essentials. Economists warn of implementation challenges.
Melbourne named world’s friendliest city in readers’ poll
Melbourne leads Condé Nast Traveller’s reader-voted rankings with a score of 98.52, ahead of Porto and Seoul. Perth also makes the top ten.
Commuters call for better buses in Melbourne’s growing west
Commuters want better bus connections as parking fills in Melbourne’s west. Official timetables set out the services already running to the new station.
Twelve Apostles bookings open ahead of visitor centre launch
Visitors must book ahead from 16 October as the new centre opens. Entry remains free until April 2027, according to the ABC.
Victorian Coalition pledges new youth mental health services
The Coalition pledged Parkville facility planning and a workforce fund if elected. Psychiatrists welcomed its focus but warned against restarting reform.
Matt Jefferies Entertainment: The Lilydale Husband-and-Wife Duo Behind Melbourne's Mirror Booths, 360 Videos and Dry-Ice First Dances
Based in Lilydale and working from the Yarra Valley to the MCG, Matt and his wife Keiz pair DJ sets with mirror and 360 booths, a GlamBot and 'dancing on a cloud' dry ice for weddings and brands including L'Oréal and Coles — a Victorian ABIA finalist every year since 2019, by their own count.
From Vows to Vibes: Celebrations by Sheereen Packages Celebrant, MC and Dance Floor Into One Melbourne Wedding Booking
An authorised marriage celebrant and MC with a 5.0 rating across 40 ABIA reviews, Sheereen's top package adds a DJ, a five-hour open-air photo booth, four sparkulars, low-lying fog and an audio guestbook — so the couple, in her words, just has to enjoy the day.
Melbourne Airport opens new pick-up and drop-off zones
Drivers now use Naarm Way to reach the new passenger zones for Terminals 1, 2 and 3, with extra staff and mobility assistance available.
Melbourne Auction Volumes Fall 45.6 Per Cent as National Clearance Rate Hits Three-Month Low
Melbourne held 670 auctions last week, down 45.6 per cent on a year ago, as the national preliminary clearance rate fell to 48.2 per cent, a three-month low.
Liberals Pledge to Halve Victoria's Surgery Waitlist as Labor Walks Back Its Own Land Tax Changes
The Coalition would fund 25,000 extra private-hospital surgeries a year by winding up Breakthrough Victoria — while the Carroll government scraps the land tax change that pulled in 250,000 more Victorians, paid for partly by delaying level crossing removals.
Mortgage Stress Victoria Pauses New Clients as Demand Doubles and Rates Sit at a 15-Year High
The free service says more than half its clients are employed — and Narre Warren, Cranbourne, Roxburgh Park, Pakenham and Ballarat have Victoria's highest counts of households with more going out than coming in.
From 1983 Deer Farm to Award-Winning Eco-Retreat: Yarra Valley Estate's 120 Acres at Dixons Creek
The family-run venue about an hour from Melbourne pairs 48 ensuite rooms and eight event spaces with a 300-plant Edible Forest that feeds its kitchens — plus two Premier's Sustainability Awards and certified carbon-neutral status.
Labor Pledges $80 Million Upfield Line Study as Level Crossing Removals Slip to 2033
The Carroll government says the northern-suburbs line will be duplicated by 2033 if it is re-elected — but the premier stopped short of guaranteeing funding, and eight level crossing removals are pushed back seven years.
Victoria Is Considering 'Emergency Extractions' of Its Rarest Birds as H5 Spreads Into Breeding Season
Nearly 100 species are on the at-risk list — black swans among them, and a brolga population of about 1,000 — as the state weighs pulling wild birds into captivity alongside the parrots and honeyeaters already held.
Pubs Open Till 3am, Dogs Allowed Inside: Labor's Pitch to Victoria's Drinkers
Under the pledge, venues get an automatic right to trade past 1am, liquor licence waits drop from 11 weeks to six, and publicans — not the Food Act — decide whether your dog comes in.
The Royal Children's Hospital Is Finishing 20 New Emergency Beds It Can't Open — There's No Funding to Staff Them
The $50 million expansion promised in 2018 is nearly done, but hospital sources say the beds will sit unused — as ED posters apologise for 'the long wait' at a department seeing about 90,000 kids a year.
Nick Daicos Finally Has His Brownlow — and the 47-Vote Record That Comes With It
Collingwood's 23-year-old polled six straight best-on-grounds and sealed the count by round 21, beating Patrick Cripps's record of 45 — the Pies' first medallist since Dane Swan in 2011.
Victoria's New Data Centre Rules: Bring Your Own Renewables, No Drinking Water, and 150 Metres From Homes
Ben Carroll's strategy bans new data centres near schools and childcare and makes developers fund TAFEs and parks — while the industry calls the blanket buffer 'not tied to actual impact'.
Melbourne Is Headed for 27C on Sunday, Its Warmest September Day in Three Years — Then a Polar Snap
The north-west 'heat engine' lifts the south-east up to 12C above average this weekend — before a Southern Ocean change cuts 10 to 15 degrees in 24 hours on Sunday evening. And the first summer outlook points at records.
The 'Grand Old Dame' of Mount Buffalo Is Reopening After 20 Years — Cafe This Month, School Camps to Follow
Belgravia's 40-year lease revives one of Australia's largest weatherboard buildings: 108 bedrooms, the 1954 'Queen's table', and plans for 5,000 students a year in the Alpine National Park.
Labor Has Adopted Jack's Law: 1,200 Police Wands, 'Anywhere, Any Time', Whoever Wins in November
Ben Carroll is borrowing the Coalition stop-and-search policy his predecessor rejected. Jack Beasley's father says it's about time; criminologists say there's no evidence it cuts violent crime.
One in Five Melbourne Units Sold at a Loss Last Quarter, While Brisbane Sellers Pocketed a Median $525,000
Cotality's June-quarter figures show 20.8 per cent of Melbourne unit resales lost money — in a country where 95.4 per cent of all resales still turned a profit — with CBD unit values having peaked back in 2017.
The Rail Loop Will Spare More of Box Hill Gardens by Taking 10 More Properties Instead
The SRL's revised Box Hill plan cuts the park's loss from 25 per cent to about 10 — and compulsorily acquires 10 more properties and a laneway, with owners to be moved out between 2027 and 2030.
The Wattle Park Chalet, Host of Melbourne Weddings Since 1928, Caught Fire on a Wedding Morning
Crews found the Surrey Hills venue's roof alight at 6:32am Saturday. About 30 per cent of the heritage-listed building is damaged, the fire is being treated as suspicious — and the owner spent the day quietly finding the couple a new venue.
Victoria Is Headed for a Bumper Grain Harvest — and Diesel Has Doubled in a Year, Farmers Say
A Mallee grower needs 15,000 litres to bring his crop in, a Melbourne trucker's August fuel bill hit $275,000, and analysts say global stockpiles are tightening as harvest approaches.
Victoria Has Scrapped Its Central North Renewable Energy Zone After a Farming-Country Backlash
Dookie has '330-odd residents', its campaign spokesperson says — and 11,760 Victorians signed the petition against the zone. The planned rally will likely become a street party instead.
Victoria's Right-to-Work-From-Home Laws Are Stalled Until After the Election, by a Single Vote
A crossbench motion passed 18-17 — with Adem Somyurek back from a months-long absence to support it — sending Labor's signature workplace bill to a committee and leaving it unlikely to pass this term.
The NFL's First Game in Australia Drew 100,021 to the MCG, and the 49ers Ran Away With It 27-7
Brock Purdy threw three touchdowns in front of the seventh-largest regular-season crowd in NFL history — three seats short of the MCG's capacity — while last season's MVP watched the final drive from the bench.
Nearly Half of Victoria's State Roads Are in Poor Condition, and the Auditor-General Says $3 Billion a Year Is Needed to Fix Them
The audit of 23,000km found 48 per cent of the network poor or very poor — up from 39 per cent in 2021 — with the defect backlog doubling and the funding on the table less than half what the department says is needed.
The Purple-Hoodie Outreach Team at Frankston Station Is Being Credited With a 44 Per Cent Drop in Disorderly Conduct
Social workers who 'make friends with you for a start' have supported 2,452 people around Young Street since late 2024 — and the program born in the south-east is now heading west.