Opening on October 1, the bar will operate from 4pm until late, as well as during matinee performances, serving beer, wine, ready-to-serve cocktails, non-alcoholic drinks and a selection of snacks.

Located within the free permanent exhibition at Arts Centre Melbourne, the new venue is being pitched as a pre- and post-show destination for theatre-goers, music fans and visitors to the surrounding arts precinct.

Arts Centre Melbourne executive director, destination and audience Kim Berkers said the bar would add another dimension to the Australian Music Vault ahead of its 10th anniversary in 2027.

“Since its opening millions of visitors have relished diving into the myriad stories and riches of Australia’s contemporary music industry,” Ms Berkers said.

“Arts Centre Melbourne is thrilled to be introducing a bar to the Vault, adding yet another reason to visit this must-see Melbourne destination and spend more time engaging with the artists and moments that have shaped Australian contemporary music.”

The Australian Music Vault opened in 2017 with founding patrons including Molly Meldrum, Kylie Minogue, Tina Arena, Archie Roach and Michael Gudinski.

Its changing displays celebrate artists and figures from across the Australian music industry, with current exhibitions featuring the likes of AC/DC, John Farnham, INXS, Marcia Hines, Split Enz, Yothu Yindi, Sampa The Great, Tash Sultana and Amyl and the Sniffers.

The launch will coincide with a new menu at neighbouring restaurant The Barre and comes just days before performances return to the refurbished Ian Potter State Theatre, which reopens as part of a major Arts Centre Melbourne program from October 3.

Melbourne Crime Investigation Unit detectives allege up to 10 bins were set alight in Southbank between July 2 and August 11.

Police said no properties were damaged in the fires and no-one was injured.

A 32-year-old Southbank man has now been charged with 10 counts of criminal damage by fire, as well as attempting to commit criminal damage by fire.

He has been bailed to appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on February 3, 2027.

The charges follow an investigation by detectives into the repeated fires across the CBD and Southbank area.

Built by Crema for developer Gamuda Land, the 20-storey development includes a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and has been designed around a strong emphasis on greenery, sustainability and shared resident amenity.

Landscape is integrated throughout the building, with native planting extending from ground level through a central green spine to podium spaces, balcony garden bowls and a rooftop deck.

The development also includes communal dining areas, barbecues, fire pits and a spa, while its façade uses brick, metal and glass as a reference to the site’s former use as a Dunlop tyre factory.

Crema said the project had been shaped by biophilic design principles, with natural light, ventilation and greenery intended to support residents’ wellbeing and strengthen the building’s relationship with its surroundings.

The Canopy’s completion comes as Montague continues to emerge as the most advanced of Fishermans Bend’s five precincts.

Its relative momentum has been helped by existing infrastructure and its position between established inner-city neighbourhoods.

The precinct is already served by routes 96 and 109 trams and is home to South Melbourne Primary School and Kirrip Park, while also sitting within easy reach of the CBD and Southbank corridor, South Melbourne Market, Clarendon St and Port Melbourne.

That combination of transport, schools, open space and established retail has made Montague an increasingly attractive location for residential development compared with other parts of Fishermans Bend still awaiting major public transport investment.

Numerous apartment projects have either been completed or are under construction across the precinct, gradually transforming what was once dominated by industrial and commercial uses into a mixed residential neighbourhood.

Crema said The Canopy had sought to respond to that transition rather than erase the area’s past.

“The result is a building that feels both robust and softened,” the builder said.

“Its industrial references give The Canopy a strong connection to place, while the greenery, native planting and rooftop amenity help create a more liveable, human experience.”

The project team also included Hayball, landscape architects OCULUS, HIP V. HYPE, MURRI:YUL, WSP and Webber.

As first reported by the Australian Financial Review, receivers have sold the 158 City Rd site – known as Hanover House – for around $26 million to a private local developer, who is understood to be pursuing a build-to-rent project using the site’s existing planning permit for a 46-storey residential tower.

The sale is significant because Hanover House formed around a third of the land assembly required for Beulah’s internationally acclaimed “Green Spine” proposal.

The approved $2.7 billion development was designed to span both the former BMW showroom site at 118 City Rd and the neighbouring Hanover House property, with the project only becoming possible after the planning permit was amended in 2023 to incorporate both sites into a single development footprint.

While the former BMW site remains unsold and continues to be marketed by receivers, the separate sale of Hanover House effectively ends any realistic prospect of the twin-tower Green Spine scheme proceeding as originally approved.

The latest development represents a significant shift from Beulah’s public position over the past two years.

As previously reported by Southbank News, the developer had consistently maintained it remained committed to realising its goal despite mounting financial pressures, telling this newspaper in 2024 that it was “committed to delivering our vision” while pursuing design amendments aimed at reducing construction costs.

More recently, after the project’s management entity entered voluntary administration, Beulah said it continued to be in discussions with potential development partners regarding the next phase of the project.

However, in comments published following the Hanover House sale, the developer acknowledged that the project “may not proceed as originally envisaged”, citing challenging market conditions despite its “best efforts”.

The sale also comes as pressure continues to mount over an estimated $57 million in purchaser deposits tied to the stalled development.

Southbank News first revealed concerns from purchasers earlier this year after buyers questioned how long their deposits could stay locked away while construction remained stalled.

Since that reporting, Southbank News understands a number of purchasers have now engaged legal representation in an effort to recover their deposits from Beulah, arguing the circumstances surrounding the project have fundamentally changed.

The latest sale is expected to strengthen those arguments, with some purchasers reportedly claiming the separate disposal of Hanover House constitutes a material change to the development they originally agreed to purchase into.

According to the AFR, receivers are now seeking legal advice on whether the sale affects the status of purchaser contracts and associated deposits, while marketing efforts continue for the adjoining former BMW showroom site.

For Southbank, the sale marks the likely end of one of the city’s most ambitious – and heavily promoted – development proposals.

Unveiled in 2018 following an international architectural competition, STH BNK by Beulah promised Australia’s tallest building, a Four Seasons hotel, Centre Pompidou partnership, extensive public open space and a dramatic “Green Spine” design that quickly became synonymous with the future of Southbank.

After years of anticipation, extensive marketing campaigns and repeated assurances that the vision was still alive, the sale of one of the project’s two cornerstone sites suggests that chapter has now come to a close. •

For me, this one feels especially personal.

While Docklands News may have been where our business began, Southbank News is where my own journey really started.

After initially interning at both titles and spending a brief stint reading the news at a regional TV news bureau in Shepparton, I found myself back in Melbourne in 2013, taking over the editor’s chair from Southbank News co-founder Sean Rogasch.

At the time, I really had no idea what I was walking into.

I thought I’d largely be writing local yarns.

Instead, I quickly discovered that editing this local newspaper meant doing, well, just about everything.

I was writing the articles, selling the ads, laying out the pages, answering the phone and eventually even delivering the newspaper myself. There weren’t many hats left unworn. It was, in every sense, a business within a business.

Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing.

As someone born and raised in Melbourne, Southbank already held a special place in my memory. Growing up, a trip into the city often meant Southgate and the river promenade.

When I began working here, I found myself rediscovering that feeling through a completely different lens.

More than learning how to produce a newspaper, I learned something far more valuable.

Local journalism isn’t just about telling stories. It’s about facilitating community.

It’s about connecting people who otherwise might never meet, championing local causes, celebrating quiet achievements and occasionally giving those in power a gentle – or not-so-gentle – reminder that communities deserve to be heard.

That lesson has stayed with me ever since.

Southbank gave me the foundations for everything we’ve built at Hyperlocal News today.

When Shane Scanlan handed ownership of the business to me in 2018, that philosophy travelled with us as we expanded into the CBD, Carlton, East Melbourne, North Melbourne, Kensington and beyond.

It will travel with us again next month as we launch The Melburnian.

Over the years we’ve been fortunate to witness Southbank mature into one of Melbourne’s great inner-city neighbourhoods.

When I started, the population was less than half what it is today. Community groups were still finding their feet, services were limited and the suburb was only beginning to develop a stronger identity beyond being somewhere people slept after work.

Today, more than 25,000 people call Southbank home.

We’ve watched South Melbourne Primary School open its doors, followed the long campaign for Boyd Park, reported on the battle over Crown’s supertower proposal, chronicled the transformation of Southbank Boulevard, advocated for improvements to City Rd and Southbank Promenade, and covered everything from the expansion of the Arts Precinct to the rise and fall of Beulah’s ambitious STH BNK proposal.

Since 2016, we’ve also proudly extended our coverage into Montague, documenting another community growing within the Fishermans Bend urban renewal area.

There are countless other stories that could fill another 165 editions.

But some of the moments I’m proudest of never appeared as front-page splashes.

Watching the Southbank Sustainability Group grow from a small gathering of passionate locals into a respected community voice – eventually helping secure a community garden at Boyd – perfectly captured what local newspapers can do.

Sometimes our greatest contribution isn’t writing the story.

It’s helping create the conditions for the next one.

None of this would have been possible without the extraordinary people we’ve met along the way.

Thank you to Southbank Residents’ Association, Southbank3006, Southbank Sustainability Group, St John’s, the Yarra River Business Association, Victoria Police, our local councillors, state and federal representatives past and present, the arts organisations, traders, businesses, contributors and the thousands of residents who have trusted us with your stories.

To our advertisers, thank you for believing in the value of local journalism. Quite simply, there wouldn’t have been a Southbank News without your support.

And to my team, both past and present – Lauren, Kate, Jenny, Chris, Hanna and our incredible distributors who have walked every street and apartment tower to ensure the paper reached readers each month.

And finally, thank you to every reader who has picked up a copy over the past 15 years.

You’ve given me a career I never expected, friendships I never imagined and a deep appreciation for what community journalism can achieve.

While this is the end of Southbank News, it certainly isn’t the end of Southbank’s voice.

From September, that voice continues through The Melburnian.

The masthead may be changing, but our commitment to Southbank isn’t.

See you next month. •

Hosted by Ray White Southbank principal Andrew Salvo, the event will feature an interactive panel discussion with local sales agents and property managers sharing their pathways into the industry, lessons learned, and the experiences gained while building their careers through the Southbank office.

The evening is aimed at both established professionals considering their next move and newcomers interested in entering real estate.

Panel discussions will explore the realities of working in Melbourne’s property market, the training and mentoring available to new recruits, and the role technology, data and brand support can play in helping agents and property managers develop their careers.

Attendees will also have an opportunity to put questions directly to the panel during a live audience Q&A.

Mr Salvo said the event was designed to offer a transparent view of the industry and the way the Southbank office operates.

“We are constantly looking for exceptional people to join our growing team,” Mr Salvo said.

“We want to show you how our office operates, how our training works, and how the backing of Australia’s biggest real estate brand can help you achieve your personal and financial goals.”

Following the panel discussion, guests will be invited to stay for an informal networking session with complimentary cheese and wine.

The session will provide an opportunity to speak one-on-one with Mr Salvo, members of the office’s leadership team and participating panellists.

The event will be held from 6pm to 7pm on Wednesday, September 9 at 273 City Rd, Southbank.

Attendance is free, but registration is required due to the venue’s limited capacity. •

Chief conductor Jaime Martín will open the season with three works by Beethoven, culminating in the Ninth Symphony and its celebrated Ode to Joy.

Across the year, Martín will also lead programs pairing composers, including Schubert and Mahler, Mozart and Brahms, Rachmaninov and Dvořák, Sibelius and Shostakovich, and Mozart with siblings Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn.

MSO chief executive Richard Wigley said the orchestra would approach the season with a renewed focus on the shared experience of live music.

“As we continue the journey from our 120^th year towards our 125^th, we do so with a clear sense of purpose – it’s all about great music,” Mr Wigley said.

Mr Martín described the program as “a celebration of the spirit of discovery”, combining familiar masterpieces with works audiences may be encountering for the first time.

Season highlights include A Midwinter Feast, bringing together music by Britten, Elgar and Walton, and a performance of William Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast. Cellist Li-Wei Qin will perform Elgar’s Cello Concerto.

The orchestra will also present Symphonic Swing, led by conductor Clark Rundell and featuring the Australian premiere of Wynton Marsalis’ Trumpet Concerto, performed by Austrian trumpeter Selina Ott in her MSO debut. The program will include works by Gershwin and Bernstein, alongside a new commission by Australian composer Vanessa Perica.

Australian music will remain central to the season, with 13 world premieres of MSO commissions and co-commissions. Among them is a new work about Joan of Arc by former MSO composer-in-residence Mary Finsterer and librettist Tom Wright, drawing on transcripts from the 1431 heresy trial.

Yitzhak Yedid’s large-scale oratorio The Valley of the Dry Bones will bring together the MSO, MSO Chorus and The Consort of Melbourne, with Stan Grant narrating.

The orchestra has also appointed Melbourne-born, Europe-based conductor Nicholas Carter as chief guest conductor.

Mr Carter, general music director of the Staatsoper and Staatsorchester Stuttgart, will lead performances of Strauss and Schumann, as well as Bruckner’s Eighth Symphony. “The MSO gave me my first experience of orchestral music and first inspired me to become a conductor, so to return as chief guest conductor is an enormous privilege,” he said.

International guests will include pianists Paul Lewis and Alexandra Dariescu, conductors Chloé van Soeterstède, Rodolfo Barráez, Yutaka Sado and Eva Ollikainen, violinist Inmo Yang, soprano Claire Booth and mezzo-soprano Fleur Barron.

The orchestra will also continue its free and low-cost programs, including the Sidney Myer Free Concerts, MSO In Your Neighbourhood and performances in Frankston and Geelong.

Subscriptions open August 10, with individual tickets available from October 14. •

Victoria Police Melbourne Crime Investigation Unit detectives have released CCTV footage of a Caucasian, male, approximately 18 to 25 years of age with a slim build wearing dark coloured clothing.

They are asking for help from the public to identify and locate the man, who is wanted in relation to the deliberately lit fires.

These were: near the intersection of City Rd and Power St at about 10.10am on Friday, July 3; on Haig St, near Clarendon St, at about 11.15pm on Tuesday, July 7 and also Sunday, July 12; and at Clarke St, near City Rd, just after 3pm on Monday, July 27.

Four bins were also set alight on City Rd between 5.30pm and 8pm on Sunday, August 2.

No properties were damaged as a result of the fires and there were no injuries.

Anyone with information on any of the incidents is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit an online confidential report at crimestoppersvic.com.au •

Playing in the Bagging Room from August 13 to 29, The Nightline invites audience members to sit alone at a table, pick up a vintage telephone and operate a switchboard connecting them to real voice messages left between midnight and 6am.

The recordings capture the thoughts and experiences of shift workers, insomniacs, truck drivers, emergency workers, new parents, prank callers and late-night revellers, creating an intimate portrait of Melbourne after dark.

The work was created by documentary theatre maker Roslyn Oades and ARIA Award-winning sound artist Bob Scott.

Originally commissioned for RISING’s inaugural 2021 program, its planned Melbourne premiere was cancelled when the city entered lockdown on the festival’s opening night.

Since then, The Nightline has travelled to Sydney Festival, Adelaide Festival, the Gold Coast’s Bleach* Festival and Canada’s Carrefour international de théâtre de Québec.

For each season, Oades and Scott collect a new batch of anonymous messages from the host city. Ahead of the Malthouse run, they again called on Melbourne’s late-night community to contribute, creating a new snapshot of the city’s inner life.

“There is a distinct, open-hearted honesty to the anonymous messages left for The Nightline under the cover of darkness,” Oades said.

Audiences will be guided into the space by “The Nightline Concierge”, played by Katia Molino, before being left to navigate the recordings.

The production strips away conventional theatrical spectacle in favour of close listening, with the switchboard gradually dissolving the distance between strangers.

Malthouse Theatre executive producer and co-CEO Vivia Hickman described the work as “an exceptionally delicate, moving portrait of a city in its quietest hours”.

“Since capturing the imagination of audiences across Australia and overseas, it is a privilege to bring The Nightline back to the city where it all began,” she said.

The production features design by Clare Britton, lighting and coding by Fausto Brusamolino and switchboard design by Greg Cameron.

Its anonymous message bank will remain open throughout the season, with later contributions potentially included in future iterations of the work.

The Nightline runs for 40 minutes at Malthouse Theatre, 113 Sturt St, Southbank, from August 13 to 29. Performances are held Tuesday to Saturday, with additional late sessions on Thursdays and Fridays. Tickets range from $35 to $45. •

Founder Justin Moran launched the initiative after establishing JustInTime PT in Southbank in 2012, motivated by a desire to give something back to the neighbourhood where the business began.

“Personal training was and still is a non-essential item and a luxury that not everyone can afford, so I felt compelled to give back to the community and to do so at little or no cost,” Mr Moran said.

He said the business’s continued growth had enabled it to keep funding the Southbank group and paying qualified staff to lead the sessions without charging participants.

“I seriously didn’t think too far past the desire to build a community, which we have,” he said. “To think we have achieved 10 years has blown my mind and I am very proud.”

Held each Wednesday morning, the initiative is described as “more than just a walking group”.

Along with exploring different routes around Southbank and the city, participants take part in exercises focused on posture, balance, strength, flexibility, mobility, fall prevention and cognitive function.

The sessions are led by university-qualified trainers and typically finish with coffee, conversation and plenty of laughter.

Mr Moran said walking provided a low-impact and accessible form of exercise, but the group’s broader value came from the education and social connection built into each session.

“Opportunities and experiences like these are simply massive and play a major part in building happiness, connection and friendships,” he said.

That social role is particularly important in Southbank, where many residents live in apartment buildings and can feel disconnected from their neighbours.

Original member Julie Clifton said the group had become stronger over time, with a solid core of regular participants.

“The walks we do are in different directions around the city, which is such a bonus, and everyone can walk at their own pace,” she said.

“There are a lot of laughs. The group is also a very strong social group, with members not only doing the weekly coffee but meeting up for other events outside of the walking group.”

Long-term participants Ron and Cath Margieson said the sessions supported mental health through social interaction while improving mobility, fitness and cognitive function.

Another member, Phil Boase, said joining the group had helped him remain active while managing long COVID and post-viral fatigue.

“Exercising together with other participants gives me more motivation and commitment to keep going,” he said.

“The unexpected bonus is the social interaction that I have also gained. It has connected me to other people in the local community and to other community activities.”

Mr Moran said one of the most rewarding outcomes had been watching friendships continue beyond the weekly sessions.

“The fact that many of the regulars are friends now and do many social outings together away from our group is just brilliant,” he said.

JustInTime PT has since established similar free groups in Docklands and Barwon Heads, with Mr Moran saying the positive response had reinforced the value of maintaining the initiative.

“We will continue to offer them all for many years to come,” he said. •

A twining root system climbs five metres up the internal concrete pylons of the ground-floor gallery at Haiku Gladstone, adding an intriguing organic element to the quasi-industrial space.

Another root-focused work has been made from mycelium threads woven into rounded sculptural balls, which hang and gently spin as people walk past.

The exhibition, Bloom, which attracted a crowd of 200 to its opening on July 16, explores growth and nature in all its forms, the organisers say, and incorporates painting, sculpture, installation, photography, textiles and “object-based” pieces.

Among the many works on display are photos of petals, AI-generated images of clouds, intricate porcelain sculptures imbued with floral scent, fibre necklaces, woven vessels and various pieces examining different sorts of iridescence found in nature.

The exhibition includes “a really great cross-section of artists from different backgrounds,” co-organiser Kerrin Samuel says, and “a lot of different and interesting interpretations of flora”.

Staged as part of an initiative aimed at providing commercial opportunities as well as exhibition space to emerging artists, the show includes a retail area with merchandise and affordable prints and objects made by the exhibitors.

Kerrin Samuel and Jade Armstrong, who met at RMIT as students, had been thinking about the idea for a couple of years when they approached tech hub startup FB Ideas with it and were advised to apply for a “creative residency” at Haiku Gladstone.

The residency is run with the support of Greystar, which owns the complex.

“What we’re trying to do with the exhibition is to give people who don’t necessarily have a standard pathway as an emerging artist a leg-up,” Kerrin says.

“We wanted to share our opportunity with other artists who we think are doing really cool and amazing things and help them with regards to commercialising their practice in a way that makes it sustainable to do art as a full-time career.”

Featured among Bloom’s 15 exhibitors is established bayside painter Anna Blatman, who is known for her eye-catchingly colourful, naïve style nature-themed scenes.

Alongside Kerrin and Jade, who have contributed a range of interesting work in different mediums, the exhibitors, many of them first-timers, are Tina Burge, Maya Grkow, Barry Robertson, Shelly Lazar, Nah Bananas, Toby Wundheiler, Lily Wundheiler, Kirtana Bharathi, Nicola De Rosbo-Davies, Randeep Sith Zem Rost, Sue Armstrong and Thea Hu-Warren.

The exhibition, which was officially opened by City of Port Phillip Mayor Alex Makin, has drawn plenty of locals in, Kerrin says.

“There really is a lovely sense of community here, and it’s so nice to bring the residents down into the gallery to come and connect with their neighbours and other people in the building as well as to talk to the artists.”

“It’s a fabulous way to activate one of the spaces in Fishermans Bend and bring people into Haiku Gladstone to see what they have to offer as well.”

As part of the project, the artists will be offering a series of workshops and events, including sessions on visible mending, fibre art jewellery making, furniture weaving, sugar blowing and making flowers out of both clay and crepe paper.

Bloom is open Thursdays and Fridays 4pm to 7pm and Saturdays 1pm to 4pm or by appointment at Tower B, Haiku Gladstone until September 13.

artup.global •

Emerald Place, developed by Lowe Living in partnership with IN. TRE, is now complete, delivering 38 architecturally designed residences on one of South Melbourne’s most prominent corners.

The project has been designed as a luxury, low-density alternative to larger inner-city apartment buildings, with house-sized residences aimed at rightsizers, professionals and buyers seeking a walkable lifestyle close to the South Melbourne Market, Albert Park and the CBD.

Beyond the residences themselves, the completed building also marks a visible renewal of a key Clarendon and York St site at a point where South Melbourne transitions towards Southbank and the central city.

With its heritage-inspired form, ground-floor presence and emphasis on quality design, Emerald Place adds a new layer of activation to a stretch of Clarendon St that has long carried the potential to better connect South Melbourne’s village character with the growth occurring in the area.

Lowe Living co-founder Tim Lowe said Emerald Place reflected the company’s focus on delivering high-quality projects in established lifestyle locations.

“At Lowe Living, we take great pride in transforming highly coveted lifestyle-driven locations into exceptional residential, retail, and commercial spaces,” Mr Lowe said.

Designed in collaboration with Woods Bagot, with landscape architecture by Acre, Emerald Place has sought to reinterpret the character of South Melbourne rather than overwhelm it.

The building draws on the area’s 19^th century pub architecture and brickwork, using detail, texture and restrained materiality to create a contemporary corner statement that still feels connected to its setting.

Woods Bagot associate principal Ana Sá said the design had been grounded in the history and texture of the suburb.

“Home at Emerald Place is an urban oasis to call your own,” Ms Sá said.

“Grounded in South Melbourne’s rich history of heritage pubs and brickwork, Emerald Place celebrates detail and craft, forming a strong and elegantly restrained corner statement.”

She said subtle patterns, textures and honest materials carried through from the architecture into the interiors, creating warmth and comfort for residents.

Inside, the residences have been conceived with an emphasis on generous proportions, natural stone, smoky engineered timber and premium detailing, reflecting a shift towards apartments that feel more like established homes than standard inner-city dwellings.

The building still has a limited number of remaining residences and skyhomes, positioning the completed project as a rare complete offering rather than an off-the-plan promise.

Lowe Living co-founder Emma Lowe said collaboration had been central to the project’s delivery.

“Collaboration, integrity and respect for our partners is at the centre of everything we do,” Ms Lowe said.

The project’s landscaping has also been designed to soften the urban setting and bring greenery into daily life.

Acre creative director Brett Robinson said the landscape had been developed to work closely with the building’s architecture.

“The materials and geometry of the landscape has been delivered to work with the architectural palette and form, linking the two to create a seamless connection between the building and landscape,” Mr Robinson said.

“This approach responds to the needs of urban living, in bringing nature to the day-to-day life of occupants and providing spaces for entertaining and outdoor living.”

For South Melbourne, the project’s completion comes at an important moment for Clarendon and York streets, which continues to balance its traditional village identity with the pressure and opportunity created by nearby growth in Southbank, Fishermans Bend and the CBD.

Emerald Place’s location gives residents immediate access to South Melbourne Market, surrounding cafes and restaurants, public transport and open space.

In that sense, the development is not only a new residential address, but a contribution to the continuing renewal of South Melbourne as a lived-in, walkable and active inner-city neighbourhood.

loweliving.com.au •

For more than 15 years, with the incredible Sean Car at the helm, Southbank News has punched well above its weight – delivering quality journalism and real local news stories that keep our community informed and uplifted.

When I first met Sean, I was blown away by his passion for telling local stories. He was proud of our community, and we wanted to share that pride with his readership. To still be telling those stories with the same passion as he did 15 years ago should be a great source of pride for Sean and the whole team at Southbank News.

With each edition, this masthead has chronicled the transformation of Southbank from what was once an industrial zone into a burgeoning residential, commercial, cultural and entertainment precinct.

Southbank is the blueprint for how we meet the housing supply and affordability challenges of our time, while preserving the cultural and community qualities that make it such a desirable place to live.

Having represented Southbank in the Federal Parliament since 2019, I’m proud of the investment we have made to preserve the character of this beautiful part of Melbourne, while building the physical and community infrastructure it needs to grow.

We’re delivering a community battery at the Boyd Community Hub – providing a source of cheaper, renewable energy for the residents and businesses of Southbank.

We’ve delivered a new Headspace facility in South Melbourne to provide early intervention mental health services for younger Australians in need.

We’re restoring the historic See Yup Temple – a heritage-listed cultural and religious centre which has been maintained by the See Yup Society of Melbourne since 1866.

Together with the City of Melbourne, we’re bringing the northern Kings Way undercroft on City Rd to life by transforming this underutilised concrete jungle into a public activity space complete with basketball courts, climbing walls and art installations.

We’re refurbishing and repairing the South Melbourne Town Hall, which has been home to the incredible Australian National Academy of Music for more than three decades.

And we’re helping to build the new The Fox: NGV Contemporary – a hub for contemporary art, design and architecture in the heart of Southbank.

Southbank News hasn’t just reported on these investments. It’s driven them. Through an informed and active readership, the Southbank News has cultivated a sense of shared community without which Southbank would not be what it is today.

This is not the end of local news for Southbank. It’s the start of something new – The Melburnian will bring us local stories from across the city while showcasing the best of Southbank for all of Melbourne to see.

But it is an opportune moment to reflect on the importance of local journalism, and the incredible legacy which the Southbank News leaves behind. To Sean and the team at Southbank News, thank you for service to our community.

It’s been a privilege to read and contribute to this masthead, and I look forward to continuing that partnership over the coming years.

I wish you every success.

Josh •

Co-owners Gilbert Jonathan and Kasumi Oikaze both got their start in hospitality at Mr. Summit in City Rd, where they got jobs as students and learned a lot from founders Tony Rouillon, Daniel Emerton and Jordan Setiawan.

After being offered a stake in the second café, the dedicated workers – who hail from Indonesia and Japan, respectively – got on board with the project, and they have been running the new venue since it opened, after a long and challenging setup, on February 21.

“For Gilbert and Kasumi, it is the first experience of entrepreneurship and becoming their own bosses, and what they have to offer is really, really great,” Tony Rouillon told Southbank News.

According to Kasumi, the City Rd apprenticeship taught them important principles about the people side of the business.

“We wanted to do exactly the same things [here] to make customers smile or to give connection and community,” she said.

These can include things like a challenge to “make the barista laugh” in exchange for a free coffee.

In appearance, Mr. Summit Fawkner is somewhat different from its City Rd counterpart – with its fit-out incorporating more concrete and wood to maintain a backstreet, industrial feel.

The menu, though, is very similar.

“We kept our offer the same because it does appeal to a very wide range of people,” Tony said.

Beautifully made toasted sandwiches with classic ingredients, gluten-free bread options and changing “limited-edition” fillings like tikka masala, beef chimichurri and cheesy garlic, are the main menu item, with pastries also available.

On the drinks menu, alongside a range of specialty espresso and brewed coffees and hot and iced matchas, sit signature drinks the “snow cap” – a cold brew topped with cream - and the “coco cloud” – a coconut water topped with dulce de leche (caramel) coffee cream.

A very affordable toastie-and-drink deal has seen the café experience a regular lunchtime rush.

Its clientele, according to Tony, includes “basically everyone”, from elderly residents, students, office and construction workers to dancers from the ballet school down the street.

A lot of customers come also from the original store, with some choosing to have their morning coffee in the City Rd shop and their afternoon one in Fawkner St.

“They know Gillie and Kazumi from the previous store, and they know us also for a long time so they want to see everyone,” the Frenchman said.

A run club initiative organised with local gym Conditn has also drawn people to the new backstreet café, with 30 to 40 runners turning out on Saturday mornings for a five-kilometre jog to the Botanical Gardens, round the track and back.

As with the shop’s spacious seating area, where people are welcome to linger over reading material or laptops, the managers see the run club as creating a space for people to connect in.

The business has an impressive social media presence, with owners and staff featuring in regular, well-produced funny videos but it is a form of advertising that only goes so far, Tony believes.

“At the end of the day, our best marketing will always be the word-of-mouth spread,” he said.

“And this takes a little bit of time.”

Meanwhile the founding trio are engaged in a new mission, with a third Mr. Summit taking shape at Uluwatu in Bali and set to launch sometime before the end of the year.

“Jordan wanted to go back to his home country and we thought, ‘what should we do?’” Tony explained.

“And obviously we wanted to stick together.”

“We all come from different backgrounds, different countries and so living this adventure together is good and we’re just thinking, you know, anything can happen at any time for anybody.”

fawknerstreet.order.mrsummit.com.au •

The rollout was revealed at the August 4 Future Melbourne Committee meeting after Southbank Residents Association president Tony Penna again raised concerns about the council’s inability to keep bins from overflowing.

Mr Penna presented councillors with recent photographs of bins spilling onto footpaths in Swanston St and Queensbridge Square, describing the problem as a persistent blight on the city.

“It’s not the first time that I’ve come in here to raise this issue of overflowing bins,” he said.

Mr Penna said the answer was straightforward: increase collection frequencies.

“We know the Big Belly bins don’t work,” he said. “Why is it so difficult for council to put a solution in to address this?”

The solar-powered Big Belly compactors were first introduced at Queensbridge Square in 2016 at a reported cost of $6000 each. They were promoted as being capable of holding seven times the waste of a standard bin and automatically alerting contractors when nearing capacity.

However, the technology has repeatedly failed to meet expectations, with residents reporting maintenance problems, unreliable alerts and continuing overflow.

Acting City of Melbourne chief executive Rick Kwasek confirmed the existing bins had reached the end of their life and would soon be replaced.

“The rollout of the new bins will commence in about two weeks,” Mr Kwasek said.

“There will be 500 new bins across the city, all being compacted bins with technology that allows us to identify bins when they reach capacity.”

He said the system was intended to notify collection crews before residents needed to report a problem.

The council is also examining additional out-of-cycle collections and rapid-response services, particularly during weekends, major events and other periods that produce unusually high levels of waste.

However, Mr Penna remained cautious, noting that similar promises were made when the Big Belly bins were introduced. “I was in this forum when they were spruiking the Big Belly bins,” he said. “I heard exactly the same then.”

City safety, cleaning and infrastructure portfolio lead Cr Rafael Camillo acknowledged the council’s performance had fallen short.

“I just need to apologise to you because I kindly agree with you,” Cr Camillo told Mr Penna. “I think we can do better.”

Cr Phil Le Liu also expressed frustration and called for greater emphasis on changing public behaviour, pointing to cities in Japan and Singapore where people are expected to carry their rubbish until they can dispose of it appropriately.

He suggested messages could be placed on bins encouraging people not to pile waste above full receptacles, as well as examining different collection times and partnerships with community organisations.

“I hear this every single year, every single time,” Cr Le Liu said.

The new bins will now face the same test as their predecessors: whether improved technology is matched by sufficiently responsive collection services. •

It encircles the Royal Botanic Gardens and Kings Domain, and the gravel trail is entirely off-road. It features gentle slopes alongside a steep 300m climb up Anderson St in South Yarra and has distance markers every 250 metres.

The Tan was established in 1901 as part of Alexandra Avenue and was extended to the Shrine of Remembrance in 1935.

Why is it called the Tan?

It is believed to derive from its original 1900s use as a tanbark horse-riding track when crushed tree bark was used in leather tanning, a major industry in industrial Melbourne. However, some continue to believe that it is a shortening of the term botanical.

While today it is predominantly used for running and walking, from the early 1900s until the 1950s it was mainly used for horse riding and the area contained stables where horses were maintained and hired out for the many riders in the area.

By the 1930s many found that a brisk canter on horseback (preferably in the morning) was beneficial and led to an increase in the number of riding schools. It was relatively inexpensive to hire the horses and to pay for teaching.

Riding was very important for the many women in the area, who dressed in fawn breeches, black coats and boxer hats, although the younger riders favoured informal dress for the Tan.

The area along the track was subject to flooding and had an uncertain (and sometimes treacherous) surface. Many misfortunes occurred, including an occasional death. In 1937 a young local woman out riding was crushed against an electric pole after her horse bolted.

But World War Two changed everything. It was no longer commercially viable to maintain stables. The trouble, of course, was the soaring cost of feeding and stabling hacks and the last venture closed its doors around 1960.

The Tan continued to be improved through and beyond the 1960s and now includes two digital clocks installed in 2020 that show the top ten Fastest Men and Women. It continues to be extremely popular, and many argue that it is a world-class asset to Melbourne and Southbank. •

At the Southbank Sustainability Group (SSG) community gardens, the above lines resonate and inspire all our regular volunteers. Gardens are evolving spaces and need constant attention, especially an open community garden like the SSG garden at Boyd Community Hub.

When the temperatures in July were forecast at freezing single digits, most people would prefer huddling by the heater with a warm cuppa. These freezing winter mornings, the SSG volunteers would don their warmest winter gear and regularly turn up to tend to the SSG garden beds and spaces.

The garden beds were cleaned of all litter (including sandwich boxes, beer cans, nappies, tissues, and bottles) and refreshed with soil (as some passers-by did help themselves to garden bed soil for home gardens). After this, the beds were planted with some fast-growing leafy Asian vegetables, snow peas, broad beans, sweet potatoes were tended to, and nutrients solution sprayed.

As always, the community’s request is more herbs. This winter, along with regular herbs, we planted coriander and more varieties of Asian herbs. It is heartwarming to note that our herb selection has always been appreciated by community residents, including some local restaurants and home chefs.

As part of SSG activities in the past few months, we have included a session on the use of different herbs in SSG gardens and culinary practices of different cultures. At the gardening session on July 4, after general maintenance tasks, the volunteers got together for the herb presentation of the month.

This month, the “curry plant” was presented by Niki. She informed the group about the use, growth characteristics, medicinal and nutritional qualities of curry plant leaves. Post the information session, Nikki invited all members to taste a healthy homemade Indian savoury dish made out of chickpea flour and yoghurt – called Khandvi – especially garnished with curry leaves. The flourish with which Nikki unveiled her dish sure outdid some MasterChef contestants in her taste and presentation of a dish.

In the past few years, our volunteer team has been getting together to celebrate “Christmas in July” – a very special Australian tradition. The SSG family has been growing over the past five years, and several multicultural members from around the world are joining us.

This year, it was a wonderful opportunity to get together with new members and celebrate “Christmas in July” with a variety of different dishes from different cultures. The much-loved preparation of the day was Serena’s Thai Massaman Curry.

Christmas in Australia is synonymous with pavlova. Faye and Ray’s special chocolate ripple cake and Christmas decorations did complement our joyous July celebrations.

It has been a wonderful journey being part of this group, and I enjoyed contributing this column on behalf of the Southbank Sustainability Group.

We will soon be seeing a new format of Southbank News to match the current times – Southbank News will now be The Melburnian. At SSG we will continue to celebrate change, which is the only constant, and our young SSG members have been updating our socials with the latest information.

Come and join us to know more about our activities.

About the group

The Southbank Sustainability Group is a solutions-focused community group of Southbank residents working to bring positive change in sustainability practices in the community.

Reach us at: southbanksustainability@gmail.com or via Facebook and Instagram.

If you are interested in getting involved with the Southbank Sustainability Group, join us at a Saturday meet-up or send us an email. •

Through his project Stanton collected the images and stories of the “common” and some “not-so-common people” of New York. He later ventured beyond New York to include people from more than 40 different countries.

Stanton achieved many things through his project. Foremost, he reminded us of who we are. We are more than economic or commercial units, more than reductive digital codes, and more than the sum of our desires.

We are human. Complex, relational, flawed and beautifully human. We want to encounter each other. We find each other interesting … even good to be with.

Stanton’s project inspired many similar projects by other people. “Humans of …” blogs popped up everywhere. This generative project unearthed something that humans value beyond the vapid celebrity cultures, consumption cultures, and data cultures that seem to dominate and limit our thoughts, feelings and interactions.

We are different from each other, and that’s not a threat. We are naturally equipped to thrive in and even leverage our differences for shared good. Even now Stanton’s inspired project challenges the vile political and social cultures of resentment that dominate our social conversations and divide our connections with each other.

For the past three months I have foregrounded some of the humans of Southbank through this column. I have included cleaners and sanitary workers, buskers and street performers, and baristas as people who occupy and enrich the spaces that we share.

I want you to see and appreciate them. Not just because of the services that they provide, but because they are human, just like us. When we see the people who we share our Southbank spaces with we become open to encounters with them and their deep, personal stories. The humans of Southbank are good to be with. We are never alone.

Naomi Klein, a Canadian author, social activist and film maker, recently commented that we need to remember who we are when faced with the rapid development and use of AI (artificial intelligence).

Commenting on the proposition that AI is able to “think for us”, as though it is a good idea to outsource our thinking she said, “our power [as humans] is to be able to think with each other.” That can’t be outsourced, digitised, or commodified. It’s organic, fertile and uniquely, humanly social. It can’t be mimicked and it should never be given up.

When I was asked to contribute each month to the Southbank News, I wondered what readers might expect. As I am a religious leader, I imagined that readers might expect me to radically challenge the status quo and advocate for positive social change.

This article, with its encouragement to see and connect with the humans of Southgate, is the most radical, counter-cultural thing that I could imagine. Our human connections, in these times, are so tightly mediated through those who want to control our political, economic and cultural interests through division and resentment. What could be more defiant than working out our own relationships?

That begins with seeing the humans who are there. The humans of Southgate. They’re beautiful.

Thanks to Sean and his team at Southbank News for giving me this opportunity. While the format of the news is changing this human of Southgate is still around. Come and find me at John’s, 20 City Rd. •

Whether it’s Commercial Rd, Toorak Rd, Williams Rd, Queens Rd, Punt Rd or many of our surrounding streets, potholes have become an all-too-common part of the daily commute. They’re more than just an inconvenience. They’re damaging cars, creating safety hazards and adding to the frustration of Victorians who already pay some of the highest taxes in the country.

Over recent months, I’ve been raising these concerns at every opportunity. I’ve written directly to the relevant ministers, highlighted the issue across my social media channels, and continued advocating on behalf of local residents who are fed up with deteriorating road conditions.

I’ve heard from motorists who’ve had tyres destroyed, wheels bent and suspension damaged after hitting potholes that should have been repaired long before they became dangerous. For many families, those repair bills arrive at the worst possible time, adding hundreds or even thousands of dollars to already stretched household budgets.

Drivers are forced to slow suddenly, swerve to avoid hazards or navigate damaged sections of road with extreme caution. That means longer travel times, greater congestion and increased risks for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians alike. No-one should have to worry that simply driving to work, taking their children to school or heading to the shops could result in vehicle damage or a serious accident.

This didn’t happen overnight. After 12 years of Labor Government, Victorians have been left with record debt, declining services and roads that are falling apart.

While everyday infrastructure has been neglected, billions of taxpayer dollars have been wasted through project cost blowouts, and serious concerns have been raised about organised crime infiltration of Victoria’s Big Build with at least $15 billion lost to corruption.

We need a government that focuses on the basics. Maintaining our roads, delivering essential services and spending taxpayers’ money responsibly should never be an afterthought.

New Premier Ben Carroll was a member of Cabinet throughout the decisions that have brought Victoria to this point, and many Victorians are questioning whether meaningful change is possible while internal factional pressures continue to shape government priorities.

Only the Liberals and Nationals have a plan to reduce crime, lower costs, and deliver a government that works. We will restore responsible financial management and run a government that focuses on the everyday issues that matter to Victorian families.

I’ll continue standing up for our community until these dangerous roads receive the attention they deserve. Local residents shouldn’t have to accept damaged cars, unsafe roads and longer journeys as the new normal. •

We are incredibly grateful to Sean Car and his team for generously providing us space in Southbank News since our inception; it has been vitally important to spreading awareness about our organisation, the initiatives we’ve spearheaded and spreading the word about our community-building events and advocacy.

I worked at a community paper in the US for over five years as both an occasional columnist and full-time marketing director, so I know first-hand the toil and pressures of producing a newspaper with lean staffing as Sean Car has managed for not one, but five community papers each month.

In fact, it’s almost Herculean given the quality and breadth of stories the publications have covered, not simply through phone call interviews, but by attending events and sending photographers to document them so readers have a visual of being present as well.

The investment of sending a reporter to a three-hour meeting to produce a thoroughly vetted story takes on new meaning when one realises that just a few reporters were responsible for covering events in five separate communities.

In Southbank, Sean Car and his team took on tough issues from chronicling the devastating economic and social impacts during pandemic lockdowns, to scrutinising high-density growth and poorly regulated infrastructure, and reporting on local crime and complexities of vertical living.

The Southbank News played an important part in our organisation’s initiative to turn most of the granitic sand at the ACCA forecourt into a 900-square metre public park. His reporters were on hand at every step of the process, a complex undertaking that required buy-in from local and state governments, to document and share the evolving story. You can see it coming to fruition at present and we are sure it will be the focus of a story in The Melburnian when the park is finished.

As of late, Southbank News covered a rare opportunity to convert Victoria Barracks into a Prep to Year 12 campus. Their reporting has explored how such an investment would have positive implications beyond education and make up for failures in planning by successive governments in Southbank. A school campus would help reframe Southbank as a place to set up a long-term home, not just somewhere to live for a short period of time. We urge the entire community to get behind this demand that Sean and his team recognise. The Melburnian will be key to championing this important issue across all of Melbourne not just to Southbankers.

Of course, we are sad to see Southbank News go, but it is an inevitable step in the evolution of print media worldwide. We’re grateful that local reporting will continue, just under a new masthead and on a different scale. We dread the day that the only source of timely, localised reporting of events is on social media unvetted and subjectively delivered. Fortunately, there is a way we can help local reporting and The Melburnian thrive: pick up a print copy, read the online edition and share stories with friends. Thank you, Sean, and team from all of us at Southbank3006 for making Southbank a priority.

If you care about our community and the issues that impact on livability in Southbank, please join us at southbank3006.com. •

Whatever your views on graffiti, street art or Pam the Bird, one thing stood out: it was dealt with relatively quickly.

Importantly, it was Transurban, the private toll-road operator, that removed the graffiti from the bridge, not the state government.

But the broader point remains.

If graffiti on one of Melbourne’s most prominent pieces of infrastructure can be removed within weeks, why have tags around Flinders Street, the Banana Alley Vaults and Rebecca Walk remained in place for months – in some cases, more than a year?

These are not obscure locations hidden down forgotten laneways. They sit at one of the major gateways between the CBD and Southbank, passed by thousands of residents, workers and visitors every day.

And that is what makes the contrast so frustrating.

This is not simply a question of the City of Melbourne refusing to clean them. Many of these locations are state government assets, and the council has been trying to reach broader agreements that would allow it to remove graffiti from those assets and recover the cost.

At a recent council meeting, I raised the issue again.

What became clear is that the council does have arrangements covering some specific state-owned locations, but there is no blanket agreement allowing it to simply step in across the municipality. That is the problem.

The council knows where the graffiti is. It wants it removed. It is apparently prepared to do the work. Yet because responsibility is split between different agencies, prominent locations can remain covered for far too long.

From a resident’s perspective, that makes little sense.

People walking along Rebecca Walk do not care whether the wall beside them belongs to the City of Melbourne, the Department of Transport and Planning, VicTrack or anybody else. They simply see Melbourne.

And once graffiti is allowed to sit untouched, the problem tends to grow. That is particularly disappointing around Flinders Street, Banana Alley and Rebecca Walk.

This should be one of Melbourne’s great pedestrian connections, linking Flinders Street Station, the CBD, Southbank and the Arts Precinct.

Surely, we can present it better.

To the council’s credit, it has invested more in graffiti removal and has been working with state agencies to improve response times. The Lord Mayor also acknowledged that more needs to be done.

But perhaps the time has come to push harder for a municipality-wide arrangement.

If graffiti on a State-owned asset is not removed within a reasonable period, why shouldn’t the council be able to clean it and recover the cost?

The Pam the Bird example does not prove government can always act quickly – because in that case Transurban did the work.

But it does prove something equally important: difficult, high-profile graffiti can be removed when the responsible asset owner decides it should be.

That same urgency should apply across the city.

And perhaps that is an appropriate note on which to finish what, after almost 12 years, will be my final regular monthly column in these pages.

With Southbank News transitioning into the new citywide publication, The Melburnian, the regular Southbank Residents’ Association column as you have known it is also coming to an end.

For almost 12 years, I have used this space to talk about our neighbourhood – sometimes celebrating what makes Southbank such a great place to live, and sometimes highlighting where I believe we can do better.

To everyone who has read, responded, agreed, disagreed or stopped me in the street to discuss something I have written: thank you.

But don’t mistake this for me riding off into the sunset.

My advocacy for Southbank is not going anywhere. You will still hear from me through local stories and, from time to time, in these pages.

So, this is not really goodbye. It is simply the end of a monthly conversation we have been having for almost 12 years.

I’ll still be making noise. •

As tails wagged through the entrance and curious noses explored the newly fitted City Rd premises, owner Samantha Guo watched a dream years in the making come to life.

For Southbank’s growing number of pet owners, the new business fills a longstanding gap in the rapidly developing suburb. While many apartment towers welcome pets, professional grooming services within walking distance have remained limited.

Having lived in Southbank for more than six years, Ms Guo had often noticed residents travelling to neighbouring suburbs for grooming appointments.

“I thought, ‘Why shouldn’t this part of Southbank have a high-quality local salon too?’” she said.

Ms Guo said apartment living created its own grooming needs. Many Southbank pets spend much of their time indoors, making regular grooming an important part of keeping them clean, healthy and comfortable.

Having a trusted salon close to home also makes routine care easier for busy residents.

City Rd resident Sue Williams said she was relieved to have a convenient grooming option for her poodle and her mother’s Persian cat.

She no longer needs to travel to another suburb, with the salon now located directly across from her building.

For Ms Guo, grooming is about more than appearance.

“It’s not just about making pets look beautiful,” she said. “It’s about making sure every animal feels safe, comfortable and genuinely cared for.”

The salon has already received strong demand, with bookings stretching into the following month.

Ms Guo’s journey towards opening the business began with a lifelong love of animals. After studying zoology at the University of Melbourne, she built a career as a marketing manager in the pet industry.

She later decided she wanted to work more closely with the animals she had always loved.

In 2023, she travelled to China to complete professional pet-grooming training before returning to Australia to undertake further courses, combining her scientific knowledge, practical skills and passion for animal care.

The salon caters for both dogs and cats, with trading hours designed around the schedules of local professionals, including Friday and weekend appointments.

Ms Guo also hopes to introduce dog daycare services in the future.

According to festival artistic director Al Cossar, the inclusion was due purely to demand.

“With audience demand growing faster than ever, MIFF continues to expand its footprint across cinemas throughout the CBD to ensure that Melbourne film fans have the most opportunities to be part of the festival in 2026,” he told Southbank News.

“We look forward to presenting some of the most hotly anticipated titles from the festival program on the big screen at Village Cinemas Crown, in cinemas that will ensure the artists’ work looks and sounds incredible for audiences.”

Two cinemas at Village Crown will screen festival films, with the venue added to a schedule of seven other main city-based venues for MIFF’s 74^th edition.

A scene from Sofia Coppola’s documentary about fashion designer Marc Jacobs, Marc by Sofia.

Among the films showing locally are a swag of documentaries, from Australia and overseas, including several on music – the Newport Folk Festival (Newport & the Great Folk Dream), rock band Jebediah (Jebediah: Are We OK?), an international whistling competition (Whistle), and Tina Arena (Tina Arena: Unravel Me).

Also under the spotlight – the 1986 World Cup quarterfinal between England and Argentina (The Match), fashion designer Marc Jacobs, as seen by Sofia Coppola (Marc by Sofia) and “defamation lawfare” against women who expose gendered violence (Silenced).

Gender and sexuality-themed dramas to screen include a French film about a WWI clandestine romance between soldiers, whose two leads shared the best actor award at Cannes (Coward).

A German examination of male privilege via a folktale about a woman posing as a male soldier in 17^th century Germany also won international plaudits, with lead actor Sandra Huller winning a Silver Bear at Berlin (Rose).

Also showing is absurdist, talking-animal black comedy The Fox, which features the voice of the late Sam Neill as the fox and Olivia Coleman as his magpie companion.

Other comedies include an interrogation of creativity by director Pedro Almodovar (Bitter Christmas), a best friend boarding school tale of cluelessness (Extra Geography) and “gory Gothic romp” Victorian Psycho).

There is an animated adaption of opera Carmen, told through the eyes of children (Viva Carmen) and the true story-inspired story of a teenaged refugee in the Central African Republic trying to forge a career as a rapper (Congo Boy).

In addition to standard single session tickets or passes, MIFF offers $12 Rush Tix for selected sessions, which are announced daily at 11.30am and are available from 12pm to 2pm. For more information: miff.com.au

The issue was again raised at the August 4 Future Melbourne Committee meeting by Southbank Residents’ Association president Tony Penna, who questioned why some prominent graffiti could be removed quickly while tagging on other assets lingered.

Mr Penna pointed to the recent removal of the giant Pam the Bird image from the Bolte Bridge, contrasting it with graffiti at Banana Alley, Flinders Street Station and the underpasses near Rebecca Walk.

“If you spray a bird on the Bolte Bridge, it is removed within a few weeks,” he said.

“How is it that a bird can be removed within a few weeks, yet the city can’t have a tag removed from Banana Alley vaults, Flinders Street [Station] or the underpasses near Rebecca Walk within many months, often in excess of a year?”

While Mr Penna attributed the Bolte Bridge clean-up to the Department of Transport and Planning, the work was carried out by private toll-road operator Transurban.

His broader point, however, reflected a longstanding frustration: responsibility for graffiti removal is divided between the council, state agencies and private asset owners, often resulting in different standards and response times.

Lord Mayor Nick Reece said the council had significantly expanded its graffiti-removal efforts, clearing about 140,000 square metres of graffiti across the municipality during the past year.

He said the council was also using city cameras to gather information about prolific taggers, sharing intelligence with Victoria Police and investing more in cleaning hard-to-reach areas.

“No council has done more to clean up graffiti in this city than this current council,” Cr Reece said.

“Does that mean it’s perfect? No, it’s not. Do we need to do better? Yes, absolutely.”

City safety and cleaning portfolio lead Cr Rafael Camillo said the council had spent two years trying to secure arrangements allowing it to clean graffiti from state-owned assets and recover the cost.

“At the moment, we still don’t have a firm answer that we can go ahead and clean, and how we are going to be paid back,” he said.

Acting council CEO Rick Kwasek said agreements had been reached for individual assets, including parts of Flinders Street Station and City Rd, as well as some Yarra Trams infrastructure.

However, there was no blanket agreement covering all Department of Transport and Planning assets.

Mr Kwasek said differences in heritage requirements, asset complexity and service standards remained significant barriers.

Cr Phil Le Liu urged the council to pursue a broader agreement rather than negotiate each location individually.

The issue follows additional $34.3 million in graffiti-management funding in the council’s latest budget and ongoing attempts to coordinate more closely with state agencies.

The Liberal Party announced on August 7 that Cr Campbell would join opposition leader Jess Wilson’s team for the upper house region, which includes large parts of Melbourne’s west.

Her candidacy follows the departure of former Liberal-turned-independent MP Moira Deeming from the region and represents Cr Campbell’s latest attempt to enter state or federal politics.

In 2023, she unsuccessfully contested the federal seat of Aston for the Liberal Party under then-opposition leader Peter Dutton, losing the traditionally Liberal-held seat to Labor in a historic by-election result.

Cr Campbell may again face criticism over being parachuted into an electorate outside her immediate political base, an issue that featured prominently during the Aston campaign. However, her profile as a barrister, mother of four and experienced City of Melbourne councillor gives the Liberals a high-profile candidate as they seek to rebuild support in Melbourne’s west.

Roshena Campbell with former Federal Liberal leader Peter Dutton during her byelection campaign in the seat of Aston in 2023. 

“My parents lived in Point Cook, and I also spent many years volunteering at the Footscray soup kitchen,” Cr Campbell said.

First elected to the City of Melbourne in 2020, Cr Campbell became Deputy Lord Mayor alongside Nick Reece in 2024 and has emerged as one of Town Hall’s more experienced figures, with a strong focus on business, safety and city management.

Her move also adds another layer of intrigue to the City of Melbourne ahead of November’s state election.

Labor-aligned councillor Davydd Griffiths has already announced his intention to contest the lower-house seat of Melbourne against Greens MP Ellen Sandell.

Should both Cr Campbell and Cr Griffiths be elected, council could lose two of its most senior and experienced members at once, potentially reshaping the balance and dynamics of Town Hall less than halfway through its four-year term.

Cr Campbell’s election to state parliament would also create a vacancy in the deputy lord mayoralty, triggering a by-election to determine who would serve alongside Lord Mayor Nick Reece for the remainder of the term.

Southbank News understands there may yet be further council interest in the state election, with another councillor considering a run, although no announcement has been made.

For Cr Campbell, the campaign represents another opportunity to translate her experience at Melbourne Town Hall to a higher level of government.

“On council, I’ve seen first-hand the problems our state faces,” she said. “I’m ready to help deliver our plan to fix it.”