Insurance impacts and a Brickworks bid
Also including: A Ringwood 20-something which has made his passion of sharpening knives into a business
Matthew Sims
October 17, 2025
⏱️ The 85th edition of our newsletter is a seven-minute read.
Hi there 👋
Matthew Sims here, your reporter at the Eastern Melburnian.
As of writing this newsletter, our subscriber count just ticked over 13,180 - a big hello to all our new readers.
😬 Sometimes, you don’t see my mistakes because they are (luckily) picked up before they are published. However, there are other cases where my errors are wide-reaching. Late on Tuesday afternoon, you may have seen an email pop into your inbox about a group of elderly Whitehorse table tennis players and their fight to protect the recreational hall they play in from being redeveloped. An errant box left unchecked in my publishing process meant that this didn’t hit just a few inboxes, it was sent out to our more than 13,100 email subscribers. Whoops!
ℹ Anyway, I hope you still enjoyed the story. I spoke with a number of the table tennis players, who said they felt like their wishes had been ignored in the consultation process. I’ll keep you updated further on their advocacy works and will let you know when the Mahoney’s Reserve draft masterplan is out for public comment.
🥊 In another real “David vs Goliath” story, Whitehorse Council made a move to try to block high-rise developments from being approved at the historic Box Hill Brickworks site. How? By beginning the process to make a bid to buy the land and retain it as open space. The development would form part of the Suburban Rail Loop Authority’s Box Hill Structure Plan, which is expected to be endorsed in 2026.
🗣️ I spoke with Whitehorse councillor Kirsten Langford, whose platforms during her 2024 election race included securing the site as open space, about why the council thought the move was a necessary one to stand up for what they believe the community wants. Indeed, Box Hill Brickworks Parkland Association co-convenor Vincent Mennilli said the council’s decision was massive news in the campaign, which started officially two years ago.
⏱️ Now, Box Hill residents will have to wait and see what the State Government, SRLA and developers decide to do.
⛰️ Lastly, I’m continuing my reporting on the Yarra Ranges Council’s Erosion Management Overlays (EMOs). After looking at the broader personal impacts and benefits of these changes last week, I wanted to take a look at a specific financial impact: insurance.
😡 I also spoke with Kalorama resident, Kate, who shared a number of criticisms she had of the council’s EMO process and the proposed amendments. She discovered her property, on a largely flat slope, was proposed to come under Schedule 1 - risk of landslips.
💌 If you’re set to be impacted by the council’s EMOs, please reach out via [email protected]
🗞️ Here’s what the Eastern Melburnian has been up to
An online petition advocating for the historic Box Hill Brickworks site to be retained as open space has more than 6,900 signatures.
The one thing you gotta know ↑
WHAT’S ON THIS WEEK 🎟️
SATURDAY 18/10/25, 9AM-5PM | Dandenong Ranges Literary Festival
SATURDAY 18/10/25, 6.30-9.30pm AND SUNDAY 19/10/25, 10AM-3PM | SaJo Ceramics Staff and Student Pottery Exhibition
SUNDAY 19/10/25, 10AM-3PM | Monash Council’s 2025 Family Fun Day
SATURDAY 18/10/25, 7-11.30PM | The Basin Music Festival fundraiser
SATURDAY 18/10/25, 3.30-5PM | World Singing Day - Vocal Vibes
SATURDAY 18/10/25, 10AM-12.30PM | Montrose Flower Festival
SUNDAY 19/10/25 11AM-4PM | St Luke’s Community Fete
📰 THIS WEEK’S HEADLINES
⛰️ How will higher landslide or mudslide risk impact insurance policies across the Dandenong Ranges?
Kalorama resident Kate and her family made the decision to move from Mooroolbark to the Hills about three years ago.
This year, Kate received a letter from Yarra Ranges Council informing her the home she lived in was proposed to be placed under a new Erosion Management Overlay (EMO).
Kate, who spoke on the condition of only giving her first name, said the notice and further investigation she has undertaken has made her “very angry” and “concerned” about the potential impacts she may face.
"I was surprised to receive the letter, because our block is a very gentle slope, flat in some areas,” Kate told the Eastern Melburnian. “I wouldn't have thought it was appropriate to have an EMO over the whole property.
"If something were to happen to the house, which required getting a planning permit for rebuilding, I'm very concerned that council might cause problems there.”
In late June, Yarra Ranges Council received authorisation to prepare the amendment to the council’s Planning Scheme. Finalised and released to the public in August, the changes meant an additional 2,365 homes were placed in either Schedule 1 or Schedule 2 risk categories.
The changes also came with a warning from the council for homeowners: check your insurance.
Allan Manning, the founder of Insurance claim advisor LMI Group, said most home insurance policies don’t cover landslides, with some doing so in the case of things like storms or earthquakes.
“The vast majority of policies would exclude subsidence or land movement,” he told the Eastern Melburnian.
What is an EMO? If your property falls under an EMO, you must get a geotechnical report before doing any building or earthworks. These reports usually cost between $700 and $3,000+.
Submissions on the proposed amendment to the Council’s EMO plans close Sunday, October 26.
Kate said she would be making a submission calling for the EMO mapping to be reviewed.
“The evidence needs to be really solid, and the methodology needs to be quite rigorous, and I don't think that's been the case here,” she said.
Kate said while she had not looked into the potential impact the EMO would have on her property, she believed “a lot of insurance policies don’t cover landslides”.
“That may mean that insurance companies just raise the premiums for the whole area,” she said.
"I think prospective buyers would certainly be aware of those issues and probably be looking to avoid those issues where possible.”
Manning said insurance providers use satellite imaging to provide risk-based ratings. “[The new EMO mapping] will allow insurers to identify the higher risks and they’ll be rating the risks accordingly,” he said.
One of the most significant changes as part of the proposed EMO amendments is the addition of a second schedule - “Schedule 2”.
Schedule 1 applies to properties at risk of landslides - a disturbance in the natural stability in the slope resulting in a mass of rock or earth moving downhill
Schedule 2 applies to properties at risk of mudslides - when water rapidly accumulates in the ground causing earth and debris being washed down hill quickly.
Engineering geologist Darren Paul said mudslides or debris flows “can be quite destructive” and pose a greater risk to properties and populations.
“They can take out things ahead of them very easily,” he said. “Debris flows will happen when we get the right rainfall event.”
Manning said the most important thing to do if you are concerned about what your policy is research.
“I want people to buy on the quality of the product, not the cheapest premium,” he said.
“It’s protecting your life’s work and there are massive differences from absolute rubbish that cover nothing right through to “Rolls-Royce policies”.”
Whitehorse Council has taken a major step in the fight to protect the historic Box Hill Brickworks site from high-rise development.
On Monday night, councillors voted to begin negotiations with the site’s owner, Phileo Australia Limited, to purchase the land before plans for 10-storey housing towers progress further.
The motion confirmed council’s stance that the seven-hectare site at 14 Federation Street should be reserved as public open space.
Whitehorse councillor Kirsten Langford said preserving green space would be vital as surrounding suburbs like Surrey Hills and Mont Albert undergo significant housing growth.
“Imagine what it’s going to be like in 15 years’ time,” she told the chamber.
“In Whitehorse, we’ll be well on the way to more than doubling our population, adding another 76,500 homes. We’re not against densification, but with it comes pressure on open space.”
The Suburban Rail Loop Authority (SRLA) released a draft Box Hill Structure Plan and Planning Scheme Amendment earlier this year for public consultation.
The plans outlined the Box Hill Brickworks land as one of the “strategic sites” around the new underground SRL East station, with the site proposed to be used as a “new mixed-use residential neighbourhood”.
Box Hill Brickworks Parkland Association co-convenor Vincent Mennilli told council the campaign to save the site as parkland has gained strong public support, with an online petition exceeding 6,900 signatures.
“We firmly believe this type of open space, in the heart of Box Hill, is key to its livability,” said Mennilli. “The community must not be ignored—we need to act now.”
Mennilli later told the Eastern Melburnian council’s decision was a “huge step forward” in showing the Suburban Rail Loop Authority (SRLA) the community’s wishes.
Potential private developers of the site have scrapped previously submitted plans for five to six-storey towers after a report showed they would deliver a 21.8 percent financial loss.
The developers have now proposed an amendment to the Whitehorse Planning Scheme seeking for apartment blocks to be 10 storeys or higher, with only five percent of the site required to act as a public open space.
A SRLA spokesperson said it has been working with council and the community on plans to deliver “high-quality homes and new public open space” at the site, but no final decision has been made.
Independent public hearings are now underway, with the Save Box Hill Brickworks Parkland Association and Whitehorse Council both presenting their cases next week.
The committee will then give advice to the Planning Minister ahead of a final decision in early 2026.
Walk into Mahoney’s Reserve recreational hall, in Forest Hill, on a Tuesday afternoon and you’ll hear the steady click-clack of table tennis balls and bursts of laughter as players celebrate a good shot.
For a group of older Whitehorse locals, it’s not about winning — it’s about friendship, movement, and belonging. But lately, uncertainty hangs over their hall as Whitehorse Council plans a major redevelopment of the Mahoney’s Reserve Pavilion.
In 2022, Whitehorse Council launched public consultation, floating the idea of building one shared pavilion for the cricket and soccer clubs, Scouts and indoor sports.
However, the council paused any redevelopment of the northern pavilion, instead moving forward with preparing a new masterplan for the 9.8-hectare reserve as a whole.
The first round of consultation closed in January 2024, with the draft plan expected to go to a second round early next year and be adopted by June.
Whitehorse Activities Club (WAC) member Helen St John, who’s played for eight years, said the sport keeps her feeling young.
“Rather than feeling like I’m 75, I feel like I’m 15,” she said.
Other players in the group were as old as 90.
Helen St John said she and other players felt ignored in the consultation process.
“We feel like we’re being shoved off,” she said.
“As you age, you become invisible.”
WAC table tennis leader Bruce Haines said the 1968-built hall should be preserved as a place for indoor sports.
“Table tennis is the poor cousin to outdoor sports in Whitehorse,” he said.
Mayor Andrew Davenport said council was “working closely with the community and key stakeholders” about how the reserve is currently used, conducting technical investigations, and developing options for the draft masterplan.
SEEN THIS WEEK 🤓
A young small business owner in Ringwood has found a niche in his love of sharpening knives.
Ari Chesterman’s business – Steel To Stone – sharpens knives and equipment for cafes, restaurants and home cooks in Melbourne’s east.
The young small business owner, based in Ringwood, said he first started sharpening knives as a hobby and has since turned it into a complete business over seven years of hard work.
The 20-something’s fascination for food and cooking started young while growing up in Mount Evelyn.
“There was something very cathartic about the process of sharpening a knife, going through different grits, refining it and getting it to a point that I was happy with,” Chesterman told the Eastern Melburnian.
“My mum was often the one cooking at home and we just found this connection where I'd love coming into the kitchen with her.”
Thanks for catching up with us this week at the Eastern Melburnian. We hope you enjoyed this issue, and we’d love to hear your thoughts. We’ll be back next week to shine a spotlight on the under-reported issues in our patch, so stay tuned!
Cheers,
Matthew and the Eastern Melburnian team