🟠 Why local news matters

Also including: A redesign of an infamous Mount Waverley car park

Author

Matthew Sims
December 12, 2025

⏱️ The 101st edition of our newsletter is a seven-minute read.

Hi there 👋 

Matthew Sims here, your reporter at the Eastern Melburnian.

It's been a huge year at the Eastern Melburnian. As we wrap up the year, I’ve been thinking about some of the stories we told together. One of the ones that has really stuck out in my mind has been the recent push against the proposed expansion of the Montrose quarry.

Stories like these — tales which live and breathe because of the passionate people behind them — only exist because people like you read, share, and send tips. And because the Eastern Melburnian is free, anyone in our community can stay informed – not just people who can afford a subscription.

If our reporting has helped you feel more connected to Melbourne’s eastern suburbs this year, and you're able to help, I'd love it if you'd consider making a donation. Even $10 genuinely moves the needle for a small newsroom like ours.

Okay, here’s the biggest thing I’ve been working on this week.

🏓 In a stunning turn of events by Whitehorse Council, councillors went against the officers’ recommended Master Plan for Mahoney’s Reserve in Forest Hill. The vote saw the plan no longer proposing the demolition of Mahoney’s Reserve recreational hall in Forest Hill, a move which would leave local table tennis players without a place to play close to home, but instead leaving the hall untouched until a new regional table tennis facility could be created.

🎉 I met with a group of local tennis players at this facility earlier in the year and leader Bruce Haines said while the move was a “big win”, it was only the beginning in a push for improved facilities.

“Clearly, there is still a long way to go, but I think we have put council on notice that we won’t go quietly. We have won a reprieve on the demolition of our hall that should last until we have another better facility to go to.”

Whitehorse Activities Club table tennis leader Bruce Haines

WHAT’S ON THIS WEEK 🎟️

📰 THIS WEEK’S HEADLINES

I’ve been a full-time journalist for almost a decade. In that time, the media landscape has changed a lot.

But one thing that never changes is that people really care about what is going on around them.

Now, a little over a year since launching the Eastern Melburnian, I have been amazed at the power local news can have on local communities.

Often, the impact of a story can be small – you get a nice comment or email that makes your day – but sometimes the impact of a story is large.

One recent story I’ve covered which has shown this big impact is the proposed expansion of the Montrose quarry.

Growing up in Mount Evelyn, I was always aware of the quarry as something you would see driving up Canterbury Road.

But thinking about living near it and hearing the regular blasts was something that never entered my mind.

With local residents, teachers, and parents banding together to have their voices heard about the proposed expansion of the quarry, and I was grateful and proud to be trusted to tell their story.

The whole story, which I will continue covering, has made me think about what I think is one of the strongest strength of local news: painting such a vivid picture to both tell the under-reported stories in our communities and make those who hadn’t thought about the issue truly care and understand why it matters.

After coming across this proposal to expand the quarry by another 30 acres and another 32 years, I chased down the contact details of some key locals who had opposed previous applications.

One of them was Kim Wormald, a long-time resident who had serious concerns about the impact living closer to the quarry activities as it grew would have, with her house already regularly shaken by blasts.

I received an invite from a group of protestors the day after I had a chat with her and met her daughter Alyssa, who was fearful of how increased dust would exacerbate her son’s lung problems, as he was born prematurely.

Later, I was even able to speak with councillors from the area and Monbulk MP Daniela de Martino who have both recommended to the Planning Minister that a full assessment of the potential environmental impacts be completed.

A lot of the media can be made of grabs from spokespeople or pre-approved media releases, but there are always real and human stories ready to be told.

You just have to dig a little bit deeper.

I like to think this first year of the Eastern Melburnian has been about doing exactly that.

A group of local elderly table tennis players heaved a sigh of relief earlier this week, as Whitehorse Council took the proposed demolition of Mahoney’s Reserve recreational hall in Forest Hill off the table at the 11th hour.

During Whitehorse Council’s meeting on Monday December 8, councillor Andrew Davenport moved an alternative motion essentially saving the recreational hall where table tennis currently takes place.

The update to the draft Master Plan included a new preferred option: building a new pavilion for cricket and soccer facilities but keeping the hall untouched until an alternative site can be created.

The motion also reaffirmed council’s commitment towards looking at future options for table tennis facilities, as well as advocating to the state government for funding for the construction of a new regional table tennis facility.

The decision, which was unanimously supported by all councillors, went against the officers’ initial recommendation, which proposed the demolition of the recreational hall to make way for a new cricket and soccer pavilion.

The Whitehorse Activities Club co-ordinates about 327 players across 13 table tennis, badminton and indoor bowls groups within the existing hall, which is almost at full capacity.

WAC table tennis leader Bruce Haines told the Eastern Melburnian the decision was a “big win” and thanked all locals who attended and spoke to the need for table tennis facilities to be retained.

“Clearly, there is still a long way to go, but I think we have put council on notice that we won’t go quietly,” said Haines. “We have won a reprieve on the demolition of our hall that should last until we have another better facility to go to.”

Councillor Davenport said his alternative motion “doesn’t throw out the baby with the bathwater” by aiming to appease both the indoor and outdoor sporting groups.

“There are two emerging groups that have competing needs,” said Davenport.

The council will soon release the draft plan for the second round of public consultation, with a final master plan then coming before council for final approval next year.

Mount Waverley Village Shopping Centre visitors may soon be able to get their groceries home quicker, with a redesign of the Hamilton Place car park ready to be released for residents and visitors to have their say.

During last month’s Monash Council meeting, councillors endorsed draft plans for the redesign of the Hamilton Place Car Park.

Outcomes of the plan include widening footpaths, closing certain access and exit points, removing the main roundabout and replacing it with a splitter island and increasing the tree canopy to provide shade and reduce the urban heat island effect.

These proposed changes would cut the number of car parks from 257 down to 218 spaces.

Monash deputy mayor Elisha Lee said she was aware of the issues Hamilton Place poses to motorists as she grew up in Mount Waverley and her parents still called the area home.

Monash councillor Rebecca Paterson said she encouraged all users and traders to have their say on the proposed plans.

“Sometimes when we look at things like car parks, there’s things that look like they might be the perfect solution, but the engineers are aware of flow-on consequences,” said Paterson.

Monash Council would formally launch the consultation process in mid-January.

Knox Council has reached out for a helping hand from the state and federal governments to improve its stormwater management infrastructure, as flooding risk increases and 43,000 more houses are set to be built by 2051.

Knox Council passed a motion on Monday December 8 to write to state and federal MPs requesting “adequate funding” to deliver better flood resilience infrastructure in flood-prone areas in Knox.

Under the council’s Stormwater Asset Management Plan for the next 10 years, work would focus on upgrading undersized and old assets impacted by climate change.

The estimated cost to replace all of the council’s grey stormwater assets – including more than 1,150 kilometres of pipes and 39,673 drainage pits – would be about $292 million.

According to the council’s plan, it would spend $74.4 million on stormwater assets over the next 10 years, including $42.9 million to renew damaged infrastructure and $4.8 million to improve capacity or create new systems.

According to the State Government’s 2024 Climate Science Report, with each degree the Earth warms, the atmosphere can hold about seven percent more water vapour, leading to more moisture in the air and higher intensity rainfall events.

Environment Victoria reports global warming – and humanity’s dependence on fossil fuels – directly causes this extra water to be created and stored.

As extreme weather events become more frequent, the existing infrastructure of much of our community will need to be upgraded. Knox is just one example of a local council no longer best designed to cope with an event like flash flooding.

Knox councillor Meagan Baker said support was needed to ensure the council could help deliver the state government’s request of 43,000 additional houses by 2051.

“These challenges are real, the growth is forecasted and the action is necessary,” said Baker.

As a volunteer firefighter, Knox councillor Robert Williams said he had seen first-hand “the increase of floods through Knox”.

SEEN THIS WEEK 🤓

New op shop servicing the foothills

Upwey locals and visitors have welcomed the recent opening of Foothills Community' Care’s second op shop.

The not-for-profit food relief organisation’s new store and cafe would complement the sister store in Tecoma, supporting the community with pre-loved goods and funding community connection through shared food.

The new store and cafe is open from 10am to 4pm on weekdays and 10am to 1pm on Saturdays at 62-64 Main Street, Upwey.

Thanks for catching up with us this week at the Eastern Melburnian. We hope you enjoyed this issue. And if you can chip in to help us keep making the news for free it would mean a lot.

Cheers,

Matthew

P.S. If you’ve made it all the way to the end — firstly, thank you — please send in your photos of some of the best local Christmas lights displays in your area and we’ll shout it out in an upcoming feature!