Planning Democracy Convenor's Report No 19 – December 4, 2022

In this issue: VICTORIAN ELECTION; CLIFFORD HAYES NOT RE-ELECTED TO LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL; LESSONS FROM THE ELECTION FOR PLANNING DEMOCRACY; SPEECH TO PROTECTORS OF PUBLIC LANDS AGM; SPEECH TO NORTH EAST LINK RALLY; WIN OVER VICSMART CRAZINESS; MIAMI HOTEL WEST MELBOURNE – DEVELOPERS BEHAVING BADLY; RESIDENTS SAY IN PLANNING – MICHAEL BUXTON; RESIDENTS SAY IN PLANNING – CITY OF MELBOURNE CONSULTATION RULES; SAVE WESTERNPORT WOODLANDS; PROTECTING NATIONAL PARKS FROM OVERDEVELOPMENT; BOROONDARA CYCLE WAY IS BACK; APPLICATION TO REMOVE RESERVE STATUS OF KILMORE LAND; APPLICATION TO REMOVE RESERVE STATUS OF KILMORE LAND; JACK DYER STAND – PUNT ROAD OVAL; NATIONAL TRUST ADVOCACY TOOLKIT; ICOMOS GA2023; BRUNSWICK RESIDENTS OPPOSE OVERDEVELOPMENT AT VCAT; 3500 SEAT CONCERT VENUE IN DOCKLANDS; CASTLEMAINE HERITAGE PROTECTION; PARKDALE BEACH CAFÉ CONVERSION TO FUNCTION CENTRE; JET SKIS IN PORT PHILLIP BAY; MACROBUSINESS PREDICTS RENTAL CRISIS TO GET WORSE; SALLY CAPP ADDS TO THE PROBLEM; DEFECTIVE APARTMENTS; WAR ON PLASTIC; FREE HOME ENERGY ASSESSMENTS AND BUSINESS ENERGY AUDITS; COMING EVENTS. See also attachments: IAN HUNDLEY BANYULE FUNERAL SPEECH; KELVIN THOMSON -ABOUT PLANNING DEMOCRACY; “Parallel Planning Universes: How Citizen Rights are Denied,” and Kelvin Thomson's speech about putting a green lid on the North East link.

 

1. VICTORIAN ELECTION

The final election results are still being counted, but the Government must be congratulated on what has clearly been a decisive win. In terms of seats, it looks just about as big a win as the landslide it achieved in 2018. No doubt this will prompt considerable soul searching within the Opposition, which now appears to be still two elections (8 years) away from victory. Assuming I’m right about that, by the year 2030, Labor will have been in power in Victoria for 26 of the 30 years of the twenty-first century.

Victory has a thousand fathers, while defeat is an orphan, but the Liberal Party could clearly use some advice, and in the interests of a healthy democracy in Victoria, I will provide mine. First, both the Liberal Party, and the right of centre media corporations who support it, have seriously damaged their credibility by refusing to take an evidence based approach on two of the key challenges of our time – climate change and the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, they have put interests of large corporations, and free market ideology, ahead of public health and the public interest. Both the media and the Opposition have to stop it, put public health first, and follow evidence based policies, however inconvenient. Second, home ownership in Victoria, as elsewhere in Australia, has been in relentless decline for the past 20 years. The Liberal Party will say they are believers in home ownership, but their support for casualisation of the workforce and declining job security, and their support for high migration and urban densification, leads to escalating house prices and declining housing affordability. The Liberal Party (and most likely the Labor Party as well) would get a higher primary vote if there were more homeowners. The decline in home ownership is being accompanied by a decline in primary vote for the major parties. Third, the Liberal Party did not campaign on overdevelopment, which was a mistake. On the one occasion they did win an election in Victoria this century, Ted Baillieu campaigned on overdevelopment, and the Labor Government lost support due to public concern about Melbourne’s rapid population growth. However, in Government the Liberal Party proved to be just as close to property developers as the Government it replaced, and it was not re-elected.

2. CLIFFORD HAYES NOT RE-ELECTED TO LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

While counting continues, it seems apparent that Clifford Hayes will not be re-elected to the Legislative Council as a representative for the Southern Metropolitan Region. I have a bias in this matter, as I have worked for and with Clifford, but I personally believe this outcome is a great shame. Clifford was the one MP in the last Parliament who stood up on issues to do with planning and overdevelopment, and he did so regularly. He moved a Private Members Bill that would have given Councils (and therefore residents) much more say in planning issues, and clipped the wings of VCAT. He moved that the Casey Council, which was shown by IBAC to have improper relationships with property developers, be dismissed. He moved that election campaign donations from property developers be banned. He initiated the Legislative Council Inquiry into the adequacy of our Planning and Heritage Protection laws. And he raised numerous local issues, always on the side of environment protection, heritage protection, and local residents.

His measured and courageous voice will be a loss to the Parliament. It will be missed. I hope there is someone in the next Parliament who steps up to replace him, but it is not clear as to who that might be.

3. LESSONS FROM THE ELECTION FOR PLANNING DEMOCRACY

The Government was regrettably quiet on the issue of overdevelopment. If anyone is aware of any undertakings they or their MPs and candidates made on this front, please let me know. One positive announcement was the “Protecting Waterways So Our Wildlife Can Thrive” announcement. It included the following campaign promise –

“A re-elected Andrews Labor Government will introduce planning controls on 12 key rivers and creeks in Melbourne to create wildlife corridors, protect waterways and restore the natural environment. It’ll mean Edgar’s Creek, Darebin Creek, Gardiner’s Creek, Jackson’s Creek, Koonung Creek, Kororoit Creek, the Maribyrnong River, Cherry Creek, Merri Creek, Moonee Ponds Creek, Steele Creek and Stony Creek are safeguarded from any future inappropriate development – protecting these creeks for local wildlife, families and communities for generations to come.”

This is a promising announcement. Planning Democracy supporters with an interest in these waterways are encouraged to contact their local MPs (and Councillors) to both find out the detail of this promise – please pass on to me any advice you receive about this – and to encourage its rapid implementation. Such promises have a habit of dragging on indefinitely.

The lack of focus on overdevelopment during the Election Campaign from the media and non-government parties was disappointing, but both the Liberal and Greens Parties provided very positive responses to our Questionnaire. We will follow them up, and encourage others to do likewise. We want them to advocate in the Parliament for the changes they supported.

Both Planning Democracy and other like-minded groups, such as the Royal Historical Society of Victoria, campaigned for the Legislative Council Inquiry into Planning and Heritage Protections to be re-established, and we will get back on to that.

4. SPEECH TO PROTECTORS OF PUBLIC LANDS AGM

I spoke about Planning Democracy, as Guest Speaker at the Annual General Meeting of Protectors of Public Lands. I have attached an electronic copy of my speech. I am happy to talk to other groups about Planning Democracy or related topics if they are interested.

5. SPEECH TO NORTH EAST LINK RALLY

I also spoke at a “Funeral Service” held at Watsonia for the destruction of thousands of trees by the North East Link. I am attaching a copy of that speech as well. Planning Democracy supporter and local activist Ian Hundley spoke as well, and I am attaching his speech. Ian has taken photos of the tree clearing at Simpson Army Barracks, which appear below. Dr Greg Moore OAM, a tree expert whose long CV includes Chair of the National Trust of Victoria’s Register of Significant Trees Committee, gave a great speech which was absolutely in keeping with the views expressed at our Tree Canopy Cover Forum in September in Moorabbin.

6. WIN OVER VICSMART CRAZINESS

On a more positive note, I mentioned in my last Report, but am indebted to Ross Gillespie and CROWAG for a detailed account, that one of the Combined Residents of Whitehorse Action Group’s longest fought campaigns has had success. Along with many other groups across Victoria, CROWAG has advocated for the abolition of the rorting of VicSmart, a state government policy enabling developers and others to apply to have one tree at a time removed on a site, and for this to be expedited. It has been rorted mercilessly for years. Developers could, and did, apply multiple times for single trees to be removed over a period, even years, to get what they wanted. More than 90% were approved. In some cases, dozens of trees have been felled on the one site, with impunity, through this mechanism.

On November 7 the Planning Scheme was altered to allow only one tree removal per application, per annum, per site, using VIcSmart. Ross describes this as a major win for the environment. He says it could save many hundreds of trees a year within Whitehorse alone, if implemented with integrity.

CROWAG made repeated representations to the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning concerning the loophole. It also made a substantial submission to the Legislative Council Inquiry into the Planning and Heritage Protection Framework, and gave evidence before Committee Members Samantha Ratnam and Clifford Hayes. Ross says that it is rare for community volunteer and non-political organisations like CROWAG to have a recognisable, concrete win, and he gives credit to thousands of community minded volunteers across the state who have beavered away to end the worst of VicSmart’s contentious elements. Building on this success, CROWAG will be conducting a public forum called Fighting For Our Trees, on Saturday 23 March. Readers are invited to attend; watch this space for further details.

7. MIAMI HOTEL WEST MELBOURNE – DEVELOPERS BEHAVING BADLY

This week I visited Bill Cook and other West Melbourne local residents, who are campaigning against a plan by the Miami Hotel (I don’t know how it got that name either) in West Melbourne for a 21 metre high six storey development. There are two key reasons why the development should not proceed. First, the City of Melbourne approved the West Melbourne Structure Plan in May this year, after 10 years of consultation and discussion with local residents. The Structure Plan has a mandatory height limit of 11 metres. If a mandatory height limit in a Plan which is 10 years in the making can be ignored 5 minutes after it has been finalised, what is the point of these Structure Plans? Why on earth should residents participate in them?

Secondly, the proposed access to the development is through a back lane known as Jones Place. Many residents in the adjacent streets have garages with car access via the lane – they live in terraced cottages, of heritage value, which have no front car access. The inconvenience to them of trucks and other vehicles regularly using this narrow lane to access the development will be massive. It needs to be re-designed, and the Structure Plan height limit enforced. I don’t understand why Council officers entertain such applications. They should tell developers that the proposal is a clear breach of the Structure Plan, and not to waste their time, and that of local residents. Here is a photo of Bill Cook, Bev Rodan and Bernard Landy, in the laneway outside the Miami Hotel.

8. BRUNSWICK EAST - DEVELOPERS BEHAVING BADLY

In 1999 both Moreland Council and the VCAT rejected an application for two dwellings on 42 St Phillip St Brunswick East. VCAT said “The proposal is totally out of character with the street in terms of its scale and design. It is too high, too bulky and with the two front vehicle access points is such as to spoil the area… The existing proposal has not considered abutting neighbours and there are unacceptable amenity losses for them in terms of bulk, potential overlooking and overshadowing because of the bulk. The proposal has rightly been rejected by the Responsible Authority and the Tribunal sees the overall proposal as totally unacceptable for the area”. The VCAT decision expressly invited the property owners to re-design the proposal in a way that was more considerate of their neighbours.

The property owners did not take up this invitation. Instead, they obtained a building permit for a two storey dwelling from a Council officer in far away Manningham, using a Kennett Government loophole. They built that house right on the boundary next to their neighbours, Steve and Ronnie Whitmore. Their neighbours were concerned that they intended to build a second dwelling on the remaining land, thumbing their noses at Council and VCAT. They sought, and obtained, Ministerial intervention in the form of a Specific Controls Overlay, which restricts the site to one dwelling. The Whitmores had camped outside Parliament House for a fortnight, and received a lot of media publicity about the issue.

Fast forward to 2022, and the property owners are seeking the removal of the Minister’s Specific Controls Overlay. Remarkably, Council officers, who the property owners treated with contempt the first time around, are now suggesting Council go along with this. It looks like a case of Stockholm Syndrome, where the hostages start siding with their abductors! Hopefully Council will vote to maintain the Overlay, and not give developers the idea that all they have to do is to keep applying, and sooner or later they win.

9. RESIDENTS SAY IN PLANNING – MICHAEL BUXTON

Professor Michael Buxton, an inspiration to many residents and resident groups, has sent me an article he has written for the November edition of Planning News, titled “Parallel Planning Universes: How Citizen Rights are Denied.” I have attached it for your information.

10. RESIDENTS SAY IN PLANNING – CITY OF MELBOURNE CONSULTATION RULES

Bea Mc Nicholas is challenging the City of Melbourne’s failure to allow for Public Holidays when providing notice to residents of Agenda Items. Rule 8 of the Melbourne City Council’s Governance Rules provide that “availability of Council meeting documentation will be available to members of the public electronically, via Council’s website, and in hard copy (on request) from 2pm five days prior to a scheduled meeting”.

In the case of the Council’s approval of a five year licence extension for the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show, the “5 days” included the National Day of Mourning for Queen Elizabeth 2, and the AFL Grand Final Victorian public holiday, as well as a weekend. Bea believes the public, whether employed or not, is entitled to take gazetted Public Holidays at face value and not work on them. Consultation and notice periods should reflect this, and be extended as appropriate when they cut across gazetted public holidays. This is something the Victorian Ombudsman and Local Government and Planning Ministers should investigate.

11. SAVE WESTERNPORT WOODLANDS

The Victorian National Parks Association journal Park Watch, November 2022, has an interview with Catherine Watson, from Save Western Port Woodlands. I really liked her answer to the question “What would a healthy, protected and respected Western Port Woodlands look like to you in 5-10 years?” She said –

“In 2035 the woodlands is a national park co-managed by the Bunurong Land Council and Parks Victoria for the benefit of all Victorians… Parks Victoria has enough staff to tackle Pittosporum and Agapanthus and maintain the tracks. The last sand mines have been closed and are being rehabilitated. The mining companies were compensated with land swaps and leases on cleared farmland in Cardinia Shire, and the sand is freighted to a Melbourne hub by rail. The monster sand trucks are gone. The State Government did buy the old proving ground. The front section is now used in a recovery program for Southern Brown Bandicoots, Leadbeater’s Possums and Strzelecki Koalas. Numbers are booming”. Great vision.

12. PROTECTING NATIONAL PARKS FROM OVERDEVELOPMENT

The Victorian National Parks Association reports that the Victorian Government is spending $11 million looking at a proposal to build around 80 commercial structures in the core of the Alpine National Park. This is quite inconsistent with Government policy that “tourism development will be encouraged to be sited on private or other public land outside national parks”. When Bogong National Park was proclaimed in 1981, the park boundary deliberately excluded the Falls Creek and Hotham Alpine Resorts, so future developments could take place in those areas.

National Parks are for wildlife, not tourist developments. These should be sited outside park boundaries, as the Government’s policy indicates.

13. BOROONDARA CYCLE WAY IS BACK

Ian Hundley reports that the Boroondara Cycleway is back. Council has erected signage in Hays Paddock in East Kew indicating Council proposes to commence construction this month. Ian says that parks ultimately at risk from the proposal are Hays Paddock, Stradbroke Park, Myrtle and Macleay Parks, Hislop Park, Gordon Barnard Reserve, Jacka Reserve and the King Street Chain.

He says the cycleway will destroy the quiet ambience of Hays Paddock, and that Council should follow other Councils by making local roads safe for cycling, rather than excising parkland for cycling.

14. APPLICATION TO REMOVE RESERVE STATUS OF KILMORE LAND

Vyvienne Whitehurst and Ian Stewart report the latest manoeuvre in the Kilmore land saga is an application by Kilmore Racing Club to remove the “Reserve No. 1 for Municipal Purposes” status of land at East Street. While the application would not itself change the zoning of the land, which is Public Use Zone, Schedule 6, the Kilmore and District Residents and Ratepayers Association (KADRRA) believes this is another move by the Racing Club to try to sell off the land for residential development, rather than retain it as open space. The application seeks to have the Racing Club recognised as the private owner of the site.

They continue to query how the Trustees could have sold this land to the Racing Club for $1. The current application warrants the Council holding a Public Meeting, as part of the consultation process, so that local residents can have their questions about the legal significance of the application, and the long term future of the site, answered.

15. JACK DYER STAND – PUNT ROAD OVAL

Miriam Faine has drawn my attention to the campaign by Heritage Network – Victoria for Heritage Victoria to put the Jack Dyer Stand at the Punt Road Oval on the State Heritage Register. This is part of their campaign to stop the Richmond Football Club from demolishing the Stand. It was built in 1915, and Heritage Network describe it as the largest, most typical and most intact remaining turn of the century grandstand in Victoria. They believe that options exist for the retention and modernisation of the structure that the Football Club should explore.

The Executive Director at Heritage Victoria has recommended against adding it to the Register, saying it is of Local rather than State significance. This would lead to demolition, as the Council has decided the building should be demolished. The matter will be decided by a vote of members of Heritage Victoria – further details can be found at https://heritagenetwork.vic.com.au.

16. NATIONAL TRUST ADVOCACY TOOLKIT

The Advocacy Toolkit is a free online resource created by the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) to support individuals and communities to advocate for the protection of places of cultural heritage significance. The toolkit includes answers to questions such as –

• What are Heritage Overlays and Planning Scheme Amendments?
• How do I nominate a place or object to the Victorian Heritage Register?
• How do I object to an application for a permit to change a place or object on the Victorian Heritage Register?
• How do I object to an application for a planning permit for a property covered by a heritage overlay?
• How do I appeal a permit decision?

The toolkit can be found on the National Trust website.

17. ICOMOS GA2023.

Australia ICOMOS is a branch of the UN sponsored International Council on Monuments and Sites, and the peak cultural heritage conservation body in Australia. It has written to me to invite Planning Democracy supporters to their 21st Triennial General Assembly in Sydney next year between 31 August and 9 September. It will be a gathering of hundreds of cultural heritage professionals from across the globe, representing diverse disciplines and backgrounds. The core General Assembly will occur between 4 and 8 September, within a ten day program of site visits, workshops and lectures. Venues will include the Sydney Opera House, Cockatoo Island, Hyde Park Barracks, Australian Museum, and Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. Full details can be found at icomosga2023.org., their official GA2023 website.

18. BRUNSWICK RESIDENTS OPPOSE OVERDEVELOPMENT AT VCAT

Brunswick residents have appeared at VCAT to oppose a proposed 8 storey building at 251 Lygon Street, and a 6 storey building at 55 Albert Street, opposite Fleming Park on the corner of Cross and Albert Streets. The latter building would overshadow the park, as well as houses in Sedgman Street. Council’s preferred maximum height for Cross St is 4 storeys, so 6 storeys is half as high again, and Council has appropriately rejected these applications. Let’s hope the residents succeed in maintaining agreed height limits.

19. 3500 SEAT CONCERT VENUE IN DOCKLANDS

Jackie Watts reports that the State Government will spend $5 million, in collaboration with the City of Melbourne, to install a “Pop-Up” 3500 seat concert venue somewhere in Docklands. No site has been specified, and the decision jumps the gun on Development Victoria community consultations concerning Docklands.

20. CASTLEMAINE HERITAGE PROTECTION

In my last Report I covered the proposed redevelopment of the heritage significant Gold Commissioner’s Camp at Castlemaine. Since then, the Castlemaine Society Inc. (CASSOC) has been formed to better protect heritage and give residents a say in planning matters in Castlemaine. More detail can be found at its website http://castlemainesociety.org.au/.

21. PARKDALE BEACH CAFÉ CONVERSION TO FUNCTION CENTRE

Planning Democracy seeks to protect public open space, which is up against relentless attempts to extract commercial value from the public domain. Some people have never seen a metre of public space without seeing a (not so public) dollar. Nina Earl reports that an application has been made to convert the Parkdale Beach Café into a Function Centre, with a waiver of the car parking requirement, changed hours of operation, and the sale and consumption of liquor. She says many Port Phillip Bay foreshore buildings are becoming commercial function centres, in effect commercialising public land, dominating the coastal landscape, and adding pressure on finite foreshore reserves.

22. JET SKIS IN PORT PHILLIP BAY

Sandringham Foreshore Association are currently seeking the support of like-minded organisations who are concerned about the safety of Jet Skis in Port Phillip Bay. Jet skis are a source of significant noise pollution and negatively impact marine life and recreational passive users of the Bay. Please contact Dr Vicky Karalis, President of the Sandringham Foreshore Association, via email [email protected], for more information.

23. MACROBUSINESS PREDICTS RENTAL CRISIS TO GET WORSE

A report from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) says that Australia’s rental vacancy rate is tracking at 20-year lows, and that this has helped to drive rents nationally into the stratosphere.

Anecdotal evidence for this comes from the Friends of Queen Victoria Market, who say that the new apartment building opposite the market, above the car park, has 490 apartments. Not one of them is for sale. They are for rent only, and the price starts at $840 per week for an unfurnished 2 bedroom apartment. I understand that part of the pitch for giving a permit for this massive development was that it would provide affordable accommodation. For which low income earners is $840 per week affordable?

The Federal Budget forecasts an additional one million migrant arrivals in Australia over the next four years. Macrobusiness points out that these additional arrivals will mostly settle in Sydney and Melbourne, and that the vast majority cannot afford to buy a house here, so they will become renters. Our rental crisis is set to get worse.

24. SALLY CAPP ADDS TO THE PROBLEM

Melbourne’s Lord Mayor Sally Capp has written an article in The Age calling for more foreign workers in occupations such as waiters, baristas, bartenders, kitchenhands, security guards, and cleaners, with the intention that they work in the CBD.

These are not high-skill occupations, they are low-pay ones, where exploitation and wage theft are notoriously prevalent. If employers can’t find people to do these jobs, they are either not paying them enough, or not providing on the job training, or both. Giving in to these demands will, in the words of Macrobusiness, “turn Melbourne into an exploitative special economic zone for the low-skilled, low-paid migrant workers.” And it will fuel our rental crisis – where will these workers live?

25. DEFECTIVE APARTMENTS

Planning Democracy supporters have reported recent apartment developments in Glenferrie Rd Kooyong requiring extensive rectification. The ABC recently reported on black mould being uncovered in the walls of defective apartment blocks. The internal framework of an 81 dwelling apartment complex in Clayton has been substantially rotted out by water damage and mould. Building experts say this is due to the covering of the buildings in expanded polystyrene (EPS) cladding. Owners of apartments affected by mould and rotting are not eligible for assistance under the Victorian Government’s Cladding Safety Program. This Program is to help owners reduce the risk of fire where combustible cladding is present, not to fix other building defects.

The ABC has reported that the problem is widespread, with common factors including poor ventilation, rain ingress, water-damaged ceilings and incorrectly installed exterior walls.

Jonathon Barnett, a technical expert in fire safety engineering with more than 42 years experience, says the Victorian public needs a champion. He says New South Wales has introduced a Building Commissioner who “has all the questionable practitioners shaking in their boots. He goes to building sites, he looks at drawings, he talks to people – and he is actually making a difference.” He says “We have no (Commissioner) in Victoria. We need a champion for the public. We need a champion for the consumer. We don’t have that person”.

Agreed. The Victorian Building Authority is a joke.

26. WAR ON PLASTIC

One of our supporters, Richard Belcher – rugged outdoor type – this year spent weeks on a yacht cruising from Darwin to Indonesia. He was living the dream until they neared the coast of West Timor. At first there were odd bits of plastic wrap or food container, and plastic bags which were a worry because they could clog the engine cooling water inlet.

By the time they anchored at Kupang they were shocked by the amount of plastic rubbish in the water. Drains flowing to the beach from the settlement were choked, sometimes nearly a metre deep in plastic waste, which would flow out to the sea with the next flood. The wrapping of food in non-biodegradable plastic has been catastrophic. He says the same problem is evident throughout the Indonesian archipelago. And as I said in my last Report, we have no shortage of plastic in our waterways and marine environment here.

27. FREE HOME ENERGY ASSESSMENTS AND BUSINESS ENERGY AUDITS

The City of Moonee Valley is offering some free Home Energy Assessments and Business Energy Audits in 2023. For more details, see the Green Living in Moonee Valley December 2022 newsletter, on Council’s website.

28. COMING EVENTS

Monday 5 December – 6pm – 7pm. Brunswick Residents Network Online Forum re Level Crossing Removals on the Upfield Line, Brunswick. Eight level crossings are proposed to be removed by an elevated train line – Albion Street, Hope Street, Victoria Street, Albert Street, Dawson Street, Union Street, Brunswick Road, and Park Street. Zoom link for the night: https://tinyurl.com/47svekyx, or go to their Facebook Page.

Sunday 11 December – 11am to 4pm. Mulberry Hill, Langwarrin South. Explore the creative home of Joan Lindsay, author of Picnic at Hanging Rock, and Artist Sir Daryl Lindsay. See Daryl’s art studio and Joan’s writing room. Full details on the National Trust website.

Monday 12 December – 2 pm – 3pm. Waterwise Gardens, a free in-person gardening workshop. Learn how to grow food while minimising your water use. Riverside Park, The Boulevard, Essendon West. Hosted by Moonee Valley Libraries and My Smart Garden; go on to their website to register.

Sunday 18 December: Polly Pirate Day at the Polly Woodside. Full details on the National Trust website.