Tuesday, 9 December, 2025
Man charged after fatal Mooroolbark hit-run
Home building pain doubled, report finds
Full recap of Lilydale Street Fair
See Real Estate liftout inside
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A Star News Group Publication
Phone: 5957 3700 Trades and Classifieds: 1300 666 808
In the heart of town The Mooroolbark Men’s Shed has launched an exciting new venture, opening a dedicated retail store to sell the handcrafted items made by its talented members. Located at Shop 2 in The Terrace Shopping Centre, the new site officially opened on Tuesday 2 December. President Peter Gray said securing the prominent town centre location marks a positive shift for the group following a challenging year. The store provides members with a new opportunity to participate while raising funds to support local charities and sustain the Shed’s valued, meaningful work environment. Read more on page 9
Frank Pickering, Peter Gray, Graeme Hollis and Denis Hough with a selection of handcrafted items. (Stewart Chambers: 521838)
Urgent care here Street), is slated to open later this December. The clinic is designed to ease pressure on local hospital emergency departments by providing timely, bulk-billed care for urgent but nonlife-threatening conditions. It will operate for extended hours, seven days a week, with no appointment or referral required. Access Health and Community chief executive officer Anna Robinson expressed the organisation’s enthusiasm, stating the service will ensure local communities “can get the care they need, when and where they need it.” The organisation
also plans to connect UCC patients with its wide range of integrated community health services. The announcement follows the Labor Government’s commitment to expand the national UCC network, with Lilydale flagged as a potential location in a $600 million funding pledge prior to the May election. Federal data shows that approximately 32 per cent of presentations to Maroondah Hospital’s Emergency Department in 2023-24 were for semi-urgent or non-urgent conditions, the exact types of cases the UCC aims to divert.
The selection of Lilydale, however, follows earlier advocacy by local Liberal and Labor candidates and the Yarra Ranges Council for the clinic to be placed in Healesville to better serve rural areas. Health and Ageing Minister Mark Butler emphasised the Lilydale clinic’s role in reducing pressure on the hospital system. The Lilydale clinic will join 29 Medicare UCCs in Victoria, which are part of 90 operational sites nationwide that have seen over 2.1 million presentations since June 2023. Read the full story on page 6
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Lilydale has been officially selected as the location for the Yarra Ranges’ sole Medicare Urgent Care Clinic (UCC), with local provider Access Health and Community confirmed to operate the essential new facility. The Federal Government announced on Wednesday 3 December, that Access Health and Community was chosen following a tender process led by the Eastern Melbourne Primary Health Network. The new Lilydale Medicare UCC, which will be hosted at Inspiro (17 Clarke
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By Mikayla van Loon