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12 MAY, 2026
Gaga glee at Sunshine PS
Sunshine Primary School maintenance and garden worker and gaga pit builder Robert Suffolk with students Huy, Kail, Kasen, Max and Ayla. (Damjan Janevski) 551428_03
Sunshine Primary School has unveiled a new gaga pit used for the popular game gaga ball, which is similar to dodgeball. The pit was officially opened in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday 6 May. Principal Lyn Read said students have been using the playground equipment already despite heavy rains. “The kids love it. And it’s something different for our school,” Ms Read said. The gaga pit was designed and built by the school’s maintenance and garden worker Robert Suffolk, and fundraised through community efforts. Fundraising began last year with a student market day where children designed and sold products as part of an economics learning unit. “They made just over $1000 so that was the kickstart for the fundraising,” Ms Read said. “The kids have been pretty much involved heavily from [the gaga pit’s] inception to its completion.” With demand for the new space at an all-time high, the school is working to ensure every student gets a fair go. “We just have to timetable different age groups until the novelty wears off a bit,” Ms Read said.
Community rally By Sam Porter Billboards have appeared across Keilor and Keilor Downs, urging residents to “save Keilor Downs Police Station” by joining a community rally this May. Funded by local real estate agents, the billboards come in direct response to the further reduction of counter hours at Keilor Downs Police Station in February. As reported by Star Weekly, counter hours at the station are now 10.15am-5.45pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, temporarily reduced from eight hours a day. The cuts follow earlier reductions in
November 2023, when Victoria Police announced it would temporarily reduce the station’s counter hours from 24 hours a day to eight hours a day. Convenor of Keilor-Taylors Lakes Action and co-organiser of the rally, Fred Ackerman, also works as a Justice of the Peace (JP) at Keilor Downs Police Station. He said the community-driven rally is “in support of the police who are under pressure in delivering the services they need to deliver“. “The needs of the community are not able to be met under the current arrangement,” Mr Ackerman said in relation to current counter hours,“ he said.
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“The community does require access to their local police station. The nearest 24-7 police station is in Sunshine, which is too far away. “In simple words, it’s an essential service that people are being denied.” Mr Ackerman said reduced counter hours disproportionately affect residents facing barriers to police access, including the elderly, people with disabilities, those with limited English proficiency, and residents who don’t drive. Other rally organisers include former Brimbank mayor Georgina Papafotiou, who also works as a JP at the station, former Brimbank mayor Bruce Lancashire and
former Brimbank deputy mayor Daniel Allan. In February, a Victoria Police spokesperson told Star Weekly that reduced counter hours would allow more officers to spend time in the community to prevent and respond to crime. The spokesperson said the updated reception hours reflect times when locals are most likely to need assistance with administrative matters. The ‘Save Keilor Downs Police Station’ community rally will run from 10am on Saturday 16 May, with attendees instructed to meet at Keilor Downs Police Station, 1 Copernicus Way, Keilor Downs.
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