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23 JUNE, 2026

Johnny’s final chapter

Nina and Aran De Goederen are launching the final book in the series Johnny the Inventor with a week-long booklaunch at Watergardens Town Centre in Taylors Lakes. (Damjan Janevski) 559803_02

Johnny’s final invention has brought a family dream full circle. A heartwarming local literary project inspired by family, imagination, creativity, and invention has reached its final chapter with the completion of the four-book Johnny, The Inventor children’s series. Taylors Hill author Nina De Goederen is celebrating the release of Johnny, The Inventor - Book 4: The Italian Vespa, ’Veloce’, marking the end of a journey that began with a simple yet powerful inspiration in her late brother, John. Thoughtfully illustrated by De Goederen’s husband, Aran, the series follows the adventures of Johnny, a young inventor whose vivid imagination transforms ordinary household items into extraordinary creations. The concluding story follows Johnny as he travels to Sicily, where he teams up with family friend Mr Giovani to create the high-speed Vespa ’Veloce’, a project which earns him international recognition as an inventor. To celebrate the completion of the series, the couple will host a week-long launch event between Monday 29 June and Sunday 5 July at the Watergardens Town Centre in Taylors Lakes, where all four books will be available for purchase with a special signing.

Mega-hub petition By Jack O’Shea-Ayres Plumpton may soon be home to the largest data centre precinct ever publicly proposed in Australia. The proposed 350-hectare mega-hub is planned for development by Syncline Energy and would feature two data centres on a state-backed Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub battery storage facility where five major transmission lines intersect. It is expected to be nearly as big as 175 MCG playing fields. Dubbed the Victorian AI Hub, the mega-hub has generated intense opposition from residents and, with a petition introduced to state parliament

calling for clearer transparency around the project. Molly Walker, who started the petition, said the proposed site is the wrong spot for a project of its size. “That’s a significant area of land within Melbourne’s western grasslands. My fi rst thought was ‘that land isn’t empty’. It’s home to diverse ecological communities,” she said. The petition calls on the state government to ensure the environmental, cultural, social, and infrastructure implications of the Victorian AI Hub are fully assessed and publicly considered, including cumulative impacts alongside existing and proposed data centre and energy infrastructure

developments across Melbourne’s west. Ms Walker said native grasslands in the region were among Australia’s most threatened ecosystems and warned they should not be dismissed as “empty paddocks”. A former resident of West Footscray who lived close to the suburb’s data centre, Kate Lester condemned the proposed AI Hub for its closeness to a national park. “The data centre they want to build here is going to be 3.5 square kilometres large and it’s going to be 10 kilometres away from Organ Pipes National Park,” she said. “When I used to live there the air quality was not pleasant, but it is genuinely unbearable now.

“I don’t want what happened to my old neighbourhood to happen to the rest of my country.” When asked about the potential impacts on biodiversity, waterways, native vegetation and ecological activity throughout the area, a state government spokesperson praised the jobs the project would create. “Data centres are the backbone of our digital economy and we’re going after the jobs they create,” the spokesperson said. “Any future proposal will be assessed on its merits and in accordance with the relevant planning scheme.” Developer Syncline Energy was contacted for comment.

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