24 JUNE, 2026
Mystery music Tuesday afternoon isn’t a time normally associated with live music, but in Altona it soon might be thanks to the local senior citizens club. Featuring bands, solo performers, choirs and even karaoke and music trivia, Mystery Music Sessions are held every Tuesday at 1.30pm at the Altona Senior Citizens Club on Sargood Street. Not only is the time slot unusual, but the venue is too, with senior citizens clubs better known for hosting bingo or indoor bowls than live gigs. Organiser and club member John Dawson said that was part of the reason why the weekly performances were established. “These sessions came out of a need to fill a void in activities we offered,” Mr Dawson said. “Live music, of any kind, is very therapeutic and lifts your spirits.” The Glenrowan Bush Band will headline the next session on Tuesday 30 June, while previous acts to have featured include The Hubcaps, Evening Breeze, The Good, The Bad and the Elderly, Danny and the Rockets, Altona Choir and Dorothy’s Music trivia. It’s an eclectic line-up with the only constant being that all performances are offered free of charge, to both club members and non-members alike. Inquiries: 9932 1311 Altona Senior Citizens members (L-R) Danny Civitico, Dorothy Kendall, John Dawson and Steve Jauhari get in the groove for the club’s weekly music sessions. (Damjan Janevski) 559178_03
Data moratorium By Cade Lucas Opposition to data centres in Melbourne’s west continues to grow with one campaign group demanding a moratorium on their construction. Borderlands Collective, a social and environmental justice organisation based in Footscray, want the state government to immediately halt the roll-out data centres across Victoria, arguing the giant facilities needed to support AI are being imposed on communities without them having a say. “There’s no democratic oversight,” Borderlands spokesperson and Kingsville resident Peter Gartside said of the state’s data centre boom. “Decisions are being made on Springs
Street without even councils being part of the discussion.” Data centres operators can apply for planning permission through the state government’s fast-track approval system, resulting in some facilities being built with limited or no input from local residents and authorities. But due to concerns about their environment impact, energy consumption and sheer size, that has begun to change, with both local residents and Maribyrnong council opposing the an application by data centre operator Next DC to double the size of its existing facility West Footscay to almost 10 hectares. The amount of old industrial sites in the western suburbs has made it a popular
destination for data centres and Mr Gartside said the number already built in the area meant it would only attract more. “There’s a sort of clustering effect because once the upgrades to the grid are done the several data centres will cluster around that infrastructure,” he said, referring to the upgraded electricity grid needed to host data centres due to the sheer amount of power they consume. To back-up that power, data centres also have dozens of diesel generators that need regular testing, leading to concerns about the risk to local air quality and fi re safety. Mr Gartside said beyond all these concerns was the broader issue of AI itself. “I think there’s a general concern about where AI is going given the control of this
technology is in the hands of a few US billionaires,” he said. “The more you look into it the harder it is to fi nd an upside.” Along with calling for a moratorium, Borelands is holding a public meeting on 1 July to discuss concerns about data centres and AI and begin organising a campaign against them. “We’ll just get people in a room and make them feel like they’re not on their own,” Mr Gartside said. “Together we’re a more powerful voice.” Both state and federal governments and Maribyrnong council were contacted for comment.
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