News
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The best drop of cool red
Kyneton Ridge Estate has won two national awards within a matter of weeks for their Skipping Rabbit Pinot Noir. On October 7 at the 2025 Australian Pinot Noir Challenge there were eight awards available for the best pinot noir in different regions across Australia. Those were: Geelong, Adelaide Hills, Macedon, Orange, Western Australia, Mornington Peninsula,…
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Community in the dark on Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre reopening
By Morgan Reinwald and Angela Crawford Malmsbury residents and the local Indigenous corporation have said they were blindsided by the state government’s plans to reopen the Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre. The government says it will reopen the centre, which was closed just two years ago, to manage stricter new bail laws and reduce the high…
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Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre to reopen
The state government will reopen the Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre to accommodate spiralling levels of youth offenders in custody due to the state’s new strict bail laws. It comes despite claims made to the Midland Express by the Department of Justice just weeks ago that there were no plans to do so. The government has…
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Plan to reclaim old station aired
The old Riddells Creek Fire Station could become home to local groups like the Men’s Shed and Lions Club if the Victorian Government backs a new plan for its revival. Macedon Ranges Shire Council has recognised the site as a potential haven for ‘homeless’ community-strengthening clubs as the town’s population is soon to double. “When…
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Ranges backs away from Live4Life
Live4Life has been celebrated for breaking ground in youth mental health but now its Macedon Ranges founders will turn away from the model by December. An external evaluation of Life4Life in the Macedon Ranges has revealed significant challenges affecting the program’s viability and effectiveness in recent years. Increasing costs, low engagement and delivery inconsistencies are…
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Recreating a lost giant
On a frosty morning in Castlemaine, in a large tin shed at Lot 19, a small team of humans gather together. Clad in dusty op-shop clothes, hands and tools working feverishly on hard plastic, bone and steel. All jacked up on lattes, their monkey brains are busy with problems to solve. They are here to…
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Paving the way forward
Older Women in Cohousing is a stone’s throw from reaching its target of $1.4 million to support the Middle Women’s Housing Fund, paving the way for the construction of a sustainable, low-impact cohousing village on their five-acre property in Castlemaine. Wanting to reflect the diversity and financial status of all women, WINC is ensuring that…
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Reforestation takes seed
Mount Macedon is undergoing a landmark reforestation project to restore native forests to former pine plantation sites. The project received $1.13 million funding through Victoria’s BushBank program. “The Mount Macedon Plantation Restoration Project is a huge win for our region,” Macedon MP Mary-Anne Thomas said. “It’s helping to stop the decline of our native plants…
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Fire-prone Macedon set to become a powerhouse
A private company that purchased five hectares of land in Macedon will submit plans next month to build an energy storage facility in a designated bushfire-prone area. South Energy is developing a project titled Macedon BESS (Battery Energy Storage Systems) to install 128 20-foot containers with lithium ion batteries at Lot 2, Black Forest Drive,…
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Next week: changes to the healthcare system
Medicare services are set to change from next Saturday, November 1, and provide patients with improved access to bulk-billed GP services. The launch of the new Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program provides an additional quarterly 12.5 per cent incentive for practices that bulk bill all eligible services, with the payment split 50/50 between the GP…
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Demolition day arrives for skatepark
It’s been 11 years in the making and now works on a new Romsey Skatepark are finally under way. Lancefield Romsey Lions Club has been a key driver of project and celebrated the milestone last week as demolition works began. Long-serving Lions member Ged McLaughlin said the community began campaigning for a new skatepark in…
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Tiny Homes: The movement gaining rapid momentum
Bentley Building Group Tiny Homes is a family owned and operated building company run by Scott and Prue Bentley and based in Ballarat. In 2023, Bentley Building Group entered the world of building Tiny Homes with excitement. It had been a dream of Scott’s for a few years. Taking over a factory for this very…