Latest news with #Dimopoulos
Time Out
26-05-2025
- Time Out
Melbourne's Luna Park is getting a much-needed multi-million dollar facelift
The huge moon face on St Kilda Esplanade, aka the entrance to the beloved Luna Park, is one of Melbourne's most iconic sights. It's been there since 1912, making the theme park the oldest in the country – so it makes sense that it's in need of some TLC. Thankfully, the century-old site is set to get a glow-up with a $22 million upgrade. The restoration works will target the Luna Palace, a building inside the park that's been there from the beginning. Once upon a time, it hosted the Dodgem cars and the Penny Arcade. But after falling into disrepair, it was closed to the public for safety reasons. Fortunately, the park is now undergoing heritage repairs to bring it back to life so that it can be enjoyed by visitors once again. The palace will even get an expansion, creating the capacity to host exciting events. Luna Park's entrance towers will also benefit from a makeover to revitalise the facade, with a fresh coat of paint and revamped lighting. The restoration works are already underway, with the park able to stay open throughout. The revamped Luna Palace is expected to be ready to open in November 2025. To recognise the value of this heritage attraction, the state government has contributed $5 million in funding through the latest budget. Victorian minister for environment Steve Dimopoulos said Luna Park was an important part of Melbourne's history. 'With the help of this funding it can not only return to its former glory but grow and thrill new generations,'' Dimopoulos said. 'We are so lucky to have places like this in Melbourne, which are nationally and internationally significant and we are proud to make sure it continues to be a family favourite for locals and international visitors to our great state.' To find out more about the Luna Park restoration works, head to the website.
Herald Sun
10-05-2025
- Automotive
- Herald Sun
Australian GP upgrade for Albert Park track
Don't miss out on the headlines from Victoria. Followed categories will be added to My News. The Sunday Herald Sun can today reveal the new look of the pit building, which will be the heart of the upgrade. The design includes 14 new garages, a new VIP hospitality section, a state-of-the-art race control centre and media room. The building will also be home to seven indoor sports courts, along with new clubrooms for local clubs to use year-round. Tourism, Sport and Major Events Minister Steve Dimopoulosis is expected to unveil the new design on Sunday but has declined to confirm the $350m price tag, citing commercial in-confidence. 'Fans flock to Victoria from around the world for our Formula 1 grand prix – filling local hotels, restaurants, pubs and businesses – and we intend to keep it that way,' he said. 'This massive upgrade is a win for the local community – more space for community sport, more courts, better change rooms and park upgrades and a sporting venue Albert Park locals can enjoy.' The new pit building will open for the 2028 Australia Grand Prix race with the current building set to be demolished after the 2026 race. A temporary structure will be built to host the 2027 event, but it was not yet clear what that would include. It's understood the new building was part of long-term contracts with the grand prix operator and Mr Dimopoulos said the upgrade was warranted given the last Formula 1 event in 2025 attracted over 465,000 fans over four days. This year's event saw record crowds, mainly attributed to homegrown hero Oscar Piastri competing. But he was left gutted in the dramatic ending to his Australian Grand Prix, dropping out of contention as McLaren star Lando Norris claimed victory ahead of Max Verstappen. The race is considered also one of the most economically productive events for the city, with central Melbourne hotels reaching 94 per cent occupancy the night before. The weekend injects more than $3.3bn annually into the Victorian economy, contributing to a total $40bn in visitor spending in 2024. The race has been locked in for Melbourne until 2037. Australian Grand Prix Corporation CEO Travis Auld said the new building was a big step forward for the event. 'In addition to playing a critical role in delivering a world-class event, this exciting new chapter will ensure this facility becomes an asset for the community to enjoy outside of the race period for years to come,' Mr Auld said. Albert Park MP Nina Taylor said the facility would also provide top-notch options for locals to use. 'This project will make the iconic Albert Park precinct even better for locals with upgraded world-class sport facilities complementing the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre down the road,' she said. Chilling girlfriend threats before Aussie axed
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Yahoo
Empty campground photos expose worsening problem in Australia: 'Not a soul here'
Having a campground all to yourself may be a dream for many but recent photos of a popular location with "not a soul" there reveal a crippling problem impacting Aussies and their chance to explore the bush. A camper headed to the Jamieson Creek Campground along the Great Ocean Road on Friday but was shocked to find it empty, despite claiming it was fully booked on the Parks Victoria online booking system. It's the latest example of the ongoing ghost camping trend rocking the camping world, with the introduction of booking systems at campgrounds resulting in some choosing to book sites, only to not show up. This ghost camping leaves campgrounds empty while simultaneously blocking prospective campers from attending. The behaviour has been exacerbated in Victoria this year after the state announced free camping across all state campgrounds without enforcing a formal policy tackling ghost camping. The free camping initiative is due to end in June. Despite ghost camping continuing to be an issue at state-run campgrounds in Victoria, Parks Victoria continues to rely on campers doing the right thing rather than enforcing a formal policy. When Yahoo News questioned this stance, Minister for Environment Steve Dimopoulos responded by saying "Victorians want to do the right thing". "The Liberal Party thinks Victorians wake up in the morning to abuse the system — I don't buy that, Victorians want to do the right thing," he said, explaining Parks Victoria now sends out "two reminders to people to cancel if they can't make their booking". Yahoo News understands campers receive an email seven days out from a campsite booking and another email and text message are sent 48 hours prior, encouraging cancellation if required. "We introduced free camping to get more Victorian families out having holidays in the regions and putting money back in their pockets," Dimopoulos said. "We want more Victorians to explore the great outdoors on Easter weekend, in addition to the 131 bookable campgrounds, Victorians can also stay at one of the 1,000 free camping areas that are first-come-first-served across the state." Mike Atkinson, also known as Outback Mike, is an Aussie adventurer and avid camper who has been vocal in his concern about having booking systems at campgrounds. National Parks introduced them during the Covid pandemic to enforce social distancing, however, authorities have grappled with ghost bookings ever since. "There's three different states all trying to attack it in three different ways, and neither state is working. And that's because the problem is the booking system," he told Yahoo News. Queensland have opted for the strictest approach and announced they will be issuing fines to campers caught guilty of ghost camping, while in NSW it was announced just last week authorities may introduce a new state-wide camping fee system based on amenities available at the campground. The upfront cost to book a campground is intended to deter those from ghost camping, however Mike said making campground prices "astronomical" is furthering the "divide between the rich and poor". "By raising fees, they have just blocked out probably the poorest people in Australia from accessing national parks. It's the one thing they should have access to," he said. He claims holding onto booking systems is instead about making "heaps of money" and is unsure why Victoria would continue to "bury its head in the sand" over the issue, especially since the state currently provides free camping. Mike has one simple solution to tackle ghost camping — "ditch the booking system". "If they got rid of the booking system, it would just be on a first come, first serve basis, the way it was before Covid... It wasn't an enormous problem then. No one was crying out before the booking system was introduced," he said. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
