Latest news with #MelbourneCityCouncil
ABC News
03-05-2025
- ABC News
She Matters memorial to women who allegedly died by violence defaced in Melbourne's Hosier Lane
A mural in Melbourne's CBD honouring women who have allegedly died as a result of predominantly male violence has been defaced. The "She Matters" mural bearing the names, pictures and artistic images of more than 100 Australian women who were allegedly murdered or died due to violence has been spray-painted with the words "war on men". The memorial was erected in the street art space, Hosier Lane, on International Women's Day in 2024 and has been maintained by The Red Hearts Campaign and Australian Femicide Watch founder Sherele Moody, who said she had been making repairs and adding new photos to the mural "pretty much weekly". She said she received calls and photos of the damage on Friday, describing the vandalism as abhorrent and soul destroying. "I know most of the families who have victims on that wall and it's just heartbreaking for me to know that someone thought that these people were so insignificant that they could write that on top of it," Ms Moody said. Sherele Moody says the vandalism to the mural is soul destroying. ( Instagram: Sherele Moody ) She said the mural was regularly defaced, with individual images needing to be reprinted in the past. But Ms Moody said this act of vandalism was the worst damage since it was put up, with almost the entire mural needing to be replaced. "I don't know what was worse — I don't know if I was more devastated or more angry," she said. "The worst part was having relatives of women on there contacting me … equally as devastated that their people were erased like that. " These women have already been erased and someone's just gone down and erased them again. " A group of volunteers gathered in Hosier Lane on Saturday morning to help Ms Moody with the repairs. She said graffiti-protection paint would be used to try to stop it from being damaged in the future, and she was considering hiring a security guard to watch over the mural until the protective layer dried. A vigil for women who have died was due to be held at the She Matters mural on Mother's Day next weekend. 'That mural has sparked conversations around the world, footage of it has gone global," Ms Moody said. "I've sat down there some days and listened to the conversations from women mainly talking about their experiences of violence, talking about the red flags, talking about the things that saved them. "I've sat there and listened to men going 'wow, I had no idea this was happening. This is something I want to be a part of to fix' so it's really important.' Ms Moody pleaded for anybody who had any footage of those responsible for the damage to contact her. She said she was unsure if police could take any action because street art is allowed anywhere in Hosier Lane. 'I would really love for the Melbourne City Council to come down and look at the mural and actually recognise its importance and if they can't help me protect it there then help me move it to a wall where it can be protected.' Victoria Police said it was unaware of whether a complaint had been made. The ABC has contacted the City of Melbourne.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Melbourne city council hosts heated meeting discussing closure of Daily Bread Soup Kitchen
Melbourne City Council members held a heated meeting Tuesday to discuss a proposal to speed up the closure of the Daily Bread soup kitchen at 815 Fee Avenue. During the meeting, business owners, residents, and city council members voiced frustrations with the non-profit and demanded its immediate closure. Residents who spoke at the meeting blamed the Daily Bread soup kitchen and day center for attracting the homeless. Melbourne Mayor Paul Alfrey even claimed other cities were bringing those experiencing homelessness to Melbourne in part because of the Daily Bread. Read: Florida lawmakers pass sweeping immigration bill to help with Trump crackdown The non-profit was called to answer tough questions from councilmembers during the meeting, during which the Executive Director of Daily Bread said he supported a shift in the organization's mission. 'A soup kitchen, as we all agree, is an antiquated model. It's not solving the need,' said Jeff Njus, Daily Bread, Executive Director, 'We're very happy and confident moving forward with a focus addressing the housing crisis.' A proposed plan for accelerating the closure of the Daily Bread Soup Kitchen states the current operation has become 'Increasingly untenable, creating significant challenges for staff, the surrounding community, and the individuals served.' Read: Sen. Randy Fine wins special primary election in race to replace Rep. Michael Waltz The organization proposed shifting its focus to affordable housing by launching a new 'scattered-site housing program' modeled after the Melbourne Bridge Housing Program implemented during the COVID-19 Emergency. The program would serve 15- 20 of the most vulnerable unsheltered individuals and would move them into housing with wrap-around support services to help individuals achieve stability. That program is estimated to cost about $600,000 a year. The Daily Bread said the program would require approximately three months to develop but would be launched within the year. Read: Federal judge temporarily blocks Trump administration freeze on federal grants and loans The Daily Bread said the 'Scattered site housing program' would begin while the organization worked on opening an affordable housing project that would bring online 80 units to serve homeless families, called Providence Place. Anyone staying at Providence Place would be provided wrap-around services, would be given workforce development, and would have to pay at least some rent. That project would take at least two years to develop and could be built on vacant land at 850 Apollo Blvd. in Melbourne. City Council ultimately pushed many decisions on the Daily Bread's proposal to a workshop that will be held on February 14th. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Calls for simple roadside change after council workers spotted in expensive 2.5km act
Mowing the grass around Aussie cities comes at a seriously big expense. For instance, Brisbane City Council will reportedly be spending an eye-watering $32 million this year to keep its grass cut low. While the majority of the spending will be on public parks and natural places, there's one area that experts believe could be overhauled to save the tax-payer's dime — grassy nature strips. By replacing them with native plants, they believe councils and residents could be saving money and helping the environment, not just in one city, but across the nation. Native bee expert Clancy Lester shared his thoughts after watching council workers use hand mowers to tackle a 2.5 km-long nature strip along a busy road in inner-city Melbourne recently. Speaking to Yahoo News on Monday he described the process of tirelessly cutting nature strips as a 'waste of money and resources'. But rather than feel frustrated or annoyed, instead he sees an opportunity. 'It makes me feel optimistic because there's real potential for these sites,' he said. 'These little green spaces that are sporadically laid out right across cities, could be converted into high-value biodiversity hot spots.' Melbourne City Council has been contacted for comment. RELATED: Council defends 'disgraceful' roadside move after turf laid Lester specialises in pollination ecology and the types of plants that attract Australia's 1,650 native bee species. By increasing their habitat across our cities, population numbers could be boosted and that's great news for home gardeners, particularly those wishing to save a buck amid escalating cost-of-living pressures. 'They're just so important for pollination. And there's such a wide diversity of native bees – within 10km of the Melbourne Post Office, there's over 100 species,' he said. 'For the last 20 million plus years, these species have specialised in pollinating and helping native plants set seed and create fruits. But they're also incredibly valuable to all the people who live in cities who have tomatoes or other fruits and veggies and want to become a bit more self-sufficient.' Not all councils allow residents to transform their nature strip into native gardens, but for those permitted to do so, there is help available. If you type your postcode into the Wheen Bee Foundation's Powerful Pollinators Planting Guide it will list the specific species that will thrive and help insects in your suburb. Many councils also provide advice about recommended plant species to plant on nature strips. 🌱 Toxic weeds invading Aussie landscape 🐊 Incredible photos capture rare moment off Aussie coast 🏖️ Rarely-seen natural event swamps Sydney beach Over the long weekend, Lester took to social media to spruik the potential of converting labour and water-intensive grass strips into native plant hubs. 'We can do so much better for pollinators by planting indigenous flowering plants. So let's up our game. Anything but lawn,' he urged. The concept received widespread praise from his followers, with some suggesting the planting of fruit trees on city streets could help provide fresh produce for residents. However, planting of bird and bat-attracting species would need to be away from busy roads to ensure it didn't lure native species into the path of vehicles. In a separate video, Sarah Aubrey who runs the popular Electrify This TikTok account shared vision of nature strips around Sydney that had already been converted. 'How lovely is this… they don't need to be maintained by petrol mowers,' she said last week. 'It needs to be like this everywhere,' one person said. 'Looks great. I'm doing it,' another person added. Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
