In 2025, the Star Mail worked hard to cover the most important issues in the community to ensure people can stay informed and in touch with one another.
Our team of journalists reported on a wide range of topics, which spanned from national issues like the federal election, to local ones, such as the Warburton paid parking pilot.
In this article, we’ll look over the pieces which stood out among the rest each month. Please enjoy the Star Mail’s 2025 highlight reel.
January: Water safety highlighted
Just days into the new year, the Star Mail covered the busiest day on record for Life Saving Victoria with lifesavers rescuing 145 people in 24 hours.
The issue on swimming lesson attendance rates for children in the Yarra Ranges was brought into frame, with an estimated 40 per cent of children not reaching the national benchmarks for swimming and water safety.
The Yarra River flowing throughout the Yarra Ranges is a popular swimming destination and the public’s ease of access to the river highlighted the need to increase swimming ability.
School Sports Victoria Yarra Division officer and Upper Yarra Primary Schools Sports officer Andrew Devisser said it’s important to trigger questions in kids’ minds before they enter the water.
Mr Devisser operates a program aimed at introducing primary aged students to rivers and lakes and their unique conditions through kayaking.
Schools engaged in the program stretch from Coldstream to Toolangi, Silvan to Warburton, as well as Lilydale and Montrose.
February: Better care calls
The coverage of a Yarra Junction man’s near-death experience and subsequent demands for better emergency care shone above the rest in February.
Larry Norman phoned the newsroom and spoke of the time he suffered from an abdominal aortic aneurysm, known as a Triple A.
He was walking down to his neighbour’s house on 25 October 2024 when he collapsed in pain, ending up on his hands and knees crawling to his neighbour’s verandah, though he wasn’t home to help.
Mr Norman said he tried to ring his son and his wife but couldn’t and was just saying ‘God help me’ to himself as a neighbour from the top of the hill drove down the road.
What followed was a blur for Mr Norman – he was taken to Box Hill Hospital where he immediately underwent surgery for four and a half hours. He was put in an induced coma, sent across multiple wards and even got pneumonia, before being sent to Maroondah Hospital.
“They put me in an induced coma and then on life support (a ventilator), on the seventh day, my wife was with me and I pointed up and she said ‘What are you seeing up there, angels or something’ and I just nodded my head yes, because I couldn’t talk,” he said.
After over 30 days in hospital, Mr Norman was released just in time for his 30th wedding anniversary which he spent happily at the Upper Yarra RSL.
His experience prompted calls to expand emergency care services throughout the Upper Yarra.
March: Price for parking
The Yarra Ranges Council’s decision to introduce a paid parking pilot in Warburton caused much debate among locals.
The pilot’s aim was to ease congestion and more fairly distribute the cost of maintaining infrastructure among residents and visitors.
Residents of the Yarra Ranges were exempt from paying if they applied for a permit, while visitors would have to pay on weekends and public holidays in designated areas.
“The Yarra Ranges region is one of Victoria’s most visited destinations, with annual visitor numbers expected to double from 4.5 million to over 9 million in the next decade,” O’Shannassy Ward councillor Jim Child said.
“While this growth is vital to the local economy, it also creates significant challenges for our infrastructure, particularly in the high visitation areas like Warburton.”
But a large swathe of the community were critical of the pilot. One Facebook user commented on the Warburton/Millgrove noticeboard, “I feel this will impact local businesses that rely on tourists and day to day trades stopping for morning tea, coffee or lunch.”
The Yarra Ranges Tourism chief executive officer at the time, Simon O’Callaghan, said the price of parking in Warburton is a “modest fee” and won’t impact tourist spending.
“We need to find ways with the government on how that infrastructure is paid for, and I think it’s a good thing if collected parking fees from visitors go back into supporting local infrastructure,” Mr O’Callaghan said.
April: Immigration brought into focus
The Star Mail’s federal election survey sought to uncover what Yarra Ranges residents thought about key election topics, with one main focus being immigration.
Our coverage revealed immigration was a touchy topic for Upper Yarra residents – out of 114 respondents, 59 per cent wanted the next Federal Government to reduce immigration in the country, while 32 per cent said it should stay the same.
Peter, who requested only his first name to be used, said he’s a “firm believer” the majority of immigrants who arrive in Australia contribute to the country.
“The popular press, they talk about the African gangs, they talk about the machete attacks and that sort of stuff… it just gives a negative view of people from overseas,” he said.
“The government changed tax laws to make it much better for investors and at the expense of people trying to buy a home and get a home, or build a home.”
Another resident who responded to the survey, Craig Robin, believed Australians are struggling enough already – immigration is only increasing the burden.
“Australians are struggling themselves at the moment without bringing others in,” Mr Robin said.
One respondent said there was “too much rental shortage for Australian options” due to immigration.
While rental shortages are a glaring problem in the Upper Yarra, there are plenty of AirBnBs in each township.
May: Livestock attacks cause fear
A rise in attacks on livestock by wild animals prompted an emergency community meeting which saw landowners, politicians and councillors unite to find a solution.
These attacks were carried out by both domestic wild dogs and dingos and it resulted in the formation of the Yarra Valley Wild Dog Action Group (YVWDAG).
There had been a growing sentiment of fear, frustration and resentment among the landowners who all shared their own horror stories about gory livestock discoveries, wild dog encounters and long nights keeping watch over cattle.
Wild dogs include feral dogs, dingoes and their hybrids and are considered a serious pest animal in Australia that have a detrimental effect on the agricultural sector, potential to cause adverse social impacts and are perceived to cause environmental damage.
But, a 2023 study by the University of New South Wales found there is limited evidence of interbreeding between wild dogs and dingoes, meaning most animals previously thought to be wild dogs, are in fact likely to be dingoes.
While landowners called for lethal management of wild dogs and dingoes, conservationists argued for a balanced, non-lethal approach to ensure dingo populations were protected.
“It’s going to require investment in non-lethal management, so stock protected by electric fences, improved fences, but also guardian animals like donkeys and maremma dog,” Victorian National Parks Association (VNPA) park protection and nature campaigner Jordan Crook said.
But Stock and Land journalist Barry Murphy said this was out of touch with the damage caused to livestock.
“So for us it’s all about demonstrating just how bad it is.”
June: Permit pushback
The Star Mail covered the development of an unpopular planning application at the Yarra Junction shopping centre which would see the expansion of the Woolworths kick out the Cortella discount store, swallow up the arcade and move shopfronts to face the car park.
Clea Reynolds, owner of local variety store Cortella, filed a petition opposing the changes after she found out her store was excluded in the planning permit application.
At the 21 October council meeting, councillors “reluctantly” voted to approve the unpopular Woolworths expansion in the Yarra Junction Shopping Centre.
The decision was made in the face of strong push back from business owners and community members, bolstered by a petition with 889 signatures and 54 formal objections made to council.
Paul Little, a planning consultant representing the owner of the Yarra Junction Shopping Centre from law firm Planning and Property Partners, said the expansion would give a “new and improved” retail offering for residents.
But Yarra Junction residents were dismayed at the move, and Ms Reynolds said she was “devastated and disappointed”.
O’Shannassy Ward councillor Jim Child said this application “has weighed heavily” on himself and the other councillors.
July: Roo exemption denied
The Star Mail extensively covered the topic of a Yarra Ranges kangaroo harvesting exemption, which led to the council’s request being denied in July.
The Yarra Ranges Council initially deferred to make a decision on requesting to be removed from the Gippsland Harvest Zone under the Kangaroo Harvesting Program (KHP).
But in May, the council made its long-awaited decision to formally request to be removed from the KHP. But ultimately, the council’s request would be denied by the State Government in July.
In a statement following the denial, the Yarra Ranges Council said it remained “concerned about the long-term impacts of this program on our local ecosystems and community values”.
Meanwhile, the State Government said kangaroo activity was higher in the Yarra Ranges, and their potential to damage the wildlife made it necessary to control population levels.
“Changes to harvest zones, including the adjustment of the exclusion zone boundary are not made at the request of local councils, but by consideration of local kangaroo population levels,” a Victorian Government spokesperson said.
August: Shots saved a life
In August, the Star Mail broke the terrible news of when Yarra Junction Police were forced to shoot and kill a man after he’d strangled and attempted to cut his sister’s arm with a samurai sword.
Police were called to a Warburton Highway property after reports of a violent altercation between two siblings.
Police tasered 45-year-old Justin Filardo multiple times, but were forced to shoot him to stop the assault and save the woman.
It took police eight gunshots to subdue Mr Filardo, who died at the scene.
Mr Filardo is diagnosed with schizophrenia and his mother believed he’d not been taking his medication.
“What I’ve observed is a male strangling a female and without intervention by police, I think that would have been life-threatening,” Victoria Police Eastern Region Assistant Commissioner Russell Barrett said.
September: Full throttle support
After the farm of the world champion motorbike racer Daniel “Chucky” Sanders was forced to cease commercial motorbike races, the Star Mail published articles covering all bases of the issue.
Initially, the Yarra Ranges Council rejected over 40 years of evidence from the Sanders Apple Farm in Three Bridges after the family attempted to apply for existing use rights to hold commercial motorbike races.
As the farm is zoned for agricultural use, the council argued it wasn’t eligible to hold commercial motorbike races, even though the farm has done so since 1982.
Yarra Ranges mayor Cr Jim Child said in a statement the types of evidence provided weren’t varied enough and therefore didn’t meet the criteria for existing use rights.
In response, the Sanders family sought to appeal the decision in VCAT as it allowed for a wider range of evidence such as testimonials.
State controlling body Motorcycling Victoria, along with major clubs Motorcycle Racing Club Victoria (MCRCV) and Diamond Valley Motorcycle Club (DVMCC) expressed their support for the Three Bridges farm.
October: Timely training
After the Star Mail’s coverage of emergency services’ extensive training for the opening of the Warburton Bike Park, a successful mountain bike rescue in October instilled faith in the community.
Just weeks after training sessions took place, the rescue saw the Upper Yarra SES working with Ambulance Victoria (AV) and the CFA on 1 October.
Paramedics treated one male patient in his teens on 1 October at 4.35pm and the rescue was largely regarded as a success.
“We were pretty nervous initially with these mountain bike rescues that they’d be very difficult for us to respond to. Essentially, the person got out quickly and safely, and no one was further injured. So it’s a big measure of success,” Upper Yarra SES member Garion Hall said.
While these rescues can still be challenging, Mr Hall said it was much different due to the tracks being professionally built.
“They’re designed by experts to be safe, and not safe in a boring way, but safe in an absolutely thrilling way – the riders love these tracks.”
November: Fight for Charlie
When a four-year-old girl from Launching Place was diagnosed with an extremely rare form of brain cancer, a small fundraising effort from the family managed to raise over $120,000.
Charlie Fraser was diagnosed with a hyper-aggressive form of brain cancer which has only affected three people in Australia in the last 15 years.
The cancer is curable – an intense treatment regime offered only in Florida, USA can save Charlie – but the Fraser family had to look to the community for financial support.
Charlie’s father Daniel Fraser said the support shown by the community was incredible and the money donated will help pay for the expensive treatment overseas.
“No matter how tough it’s been or how sick she’s been, she’s always willing to put a smile on her face and be cheeky,” Mr Fraser said.
It’s a long road ahead for the family, but Charlie’s parents are focused on giving her the best shot she has.
“That’s all we’re about, we want to give her the best opportunity so that’s what we’re doing.”
December: Sharing her story helps with healing
For the Star Mail’s coverage of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, the impact of an Inner Wheel Club of Wandin member’s advocacy was shared.
When Maree Budweg wrote a letter sharing her experience with abuse as a child, she had no idea of the impact it’d have on hundreds of other women in the Inner Wheel community.
She shared the letter with the Inner Wheel president Kay Morland in October and it’d eventually be shared by the International Inner Wheel Committee during the global UN Women-led campaign.
Ms Budweg’s act, along with the advocacy of the Inner Wheel Club of Wandin, led to Parliament House in Canberra being illuminated in orange to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on 25 November.
With one in four women (2.3 million) having experienced at least one incident of violence by an intimate partner, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Personal Safety survey, Ms Budweg’s courage to share her story couldn’t be more important.
“The impact of that led on to it being shared with the International Inner Wheel Committee, who were coordinating it. They decided they needed to release the story internationally, and that’s pretty significant,” Inner Wheel Club of Wandin president Jill Lloyd said.
Federal member for Casey Aaron Violi, who helped push for the Inner Wheel Club of Wandin’s request to have Parliament House glow orange, spoke in Parliament on the International Day of the Elimination of Violence Against Women and called on men to call out inappropriate behaviour.
“The reason I’m standing here to speak is that it is not just the women of this parliament and the women of Australia who have a role to play. The leaders of the country, the men in this place and the men in communities have a role to play.”
