The new pride centre on Fitzroy St in St Kilda – which opened yesterday – is the first purpose-built LGBTQ+ building in the world, its designer says. Architect Grant Amon said the main goal of this building was to provide a place where diverse groups of people could meet and safely exchange their cultural identities. “This building should be a stimulus, not a barrier,” he said. Victorian Pride Centre board chair June Munro said a pride centre “underpins society’s acceptance

The federal government’s expansion of the Boosting Apprenticeships Commencement scheme could be a recipe for exploiting young workers in Victoria, a union says. The $2.7 billion investment will provide wage subsidies worth 50 per cent of salaries for new apprentices, in the government’s attempt to curb youth unemployment due to the pandemic. Young Workers Centre acting director Mairead Lesman said the union had seen a 300 per cent increase in clients in the past 18 months b

The famous Hawthorn Hotel , known to locals as “The Hawka”, has finally reopened its doors after a painful nine-month hiatus. Students were devastated last year when the previous owners took to Facebook to announce the pub’s closure because of the Covid-19 lockdowns. “We have made the difficult decision to bid farewell to the Hawthorn Hotel as we hand the venue back to the landlord this month,” they said. Australia Venue Co, owners of more than 160 venues across Australia, ha

The round of 16 of the Euro2020 has wrapped up, with an uneventful group stage giving way to fireworks in the first elimination round. This year’s tournament has surprised at every turn, with the favourites France unceremoniously dumped out by minnows Switzerland. Elsewhere, an English team playing lacklustre football throughout the group stages put in a polished performance to beat historic rivals Germany. Part-month long festival, part-geopolitical circus, the Euros are

Local football teams are experiencing a dramatic rise in serious injuries after losing last year’s season to Covid-19 and lockdowns, a paramedic and sports trainer says. Aquinas Old Collegians Football Club trainer Katelyn Redfern said there were many more injuries than usual this season. “I would say the injury rate among the men’s teams are double what they would normally be at this halfway point of the season,” she said. Not only have I seen an increase in the frequency o

A ride-on lawnmower race was the kick-starter for a fundraising campaign aimed to install a World Peace Bell in the Victorian border town of Albury-Wodonga. The first race of its kind in Wodonga last month was a huge success, raising more than $1000 for the Rotary World Peace Bell project. Expected to be completed by late 2021, the Japanese Peace Bell was an initiative aimed at promoting peace in the home, streets, schools and local community. Wodonga West Rotarian Clive Fau

Decriminalising the personal use and possession of cannabis could relieve Victoria’s overcrowded justice system and steer users away from trying “harder” drugs, speakers at a cannabis use inquiry said. Victoria Legal Aid executive director for criminal law Dan Nicholson spoke at a public hearing for Victoria’s Inquiry into Cannabis Use , the first such inquiry in Australia. Mr Nicholson told the inquiry that the ability to buy cannabis in a regulated way would remove some of

Just a few months shy of Monsters Inc’s 20th anniversary, Pixar has dived back into the city of Monstropolis to bring audiences a television sequel to the hit 2001 film. The new series, Monsters at Work , picks up after the original film, as lovable and quirky protagonists Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) and James P “Sulley” Sullivan (John Goodman) tackle their new roles running Monsters Incorporated. After discovering children’s laughter is a better power source than childre

Limited campus and local public transport options pose a major hurdle for students from Melbourne’s Western suburbs who want to study at university. Melton Cr Bob Turner said there was a necessity and demand for more university options in the area. “In the west, there is a predominance of young teenagers who really need this sort of education,” he said. Cr Turner said the long travel times meant students weren’t as motivated to pursue further study options. Anyone from Melton

Grasslands are one of Victoria’s most concerning ecosystems because only 1 per cent of native grasslands remain, Macedon Ranges Shire Council says. Macedon environment coordinator Michelle Wyatt said the scale of the loss was hard to understand. “Some people even say 0.1 per cent of grasslands are left. They’re highly threatened and hard for the public to identify and connect with sometimes,” she said. To an untrained eye, they look like grass, but actually, they’re native gr

Melbourne’s once vibrant creative and event industries could be going backwards without government support, experts say. Victorian College of the Arts lecturer and art curator Sophia Cai said risk-averse event organisers, entertainers and others were producing less experimental and untested work for financial reasons. “I worry about our more established institutions reverting back to more conservative aesthetics because the industry is at such a critical juncture,” she said.

The Victorian Government is being urged to legalise the use of ecstasy to treat post-traumatic stress disorder in returned soldiers. Concerns have been raised over the mental health care of Australian Defence Force veterans that has led to an high rates of suicide . Reason Party leader Fiona Patten raised the issue in state parliament last month, and said this week the matter needed to be addressed immediately.  Thirty-five clinical psychiatrists in Australia are now seeking