| Sunday 17 May 2026 |
Issue #1 |
Frankston City, VIC |
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FREE · INDEPENDENT · WEEKLY
Your neighbourhood, honestly told — every Friday morning
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📬 A note from the editor — Issue #1
G'day Frankston,
Welcome to Issue #1 of The Frankston Local — a free, independent weekly newsletter written by a local, for locals. No council funding. No corporate owners. No agenda. Just your suburb, honestly told, every Friday morning.
Each week you'll find the big local story, what's on this weekend, council decisions decoded in plain English, a suburb spotlight, safety updates, something to make you smile, and a genuinely only-in-Frankston moment.
This week: the council budget just passed with some real behind-the-scenes drama, South Side Festival wraps up this Sunday, and the Frankston Line is still doing its best impression of a bus route.
Thanks for being here from day one. If you know someone who'd appreciate this, please forward it on. That's genuinely how we grow.
— Topher, Editor · The Frankston Local
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🏛 Budget & Council
Your Rates Are Going Up 2.75% — And One Councillor Says the Vote Shut Out Residents
Frankston City Council passed its 2026/2027 Budget this week, locking in a 2.75% rates increase — the maximum allowed under the State Government cap. The official press release calls it a "community-first budget that delivers real cost-of-living support." The meeting itself told a slightly different story.
Councillor Nathan Butler says he was not given the opportunity to move an alternate motion aimed at exploring targeted cost-of-living relief for residents — relief that goes beyond what the passed budget delivers. Whether that's a procedural slip or something more deliberate is a fair question to ask.
On top of that, Councillor Kris Bolam moved a formal motion of dissent against Mayor Baker during the same meeting. It failed — but the fact it was moved at all signals real tension on the council floor that the official press release glosses over completely.
What does 2.75% actually mean for your household? For the average Frankston property, rates sit around $1,800–$2,200 per year. A 2.75% increase adds roughly $50–$60 to your annual bill — though most households will also see waste charges drop by 3–4% this year, partially offsetting that rise.
What's actually useful in this budget: fees for 11 council services are suspended for 12 months, including kerbside trading permits, supported playgroup venue hire, and event permits. Worth checking if any of those apply to you. Full details at frankston.vic.gov.au
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🗳 Politics
Frankston City First: Council Goes to the State Election
Council has launched a formal advocacy campaign ahead of the 2026 Victorian State Election, calling on all candidates to commit to local services, clubs, and infrastructure. We'll be tracking what candidates actually promise — and whether they deliver. Watch this space.
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🏟 Infrastructure
Frankston Basketball & Gymnastics Stadium — Construction Update
Major works are now underway on the new stadium. Council indicated construction would ramp up significantly from May 2026 with doors opening later this winter. A genuine win for sport in the city.
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| Sun 17 |
South Side Festival — Final Day Today 🎉
Various venues · Last chance for exhibitions, the Wells St. windows and the Good Times photography show. Free entry to most events. southsidefestival.com.au
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| Tue 19 |
Enter Shikari — Live at Pier Bandroom
Pier Bandroom, Frankston · Doors 7pm · Ticketed · UK rock veterans bringing their Everywhere Every Single Day tour to the peninsula. One for the music fans.
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| Thu 21 |
GREASE Trivia Night
The Sporting Globe Bar & Grill, Frankston · 7pm · Free entry · Dust off your best Sandy impression for a themed trivia night.
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| All wk |
Rennie Ellis: Good Times — Photo Exhibition
Curved Wall Gallery, Frankston Arts Centre · Free · Continues until 1 August. Iconic candid Australian photography — well worth a visit.
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🚆 Train disruption update: The Frankston Line bus replacement (Cheltenham–Frankston) wraps up tonight at 8:30pm. Normal train services resume Monday 18 May. Check ptv.vic.gov.au for your journey.
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🔎 This Week: Frankston North
The Suburb That Gets the Headlines for All the Wrong Reasons — and What's Actually Happening There
Frankston North doesn't get great press. It has the highest rate of criminal incidents in Frankston City and some of the deepest socioeconomic disadvantage in the region. Those are real facts and we won't pretend otherwise.
But spend any time here and you find a suburb that's fiercely proud, tightly knit, and quietly doing more for itself than any council newsletter acknowledges. Community breakfast programs making sure kids don't arrive at school hungry. A local footy club that's been the social backbone of the suburb for decades.
And a question worth repeating loudly: why does a suburb of thousands of residents — many without cars — still have no direct public transport link to Frankston's town centre? In 2026. We're going to keep asking until there's an answer.
If you live in Frankston North and want to share your story, hit reply. We want to hear from you.
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⚠ Frankston Safety — Week of 11–16 May 2026
› Victoria Police are continuing to appeal for witnesses after a 65-year-old man and his wife were attacked by a group of youths at the Frankston Waterfront Festival earlier this year. Information: Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000.
› Seaford residents are urged to secure vehicles and garages overnight following a series of property offences in the area. Frankston Crime Investigation Unit is investigating.
› Reminder: Frankston's most common crime types remain property offences — theft from vehicles and residential burglary. The station precinct and car parks are consistent hotspots after dark.
› For the latest Victoria Police appeals and incidents, visit police.vic.gov.au/latest-news and search "Frankston."
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| Council Watch — Decisions Decoded |
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Passed
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2026/2027 Budget — rates up 2.75%. Fees for 11 services suspended for 12 months. Full breakdown at frankston.vic.gov.au. Drama behind the vote — see Big Story above. |
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Watch
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Frankston City First election campaign launched. Council is asking all state election candidates to commit to local priorities. We'll be tracking promises vs delivery. |
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Update
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Basketball & Gymnastics Stadium. Construction now in full swing. On track for a winter opening. More details as they come. |
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Australia's Most Accessible Beach is returning to Frankston Foreshore next summer after a sold-out first season. Bookings and details to be released — we'll let you know the moment they are. |
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Frankston Sharks BMX Club has been crowned Australia's top BMX club after three riders won national titles at the 2026 AusCycling BMX Racing Nationals. Proper local achievement. |
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Frankston MP Paul Edbrooke joined Victoria's cabinet on 15 April — the first Frankston MP in cabinet in 44 years. He picked up four portfolios: Consumer Affairs, Cost of Living, Renting, and Men and Boys. Whether that translates to more funding for Frankston is the question we'll be watching. |
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Seaford Station car park has temporary closures in place until mid-July 2026. If you park there regularly, allow extra time or plan an alternate spot. |
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"I've lived in Karingal for 11 years. The foreshore has never looked better — but the rates bill keeps going up and I'm still waiting on the footpath outside my street to be fixed. Council needs to sort the basics before anything else.
— Jo, Karingal · 11-year local
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— 😄 Joke of the Week —
This week's joke comes from the editor. From next week, it's over to you.
Why did the hippie drown at the beach?
He was too far out, man.
Got a better one? Send your joke (clean-ish, please) to [email protected] — best ones get published with full credit. We know you've got material.
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TRUE STORY
"I was teasing a seagull with a chip on the foreshore. A second seagull swooped in and took it clean out of my hand. The first one didn't get a thing. Neither did I."
There I was, fish and chips in hand, a seagull squawking at my feet doing his best starving-orphan routine. So I held a chip up high — just to keep him keen, you know how it goes. Before I could do anything with it, a second seagull came from absolutely nowhere, executed a perfect low-altitude swoop, and lifted the chip clean out of my fingers. Gone. The first seagull watched it happen. So did I. Two locals, outsmarted by a bird we weren't even looking at. Genuinely the most Frankston beach experience I've ever had.
Had a moment that could only happen in Frankston? Send it to [email protected] — we'll run the best one each week.
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Supported by a local Frankston business
Furniture Assembly
Flatpack driving you mad? IKEA, Bunnings, the lot — fully assembled, from $50.
Get a quote → [email protected]
Frankston & surrounding suburbs · No job too small · Fast, reliable, local
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That's Issue #1 done and dusted. Thanks for reading all the way to the bottom — you're exactly the kind of subscriber this newsletter is built for.
If you found this useful, the single best thing you can do is forward it to one Frankston neighbour, friend or family member who'd appreciate it. That's genuinely how independent newsletters grow — one person at a time.
Got a tip, a story, a complaint, or something council isn't talking about? Hit reply. I read every single one.
See you next Friday. ☀️
— Topher · The Frankston Local
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The Frankston Local
Written independently by a Frankston local, for Frankston locals. Free every Friday · No council funding · No agenda · No spam frankstonlocal.au · Frankston City VIC 3199
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