| Friday 29 May 2026 |
Issue #3 |
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 #3
G'day Frankston,
Tonight — yes, tonight — Life-Gate Inc's Meals for Change van rolls into the Young Street carpark at 7pm. Free hot food, a warm community BBQ, and outreach workers on hand for anyone who needs more than just dinner. No referral, no questions. Just show up. This week we're shining a light on them, and on the quiet network of people across this city who show up every single week to make sure their neighbours don't go hungry. It's a long list, and it should make you proud to live here.
Seaford gets the Suburb Spotlight this week — and there's big news right in its own backyard. Concept designs for the new elevated Seaford Station are out, the boom gates at Armstrongs Road and Station Street are going for good, and the ground crews are already in the car park. Construction starts 2027. New station opens 2029. After decades of waiting, it's actually happening.
Also this issue: the 2026–27 budget passed with rates capped and waste charges down, a Karingal local won $100K on a $5 scratch ticket, porch pirates are doing the rounds in Frankston, a stolen car was dumped on Armata Crescent, and Brett from Frankston absolutely cleaned up off the pier last weekend. Oh, and free public transport ends Sunday — top up your Myki.
Three issues in. Good to have you here.
— Topher, Editor · The Frankston Local
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🏗 Development & Transport
Boom Gates Going, New Station Coming: Seaford's Frankston Line Future Is Finally Taking Shape
The Allan Labor Government has released early concept designs for a new elevated Seaford Station — and with it, confirmation that the two most congested level crossings on the Frankston Line are going. The crossings at Armstrongs Road and Station Street will be replaced by separate rail bridges over the roads, permanently ending the daily bottleneck that has the boom gates down for more than 30 minutes in the morning peak alone. (Victoria's Big Build)
The new station will be elevated — modern, accessible, with lifts, better weather protection, and new community spaces and car parking underneath the rail bridges. Two separate bridges are being used rather than one continuous span because of the 1km gap between the crossings; this also means shorter construction disruptions for passengers and motorists.
Since 2016, there have been seven near-misses at these crossings. Up to 40 trains pass through in the morning peak. Site investigations are already underway in the Seaford Station car park — that's why sections of the car park have been closed since April and stay closed until mid-July. They're testing the ground for what comes next.
Final designs are due before construction starts in 2027. The new station opens in 2029 — the same year the whole Frankston Line becomes level crossing free. Community updates: bigbuild.vic.gov.au
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♻️ Council
Council Endorses Five-Year Waste Shake-Up
Frankston City Council has endorsed a new Circularity Roadmap — a five-year plan to reduce waste and build a more sustainable local economy. Programs like Trim Your Bin, Roving Repair, and the Library of Things will be expanded, alongside new community "circularity hubs." The goal: a city where things get fixed, shared, and reused rather than binned. (frankston.vic.gov.au)
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🏠 Development
494-Home Veterans Village Approved for Frankston South
Vasey RSL Care has received planning approval for a $320.6 million development at 85 Overport Road, Frankston South — 494 homes including 80 aged care rooms, 52 assisted living apartments, and 362 retirement and affordable homes. The region has one of Australia's highest veteran populations. Construction expected 2027. (The Urban Developer)
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| Fri 29 |
Life-Gate Meals for Change — Free Community BBQ 🍖
Young St carpark (next to Tasman Meats), Frankston · 7:00pm–9:00pm · Free · Hot food, outreach support on hand. Open to anyone. (life-gate.org)
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| Fri 29 |
Celtic Music Festival — Daytime Music & Theatre 🎶
Frankston Arts Centre · 10:30am & 1:30pm · Ticketed · Featuring Ghosts of Erin and trio Apolline — foot-stomping reels, jigs, whistles and rich harmonies. Great daytime option. (whatsonfrankston.com)
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| Fri 29 |
Girls Just Wanna Have Puns — Comedy Night 😂
Mount Eliza Country Club · 8:00pm–10:00pm · FREE for Frankston locals — use code LOCALS at checkout for 100% off. A killer lineup of female comedians from TV & radio. Lily, a Seaford local herself, is putting this on and wants our community there. Get your tickets here.
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| Sat 30 |
The Piano Men: Songs of Elton John & Billy Joel — Platinum Hits Tour 🎹
Frankston Arts Centre · Ticketed · A tribute to two of the greatest piano men in rock history. (artscentre.frankston.vic.gov.au)
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| Sun 31 |
ELVIS Leaves his Mark! Starring Mark Andrew 🕺
Frankston Arts Centre · Ticketed · A full Elvis tribute show. If you love the King, this one's for you. (artscentre.frankston.vic.gov.au)
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| Sun 31 |
Seaford North PS Community Market 🛒
Seaford North Primary School · 9:00am–1:00pm · Free entry · Indoor market — fresh produce, baked goods, local beer & whisky tastings, plants, handmade goodies and warm drinks. Rain, hail or shine. A great Sunday morning out.
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| Tue 2 Jun |
Is Shakespeare in this Movie? 🎭
Frankston Arts Centre · Ticketed · A show exploring Shakespeare's influence on cinema. Smart, entertaining, and probably funnier than the title suggests. (artscentre.frankston.vic.gov.au)
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| Fri 5 Jun |
The Eagles Greatest Hits 🎸
Frankston Arts Centre · Ticketed · A full tribute to the Eagles catalogue. One for the classic rock fans. Get in early. (artscentre.frankston.vic.gov.au)
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| Sat 6 Jun |
The Beatles Anthology 🎸
Frankston Arts Centre · Ticketed · A comprehensive tribute spanning the Fab Four's full catalogue. If you're going to the Eagles on Friday, consider making it a full weekend. (artscentre.frankston.vic.gov.au)
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🚆 Transport heads-up: Free public transport across Victoria ends this Sunday 31 May. From Monday, a 20% fare discount applies until 31 July — but it's not free. Top up your Myki. Frankston Line on altered timetable — check transport.vic.gov.au before you travel. Seaford Station car park partial closures continue to mid-July.
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🔎 This Week: Seaford
Beach Town on the Verge of a Very Big Change
Seaford has always known what it is. It's a beach suburb — unpretentious, family-oriented, with a main street that's more hardware and fish and chips than boutique and cold press coffee. That's not a criticism. It's the reason people move here and stay. The foreshore is genuinely beautiful, the community is tight-knit, and there's a quiet pride in the place that you don't find in suburbs that are trying too hard.
But Seaford is about to change — and for once, residents have real reason to be optimistic. Right now, site investigation crews are boring into the ground in the Seaford Station car park, testing conditions for the removal of the Armstrongs Road and Station Street level crossings. Boom gates that come down 30-plus minutes every morning peak. Seven near-misses since 2016. The new elevated station is coming, with community space underneath and better cycling connections — a proper modern facility for a suburb that's deserved one for a long time.
The bigger question is what follows. Development tends to trail infrastructure, and a new elevated station changes the character of a precinct. Seaford's Station Street has the bones of something better. Whether that becomes a genuinely good local high street or just another row of empty shopfronts will depend on what council and developers do with the opportunity once construction wraps in 2029.
If you live in Seaford and want to share what the suburb needs — or what you want to protect — hit reply. We're listening.
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⚠ Frankston Safety — Week of 23–29 May 2026
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🔍 Missing Person — Two-Year Anniversary Appeal
Two years ago this week, Ronan Clarke was discharged from Frankston Hospital on the afternoon of Tuesday 28 May 2024 following a seizure. He left on foot, was last captured on council cameras walking west along Beach Street before heading south along Young Street past Frankston Station. The last confirmed sighting was near Kinetic Stadium at 6:43pm that evening. Ronan has not been seen or heard from since.
If you have any information that could assist in locating Ronan, please contact Crime Stoppers — anonymously online at crimestoppersvic.com.au or by calling 1800 333 000.
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🚗 Stolen Vehicle Dumped — Frankston North
A crashed and abandoned dark-coloured Ford sedan was reported on Armata Crescent, Frankston North this week. Both number plates were found removed and left at the scene. If the car belongs to you or you have information, contact Victoria Police on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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📦 Porch Pirates Active in Frankston
A resident reported spotting a man walking his dogs in Frankston stealing packages from front porches — stopping to take deliveries before continuing on his way. The incident was shared publicly this week and police have been alerted.
Reminder: If you're expecting a delivery, consider redirecting to a parcel locker, asking a neighbour to collect it, or requesting a signature on delivery. Australia Post and most couriers offer free parcel locker services at local post offices.
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| Council Watch — Decisions Decoded |
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Passed
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2026–27 Budget adopted — rates capped, waste charges down. Council has passed its annual budget with rates capped at the State Government limit of 2.75%. Better news: residential waste charges will actually fall by an average of 3–4% after the FOGO charge was integrated into the standard waste service. A $900,000 Local Support Package continues for a second year, covering the Accessible Beach program, Can Swim water safety, and support for neighbourhood houses. (Inside Local Government) |
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Drama
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Cr Butler blocked, Cr Bolam dissents. The budget didn't pass without incident. Cr Nathan Butler — who we've been tracking since Issue #1 — says he was not given the opportunity to move an alternate motion exploring targeted cost-of-living relief for residents. Separately, Cr Kris Bolam moved a motion of dissent against Mayor Baker at the same meeting. It failed. Both moments signal ongoing tension on the council floor that we'll keep watching. |
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Watch
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Frankston City First — still waiting on candidates. Council's $19M state election ask remains unanswered by candidates ahead of November's Victorian election. Early signs suggest the Frankston/Nepean area could be more competitive than expected. We'll keep asking. (frankston.vic.gov.au) |
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Update
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Basketball & Gymnastics Stadium — works continuing. No new update this week. Construction is ongoing with doors expected later this winter. We'll bring a full update when council releases more detail. |
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🍲 Community Food Feature — Issue #3: Life-Gate Inc
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Life-Gate Inc — Meals for Change. Life-Gate has been serving Frankston's most vulnerable since 1992. Their Meals for Change trailer turns up fortnightly with a full community BBQ — hot food, and trained outreach workers on hand for anyone who needs more than a meal. No referral needed. No questions asked. Just show up.
Where: Young St carpark (next to Tasman Meats), Frankston — every second Friday, 7pm–9pm.
Upcoming dates: Tonight (Fri 29 May) · Fri 12 Jun · Fri 26 Jun · Fri 10 Jul · Fri 24 Jul
Volunteer or donate: life-gate.org
Each issue we spotlight one of the organisations quietly keeping Frankston fed. Know one we should feature? Click here to let us know.
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Frankston Sharks BMX crowned Australia's best club. The Frankston Sharks BMX Club has taken out the top club title at the 2026 AusCycling BMX Racing Nationals in Shepparton, after three of its riders won national titles. The club has been producing state and national champions since the early 1980s — this is the biggest prize of the lot. Enormous effort from everyone involved. |
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Karingal local wins $100K on a $5 scratch ticket. A Frankston man bought a Hidden Gems Instant Scratch-Its ticket on a whim at Karingal Lotto News and Gifts in Karingal Hub — and walked out with the $100,000 top prize. He described it as "surreal." Good Friday for someone. (Mirage News) |
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Free PT ends Sunday. Victoria's free public transport offer wraps up this Sunday 31 May. From Monday, a 20% fare discount applies until 31 July. After that, full fares resume. Top up your Myki this weekend. (transport.vic.gov.au) |
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Seaford Station car park — closures until mid-July. Site investigations for the level crossing removal are ongoing. If you park there regularly, allow extra time or use an alternate spot. The works are necessary — the new station depends on them. |
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📣 This section belongs to you.
Every week, this space is reserved for one Frankston local with something worth saying.
It might be a problem on your street that council keeps ignoring. A local business or volunteer doing something remarkable. A strong opinion on what's happening in your suburb. Or just a sharp observation about life in this city that deserves to be heard.
Keep it real, keep it local, and tell us your suburb. The best responses run here, unedited, with your name and suburb attached. We're not looking for polish — we're looking for honesty.
Send your voice → [email protected]
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— 😄 Joke of the Week —
Why did the mushroom go to the party?
Because he was a fungi! 🍄
— Davo, Karingal · Got one? Send it to [email protected] — best ones get published with full credit.
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TRUE STORY
Brett from Frankston spent dusk to dawn on the Frankston Pier last weekend — and could barely keep up with the squid bites. Bucket fulls. The man came prepared, he worked for it, and he earned every single tentacle.
It's the middle of autumn, there's a chill in the air, and the calamari practically jumped into the bucket. Anyone else game? The pier's there. The squid are clearly up for it. Just saying.
Had a moment that could only happen in Frankston? Send it to [email protected] — best one runs here every week.
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Supported by a local Frankston business
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Don't let flatpack ruin your weekend.
Furniture, home gyms, sheds, kids' play equipment, shelving and more — fully assembled, fast, and local. Winter's the season for getting the house sorted, and with school holidays just around the corner, now's the time.
Get a quote → [email protected]
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