Meanwhile, from south of the border the Lilydale & Yarra Valley Leader reports how residents queued in the rain for a chance to sign a new petition calling for urgent action to fix Lilydale’s older Lawn Cemetery. The petition is the latest move in a grassroots campaign being run to upgrade the rundown cemetery area, at the corner of Nelson and Victoria roads in Lilydale.

It calls for improvements to the grounds and maintenance, and is expected to be tabled in Parliament within months.

Campaign leader Gail White said they got more than 400 signatures in a single day earlier this month, with many people so eager to sign they were prepared to line in the rain.

She said the petition was launched after the Greater Metropolitan Cemetery Trust failed to answer key questions asked by the group.