Melissa Cunningham
Health reporter
Melissa Cunningham is a city reporter for The Age. She has previously covered health and has also been a reporter for The Sunday Age.
It’s one of the most notorious roads in Melbourne. Fixing it is a ‘matter of life and death’, residents say
A report has recommended an immediate review of how fast drivers are allowed to go and for measures to push drivers to stay on main roads rather than doing “suburban rat runs”.
- by Melissa Cunningham
Want to prune a tree in your Glen Eira yard? You might soon need a permit
A council in Melbourne’s south-east is considering a new law that will clamp down on removing or pruning trees on private property.
- by Melissa Cunningham
Exclusive
City life
Rebuilt housing towers won’t have support for vulnerable residents, warns mayor
Two public housing towers on course for a fast-track rebuild won’t be designed with the needs of vulnerable residents in mind, the local council says.
- by Melissa Cunningham
The quiet country town twice thrust into the spotlight this month by death
The busiest Clunes typically gets is during its annual Booktown festival in March. Now tragedy has left it swarming with journalists.
- by Lachlan Abbott and Melissa Cunningham
Soul Barn distances itself from ‘mushroom’ event that claimed woman’s life
Rachael Dixon, a health practitioner from Ringwood North, died in Clunes at the weekend after consuming a suspected mushroom drink.
- by David Estcourt, Melissa Cunningham and Lachlan Abbott
The wellbeing retreat at the centre of suspected ‘mushroom’ fatality
Soul Barn, the Victorian wellbeing centre being investigated after a woman’s death at the weekend, describes itself as “a stunning rural oasis” and a place where visitors can untangle their minds.
- by Melissa Cunningham
The ‘capitalist nonsense’ killing Melbourne’s live music scene
Cash Savage still remembers the first time she played to sold-out crowd at Fitzroy’s Old Bar. She’s growing increasingly dismayed about the future of the city’s iconic gig culture.
- by Melissa Cunningham
Series
Docklands
Docklands: Lifeless concrete jungle or vibrant hub
In this series, The Age explores what has gone wrong with Melbourne’s most maligned suburb and what could be done to fix it.
The Bureau of Meteorology is based in Melbourne’s ‘freezing wind tunnel’, but no one’s measuring the wind there
Docklands is often battered by strong winds, but experts say no wind testing was done when the suburb was built, while a wind sensor and more trees would mitigate the problem now.
- by Melissa Cunningham
This suburb is often called a lifeless concrete jungle. Here’s how it can flourish
The Age’s Docklands series explores what has gone wrong with Melbourne’s most maligned suburb and what could be done to fix it.
- by Cara Waters, Rachael Dexter and Melissa Cunningham