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.
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
Could Docklands become Australia’s Silicon Valley? One Victorian MP thinks so
Libertarian MP David Limbrick says a special economic zone would turbocharge Docklands. It would mean scrapping payroll and land taxes.
- by Melissa Cunningham
Test results are in on asbestos in parks as reports continue to rise
The environmental regulator has revealed more reports of potential asbestos, this time in Williamstown, Altona and Sunshine West, with priority testing under way.
- by Melissa Cunningham
Updated
City life
Councils put on notice as asbestos found in several parks across Melbourne
The environmental regulator has warned councils across the state to crack down on the quality of mulch being used in public spaces.
- by Melissa Cunningham and Adam Carey