The Victorian Government is helping agricultural and pastoral shows bounce back from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and welcome more people through the show gates again. Minister for Agriculture Jaclyn Symes announced the opening of applications for the Agricultural and Pastoral Society Grants 2020-21 round, with grants now able to fund up to 90 per cent of the total project costs.
The Andrews Labor Government is providing a major boost for workers in the creative industries by funding jobs for artists, designers, musicians, filmmakers and writers in government schools across the state. Minister for Employment Jaala Pulford announced that Working for Victoria is creating more than 150 jobs for creative professionals whose work opportunities have been impacted by the pandemic.
Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio visited The Prom today to announce a $23 million investment that will create an internationally significant biodiversity sanctuary and build a new visitor centre.
The Leongatha Men’s shed group are one step closer to moving into their soon to be completed shed on the Leongatha Rec Reserve. The group applied for and was successful in obtaining a $60,000 grant under the state government Men’s Shed Program. Men’s Sheds across our region do a fantastic job of helping men socialise, keep their hands busy and learn new skills and trades.
OSMI Australia are reinstating the meteorological monitoring mast at the Delburn Wind Farm site that was the subject of vandalism in August 2020. The construction team will be on site in the week commencing 16 November, 2020.
Would you like to be rich? Chances are your answer is: “Yes! Who wouldn’t want to be rich?” Clearly, in societies where money can buy almost everything, being rich is generally perceived as something good. It implies more freedom, fewer worries, more happiness, higher social status.
One of the world’s largest lithium-ion batteries will be built at the Moorabool Terminal Station, to boost the state’s energy reliability, drive down electricity prices and support Victoria’s transition to renewable energy – as well as creating local jobs as we take steps towards a COVID normal.
When Paul Plunket was only 5 years old, around 1960, he was drawn to an old print that his Grandmother had on the wall of her house. It was a print of the painting by J. A. Turner as featured in last issue of this newspaper.
The declaration of a climate emergency at any level of government is not merely symbolic, as letters from Lindsay Love and John McCombe suggest. Nor does it have to lead to higher costs for local government with no benefits for residents.
In fact, far greater financial costs could be incurred by council, and ratepayers, by a failure to respond properly to the climate emergency.
Specific and measurable outcomes that benefit all residents are achievable through climate emergency actions embedded in Council Plans and prioritised in programs and infrastructure budget streams.
I have great joy in cooking Indian food. It is spicy and hot and can have superb tastes. It is also good ecologically as it has a low carbon footprint with its minimum meat and vegetables. When I started to cook, I first started learning to cook Indian food and it has been a constant and rewarding companion.
When you think of kangaroos and wallabies, you probably don’t think of the temperate climate, unsettled weather and agricultural lands of England. Yet on such pastures, the red-necked wallaby has found a home.
Red-necked wallabies have been present in Britain for more than a century, originally being imported for zoos and private collections where they were popular attractions. However they also proved to be adept escape artists that were adaptable enough to survive in the British countryside.
The Victorian Government is encouraging all Victorians to have their say on how a state-wide Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) would work best to improve our recycling system and reduce litter pollution in our environment. Victorians are being asked to provide feedback on the proposed model for the CDS, which will be rolled out by 2023 and create hundreds of jobs across the state.
To state the past eight months have been challenging for our rural, small businesses is an understatement. Many were forced to temporarily shut their doors, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, while some have sadly remained closed. Countless businesses are presently surviving by the skin of their teeth through creatively thinking outside of the square.
The South Gippsland Shire Council under the direction of the Andrews government appointed Administrators appears to be suffering the same malaise – no responsibility and government by committee as the Government. The Andrews Government, wishing to hide from accountability for the Hotel Quarantine debacle appointed the Coates Commission of Enquiry – an exercise in shifting taking responsibility.
This year has seen a large number of important projects constructed in Mirboo North. Nothing much else was built or proposed for the area in the previous 10 years when Council policies appeared to focus on the central areas of the Shire to the exclusion of the outlying regions.
These sorts of large projects require a considerable timeframe from proposal to construction due to the lengthy process involved. From proposal at Council and acceptance by Councillors and the officer group through the public consultation processes and finally to shovel ready projects ready to attract grant funding and allocation into the capital works program and budgeting.
Whether these wonderful retail outlets are named op shops, thrift stores or charity shops, they are each a wonderful type of social enterprise, managed by philanthropic organisations to raise funds for worthy causes.
These venues grant the public a purposeful option to donate pre-loved belongings, while to shoppers, these stores are a paradise of miscellaneous treasures to lose oneself in, sometimes for hours on end. One of these commendable, local businesses is the St. Vincent de Paul Society Opportunity Shop in Leongatha.
Over the past seven months, many of us have got closer to experiencing the kind of solitude long sought by monks, nuns, philosophers and misanthropes.
For some, this has brought loneliness. Nevertheless, like religions such as Buddhism, the West has a rich literature — both religious and secular — exploring the possible benefits of being alone.
“Take time and see the Lord is good,” Psalm 34 enjoins, in a biblical passage long read as a call to periodically withdraw from worldly occupations. The best form of life will be contemplative, the philosopher Aristotle concurs.
This Week’s Deliveries.
Leongatha/Korumburra-MONDAY-TUESDAY
Mirboo North and Dumbalk-MONDAY (morning)
Foster-TUESDAY (morning)
Meeniyan IGA, Poowong PO, Loch Petrol Station, Nyora General Store-TUESDAY (afternoon)
This year, parents – but mostly mums – have had to juggle work and childcare and kids learning from home. Even now with students back at kinder and school, we know that balancing act isn’t any easier. The State Government wants to give families one less thing to worry about.
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Nothing about this year has been easy. But the hardest thing of all has been missing the people we love most. Collectively, we’ve missed the big moments and the small. Birthdays and barbeques. Special dinners and cups of tea. Those things we didn’t even know we’d miss – until we realised just how precious they really were. But we did it. Because staying apart meant keeping each other safe. Today, because of that sacrifice, our state can be whole again. Families will be whole again too.
More Victorian students will be protected from the sun’s harmful UV rays, thanks to the Victorian Government installing more sunshades in school playgrounds and outdoor areas. Minister for Health Martin Foley today announced 104 schools – including 16 located in areas impacted by the 2019-20 bushfires will share in over $1.3 million from the latest round of the School Shade Grants Program.
Let me say at the outset, this is just a personal view and I don’t want, or expect, others to simply accept what I have to say. All I would like is for those inclined to follow the Climate Emergency Warrior doctrine to not allow themselves to be led by the nose. I see myself as a natural greenie and I have lived it every day, within the practical bounds of reality, for at least the last 50yrs or so.
A new ultra-rapid charging station for electric vehicles has opened in Horsham, connecting the Western Highway route between Melbourne to Adelaide. The Horsham site completes the rollout of seven ultra-rapid charging stations operated by electric vehicle charging network, Chargefox.
The Nationals Member for Gippsland South, Danny O’Brien has told State Parliament that a major reshaping of Victoria may occur in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr O’Brien has urged the Andrews Labor Government to invest heavily in regional Victorian infrastructure as more Melbournians look to relocate in the wake of the pandemic.
“We will need some innovative thinking as we come out of the pandemic induced lockdowns,” Mr O’Brien said.
“I believe there’s a real opportunity here for the state to get ahead of the curve and help reshape our population distribution.
Declaring a Climate Emergency actually achieves nothing. There are however, other actions which could make a difference. The South Gippsland Action Group are concerned that such a declaration will likely lead to higher costs for local government with little benefit to residents. The South Gippsland Shire Council already employs a sustainability officer and they have been making steady progress on installing solar panels on various Council building assets.
Spinosa of Hoddle is an equine facility in South Gippsland near to Fish Creek. The proprietor, Larissa Judd moved to South Gippsland back in 2006 and after the tragic loss of her husband shortly after arriving here Larissa determined to work on her passions of working with horses and education. She designed and built the undercover arena area in 2012. This is not a tin shed but a top of the line engineered structure that keeps all of South Gippsland’s “nasty” weather from affecting a day’s activities.
When an established, local artist and a leading teacher united to brainstorm ideas, a wonderful initiative came to fruition.
Talented artist, Mandy Gunn of Tarwin Lower, collaborated with Tanya Chalmers, a Leading Teacher at Leongatha Secondary College.
A record 51 aircraft will hit Victorian skies to help fight fires and keep communities safe this summer season, thanks to $29 million in funding from the Victorian Government.
Minister for Police and Emergency Services Lisa Neville today announced the 2020-21 aircraft fleet, which includes a mix of water bombing aircraft, air supervision and air intelligence-gathering aircraft.
In all the talk of tackling environmental problems such as climate change, the issue of population growth often escapes attention. Politicians don’t like talking about it. By and large, neither do environmentalists – but former Greens leader Bob Brown has bucked that trend. Brown recently declared the world’s population must start to decline before 2100, telling The Australian newspaper
On 22 May 2020, the Australian Government announced a new $500 million Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program (LRCI Program). This program will support local councils to deliver priority local road and community infrastructure projects across Australia, supporting jobs, and the resilience of local economies to help communities bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic. The LRCI Program is part of the Australian Government’s $1.8 billion boost for road and community projects through local governments across Australia which will also help communities battling the effects of COVID-19.
Chinese cooking has been with us longer than Italian cuisine. Many Chinese came out with the gold rush and in Victoria avoided the head levy by coming through SA and Robe. Many were killed at Chinaman’s well on the way by earlier versions of our home-grown racists. Most country town’s had a Chinese restaurant. Not necessarily great Chinese, but something different. Chinese food can be brilliant and as good as any high quality European cuisine.
Rumours are flying around the vicinity faster than the speed of light. An ‘Under Contract’ sticker emanates strikingly from a For Sale sign, suggesting the iconic Riverview Hotel, with its extraordinary fireplace, is about to welcome fresh blood.
In the town of Goulburn in southern New South Wales, an energy revolution is brewing. The community has come together to build its own 4,000-panel solar farm – everyday citizens are invited to buy shares in the venture and reap the rewards.
Goulburn is not alone: community-owned energy is an idea whose time has come. About 100 community energy groups operate across Australia – their projects at various levels of development – up from 25 groups in 2015.
The grants are open to home-based businesses in South Gippsland with an annual turnover between $25,000 and $250,000 that have experienced a downturn as a result of COVID-19. The grants are part of South Gippsland Shire Council’s $2M Community Support Package and are aimed at small food producers, home-based health and beauty services and creative and training businesses. Eligible businesses will receive a grant of $1,000 (ex GST) that can be spent on essential business fees, services or materials.
Bushfires ravaged Gippsland in the summer of 1897–98, covering an area of about 1600 square kilometres. The worst day, 1 February 1898, was named ‘Red Tuesday’, recalling that other day of horror so memorably recorded by William Strutt in his Black Thursday, February 6th. 1851. John Longstaff visited Gippsland later in February 1898 to view the fires at first hand and collect material for a major picture. Gippsland, Sunday night, February 20th, 1898 was exhibited in a dramatic installation in his Melbourne studio in August 1898. A row of kerosene-lamp ‘footlights’ provided the illumination, and the effect was said to be ‘lurid and startlingly realistic’.
At the October Council meeting an update on the $2M COVID-19 Community Support Package was provided. Eight initiatives, including two stages of business grants, are now complete and further nine are currently in progress. Council also endorsed funding for recreation reserve maintenance, a new grant stream for home-based businesses and funding to encourage people to shop local in South Gippsland.
The program features ten unique initiatives that aim to raise the profile of arts and culture in South Gippsland through a diverse array of events, workshops and activities. The program is part of Council’s $2M COVID-19 Community Support Package.
The Victorian Government is taking action to reduce the devastating environmental impacts of the state’s wild deer population while maintaining hunting opportunities by launching Victoria’s first ever deer management strategy. The Victorian Deer Control Strategy is being kick-started with a $1 million investment to manage the growing problem of deer in the outer northern and eastern suburbs of Melbourne.
Council conducted a virtual briefing from the Audit committee with the press in attendance. Recommended action from Council is to endorse this report at Council meeting. Mr Chris Badger was recently appointed as the Chair but prior to that Mr Andrew Purcell was the Chair of the Committee.
The full Audit Committee has endorsed this report after a thorough review by the Committee.
Korumburra CBA branch has a sign on its windows informing the community that it will be closing permanently from Dec 4th, 2020. This leaves South Gippsland with just the branches in Leongatha and Foster.
The news did not thrill the residents of the town. Many accepted that this was the way things were going but did not like it, nonetheless.
Staff numbers (EFT) has increased in the last 12 months. The increase over the period 13/14 to 17/18 shows the gradual increasing trend of staff numbers at South Gippsland Shire.
The significant drop from 17/18 to 18/19 was due to the Government enforced exit from Health and Community Services in all Shires. This reduced the requirements for staffing by around 20 and a savings in costs to ratepayers around $500,000 per year.
Open Letter
Why is it the South Gippsland Shire Council Administration has become increasingly shy of answering questions put to it on virtually any subject?
Instead of answering meaningfully, they habitually resort to ‘stonewalling’ tactics – ducking and weaving, selectively quoting out of context to reverse what the questioner actually said, so that the questioner is made to appear aggressive, or seemingly attacking the integrity of staff, when that was not intended at all. Why are these ‘word games’ even thought to be necessary? Most questions are straightforward – sometimes, of necessity, they are more convoluted.
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