Latrobe Valley Express Wednesday 23 August 2023

StateconfirmsLoy Yang A2035closure

THE state governmenthas provided an update on the future of the Loy YangA powerstation, saying they’re delivering energy security and supporting workers as Victoria transitionstomore affordable and reliable renewable energy.

Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D’Ambrosio on Monday, August 21 said the government reacheda StructuredTransition Agreement with AGL that will ensure afirm 12-year notice periodfor the workforce,community and energy market-with confidence the power station will remainavailableuntil 2035

“AGL’s decision to close Loy Yang Ain12years’ time allows time for workers to plan, reskill and retrain with our fullsupportasVictoria moves towards 95 per cent renewable energy generation by 2035,” Ms D’Ambrosio said.

“One of the biggest barriers for renewable energy investors is clarity around when fossil generators will close -a guaranteed closuretimeline provides improved certainty around Victoria’s energy demand.”

The government says this binding agreement avoids uncertainty where the changing plans of power companies can deternew renewablegeneration entering the market, increasing electricity prices to customers.

As part of this agreement, AGL has also provided formal market notification that Loy Yang Awill close in 2035.

The Latrobe Valley community is already undergoing transition withinthe energy sector workforce -and the government has worked with AGLtodeliver aworker transition package that is over and above existing obligations.

In amedia release, the government said the

package will assistAGL to help retrain, reskill andfindnew work opportunities for their staff close to home.

“The agreement balancesthe requirement to support asafeand reliable energy system while deliveringinvestment certaintyuntil Victoria has enough renewables and storage capacity to replace Loy Yang A,” the government said.

“Working alongside the government, AGL has also agreed to provide a$50 million Community and Economic Development Fund -ontop of AGL’s rehabilitation obligations -tohelp repurpose the Loy Yang Asiteand provide broader community benefits.

“Since 2014, the government has invested more than $2 billion to create thousands of extra jobs in the Latrobe Valley- and in the coming months and years, the focus will be on continuing to help Loy Yang Aworkers, their families and the Latrobe Valley community navigate the transition.

“The government is also investing an initial $1 billion towards delivering 4.5 gigawatts of power through new build renewable energy projects as part of the State Electricity Commission (SEC)the equivalent replacement capacity of Loy Yang A.”

The state government saidthey will continue to back the Latrobe Valley to “diversify its economy throughthe continued creation of new industries and jobs”.

“Gippsland has abright future in energy, driven by the state’s ambitious renewable energy and storage targets -and development of Australia’s first offshore wind precinct off its coast,”they said.

Shadow Minister for Energy takes aim at station closure

CONFIRMATION thatVictoria’s largest power station is set to closeby2035underlines the need for areal plan to ensure that Victorians have reliable and affordable energy, the state opposition says.

Shadow Minister for Energy, David Hodgett, said with electricity prices increasing by up to 25 per cent, Victorians needed areal plan to deliver more secure energy supply and lower prices.

“The closure of Loy Yang confirms that our energy market is changing and that Victoria needs areal plan to keep energy prices low and

the lights on,” Mr Hodgett said.

“The Andrews Government has promised much, but delivered very little on energy. With Premier’s flagship SEC havingnoprojects, no partners and no plan,Victorians will continue to face higher energy bills at atimethey can least afford it.

“Victoria needs acommon-sense plan to build new energygeneration and upgrade ourtransmission network so that households and businesses across the state can access the clean, affordable and reliable power they need.”

Disappointed: C4G’schief executiveTony Cantwell. File photograph

C4G CEO disappointed

THE Latrobe Valley and Gippsland Transition Plan, which highlights the work already underway in transitioning the region, has disappointed the Committee for Gippsland.

C4G’s chief executive, Tony Cantwell, said while the committee appreciated the extensive engagement involved in developing the plan, “unfortunatelyitwas amissed opportunity” with no new funded recommendations adopted to support the region’s transition.

“Transitioning our region cannotbedone alone. It will requirecollaboration across community, government, and industry. We all must play our part if we are to succeed. As part of this collaborative effort, state government has an essential role to play in facilitatingand implementing practical actions supported by specific funding to enable our regionaleconomy to diversify,” Mr Cantwell said.

“Withouttargetedfunding,the region is at risk of not enabling new localsustainable employmentopportunities to emerge, detrimental socio-economic outcomes, and ultimately an increaseincost to taxpayers through highersocial security payments.”

In August,a Committee for Gippsland delegation comprising industry, business and government leaders visited the Hunter Valley and established acollaborative alliance to ensure positive transitions that secure public and private investment in Australia’s key power generation regions.

C4G “willcontinue to work with our regional counterparts and advocate for practical actions that can support our economy to diversify, attract new investment, help our supply chains pivot to anew industries and create sustainablejob opportunities, especially for our young people,” Mr Cantwell said.

AGL’s mission to go low-carbon

By PHILIP HOPKINS

AGL has unveiled its long-term aim to turn the LoyYang Apower station site into alow-carbon Energy Hub featuring solar materials and battery recycling, grid-scalebatteries,potentialhydrogen production and advanced manufacturing.

The company’splansfor the Latrobe Valley Energy Hub were outlined at an event at Loy Yangrecently, attendedbymore than 100 people, including the Minister for Energy, Lily D’Ambrosio, members of Latrobe City Council, and local community and business groups.

AGL’s chief operating officer, Markus Brokhof, said given the early closure of Loy Yang Ain2035, the company had begun to plan what the future of the Latrobe Valley Energy Hub would look like.

“This involves dialogue withrelevant stakeholders and industrial partners,” he said.

“Loy Yang is afantastic site with askilled local workforce and established infrastructure. Over the coming decade, we will work together with partners to explore arange of options including wind and solar power, grid-scalebatteries, hydrogen production and co-location with advanced manufacturing industries.”

Mr BrokhofsaidAGL had recently signeda memorandum of understanding (MOA) with Solar Recovery Corporation to exploreestablishing a solar panel materials recovery plant at the site.

“This would enable remanufacture of solar panel materials at the end of their life,” he said.

“Thisistypical of industrial partners we have invitedhere and other peoplefromthe renewables industry.”

Around the site, Mr Brokhof said AGLwas looking to establish asolar and thermal storage project terminal and storage plant.

AGL already had ashareholding in apilot project near Mildura that it would like to commercialise at the Loy Yang site.

AGL and Australian energytechnology group

RayGen have built a$27 million pilot solar and thermal storage project at Carwarp, about 20 minutes south of Mildura.

The plant uses acombination of RayGen’s solar

and hydro technology to produce 24-hour renewable electricity that AGL says is low-cost. The system is powered by afield of smart, rotational mirrors whose concentrated solar energy is combined with the energy stored across two water reservoirs to create a‘hot and cold’ solar hydro solution.

The Carwarp plant deliversfour megawatts (MW) of solar generation and 50 megawatt hours (MWh) of storage to produceelectricity on demand.

AGL says this improves grid stability, as well as supplying reliable, synchronous power.

AGL committed $5 million to help fund the constructionatCarwarp as well as agreeing to offtake the entirety of the plant’s production.

Mr Brokhof said the official inauguration of the project wouldtake place at the end of this month in Mildura. He said advancedmanufacturing projects were also planned for the Loy Yang site.

“There are alot of things in the pipeline that I can’t disclose now. We are looking at all the technologies -atbattery recycling, waste-to-energy -all these efforts and partnerships would add value to oursite,” he said.

Mr Brokhof said AGL did not plan to just build solar or wind plants.

“We are taking adifferent approach -welook at our customers and the customer needs and build an ecosystem of low carbon energyproduction around them. We are not just building on site; we ask the customer,” he said.

“That is the reason why we are planning early withengagement 12 years ahead of theclosure of Loy Yang. We need aplanning horizon to build infrastructure around this.”

Mr BrokhofsaidAGL had already signalled that it wouldbuild an initial 200MW battery at LoyYang.

The company would decide next year, when a financial investment decision wouldbemade, about further generation capacity in the context of the entire energy infrastructure, he said.

Mr Brokhof said the Japanese HESC coal-tohydrogen project -the plant is located next to the Loy Yang power station -was going through the feasibility stage for acommercial plant.

“There is agreat opportunity. The Japanese Governmentsupports the HESC project,with more than $2 billionfunding. The Japanese parent is lookingatthe theoretical funding requirements from the federal and state governments,” he said.

The HESC project would requirecontinual mining of the Loy Yang site.

“This requires separate approval;itisnot covered by the current mining licence. Once we start the evaluation phase and engineering design, we need to apply for different licences,” he said.

Mr Brokhof emphasised that AGL would continue to redevelopthe site over the next few years.

“We don’t want to disappear from the site, demolishthe plant and leave. We want to build an energy structure on the site and transition our people. We are transparent with our workers. The aim is to create employment for the next generation on the site,” he said.

“We are also looking at Indigenous projects, recognise the needtogive back to the Gunaikurnai people, the traditional owners of the land.”

Mr Brokhof said the Loy Yangplans formed apart of AGL’s broadertransitionstrategyto transform the Liddell and Bayswater sites in NSW into the Hunter Energy Hub and the Torrens site in South Australia into the Torrens Energy Hub.

“Atthe Torrens hub,a 250MWbattery will soon be operational and at the Hunter hub, planning permission has been granted for the 500MW Liddell battery,” he said.

RayGen has received support from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) for the Carwarp site.

RayGen’s chiefexecutive, Richard Payne, said AGL had agreedthree years ago to provide a‘voice of customer’ into the design process for RayGen’s storage product.

“AGL provided valuableinsights that enhanced our technologyoffering, and AGL is now supporting deployment with an offtake and investment,” Mr Payne said.

Both companies have worked on the design of the$27 million concentrated solar and thermal storage site since 2019.

Vietnam energy visit

Boostfor local family business

GIPPSLAND’S family-ownedmanufacturing business LV Shade &Shutters is set to enjoy its new expansion.

The new manufacturing and retail site in Traralgon is now complete.

Minister for RegionalDevelopment and Memberfor EasternVictoria, Harriet Shing, officially announcedlastweekthe completion of LV Shade &Shutters’ newdual-purpose site, triple the size of the previous site and now supporting afour-fold increase in production while creating seven new jobs.

The expansion includes the construction of a new workshop, fit out with new machinery and technology,aretailand office space,and the external development of the premises including landscaping, fencing and signage.

Masterclass: Latrobe ValleyAuthoritywelcomedVietnamese government representatives recently Photograph supplied

THE Latrobe Valley’shistory as an electricity powerhouse enticedafew foreign visitors this month. On Wednesday, August 9the Latrobe Valley Authority (LVA) welcomed aVietnamese parliamentary delegation thatcametoparticipate in an Australian National University (ANU)-led master class on climate and energy.

The delegationwas interested in Australia’s experience in addressingclimate change, with special focus on Gippslandand how the region manages the energy transition.

There were presentations fromFederation

UniversityAustralia, EnergyAustralia, Latrobe City Council and the Gippsland Climate Change Network.

Talks centred on communityvalues around mine closures and energy transition, YallournPower station and mine, economic reinvestment and future ideas to further advance the transition.

After the formal presentations, the delegation enaged in acasual question and answers session which allowed for the delegation to learn more about the transition initiatives in the region.

Ms Shing welcomed the expansion.

“We are determined to continueour record investment in aprosperous and thrivingLatrobe Valley, and to supportlocal businesses to expand, innovate, and employ more locals,” she said.

Established in 2013, LV Shade &Shutters began as asmall family businessand has evolved into one of the state’s leading suppliers of residential and commercial shade structures, blinds, roller shutters, andawnings in Victoria. The business designs and manufactures its products in Traralgon, servicing the whole of Gippsland and Melbourne.

Theproject will allow the company to move its larger sail and steel works in-house instead of outsourcing the work, increasing retailsales over the next 12 months and growing annual turnover.

LV Shade &Shutters founder andowner Matthew Joske said his business washerefor theValley.

“This has been alabouroflove for the past 10 years and as asmall family-owned and operated business in Gippsland, we’re proud to continue to grow in the communitythat has backed us from the very beginning.”

Almost40per cent of employing businesses in Gippsland are small businesses, with manufacturing adriving force of the Gippsland Regional Partnership -employing 700 workers and contributing almost $1 billion in GrossValue Add to the economy each year.

The state government says it has invested in the Latrobe Valley, with projects including the Morwell Hi-Tech Precinct, Traralgon’s Latrobe Creative Precinct and the LatrobeValley GovHub.

Support for LV Shade&Shutters’ expansionis part of the government’s$2billioninvestment in projects and programs that has allegedly added more than 4000 additional jobs to the Latrobe Valley’s workforce since 2014.

Blow for CFAasGippy Water cancels long-term deal

By ZOE ASKEW

GIPPSLAND Water has terminated long-term contractswith 20 local CFA stations without warning, blindsiding volunteer brigades across the region.

CFA volunteers have beenservicing fire extinguishers, hose reels, and fire blankets for a nominal fee across multiple Gippsland Watersites, including the Moondarra Reservoir.

Without warning, GippslandWater recently revoked the contracts, which had been in place for 17 years, effective July 28, 2023, leavingthe volunteer brigadeswithouta vital revenue stream to buy new equipment.

CFA volunteer brigades affected includeSale, Heyfield, Maffra,Briagolong, Newborough, Churchill, Darnum/Ellinbank, Drouin, Neerim South,Moe, Morwell,Ericaand District, Traralgon,

Traralgon West, Warragul, Willow Grove, Yallourn North, Toongabbie and Trafalgar.

The Nationals Member for EasternVictoria Region, MelinaBath, said Gippsland’sCFA brigadeswere blindsidedbyGippsland Water’s decision to cancel their service contracts.

“Volunteers brigades only learned about it via a letter which stated an audit had been conducted, and the water authority was cancelling its arrangement,” Ms Bath said.

“Gippsland Water’s decisionisshortsighted and counterproductive –iteliminates avital revenue source from avolunteer service that protects life and property in times of emergencies.

“Without the CFA’s surge in workforce capacity and equipment,Gippsland Water’s assets and our community would be in ahighly vulnerable position in abushfire event.

“Volunteer CFA brigades are in afinancial battle to survive –funding hasbeen cut in the state budget, and now governmentagencies are removing their income source.

“The funding generated through theseservice contracts enables CFA volunteers’ to keep turning out to floods, fires, vehicle crashes and lost bush users.”

The Gippsland Water CFA contractcancellation comes after Melbourne Water made the same decision 12 months ago before backflipping when Ms Bath called the matter out in state parliament.

Ms Bath accused the LaborPartyofhaving a track history of cancelling contracts from local organisations in regional communities, which she said flies in the face of its own ‘Local Jobs First’ procurement policy.

now it’s the servicing of portable fire equipment for state government water authorities.”

Ms Bath said she would raise the matter in state parliament,advocatingfor affectedCFA volunteer brigadesand requestingthatGippslandWater reverse its decision.

“The Minister for Water must speak with Gippsland Water and ensure the contracts are redirected back to our local CFA brigades as a matter of priority,” she said.

CFA has confirmed its working with Gippsland Water to understand future contract arrangements.

“CFA is working with Gippsland Water to

understand the future arrangements in regard to fire and equipmentmaintenancecontracts,”a CFA spokesperson said.

Gippsland Water also confirmed the twoorganisations’ ongoing collaboration.

“Gippsland Water and the CFA are working together to address findings from arecent audit of firefighting equipment located at Gippsland Water sites,” aGippsland Water spokesperson said.

“The CFA has been engaged for many years to service and maintain our firefighting equipment, and we look forward to working with them to close out any outstanding audit issues.”

Intervention: Member forGippsland South Melina Bath is demandingthe stategovernment reverseGippsland Water’sdecision to dump long-serving CFAfireequipmentmaintenance contracts Photograph supplied

“GippslandWaterisshowing completedisregard for our local volunteer emergency services by cancellingcontracts with little or no communication or aright of reply,” Ms Bath said.

“Centralising government contracts is acostsaving exercise that lacks social licence –itdoes not pass the pub test.

“First it was CFA uniform laundering, then it was AmbulanceVictoriauniform laundering, and

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ONE POINTERS

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4. Whodoes the voice for the character of the genie in the animated movie ‘Aladdin’?

TWO POINTERS

5. Who sings the song ‘Dance the Night’ from the latest Barbie movie?

6. What is the main ingredient in guacamole?

7. If Iwas visiting the Australian town of Grafton, what state/territory would Ibein?

8. What year did the Titanic sink? a) 1912 b) 1913 c) 1914

THREE POINTERS

9. What is the tallest building in the world?

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11. True or false. The Mona Lisa was painted by Michelangelo?

12. What was the name of the producer who worked on all but one of The Beatles studio albums?

FOUR POINTERS

13. Which famous scientist developed the theory of evolution?

14. What is thenameofthe biggest technology company in South Korea?

FIVE POINTER

15. I’ll give you five movie synopsis and you give me the movie. One point for each correct answer?

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3. Twohitmen with apenchant forphilosophical discussions have their storyline interwoven with others.

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HOW DID YOU FARE?

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Target Time No.0172

Howtoplay...

Using the nine letters in the grid, how many words of four letters or morecan youlist? The centreletter must be included and each letter may be used only once. No colloquial or foreign words. No capitalised nouns, apostrophes or plural

Sudoku No.0172

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Fill the grid so that everyrow and every 3x3 square contains the digits 1to9 Solution next Wednesday.

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experienced

Astrange tale of awoundedfox

By TOMHAYES

IS awounded fox just vermin,orisitapoor suffering creature worth saving? Don’t ask the authorities.

Agroup of people in Glengarry was faced with an unusuallydifficult task over the past month, in an attempt to eradicateasuffering animal from their town.

OnJune22,membersoftheGlengarryCommunity Garden, Julie Milne and Pauline Whitty, spotted afox crawling around the Glengarry Mechanics Institute, next to the garden.

What followedwas anumberofphonecalls to wildlifeand animal rescue organisations, on top of the Latrobe City Counciland the police, all to no avail.

After the first sighting, across the next couple of days, Ms Milne and Ms Whitty soon believed the fox to be in some visual discomfort.

Foxesare knowntobetimid animalswhenspotted, which usuallyrun away from people -but this fox was in no hurry, as it dragged along the ground, practically crawling.

“The first time Isaw it, we were working in the community garden and Ilooked acrossthe tree and there’s this fox there,” Ms Milne said.

“But you could see how miserable it was and it was draggingits bottom along the ground because it wasall itchyfromthe mange.”

The fact that the fox was visiblyhurtand missing fur -due to mange- upon further inspection, was enough for Ms Milne and Ms Whitty to start asking questions and get some help.

Mange is askinconditioninmammals, which mites dig into the skin, often commonly found in foxes.

The diseasecauses itchiness, loss of fur and an infection,however the disease can only be transferred via direct contact.

It is ahighly contagious condition that can be passed onto domestic animals like dogs, and in some rare circumstances -even humans. This opened another can of worms,one thatcould see the fox pass the mange onto dogs of residents and potentially kids that playinaplayground across the road.

What then started was along string of being handed around the ringer, going from organisation to department, with no help being dished out.

“I rang WIRES(Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service), Irang RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), apest controller in Melbourne, we rang the council, we rang DEECA (Department of Energy,Environment

and Climate Action) because the hall was on Crown land,” Ms Milne said.

“On top of that, we rang the police, they met us out here and had alook.

“They said they couldn’t(help), they couldn’t discharge afirearm this close in to houses, so they couldn’t deal with it.”

“We had someone that was willing to deal with it but it cost between $500 to $1000 …then Goog did it for nothing,” Ms Whitty said.

Their final option was to find local shooters, one was willing to do it, but as it was his job it came with ahefty fee, but then up stepped Mr O’Mara who came to their rescue.

Goog O’Mara also discovered the fox, taking photosofitand posting them to the Glengarry Community Watch Facebook page.

“If Ican help, and everyone helps each other then why not?” Mr O’Mara said.

Mr O’Mara has 50 years of shooting experience, and has eradicated more than 100 foxesthis calendar year.

Ms Milnebegan withWIRESand Wildlife Victoria, who deal with native animals, and were unable to help due to thesimple fact that foxes are an introduced species.

“WildlifeVictoria is thestate’s Emergency Response Servicefor all native wildlife species. Unfortunately our operational remit does not include non-native wildlife.Our Emergency ResponseService canassistinproviding advice and where possible, will direct the caller to their local council or to the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action,” aWildlife Victoria spokesperson said.

Wildlife Victoria recommended DEECA, who were contacted later down the line.

Then the angle changed, asking the police and then the Latrobe City Council.

The police were unable to do anything as the animal was too close to town -near houses and a school, while it was out of the council’s hands as it was discovered that the Glengarry Mechanics Institute is situated on Crown land, after checking their bylaws.

“I’m ashooter and Iwouldn’tdoit, notinthe town …it’snot safe and it’s against the law,” Mr O’Mara said.

DEECA also only deal with native wildlife and referred them onto alocal ranger, yet on the Latrobe CityCouncil website it revealedthat it only accounts for pests such as wasps, bees, rats and mice.

Fox controllers needed approval from localdepartments, something thatwas impossible to get for

thereasons above, so that was another dead end.

“So meanwhile, this animal is suffering and getting worse, spreading mange through the town, it’s been under the hall, in the community garden, in the kid’s playground, on people’s properties stealing chooks, but my main concern is that it was suffering,” Ms Milne said.

Over amonth after the entireordeal began on July 23, Mr O’Mara trapped the fox and euthanized it.

“I had to sprinkle a bit of dog food along and a little bit of meat tied onto alittle bar that pulls the trapdoor down, and that’s it,” Mr O’Mara said “It wasn’t (frantic) …hewas pretty crook.”

Despite the issue finding aresolution, the question was begged: what do they do if something like this happens again?

Althoughitisunlikely, they couldn’tdiscount history repeating itself.

“If it happened again, we’d have to get ahold of Goog,” Ms Milne said.

“I’d have no other choice.”

The state government has a$10 bounty on foxes, in which Mr O’Marashoots,hehas caught53foxes this year on his property alone which is only two kilometres from where the incident took place.

“You can only imagine, if Ihadn’t been shooting in this area, what it’d be like,” Mr O’Mara said.

“(Foxes) are killing machines, they’ll go into a pen and kill 20 chooks and take one.”

With hope that this never happens again, Ms Milne could only think that these animals are left to suffer in her situation, if no one was going to take responsibility.

“We have an animal that is suffering,and nobody is taking responsibility,” Ms Milne added.

“Why isn’t there alaw to care for any animal?” she asked.

Yallourn trucks go electric

By ZAIDAGLIBANOVIC

YALLOURN Power station transport trialsare going green.

EnergyAustralia haspartneredwith Foton Mobility Distribution (FMD) to test replacing dieseltrucks withelectrictrucksatits Yallourn and Mt Piper power stations, as the company continues to accelerate the clean energy transformation in transport.

The trial will featureone FMD T5 electric truck deployed at two of EnergyAustralia’s power generation sites to explore the viability and efficacy of integrating electric vehicles into power generation operations, with the power used to charge the truck being completely carbon offset.

Taking place over four to eightweeks at each location, the electric trucks arrived at Mt Piper on June 21, 2023 followed by mid-July at Yallourn.

Thisforms part of an ongoing partnership where EnergyAustralia offers to provide green transport energy infrastructure, which includes solar, battery, andelectric vehicle (EV) charging solutions, to FMD’s electric truck buyers.

NeilWang,chiefexecutive of FMD, said Foton Mobility Distribution wasthrilled to collaborate with EnergyAustralia in delivering

acomprehensive electric truck solution.

“We are eager to provide one of our T5 Light Duty electrictrucks for EAs trial at their facilities. This trial will contribute to our existing customer data and provide invaluable insights into various usage models across multiple geographic locations,” he said.

JackKotlyar, head of Green Transport at EnergyAustralia said EnergyAustralia was eagerly anticipating the valuable knowledge it has to gain from this initiative.

“We want to understand the feasibility of replacing regulardiesel truckswith electric trucks at our powergeneration sites while maintaining operational efficiency,” he said.

The trial is part of EnergyAustralia’s move towards acleaner and more sustainable future, and is part of EnergyAustralia’s plantoactively transitionits vehiclefleets from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles.

EnergyAustralia’s General ManagerMark Collettesaidthat despite Yallourn’s proposed closure in 2028, there was no reason not to continue using cutting edge technology at the site. EnergyAustralia will soon release areport on the feasibility of EVs based on the outcomes from the trials.

Trial: Over the next fewmonths,the FMD T5 electric truckwill be deployedattwo of EnergyAustralia’s powergeneration sites. Photograph Zaida Glibanovic

At last: Thefox,clearly not well,was captured afteramonth-long ordeal Photograph supplied

Positive result

By PHILIP HOPKINS

YALLOURN Power station’s operational performance was apositive outcome despite Energy Australia recording aloss, the company reported this month, with Yallourn generation availability at 77 per cent in the firsthalf of the financial year compared to 68 per cent in the prior period last year.

The operating loss of $106 million reflecting higher interest costs was partiallyoffset by gains in fair value adjustments. In contrast, the company had an operating loss of $1552 million in the first half last year.

“This includes $400 million to complete major outages for each of Yallourn’s four generation units in 2023 and 2024 ahead of the station’s planned closure mid-2028,” he said.

“After adifficult 2022, we are focused on strengthening our operationaland financial performance in order to fully unlock our participation in the clean energy transformation.

“Our first half result is an early sign that we haveemerged from the 2022 energycrisis as a stronger, more resilient business.

“Betteroperational performance enables us to improveoutcomes for ourcustomers including reliability and affordability. And as our coal assetsapproach retirement starting withYallourninmid-2028, betterfinancial performance enables us to accelerate the development of renewable and renewables-firming projectsthat will shape ourfutureand support Australia’s clean energy transformation.”

Mr Collette said one renewable-firming project was Wooreen,the 350MW grid-scale battery projectset to be located next to the Jeeralang gas power station.

“Planning is continuing,” he said.

EnergyAustralia confirmed it was focussing on strengtheningoperational and financial performance after recording a$91 million EBITDAF (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisationand fair valuemovements of financial instruments) compared with $26 millioninthe same period the year before.

Mr Collette said this was due to improved generation performance, which was partially offset by higher energy costs and ongoing marginpressurefrom competition and an inability to fully reprice higher costs to customers.

“Improvedgeneration availability also helps our customers with more supply supporting downward pressure on electricity pricegrowth,” he said.

“We understand the significant impact that rising energy prices are having on our customers. We are continuing to actively support customers facing financialdifficulty through our EnergyAssistprogramwith payment plans, staying-connectedguarantees,debt relief and, for small businesses, cashflowassistance initiatives. This will involve around $30 million in assistance this financial year, up around 16 per cent compared to 2022.”

However, easing market conditions to rebalance generationand price risk resulted in abig improvement in mark-to-market positions of forward electricitysalecontracts,reaching +$6 millionat30June 2023, compared to negative $726 million at 31 December2022

“Looking ahead, our strategy of making the energy transition simple for our customers, combining behind the meter solutions into our growing flexible energy portfolio is right for Australia’s energy future,” Mr Collette said.

“Whilethe scaleand complexity of the transformation presents manychallenges, our customer base, our existing generationfleet and our abilitytodeliver firming energy projects both behind the meter and in the grid has us well positioned to accelerate our customer’s energy transition.”

Dunbar Rd proposal refused

By ZAIDAGLIBANOVIC

THE controversial Dunbar Roaddevelopment proposal wasrefusedbyLatrobe City Council at the last meeting on Monday, August 7.

The development proposes52dwellings, prompting astirfromlocal residents;138 public submissionswere received, 134 of which were objections.

The Council officers’ report recommended refusing the proposal as it did not comply with the municipal planning strategy and mixed zone use policy; the application was premature for the expanding industrial area; and it failed to meet objectives in clauses 55 and 56 of the Residential Code.

The 1.82 hectares in the area weretohave 41 single and 11 double-storey dwellings across the site, with seven dwellingsonDunbarRd, seven on Hickox St and the other 38 in a‘battle-axe’ form.

The development plan from Millar Merrigan received extensive criticism.

Some of the concerns from the public included:

 Insufficient timeframe and extent of public notification;

 Accessibility of planning documents;

 Excess traffic and parking issues in surrounding areas;

 Fire management risks due to the density of dwellings;

 Crime and social unrest due to the potential concentration of social and affordable housing;

 Contamination concern due to previous use as aWorks Depot;

 The encroachment into the buffer area of Graymont plant and other industrial activities;

 Implications from construction;

 Storm water management;

 Lack of maintenance, and;

 Impact on existing property values.

Councildiscussedthe proposed planindepth, but ultimately all agreed that the development would not be suitable based on the officers’ report. Hickox St resident, Marietta Calabro, was “delighted” with the outcome but said the community would remain vigilant as the developer was suspected of taking the case to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).

ChristopherConstantine, director at Millar Merrigan, spoke at the council meeting, addressing concerns about the proposed tenureofthe

development before the council put the notion to vote.

Mr Constantine explained thatthe developer expected an approvalrecommendationbut with conditional changes.

He also questioned whether the council officers’ decision was based on proximity to the industrial area or on the number of objections without planning merit.

“Whilst tenureisn’t apartofthis application -Ithink it’s important to speak on some of those questions, which are largely around housing affordability, affordable housingand social housing,” he said.

“This site fallswithin the area identified for affordable housing within the Latrobe City affordable housing policy.

“From our perspective, it reallyspeaksto affordable housing and the crisis that Victoria and Australia are currently going through.”

Mr Constantine said Victoria was the fourth-least affordable housing market in the world.

“The median price is up to $665,000. We’ve currently got 48,000 Victorians that want housing, with 25,000 that require urgent assistance,” he said.

“It seems to be that everyone is supportive of vulnerable members of society getting into housing and having supportbut not when it’s in our backyard.”

Despite Mr Constantine’s objectionstothe officers’ report’s recommendations, council remained strong in its stance to refuse the application.

Dale Harriman moved the motion of refusing the development and thanked all that spoke on the agenda item at the meeting.

“It is one of those agenda items that has certainly got the attention of the local community,” he said.

“This is not the first time we’ve had asituation wherethere has been an industrial area that has had abufferzone that has stopped further development.

“This is an overdevelopment. If there were less houses, I’d be more supportive but not with the density that we’re getting at the moment.”

Councillor Dan Clancey reiterated the officers’ position stating,“This is aplanningmatter, and it’s aplanning matter only -there’s beenalot that’s been said in the community in the lead-up to this and even tonight,” he said.

Reminding the community,hesaid: “This is about planning, and the planning does not stack up.”

Cr Graeme Middlemiss seemed to take offence to Mr Constantine’s public comments, clarifying that “Council planning officersmaketheir recommendations based on planning law, planning regulations andplanningpolicies”.

“They make their decision and their recommendationstotallyindependent of the councillors,” he asserted.

In regardtoMrConstantine’s comment on property values, Cr Middlemiss said if the council was to make adecision againstthe proposalonthe impact of property values, it would be overturned. “Itisnot appropriate to make adecision around that.Anumberofpeople contacted me who were very angry and critical thatcouncillors let this application come forward.Council has to deal with every application it receives -Ithink you’re seeing unanimous support for opposing this application because it is inappropriate.”

Latrobe City Council released apressstatement regarding the refusal of the permit.

“Councilrefused to grantthe permit for several reasons, including that thedevelopment was deemed premature given the existing operations associated with the Janet StreetIndustrial Precinct and Lime Batching Plant, these operations have priority according to the Latrobe Planning Scheme.”

The Mayor of Latrobe City, Cr Kellie O’Callaghan, said it was important to also hear from the community and listen to their concerns about the development on Dunbar Rd.

“Council’s choice was clear not to go ahead with the development of land. We listened to our community and understood the potential issues that would arise withthe development,” saidthe Mayor.

Theapplication for development of land proposed 52 dwellings on the site,associated subdivision of land into 52 lots, reduction of three visitor car parking spaces and the creation and removal of an easement.

On May 4, council officers facilitated a‘community listening post’, to understand community concerns. Objectorsofthe development were provided withalist of frequentlyasked questionsabout the proposal and the permit process following the listening post.

Objectors were also recently advised of council’s decision not to grant the permit.

The applicant mayseek to appeal against the council’s decision through the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

AGL report recent earnings, despitelossesdue to outage

By PHILIP HOPKINS

THE

AGL Managing Director and chief executive, Damien Nicks, said the secondhalf of the year was strong after achallenging start, which had been affected not just by the Loy Yang outage but also by volatile energy market conditions.

In Integrated Energy, Mr Nicks said the performance of the generation portfolio after the return to service of Loy Yang AUnit 2was strong. Flexibility upgrades at Bayswater and Loy Yang were completed during the year, which resulted in benefits in gross margin and reductions in emissions.

“We saw asignificant improvement in plant availability as theyearprogressed, along with the strong performance of our well risk-managed gas portfolio and customer business,” he said.

“We expect this positive momentum to continue into the financial year 23-24.”

In customer markets, organic service growth continued across both energy and telecommunications despite heightened competition in the market.

Mr Nicks said AGL recognised that many Australians were strugglingwith broad cost of living pressures, including rising energy prices.

“We are committed to supporting our customers during this difficult time and will spend at least $70 million over the next two yearstohelpour customers to manage cost of living pressures,” he said.

The 2023 financial year was one of “significant transformation”, as the company reset to asustainable future and energy transition.

“Ourrefreshed strategy and climate transition action plan were endorsed at our AGM in November 2022. Asuccessful debt financing was completed in April 2023, reflecting our debt market’s confidence in AGL’s business fundamentals and decarbonisation plan,” Mr Nicks said.

“Central to the delivery of our strategy is connecting our customers to asustainable future by supporting them to decarbonise the way they live, move and work.”

Results highlights included:

 Statutory loss of after tax of $1264 million, including $680 million of impairment charges (post-tax) due to targeted earlier closure of thermal assets in lien with AGL’s accelerated

decarbonisation plan, and anegative movement in the fair value of financial instruments of $890 million;

 Underlying EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) of $1361 million, up 12 per cent on FY22;

 Underlying net profit after tax of $281 million, up 25 per cent in FY22;

 Liddell power station safely closed in April 2023 after almost 52 years of operation, and;

 Development pipeline, including batteries, advanced by more than 60 per cent from 3.2GW to 5.3GW.

For the 2023-24financialyear, Mr Nicks forecast underlying EBITDA between $1875 and $2175 million.

The increased earnings would be due to higher wholesale electricity prices and better contract positions; improved plant availabilityand flexibility of the asset fleet, including the start of battery operations at Torrens Islandsand Broken Hill batteries;nomore forced outages and market volatility.

“This is expected to be partly offset by the closure of Liddell power stationand higher operating costs,” Mr Hicks said.

prolonged outage of Loy Yang AUnit 2hit AGL’searnings last year, but abig improvement of the plant’s availability contributed to abig lift in earnings in 2022-23, AGL reported recently.

Calls to supporthydrogenproject

By PHILIP HOPKINS

THE Japanesecompaniesbacking Gippsland’s HESC project to produce hydrogen from the Latrobe Valley’s brown coal have urged the Victorian and Australian governments to show clearer support to ensure the $3 billion venture goes ahead.

The call comes on the eve of the Gippsland New Energy Conference, which is being held in Sale next week.

The HydrogenEnergy Supply Chain is proceeding towards its commercial stage through $2.35 billion funding from the Japanese government’s Green Innovation Fund after asuccessful pilot plant phase of the project.

HESC uses coal from the Loy Yang mine, where it is gassified in anearby plant,with the carbon dioxide extracted in the process to be sequestered under Bass Strait. The aim is to liquefy the hydrogen and transport it via apipeline to the Port of Hastings, where it will be shipped to Japan.

However, theGreen InnovationFund money will only be disbursed when milestones have been reached,the Australian Financial Review reported. YukoFukuma at Kawasaki Heavy Industries said afinal decision on the next phase -the $3 billion commercial demonstration project -required “consistency in messaging” from governments to give the backers confidence to move forward. Japan SuisoEnergy(whichcomprises of Kawasaki Heavy Industries and IwataniCorporation) is in charge of

the liquefaction and shipping to Japan.

“The HESC partnersreally wanttosee any clearindication of supportfor HECSfrom the Commonwealth and Victorian governments,” Ms Fukuma, who is moving to Melbourne,told the AFR.

“I strongly believe that Kawasaki and Iwataniare committed to the project -but we have to continue this conversation with the Australian government for us to move to the next stage.”

The Albanese governmenthas cancelled fossil-fuel-based products from its $2 billion Hydrogen Headstart funding scheme. The Minister for the Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek, told federal Parliament earlier this month that the government lastOctober cut a$250 million “wasteful public subsidy” that had been proposed for commercial deployment of carbon capture and storage.

“These projects have to stack up on their own accord if they are to proceed,” she said.

The Minister for Resources, Madeleine King,has repeatedlysaidcarbon capture and storageisakey weapon to decarbonise Australian energy exports.

The Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews, said earlier this yearthat the technology behind the HESC project was unproven. “There’s many questions that are still unanswered,” he said in March.

The stateand federal governments contributed a combined $100 million to the $500 millionsuccessful pilot phase over the past five years.

The CO2CRC, the leading researcher into carbon

capture and storage,isconfident that CCS is a proven process, with CO2 having been storedin reservoirsfor morethan 30 years. Aspokesman for the federalEnergy Minister, Chris Bowen, welcomed the Japaneseinvestmentinprojects such as HESC, but the government had prioritised public investmentsfor projects that would create hydrogen from renewable energy.

The government has allocated money for a ‘guarantee of origin’ scheme that will give verified and credible information on the emissions content for all pathways of hydrogen production.

Jeremy Stone, non-executive director of J-Power, aleading Japanese utility company and HESC partner, urged a“pragmatic” approach to carbon capture and storage.

“We would like Australia and Victoria to take a technology-neutral approach to hydrogen production. Afocus on producing lower CO2 than now, that’s agood thing. It’s less an issue of the ‘colour’ of the hydrogen than the best way to decarbonise the economy,” he told the Express

“We are still challenged by the tough task in front of us. There’s agreat opportunityonthe tablethat’s goodfor Australiaand Victoria’s decarbonisation opportunities. We must be pragmatic -look at issues on aproject-by-project basis. Assess each project on itsmerits.Gippsland hasthe resources. We believe that the Gippsland project stacks up.”

The joint venturewill initially produce about 40,000 tonnesper annum of gaseous clean hydrogen

-30,000tonnes for the Japanese market and 10,000 tonnesfor the Australian market. In Japan, the hydrogenwill be transported to Kawasaki City, close to Tokyo, where it will be used by the many industry departments,power generation and chemical producers.

Thecommercialplant, if given the go ahead, is expected to be in production by the late 2020s.

Future potential productioninthe early 2030s, all going well, is estimated at about 225,000 tonnes per annum, which Mr Stone said would create thousands of jobs ayear. The company saidthe project at thisscale would stop about1.8 million tonnes of CO2 being released into the atmosphere. The pilot project, which wascompleted in Februarylastyear, involved aconsortium of industry partners from Japan and Australia, including Kawasaki HeavyIndustries (KHI), ElectricPower Development (J-POWER),Iwatani Corporation (Iwatani), Marubeni Corporation (Marubeni), AGL Energy (AGL) and Sumitomo Corporation (Sumitomo). RoyalDutch Shell (Shell), ENEOS Corporation and Kawasaki KisenKaisha.(K-Line) are alsoinvolved in the Japanese portion of the project.

The commercial demonstration project involves: upstream -Hydrogen Supply Party (LatrobeValley) JPOWERand Sumitomo Corporation. Downstream, Japan SuisoEnergy(whichcomprises of Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Iwatani Corporation) takes care of the liquefaction and shipping to Japan.

‘Norational reasontoshutdownnative forestry’

COMMENT

JOEL FITZGIBBON

THERE is no rational reason to shut down native forestry -and abig bonus in carbon sequestration. Global demand for wood productsisforecast to dramatically outpace supply as urban populations grow and renewable wood and innovative wood products play agreater role in ourdecarbonisation andcircular bioeconomy efforts.

As this becomes increasingly apparent, many more Australians will learn to ignore the deliberately misleadingcampaigns of activists intent on closing down our sustainable native forest industries. Australia’s wood and timber importsare now valued at more than $5 billion ayear. About 25 per cent of the timber we require for housing construction is imported. Sourcing that product from other countries is going to become harder as global demand continues to outstrip supply.

Much of our imported product is likely to come from jurisdictionsthat do nothaveAustralia’s environmental standards and world’s-best industry practice. Having calledtimeonlocalnative harvesting,Victoria is now importing native product from Tasmania, Brazil, Indonesia and Malaysia. Unfortunately, WesternAustralia has also joined in. The situation in Victoria is particularly bizarre. It will resultinmore numerous and more severe bushfires and more koala and Leadbeater’s possum deaths.Itwill also reduce both biodiversity and our stock of stored carbon.

Trees sequester less carbon as they mature. When atree is harvested, the carbon in the wood is stored forever in thebuiltenvironment. The harvested tree is replaced by ayoung tree, whichabsorbs more carbon as it grows.

The activistsloveselectively to quotethe Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Well, here’s aquote from the IPCC’s fourth assessment: ‘‘A sustainable forest management strategy aimed at maintaining or increasing forest carbon stocks, while producing an annual sustained yield of timber, fibre or energy from the forest, will generate the largest sustained mitigation benefit’’.

Speaking after his review of Australian Carbon Credit Units, former chief scientist Professor Ian Chubb weighed in: ‘‘Theonlypathwayknown to science thathas theimmediate capacity to remove greenhouse gases, particularly CO2, from the atmosphere at scale is photosynthesis’’. That’s why we must continue to sustainably manage our nativeestate while also striving to expandour plantation estate.

Our ability to further increase native forest carbon stocks has been limited by the activists themselves But if we can attract more investment,wecould expand our plantation estate.

Just0.06per cent of Australia’s native estate is availablefor harvest–just six in every 10,000 trees is harvested each year. Further, on mainland Australia harvesting is approved only is areas which have been harvested previously.

Our selectively harvested nativeproduct is reservedmainly forhigh-value structural timber and consumer productssuch as flooring and furnishings. Visit any of our national institutions –including our parliaments –and you’ll seebeautiful native hardwoods everywhere.

On the sovereign capability front, the activists claimwecan offset the loss of native product by expanding the plantation estate. That is misleading on four fronts.First, the planation estate is only two million hectares. For perspective, Australia has 132 million hectaresofnative forest, fivemillion of which is available and suitable for commercial wood production.

Second,hardwood trees take 30 to 50 years to grow. The third point flows from the second –given the time frames, there is arange of consumables which can only be made from native trees.

Finally, the plantation estate is shrinking, not growing. The sector is thankful for anumberof Albanese government initiatives designed to arrest that decline,and innovation will allowthe increasinglysophisticatedforestry sector to do more things with plantation trees over time.

Many regional economies and thousands of jobs rely on our sustainable native forest sector. There is no scientific case for killing it. The activists are

driven purely by ideology and political opportunity.

The fact that First Nations people extensively managed our forests is without challenge. No activist who has read historian Bill Gammage’s book The Biggest Estate on Earth could honestly deny that what early European settlers discovered on arrival was an extensively managed native forest estate.

Gammagequotes from thenotes of the likes of Joseph Banks and others to demonstrate the extent to which Indigenous Australians used controlled burns and the life cycles of native plants to ensure aplentiful supply of food throughout the year. His research also reinforces our belief that for tens of thousands of years, ouroriginalinhabitants cleared

large areas of forest land, removed undergrowth, and protected themselvesfrombushfires, while also increasing biodiversity and encouraging forest regeneration.

Gammage’s work also puts to rest the mistaken viewthatthe Indigenouspeoplewho populated Australiabefore thearrival of the Europeans were not particularly innovative or sophisticated. We couldlearn muchfrom their legacy, and the embrace of acommonsense approach to forestry would be a great place to start.

Joel Fitzgibbon, aformer federal Labor Minister, is Chairofthe Australian Forest Products Association.

Farewell tribute for CharliePoole

By SUE DIETRICH

TODAY, as Iwalked toward the Yinnar shops, aman slowly circled the road on his large BMW motorbike.

He parked it, slowly.

He grabbed his caneand walked toward the doctor's office, slowly.

After we exchanged weather joy and pleasantries, Ithought, "I must turn around and tell him to be careful when standing up.Don't trip over your cane".

Iblewthe thought off as stupid and intrusive. I'd never seen this man before. Tonight, when shopping, the same man got out of acar in Morwell, being helped by his young family.

Ididn't tell him then either.

If Isee him tomorrow, I'm speaking up.

Charlie Poole, my brother, died afew days ago.

He had fallen over his cane when standing up after chemo just the other day and broke his leg and neck.

He'dintroduce me as "thisismysister Cecily. We call her Cess Poole".

As adults, he was always there for me.

He was the person who got me my first full-time job,driving me to Bostondaily for awhile.

When Igot my own license, Idrove myself, but one payday Ineeded aride across Boston to our credit union to cash my weekly pay-check ($90).

Charles took me on his motorcycle weaving in and out of traffic, over the Mystic River Bridge, cutting people off.

Iwet my pants all over him, possibly on purpose. He was agreat brother, patriarch, father and uncle.

Theworld has lost avery funny,ifnot ascorbic and an opinionated shining light.

children, and Leslie Anne Campbell (Bryce) and their child.

Whenyou choosetochase yourdreams so far away from home, you choose to be alone while your family continues on through the good and bad together. Iwonder aboutjust how badadecision it was to marry that guy, to move away for the first time, to move further away thesecond time; it just overwhelmingly snowballs and then youare on the other side of the world, without the bones of your family.

But, in another sense, it was so very brave to forge this new path just as our Nantucket sea captain ancestors did. If Ihad notventured to Australia to start anew withmychildren,our two grandchildrenwould not have been born and they may each be all the difference this world needs.

Rest in peace: Sue Dietrich says goodbye to herbrother Charlie Photograph supplied

He was arottenbrother when we were young,always pranking me and taunting me.

Iwas Sooha Cess Poole.

Charles is survived by his close and devoted family in the States including three wonderful children, three very young grandchildren, and several adoring nieces and nephews.

Here, in Australia, he is survived by SusanDietrich (Shaun), his nephew, Ricky Schmidt (Kirsten) and their three

But for this foreseeable future, Iwill mourn my brother, who died too young and meantsomuch to so manywho loved him.

Dear reader, think carefully before you set immovable roots, and please, don't trip over your walking stick.

Monash Medal awardedtoLatrobe Valley legend

RICHARD Elkington OAM, who has had awide rangeofleadership roles in the Latrobe Valley over many decades, has beenawarded Rotary’s Monash Medal for 2023.

Mr Elkington received the medal at apresentation at Melbourne’s Sofitel Hotel.

Dr Peter Rogers AM, apastpresident of Rotary Melbourne, said Mr Elkington had ahigh profile of leadership in the Latrobe Valley in the same industry -electricity generation -asSir John Monash, after whom the award is named.

Sir John Monash was one of the founding members of MelbourneRotary and the secondpresident of the club for the year 1922/23.

Dr Rogers said Sir John’s contribution to Victoria, Australia and the world community was legendary. His counsel to all and especially students was: “Adopt as your fundamental creed that you equip yourself for life not solely for your own benefit,but forthe benefit of the whole community.”

Dr Rogerssaidhewas agreat Australian by any measure.

“Our club has since 2010, awarded the Monash Medal to an outstanding Australian for the contribution of that person to the Australian community and beyond,” he said.

“The criteria for the awarding of the medal are leadership, integrity andservice-key Monash values and core values of Rotary.”

Dr Rogers said Mr Elkington, this year’s recipient of the Monash Medal, had been Grand Master of Freemasons Victoria. BorninYallourn and raised in Newborough, he was an executive general manageratLoy Yang Power following various management and senior executive and engineering roles within the Latrobe Valley energy industry.

Mr ElkingtonchairedGippsland Waterfrom 2000-2007 and is aformer director of East Gippsland Water. He was an executive councillor and is alifemember of the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and its regional president.

Some of Mr Elkington’s other community involvements have included work with the Latrobe Valley Authority, the Regional PolicyAdvisory Committee, CoalResources Victoria,and the RegionalTransport AdvisoryGroup. He had senior

Sudoku No.0171

memberships of Gippsland Ports, Gippsland Farm Plantations, the Latrobe ValleyTask Force and the Gippsland Tertiary Education Council.

Other community activities have involved Gippsland community radio, Mid Gippsland Football-NetballLeague, the Baw Baw District Scout Association,and the Latrobe Light Opera Society.

The long-time Traralgon residenthas been Grand Master of Freemasons Victoria, amen’s fraternity with 7000 members across the state that emphasises self-improvement and charity to others. His role as Grand Master involvedhim seven days aweek with leadership duties across Victoria.

“Mr Elkingtonprizesstrategic and conceptual thinking and seeks to include as many people as possible in decision making, whether it be with professional, community or fraternal organisations,” Dr Rogers said.

“MrElkington and his wifeKathleen married in 1973 when he was acadet engineer with the State Electricity Commission. Kathleen, anurse,went on to become directorofnursing at Brookfield Park Nursing Home in Traralgon."

The GippslandTimes of June 14 last year announced his awardofOAM as follows:

“Gippsland community workerRichard Elkington has been honoured with the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. Mr Elkington has been cited “for service to the community through arange of roles”.

“Mr Elkington wasrecognised for arange of community activity, particularlyinthe promotion of theLatrobe Valley, as aformer chair of Regional Development Gippsland, and as aformer board member of Gippsland Development Limited.”

Dr Rogers said on this day (August 9) 100 years ago, Sir John Monash had juststeppeddownas president.

“The club also had an official guest on that occasion -similar in many ways to our club guest today, Richard Elkington OAM,” he said.

That guestwas Dr DavidRivett,a leading University of Melbourne scientist, aRhodes Scholar who later became Sir David Rivett KCMG and chairman of the CSIRO.

Crossword No.8547

Solutions

Target Time No.0171 deity,density,DENTISTRY, deny,destiny,dirty,ditsy, ditty,drey, dyer,dyne, entity, entry,nitty, resiny,sentry, stye, tensity,testy,tidy,tiny,trendy, trey,tryst,trysted,tyne, tyre, yeti.

Target: Average-12, Good -14, Excellent-18+

Honoured: RichardElkington OAMwithhis Monash Medal, alongside Dr David Kram, who nominated Mr Elkington forthe award.

Photograph supplied

Cancerbattle marathonfundraiser

By ZAIDAGLIBANOVIC

IT'S acts of kindness that drive humanity.

Trafalgar's JodiThoroughgood and Drouin's BrionySchembri will run the Melbourne Marathon to raise awareness and funds for cancer.

Jodiand Briony willrun the marathononOctober 15 to raise money for Jodi’s terminally ill sister-inlaw, Rebecca Mather.

Ms Mather was diagnosed with terminal cancer earlierthis year. Presentingtothe hospital multiple times with many symptoms, Ms Mather was told by the doctors that the cancer had already taken over her liver, stomach and lung, and had regressed

too far to be able to treat.

“Bec(Ms Mather) is oneofthe kindest, most beautiful people Iknow,” Jodi said.

The pair have been close friends ever since Ms Mather became smitten with Jodi's brother Steve nearly 20 years ago.

“Both our family and Bec's are absolutely shattered by this heartbreaking news and want to do everything we can to help in their timeofneed Bec is currently unable to work, and Steve is doing his best to be by her side and support her through her appointments with her care team,” Jodi said.

Jodi explained that the cancer is untreatable, and the focus will be on "quality of life" for Bec.

“Sheturned 38 last week, and she has to now face the fact that her life will be cut short. My brother is devastated and doesn’t know how he will cope withouther –they’vebeen together for 20 years andabsolutely adore each other,” she said.

“The last thing you expect is that something you care about so much knowing they're not going to grow old.

“I wanted to do something to help raise money for them so thatfinancial stresswasn’t something they would have to worry about it.”

Having raised$2840 already, the BlisterSisters aim to raise $20,000 for Ms Mather’s fight against cancer.

“We’ve had lots of people donate, whichhas been amazing,” she said.

“Rather than just saying to people ‘Hey can you donate to the gofundme’, Iwanted to earn money,” she added.

“I thought I’d do something challenging –I’ve never run amarathonbefore, so Ithought ‘I’ll run amarathon’

“Thenone of my best friends,Briony,decided she wanted to support me with that –together, we became the Blister Sisters.”

The Blister Sisters have been documenting their journey through the ‘Blister Sisters–Blitzing it for Bec’ Facebook page.

“It’s grownsince (the start), and we’re justdoing everything we can to raise money for Bec and my brother Steve because,atthe moment, they’re tryingtoget by on one wage while they're not sure howmuch longer Bec has got.”

Unable to receive alivertransplant as the cancer has progressed toofar, Ms Mather wastold she was untreatable yet is currently undergoing chemotherapy to slow the cancer down.

In preparation for the marathon, the pair go on shorter distance runs during the weekdays and see apersonal trainer. Still, on the weekends, the pair get together and go on theirlong-distance run at around 20 kilometreswith aplantoimprove on distance by two km each week.

“We’re doing the Melbourne Marathon, the full 42.2 km –I’m actuallygoing to be doing the Sandy Pointhalf marathon on the 27th of this month, so two weeks, that will be the first half (marathon) that I’ve officially run,” Jodi said.

Managing to rope in her best friend, Briony, an avid cardio hater, along for the ride, Jodi said Briony was “absolutely killing it”.

Briony was originally only going to help with the fundraising side of it, but after alittle consideration, decided the best way to support her friend was to tie the laces up and run with her.

“It challenging both of us –Iturned 40 this year and have never run amarathon, andIthought ‘why not?'

“The other morning, Igot up –itwas one degree outside. Ordinarily, Iwould’ve gone ‘nope’ and got back into bed, but my mindset now is ‘Bec doesn’t get achoicewith her cancer, so I’m not going to slack off” ', Jodi said.

The Blister Sisters are set to host afundraising

night at Warragul Country Club on Saturday, September 16, with very special guest comedian hypnotist Gerard V. There will be live music provided by Declan Taylor, raffles, auctions, games and prizes.

Withsuch wholesome inspiration and motivation like no other,Jodi said,“Lifeisjusttoo short You have got to make the most of each day.”

Brainstormingfundraising ideas, the Blister Sisters have already organised asock sale through Sockable Fundraising and will continue their fundraising efforts.

You can followtheir journey through the ‘Blister Sisters -Blitzing it for Bec’ Facebook page or donate directly to Ms Mather’s cancer fight head to gofund me/4d72a569

Vinnies sleep out event to raise homelessness awareness

By KATRINABRANDON

LONG,cold

Recently, many Australianchief executives went 12 hours sleeping with acardboard tent above their heads in Port Melbourne's Timber Yard.

This'sleepover' is heldbythe Vinnieschief

executive Sleepout Group annually so that they can keep supporting those in need.

This year they raised $1,316,290 by attending the sleepout from 6pm to 6am.

Debra Cerasa, chief executive of Jobs Australia and local resident of Hazelwood North, attended the sleepout this year raising $4312 towards homelessness.

"My first CEO job was based in Canberra, but I still lived in Gippsland, so Iwent up to Canberra Monday to Friday and came home on the weekends when Icould." Ms Cerasa said.

"The first year Iwas up there, one of my staff-as ajoke -said, 'You know, there's this Vinnies CEO Sleepout and we thought we’d dob you into it'.

"Myfirst three sleepouts were while Iwas working in Canberra. Since returning to Victoria to work, this year was my ninth Victorian event.”

Even during the tough lockdowns of COVID, Ms Cerasa decided that she wouldkeep going with the sleepout fundraising, even though she would be isolated while completingit. Duringthe two years of lockdown, she spent the sleepouts on her veranda in her Hazelwood North home.

Mrs Cerasa said, "I could have cheated and stayed inside, but Ididn’t because Ithink it is important that you demonstrate in leadership you have to walk the talk and talk the talk."

AccordingtoMsCerasa, homelessness in women above the age of 55 is themostrapidly rising statistic with people who are homeless.

“Theseare people aremost likely been dealtabad hand in life and may be going through adivorce or family isolation, with no money, superannuation or housing," she said.

Ms Cerasa works with organisations who work with people who are unemployed, homeless, disadvantaged and living in difficult circumstances.

During the sleepout, it is cold and wet, but it is safe for the chief executives involved.

"I am just prepared to have areally bad night of

sleep if Idosleep at all. The whole idea is not to makelight outofthe people thatsleeprough, if you’regonna do it, you'regoingtohave awareness on how uncomfortable it is," saidMsCerasa.

"I do things like wear four layers of clothes, woolly socks and Ibuy asleeping bag each year and then Idonate the sleeping bag after the sleepout.

"It’s interestingbecauseIdon’t actuallythink people have to have ahouse with two bedrooms, two bathrooms and agarage. Peoplechoose to live in all different types of ways."

During the start of the sleepout, each chief executive is given acup of soup, in simulated conditions to feellikethey are homeless,and coffee or tea before formalities and 'bed'.

While entering the premises that the sleepout is held, chief executives are given acouple of pieces of cardboard to sleep on, as well as being allowed to bring in asleeping bag, one small pillow and aspecialitemlike atoothbrushfor night-time routines.

Ms Cerasa said that she would lovetodothe sleepout again next year, but this time have ateam with her so that more people raise awareness and increase the fundraising that can be raised to go towards homelessness in Victoria.

St Vincent de PaulSocietyVictoria (Vinnies) has had an open donationpage throughout the year, but the sleepoutcampaign pages closedon July 31. It will reopen three-to-four months before theevent in June 2024; as well, there is an open registrations to any chief executives who would like to participate in February.

Vinniesisalso always open to new volunteers for all sortsoffundraisers and more all throughout the year.

For more information go to vinnies.org.au/aboutus or ceosleepout.org.au/ for the sleepout, and email moe.conf.pres@svdp-vic.org.au for volunteering in thelocal area.

Smitten: Rebecca andSteve Mather have been together for20yearsand nowmust face Ms Mather’s cancer diagnosis

nightswithoutatypical roof are undergonebymany Australians every night, all over our country.

Blister sisters: Jodi Thoroughgood and Briony Schembri will runa marathon with the aimof fundraising to helpsupportMsMather’s cancer battle Photographs supplied

to rest your head: Chief executives raising awareness by sleepingunder cardboardtents

RESPECT LOOKSLOCAL TO BOOST COMMUNITY AGED CARE

The aged careprovider is offering up-front,sign-on bonuses of up to $5,000and$1,000forRegisteredNurses andPersonalCareAssistants*

For100 years, Respecthas proudly beenservingolderAustraliansthrough its high standard of careand community, and nowthe not-for-profit organisationisembarking on asignificant recruitmentdrive to ensure morelocals arerepresented across its growing network ofhomes.

The Australian aged careindustry has recently experienced ongoing challenges around sourcing local talent to supportcommunityaged care services. However, Respect is hoping its newnational initiativewill further complimentthe high levelofcare alreadyprovidedacrossitshomeswith morelocalrepresentation,includingat MitchellHouse.

Respectisseeking interest from members of the communitylooking to work as Registered Nurses and PersonalCareAssistants.Andaspartof itsrecruitmentdrive,theorganisation is currently offering up-front,sign-on bonuses forlocals interested in these positions: up to $5,000 forRegistered Nurses*;andup to $1,000forPersonal

CareAssistants*

Both positions represent opportunitiestoengageinmeaningfulworkand arewardingcareermakingadifference to the lives of others in the local community. While the Registered Nurse positionsallowindividualstodrawon, andgrow,theirbroadnursingskills,the Personal Care Assistant opportunities do not requireprevious qualifications andinclude supporttopursue future credentials.

Jason Binder,Respect’sManaging DirectorandCEO,saidtherecruitment driveemphasises the organisation’s focusonsupporting the Morwell communitywhileensuring residents continue to receivethe highest level ofcare.

“Asanorganisation witharegional focus, we’vebeen growing steadily throughoutthepastdecade,andwe’ve become knownfor ourabilitytorun homesatahighstandardwhileinvestingbackintothelocalcommunity,”he said.“Thisrecruitmentdriveformspart ofthatfocus–weknowhowimportant local communities aretoour homes andsowearecommittedtoemploying localagedcareworkers.

MrBindersaidtherecruitmentdrive wouldensuremoreMorwelllocalsare provided with career opportunities in aged care–ofparticular importance followingtherecent15%payriseacross the industry. Similarly, withmoreproposedrateincreasesonthehorizon,a career in aged careisset to become oneofthehighestpaidcarepositions inAustralia.

Encouraging otherstojoin Mitchell House,currentRespectstaffmembers sharedwhattheyfindmostrewarding aboutacareerinagedcare.

One registered nurse said: “Working in aged careissorewarding. Yougo

home with afull heartand sense of wellbeingforhavingmadeadifference insomeone’slife”

Acolleague agreed: “Aged carehas manyopportunities to expand your career with diverse roles and opportunityfor growth. Iwholeheartedly encourage those interested to come andworkwithus.Youhavenothingto losebutplentytogain”.

Formoreinformation on Respect’s currentemploymentopportunities,or toapply,emailrecruitment@respect. com.au

*Termsandconditionsapply

VoicetoParliament vote causes

OVER recent weeks, numerous contributors have written into thesepages to sharetheir views on the Aboriginal Voice to Parliament referendum. Most were championing a‘YES’ vote.

Iwon’t recite their names here, but if one was paying attention, one would have noticed that their names were of Anglo-Saxon or similar/neighbouring etymology.One contributorwas even so bold as to openly state that they were not of Aboriginal ancestry.

For along time Ikept alistofnames in my phone of all the Anglo-Saxons who lectured me on what I should or should not believe regarding Aboriginal affairs. Icould have easily added this lot to the list. If one was cynical, one would suggest that such vocality from the Anglo-Saxon corner could easily have derived from aplace of guilt. Unnecessarily carrying the sins of the father -asthe old adage observes.

Thankfully,myancestral ‘mob’ holds no such guilt, yet Icould surely share afew stories of persecution that they suffered. But Idigress.

Ithink we are all old enough now to know that the sins of the father/mother need not be carried by the son/daughter.

To the uninitiated, it clearly states so in the Old Testament, Ezekieltobeprecise. Given the above, Idon’t feel it appropriate to share how Imay vote, nor do Ihave the gall to tell anyone else how they should.

What Ican assert though, is that from even the simplest of research, it is clearthat the Aboriginal population is extensively divided on the matter themselves. So if they cannot decide if aVoice to Parliament will be beneficial to them, what right do any of us havetosuggest it will-let alone Anglo-Saxons.

Anthony Wasiukiewicz

Yallourn North

RIP

IT was fitting that Iread of the recent passing of Merv Geddes in The Express Merv’s name was aconsistent presence in the opinion section of the paper through his role with the Gippsland Resource Group during my tenure as editor from October 2019 to July 2022. His passion for Morwell in particular, but the wider Latrobe Valley was evident from the very first moment Imet him.

An Express devotee and aregular visitor to the office on George St, Merv and Ispent many hours debating various local issues, much to the exasperation of general manager Bruce Ellen.

We often agreed to disagree, but nonetheless there was amutual respect between us. Thatwas besthighlighted whenI announced my departure to join the Riverine Herald in EchucaMoama last July. Merv was the firstpersontooffer me well wishes for the future and presented me with anicebottle of red wine.

Iextend my deepest condolencestohis family and friends at this sad time.

Vale Merv.

GregorMactaggart, former LatrobeValley

Expresseditor

Echuca

Toolittle toolate

IT was most encouraging, in readingyourlast edition, thatone of our local MP’sisatlast waking up to what’s happening in the timber industry in Gippsland.

Dan Andrews’ sudden announcement of an earlier closure date for the timber industry certainly caught everyonebysurprise-including manyinDan’sown

party, Isuspect. Since thensome of our elected membershave acted decisively and expressed their absolute displeasure with this move and have not held back -there have been many angrywords exchanged and minuted, notices of motion tabled and evenawalkout staged in Parliament. Iam sure the governmentare absolutely shaking in their boots at the moment.

But when you thinkabout it, we allknew the timber industry was going to closeanywayin2030, didn’t we?

Our MP’salsoknewabout this longago and some had quietly acceptedthis closuredate also. Where were the similar levels of outrage when Dan locked in the 2030 date? These same MP’s, who are now trying to portray themselves as champions of the timberindustry, should have acted decisively back then, not nowafter thehorse has bolted. If they truly believed timber was such avital industry, as they now make out, the closure of Victoria’s timber industry should neverhavebeen entertained in the first place, much less accepted as adone deal.

Ifind it quite ironic that one local MP, under the pretext of theparty engagingwith younger voters, has devoted much time and effort in urging them to embrace the leftist policy of net zero emissions by 2050. This has resulted in anumber of well documented clashes with other prominent party members who were most reluctant to adopt this target because, as they tried to point out, net zerowould result in the destructionofregional industries like timber harvesting, along with -in the not too distant future -our power, mining and agricultural industries.

Greg Hansford

Newborough

Speeding scrutiny

IN reference to Garry Robbins’letter (Express 16/08/23). I’d be curious to know how Garry was measuring his speed on his trip from Pakenham to Traralgon.

If it was his cars speedometer, then his observations are drastically inaccurate.

Itravel this road regularlyand set my cruise controlataGPS calibrated speed of 100kph (108km/hr showing on my cars speedo equates to an actual travelling speed of 100kph), if iset my speed based on my speedo showing 100kph, Iam actually doing 92kph.

Using the abovemethod, on anormal trip between Traralgon and Pakenham, Iwould generally pass countless vehicles and could count on one hand the number of vehicles that would pass me.

Whilst Iagree with Garry’spoint, that it is driver behaviour that needs to be focussed on, Idon’t believe that speedingisthe problem that he claims.

Rob Monk

Hazelwood North

Spot on gentlemen

EXCELLENT articlesposted last week in Express opinion by GregHansford, BrianMawhinney, Thomas Quinn and David Wakefield.

Hit the nail right on the head, gentlemen. Couldn’t have put it better myself.

Sadly, the comments made by certain people in today’s society are chock full of BS and the decisions made by the teflon coated Dan Andrews and his illiterate spin doctors, are well known to us all.

Greg Hansford, you are spot on with your comments.Once again our“illustrious Premier” has shownjust how far he will go to garner votes. His nocturnal activities, being in bed with the Greens shows just how shameful and desperate he really is. This man is so out of touch, he couldn’t organise the perverbial in ahouse of ill repute!

But the biggest problem is, we don’t have an opposition good enough or capable enough to get into the ring with this egomaniac and pummel him into submission.

Once again ahuge and heartfelt“thankyou” for all those nuffies who voted him back in. Roy Foenander

Traralgon

Premium spike

LIKE alot of people, Ihave been amazed and distressedathow dramatically our household insurance premiums have gone up in the last few years.

An article from Shane Wright in The Age newspaper (“Climate May Make Us Uninsurable” 9/8/23) clearly explains the reason for this.

The world is witnessing increasingly violent weather-related events which are wreaking ecological and physical destruction,hugefinancial burdens and destroying lives. Events such as the worst flooding ever seen in Beijing, and India; devastating drought affecting the mid USA and parts of Africa as well as the wildfires in Greece, Canada and Maui.

Insurance companiesoperate by coveringfor the financial loss incurredbyindividuals and businesses by sudden,unexpected disasters and share the cost of this by charging premiums to the wider population for the cost of disasterprotection. They also spread their risk by reinsurance deals with another layer of financial protection with giant internationalfunding organisations across the world such as Lloyds of London, Munich Re and AIG.

Reinsurers are now charging more for their services as climate disastersare nowsqueezing their profits too.

This onlyleads to one outcome-higher premiums for everyone.

The recent northern hemisphere heat wave-fuelled

wildfires will ensure that Australians will also be slugged more for insurance premiums over the next 12 to 24 months due to the cost of reinsurance.

Thisisadditionaltothe hugely disastrous La Nina floodsof2022, which werethe fourth most expensive natural disaster in the world to date.

Climate related disasters are causingcertain places, such as lower lying parts of Lismoreand in theBrisbane Valley to be deemed uninsurable. The premiums asked are now too high for the residents to afford.

Effectively, this means that these places become uninhabitable as people withoutinsurance can have their livelihoods and assets wiped out in an instant with no hope of compensation.

Society needs insurance to function.

Without affordable insurance, the burdenof disaster falls back on to governments and notfor-profit organisations so that everyone pays tax surcharges like the one levied for anumberofyears after the Brisbane floods of 2010.

For those people who still thinkthat climate change is good or is not happening, what they are really advocating for is spiralling costs of living.

Simplyput, the extra energy being trapped in the atmosphere by greenhouse gasesfromthe burning of fossil fuels and which is causing these devastating climate events will make all of us pay more, one way or the other, and this will only get worse if we don’t get serious about addressing global heating now.

Dan Caffrey Latrobe Valley Sustainability Group President

Marshalls Road query

NF Nanos recently askedwhenisMarshalls Rd is gettingfixed (Express 09/08/23).

In 2018 similarly Iaskedcouncillors and city staff for astreetsign, lighting and the road to be fixed. We got the the street sign. Yippee!

In repliestomyannual writtenfollow-ups, I’m advised that there is afunding plan to share the costs between Latrobe City, VicRoads and a developer.

The trigger to start the works has had various explanations. Others can explain, but the supermarket site and house lot sale targets were in the mix.

The latest delay is in that sewer pipe along Marshalls Road (no pun intended). As anew entrant in this game, Gippsland Water may have some news, but Latrobe City have emailed me saying June 2024 is the revised completion date. Does anyone know the start date please?

Great question, NF.

Barry Stuckey Traralgon

Therewas neveraFirst Nations People

IWRITEinresponsetoDan Caffrey’s letter to the editor (Express 16/8/23) “You’re the voice” Mr Caffrey, historyrecordsthat Aboriginals living in Australiaatthe time of BritishSettlement were mostly in disparate tribes or clan groups without any formal representative leadership. There was never any formal unified assembly of tribes that could be described as aNation.

Hence the Authorities had to Treat with individualtribes,noneofwhomwereauthorised to speakfor other tribes,that they had never met, in many tribes some thousands of miles distant. Ihave to ask, as Aborigines never had awritten language, how is it that you think your version of history is credible?

Out of the blue: Premier Andrews’ timber announcement caught manyoff guard. File image

stironwho shouldgiveadvice

In fact, Aboriginal tribes did not even speak the same language!

Isn’t it the truth, that when The First Fleet’s Capt. Arthur Phillip RN founded the Colony at Sydney Cove,hewas under orders to extend every respect andkindness to the native tribes.

“You are to endeavour, by every possible means to open an intercourse with the natives, and to conciliate their affections, enjoiningall our subjects to live in amity and kindness with them. And if any of our subjects shall wantonly destroy them, or give them any unnecessary interruptions in the exercise of their several occupations, it is our will and pleasure that you do cause such offenders to be brought to punishment according to the degree of the offence...” “Phillip’sInstructions” Barton (1889) If time permits. Iwillcontest your letters every point, myth by myth until each of your eight points are investigated, explained and your ‘YES’ nonsense rejected as no more than unsupportable propaganda.

Australians should vote no to politically and raciallymotivatedcorruption of The Australian Constitution.

Thomas Quinn Moe

Thankyou, beekeepers!

MANY thanks to the forward-thinking Latrobe Valley Beekeepers Association for starting up the Moe EarthMarket, awonderful new venture in Moe that is held every three months at 99 Saviges Road.

The Moe Earth Market is in abeautiful location; with its backdrop of blue mountains, this is afar prettier setting for amarketthan anywhere else in Gippsland.

The first market was on Mothers Day -itwas aglorious sunny day and attracted abig crowd The second was on Sunday, August 13. Although it was much cloudier and colder, it still attracted a large crowd, including tons of Moe locals and also other people fromthe Valley and wider Gippsland. The varietyofstallsishuge, fromcandles and balms to plants and herbs; knitted toys, to jewellery, to framed artworks; hand-made clothes, to locally-made hairbandsand scrunchies; soaps and scented oils, to all sorts of different foods -gourmet pies, sausage sizzles, potato skewers, cakes and desserts to eat while you browse, or take home for tea or treats.

At the recent Moe EarthMarket, local busker Benjamin Hall entertained the crowdwith his beautiful fingerstyle guitar tunes which, mixed with the calls of the currawongs in the trees, buzzing of people catching up and bright winter sunshine, created areally great atmosphere. We are so lucky to have this new market in our town. But Ialsoknow these things don’t just happen by themselves. They take alot of organising and volunteer-hours.

This is why Iwould like to give abig thank you and round of applause to the beekeepers association,for creating this market and for volunteering theirprecious time to organise each market. It is agreat thingfor Moe and the whole Valley,and Ilook forward to the next market in November.

Sally-Anne Kane Moe

ActF.A.S.T

IWOULD like to take this opportunity to thank the Australian communities who have once again embraced Stroke Week,whichran fromAugust 7to13this year.

It was hearteningtosee survivors of stroke and their lovedones embrace this year’s theme,

‘Fighting Stroke Together’ which aimed to bring people together to share knowledge, support and resources to help prevent strokes from occurring and to aidinthe recoveryprocess for those who have experienced astroke.

We heard heart-warmingstories of awife saving ahusband’s life after completing afirst aid course only the day before his stroke, aman whohad a lifechanging stroke just moments after crossing the finish line of Parkrun in first place, andofa toddler who has survived multiple strokes and subsequent brain surgeries.

Their stories prove time and time again that strokes canhappen to anyone, at any time, and research tells us the number of working aged people havingstrokes is increasing. Behind these figures are people, including mums, dads andchildren.

Stroke is always amedical emergency,there is never time to waste.

Every minuteduring astrokeresults in 1.9 million brain cells dying, and we just cannot turn that time back. Treatment can, however, mean a full recovery, or at least asignificant reduction in the degree of disability.

This year, we saw more than 80 buildings including council offices, major bridges, libraries, clock towers and theatres light up in green and blue to help shinealightonthis insidious condition. With the support of major organisationslocated in every corner of the country, we’re fightingstroke together and drawing attention to the ways stroke impacts communities.

Iencourage the communitytokeep spreadingthe F.A.S.T. message all year round. Knowing about F.A.S.T. and sharingitwith yourfamily and friends can be the first step in saving alifeand avoiding ongoing disability. It may be your own life or that of someone you love.

TheF.A.S.Tmessage will help you recognise the most common signs of stroke:

 Face -Check their face. Has their mouth drooped?

 Arms -Can they lift both arms?

 Speech -Istheir speech slurred? Do they understand you?

 Time -Time is critical. If you see any of these

signs, call triple zero (000) straight away.

Iwould like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who helped us share our information this Stroke Week.

Yourgenerosity, time and dedication has a genuine impact and is very much appreciated. We can fight stroke together.

Dr Lisa Murphy Stroke Foundation CEO

Rose by anyother name

“THE ROSE is the perfume of the gods.”

So wrote the 16th-century Frenchpoet Pierre de Ronsard (1524-1585) and it is indeed fitting that abeautiful rose is named after him -the exquisitely romantic French climbing rose ‘Pierre de Ronsard’ -which festoons the central gazebo of Morwell Rose Garden, and which has served as the perfect backdrop to many afine Gippsland wedding over the last 31 years.

In intimate connection,I,too, feel wedded, but not to abride,but to this garden, especiallythe intensely atmospheric Northern-extension/Railway Embankment part of the garden that is bookended by the Jane Street Bridge and Latrobe City headquarters. Moreover, the 33 Old French Roses that grow here (aka antique or historic roses and which floweronly once ayear in the summermonths), tend to be the most richly fragrant roses of all.

Theirintenseperfume seducesmeinstantly and vividly recalls to mind the lyrical words of Stephen Lacy, noted English writer and horticulturist: “If colour is the substance with which the romantic gardener spins his magic web, thenscent is the meansbywhich of ensuring that his prey is powerless to escape.”

On this note, no one did more to popularise the rose than EmpressJosephine, wifeofNapoleon Bonaparte.

It was in early-19th-century France that rose breedingbeganinearnest when an attempt to collect knownroses wasmadebyEmpress Josephine, and it was her interest, indeed the passion of Empress Josephinethathas ensuredthat early varieties of the rose, and the varieties that evolved from them, survive for our enjoyment today.

At her country estate of Chateau du Malmaison near Paris,she created what was effectively the world’s first rose garden whichcomprised over-250 rose varieties. Thus, just like Empress Josephine’s seminal rose garden at Malmaison, this garden is the culmination and quintessence of my life: for when Istopvisiting Morwell Rose Garden it will not be because Ilost interest in my sacred calling, it will simplybebecausemyheart stoppedbeating.

Joseph Lis Morwell

Free soil testing

AS the state’s environmental authority, EPA Victoria recently offered home gardeners afree soil testingservice as part of aresearch project designed to map soil conditions across the state. More than 2000 gardeners have taken up the offer but most are in Melbourne, so I’m encouraging everyone who enjoysgardening in the Latrobe Valley to consider sending in soil samples from their garden.

They’ll be helping EPA’sscience-based work and getting the soil from theirgardenscientifically assessed for trace elements and quality indicators, including soil texture, composition, nutrients and organiccarbon. Theonly costtothe gardeneris the postage.

Anyone growing their own fruit or vegetables can find GardenSafe on the EPA website at epa.vic.gov.au/for-community/get-involved/ citizen-science-program/gardensafe

Prof Mark Patrick Taylor

Chief Environmental Scientist,EPA Victoria

ANOTHER jam-packed letters section -keep them coming!

The Latrobe Valley Express welcomes letters to the editor.

Preference will be given to brief, concise letters which address local issues.

Theeditor Liam Durkin, reserves the right to editletters for reasons of space and clarity, and may refuse to publish any letter without explanation.

The Express does not publish letters from anonymous contributors.

Letters mustinclude aphone number, email address and the author’shometown for purposes of substantiating authenticity.

Readers are entitled to one right of reply to aletter directed at them.

The views expressed in letters to the editor are those of the writers, and do notnecessarily reflect the views of Latrobe Valley Express management or staff.

The letterssection is designed to allow people to have their say, and not be hijacked for political agendas.

Emailletters to news@lvexpress.com.au and include ‘letter to the editor’ in the subject line.

Deadline for letters is Thursday 3pm.

by Joanne Madeline Moore

August 21 -August27, 2023

Aries On Tuesday and Wednesday be on alert for confusing information, fake news and dodgy deals Mars (your power planet), the Sun and retrograde Mercury are highlighting your health-and-wellbeing zone So, it’s a suitable week to revise your fitness routine and choose exercises that you really enjoy Be inspired by actress Blake Lively (who turns 36 on Friday): “I really don’t like the gym I like experiences, so I take any chance to ride a bicycle or go on a hike

Taurus Jupiter and Uranus are in your sign, plus the Sun, Mars and Mercury are visiting fellow earth sign Virgo So it’s time to be the practical and productive Taurus you were born to be But don’t just focus on facts and figures Jupiter and Venus push you to expand your creative horizons as you strive to make the world a better and more beautiful place Be inspired by birthday great Mother Teresa: “The world is hungry not only for food, but also for beauty”

Gemini Put on your problem-solving h Gat! Retrograde Venus and retrograde Mercury reignite your desire to help a friend neighbour or family member in a creative and hands-on fashion So you ’ re keen to tackle a problem (at home or within your local community) in a strategic and (uncharacteristically) patient way Your motto is from birthday great Mother Teresa who was born on August 26 1910: “Love begins by taking care of the closest ones – the ones at home ”

Cancer Courtesy of the Sun, Mercury and Mars, the buzzword is communication

Your Crab curiosity is piqued, and you ’ re keen to connect and converse with a wide range of stimulating people, especially within your local community But remember Venus is retrograde, and Mercury turns retro on Wednesday night So, relationships will be complicated, and communication will be increasingly tricky Smart Crabs will slow down, shut up, listen and learn!

Leo Expect a rather wonky week for relationships and finances, as Venus reverses through your sign and Mercury starts reversing through your money zone So, love and money are a precarious mix at the moment Clever Cats – aim to be super patient with your partner, extra kind to your family and oh-so cooperative with your work colleagues And keep spending to an absolute minimum, as you curb shopaholic tendencies and stick to a strict weekly budget

Virgo Mercury (your ruler) starts reversing throug gh your sign on Wednesday night Mercury is the planet of clear thinking, communication (talking, texting and writing), transport, travel, commuting, commerce, computers, media and the internet So – when it’s retrograde – it’s not a good time to: sign contracts; start a job or business; buy a phone, computer, car or home; launch a website; install new software; go on a business trip or embark on a holiday

Libra Do you have ridiculously unrealistic expectations about a close relationship? This week Venus (your patron planet) is in retrograde mode and Mercury turns retrograde on Wednesday night So, it’s time for a major reality check as you reassess the past, and then bring your full attention to the here and now Focus on the wise words of birthday great, Mother Teresa: “Yesterday is gone Tomorrow has not yet come We have only today Let us begin ”

Scorpio Scorpio is the sign of deep transforpmation And this week – with Venus and Mercury both in retrograde mode – it s time to do anything with an ‘ re ’ in front of it revise, rehearse, review, remember, return, recover, reconnect Especially in areas involving career colleagues peer group hopes goals and dreams Wisdom for the week comes from birthday great Tori Amos: “Sometimes you have to do what you don’t like to get to where you want to be ”

Photograph BronnieMackintosh

Girls preparedfor fire

By KATRINA BRANDON

GIRLS on Fire, atwo-day emergency preparedness programfor youngwomen took placeonAugust 1 and 2atForestecTAFE Gippsland.

easier in terms of (a) risk management program to do it as aday-time programthanovernight,” Ms Mackintosh said.

Sagittarius

Revisit your career goals and tgake steps to make them a reality But, when it comes to close relationships, keep your cool And avoid the temptation to over-talk and overreact You can’t control what others say but you can control your responses There could also be some tension between shining brightly at work and fulfilling your responsibilities to family and friends If anyone can juggle, multitask and have fun, it’s a versatile and humorous Sagittarius

Capricorn Pluto is still transiting slowly throupgh your sign, which amplifies your ambition and boosts your drive to get things done But Venus is in retrograde mode (and Mercury is about to turn retrograde) so progress will be slow And the Sun/Saturn opposition could put you in a cranky and bossy mood as challenges frustrate you and other people don’t do what you want them to do Just remember, Capricorn, the only person you can control is yourself!

Girls aged 14-18, engaged in multiple activities that includedfire operation, extinguishing fires, home fire safety,bushfire preparedness, road crash rescue, and avirtual reality trainingsystem called FLAIM.

BronnieMackintosh, founder and director of Girls on Fire said, “For this program we have 33 youngwomen coming to this program, we usually have 20 max but we just didn’twant anyone to miss out so we have expanded the program to accommodate everyone”.

Otherthan fire,the group workedwith volunteer emergency services from SES, CFA, medical professionals and more.

There was 25-30 volunteers at the event to ensure that all the girls weresafe, havingfun and learning the correct procedures on fire and emergency.

“We would love to do some more overnight programs,but there were afew problems with COVID, and the other part is that it is just simpler and

“We certainly have the facility and demand and outcomes the programs are richer for having an overnight program becausewereally delve more into the resilience, teamwork and leadership development which really comes out when you are spending more time together.

“For this program this week we have Ambulance Victoria, Victoria State Emergency Service, we have the Country Fire Authority, Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action.”

In the future, Ms Mackintosh hopes that Girls on Fire can be more frequent and possibly bigger while still remaining free to the girls. At the end of the program, the girls received a certificate of participation and can use it on their resumes, but the main objective is to make the girls confident and ready for all situations that may occur in the future.

The program is held yearly in all states. Formore information go to girlsonfire.com.au/ events/

Teacher shortage crisis urgency

Aquarius

Have you been questioning yourq purpose in life? Or do you feel as if you ’ ve got the worries of the world on your shoulders? Take a step back and view things from a wider perspective Doing good deeds will leave you with a warm inner glow So, think up some dynamic ways you can help those who are less fortunate – whether locally, nationally or internationally As Yoko Ono (a fellow Aquarian) observes: “Helping yourself is connected with helping others ”

Pisces The Mars/Neptune and Sun/ Saturn oppositions could drain energy and sap confidence, so pace yourself and prioritise projects Don t commit to an ambitious new plan unless you have the time and motivation to follow through on your well-meant intentions If something can be put off until another week – or completely ditched – then do so Communicating with loved ones also looks frustrating, as Mercury starts reversing through your relationship zone

CopyrightJoanne Madeline Moore 2023

couldbe s

IN an open letter published in the Herald Sun and The Age recently, the Australian Education Victorian Branch has called on Premier Daniel Andrews to act now to urgently fix the teacher shortage crisis being experiencedinVictoria’s public schools.

This letter comes as teacher and staff vacancies for public schools in Victoria hit record numbers, with 2255 positions advertised on the Education Department’s vacancies website.

AEU Victorian Branch PresidentMeredith Peace said that despite early warnings, the state government has chosen not to take significant steps to address the shortages.

“The AEU Victorian Branchpresentedits Ten Year Plan for StaffinginPublic Education to PremierAndrews more than 12 months ago,

GP1658086

providing the government with arange of short, medium and long-term strategies to address the teacher shortage crisis Victoria’s public schools are facing,” she said.

“The AEUhas emailedall government members of Parliamentevery day for the past four days telling them how many vacancies are currently listed and asking them to take action.

“The AEU hasonly been contacted by five of those MPs in response offering to discuss the issue.

“Public teachers, principals and education supportstaff cannolonger be expected to continue to spread themselves so thinly. It is time for bold and urgent action from the state government to ensure Victoria has astable supply of teachers, principals and support staff in the public school system now and well into the future.”

Kossie kids reach 100 days

KOSSIE was buzzingwith excitement recently as students and staff celebrated an important milestone in the Prep students’ educational journey -100 days at school!

This momentous occasion was marked by aday full of celebrations at Kosciuszko Street Primary School, Traralgon, whereby students participated in avarietyof100-themedactivities. Some students

came to schooldressedasthough they are 100years old, while others enjoyed 100-themed food and snacks.

Ms Rowed and Ms Maynard werethanked for organising the special celebration. While the first 100 days of Prep student’s education has passed, they look forward to the next 100 days as they grow into capable, young learners.

Centenary: Madelyn dressed appropriatelyfor 100daysofschool celebrations

Photographs supplied

In training: Younggirls taking partinthe programlearning about bushfirepreparedness

Creative: Levi shows offhis 100-themed watermelon at KosciuszkoStreet Primary School.

TheGuide

ESCAPE TO THE COUNTRY

7TWO, Friday, 8.30pm

Hasn’t everycityslicker indulged in the idea of escaping the ratrace and moving to the country?Whether we bite the bulletand actually do it,or justdaydream about acountry life instead, thankstothislong-running, therapeutic distraction, anyone can vividly picturethemselves in the idyllic rolling hills of Britain, making scones in the kitchenofa500-year-old stonecottage. After countless episodes, the fascinationwitha scenic Britishcountry lifestyle is everlasting.Tonight,host Steve Brown (pictured) is in Dumfriesand Gallowayhelping ahomebuyer find anew home forher andher husband, their cat and 12 motorcycles.

QUEEN VICTORIA’S RO

OYAL MOB m

SBS, Saturday, 8.30pm

Thefinal season of TheCro year,and thisentertaining d entrée to that main event. episode series pulls the len four favourite granddaught Scandal, deceit,death and action-packed true story WarI.Rather than leavin what’sreal and what’s insightful com helpfully bac of this asto off at the Victoria and by Batte whic any (pic ’ Ave per Brita

Wednesday, August23

ownis settodroplater this docudrama is adazzling

This entertaining fourns on Queen Victoria’s ters, theHesse sisters. dheartbreak await in this ythattakes place in World ng viewers to Google an exaggeration, the mmentaryfromhistorians ks up the authenticity nishing story. It kicks weddingofPrincess (Josie Dunn) of Hesse yRhine to Prince Louisof enberg (Richard Winsor), ch doesnot go to plan, by stretch.MicheleDotrice ctured, SomeMothersDo e’Em)gives aformidable formance as one of ain’s mosticonic monarchs.

FINDING YOUR ROOTS

SBS, Monday, 7.30pm

This US genealogyseries hosted by Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr.isbursting with personality. Alittle morebrash,fun and moving than its cohorts such as WhoDo YouThinkYouAre?,emotions are heightenedinthis enthralling mixof DNA andhistory. Featuringabunch of stars, including musician Pharrell Williams and comic Jane Lynch, its guestsall have an entertainingknack forwearingtheir hearts on their sleeves and playing up the drama. Season sevenpremieres tonight, with acclaimed actress Glenn Close and director John Waters (pictured, right,withGates) discovering stories of gold-rush Yukonand an enclavein Quaker Pennsylvania.

PICK OF T RFDS

THE WEEK

Seven, Tuesda

ay,9.15pm

The world of TV staunchly far-fet nothing forced a Aussie series Its authentic quality attributed to the Stephen Peacoc Bedrooms), Emm (ColinfromAcco Justine Clarke (T also the fact tha extraordinary sto are based on rea incidents from t Flying Doctors S Punctuated with ups of the chara intimate camera pushes all the em buttons Tonight (Peacocke) must with the sudden returned Eliza (E Hamilton) on a mysterious case of a sick fouryear-old boy

V dramas can be tched, but there’s about this excellent s heart-wrenching y is partly e finecast, including cke (pictured, Five ma Harvie ounts and s angle) and e tall the orylines al he Royal Service h closecters, the a work motional t Pete t work nly Emma e

6.00 Nine News

6.00 MastermindAustralia. (R)

6.30 SBS World News.

7.35 Michael MosleySecrets Of TheSuperagers: TheSenses. (PG) Dr Michael Mosley focuses on the senses.

6.00 SevenNews.

7.00 Home And Away (PGav)

Theo cops Remi’sfury

7.30 TheVoice. (PGa) Hosted by Sonia Kruger

7.00 ACurrent Affair

7.30 TheBlock. (PGl) Hosted by Scott Cam.

Mdl) Aman movesback in with his mother.

9.05 Gold Diggers. (Final, Malsv) Gert and Marigold answer for their crimes.

9.30 Would ILie To You? (PG, R) Hosted by RobBrydon

10.00 QI. (PG, R)

10.35 ABCLate News. 10.50 TheBusiness.

(R) 11.05 Magda’s Big NationalHealth Check. (PG, R) 12.05 The Great Acceleration. (R) 1.00

Rage. (MA15+adhlnsv) 3.40 Tenable. (R) 4.30

The Drum.(R) 5.30 7.30.(R)

Hey Duggee: Songs

6.45 The Adventures Of Paddington. 6.55 Shaun

TheSheep 7.05 Andy’sGlobalAdventures. 7.20

Bluey. 7.30 Spicks And Specks. 8.00 Vera 9.30

We Hunt Together.(Final) 10.20 KillingEve 11.00

MOVIE: Jackie.(2016,MA15+) 12.40am MOVIE:

Trumbo.(2015,M) 2.40 ABC News Update 2.45

Close 5.00 Kiddets. 5.10 Andy’sBabyAnimals.

5.25 Hoopla.

8.30 Building TheSnowy:The Idea. Part 1of3.Documents the story of the Snowy Mountains Scheme, avast hydroelectricity and irrigationproject.

9.30 Wolf (Malsv) DI Caffery accepts the walkingman’s mission.

10.35 SBS World News Late.

11.05 Dark Woods. (Mav)

11.55 La Jauria. (MA15+av, R)

3.20 Mastermind Australia. (R) 4.20 Bamay (R) 5.00 NHK World English News Morning.

5.30 ANC PhilippinesThe World Tonight

9.15 Miniseries: WithoutSin (Malsv) Part 1of4.Three years after the murder of her daughter,awoman is still held hostage to her grief

11.15 TheLatest: SevenNews.

11.45 Rose West And MyraHindley: Their Untold Story. (MA15+av,R)

12.45 TheEnemyWithin. (Mav, R)

1.00[VIC]HomeShopping

4.00 NBC Today.

5.00 SevenEarly News.

5.30 Sunrise.

8.40 UnderInvestigation: The LastLunch. Liz Hayes and a team of experts takealook at the mysterious deathsofthreepeople.

9.45 Footy Classified. (M)Footy experts tackle the AFL’sbig issues.

10.45 Nine News Late.

The Jets were sent intoa downward spiral aftertheir 26-point three quartertimelead turned intoa 24-point deficit within the first15minutes of the last term. Churchill held on in an epic finish to winthe elimination finalbythree points in one of the best games seen this season.YYN beat Churchillbythree points in the penultimatehome and away round of the season, just twoweeks ago.

When it’s time to downsize and make newfriends

GOALS: Sale:J Leslie 2HRonchi 2BDessent 2SLange 2JMclaren 2J Butcher JAllison

LRonchi. Warragul: JAlger 2LSumner BEST: Sale:JLeslieJ Mclaren SLange CHenness

PTainsh NWhitford. Warragul: CAlger SMasterson WCole PIreland JDavidson JAlger

WONTHAGGI 4.46.5

TRARALGON

GOALS: Wonthaggi: TDavey6BMabilia 2JBlair 2JHutchinson 2J Thomas JBates MHayes.

Traralgon: BEddy 2JHamiltonSHallyburtonT Schneider BEST: Wonthaggi: TMurray

MHayesJBlair TDaveyK Reid THuther.Traralgon: LD’Angelo SHallyburtonMJacobsen

TSchneider THourigan CAmbler

LEONGATHA

DROUIN

GOALS: Leongatha: JHopkins 3JGinnane 3MMcGannon 2AHillberg2AHeppell

JGarnham CMaskell ATurton. Drouin:THancock KQuirk RSalter. BEST: Leongatha: AHeppell

CMaskell ATurtonA HillbergJHopkins JGarnham. Drouin: JKingiJMcKellar CBethune

KQuirk AQuirk SHarvey

MAFFRA1.5

GOALS: Moe: BGowers4H Pepper 4J Wood NProwseR BaldiBDaniher LForato. Maffra

SDavidsonM Gravener BEST: Moe: RBaldi MStanlake HPepper BGowers LForatoT Baldi.

BMonk JBoydECarr ACarr BBrunt KRenooy

Morwell: BMcDonald 7BBailey4 TWaack 3ABraendler JJacobsen THillier JGalea.

NDennison 2ECarroll JPhillipsLMckenna BMcCarrey

T Tigers tear Redlegs apart

FOOTBALL GIPPSLAND LEAGUE

BY LIAM DURKIN

HE'S hard to stop when he's on.

Aseven-goal effort from Brandon McDonald saw Morwell record asolid win on the road.

The Tigers blew the Redlegs off the park after halftime, eventuallywinning 18.9 (117) to 9.10 (64).

Justseven points separated the sides at halftime, before Morwell went absolutely bonkers.

Whatever playing-coach Boyd Bailey said at halftime worked, or it didn't fall on deaf ears at least, as the Tigers ripped the game apart, kicking eight goals to one in the third.

The goal scoring spree left Bairnsdale shell-shocked, and with a47pointdeficit at the last break.

There would be no miraclecomeback,

as Morwell took their scorewell past the 100 mark,ontheir way to acommanding 53-point win.

McDonald was best-on-ground, while Bailey himself had aproductive day with four goals.

Tristen Waack contributed three majors, while Max Linton, Tyler Brown and Adam Braendler were serviceable.

Although they won't play finals, the Tigers' desire to see the season out properly would have been pleasing to supporters.

Braendler hadn't played since Round 9, and could have easily been put on ice with two rounds to go.

While it might have been agame Morwell expected to win, there was merit in the fact it came after Bairnsdale defeated Traralgon, and would have had their confidence right up.

Winning in Bairnsdale is never easy either, as any Gippsland League player will tell you.

Lachlan Byrne-Jones did agood job for

the Redlegs, as did Link McKenna, Will Mitchell, Emmett Carroll, Damon O'Connor and Nathan Dennison.

Morwell will finish the year in sixth position, and might get ataste of amini-final this weekend when they take on Wonthaggi at home.

There could be an interesting story in the works, as McDonald goes into the match only five goals behind Traralgon's Brett Eddy in the race for the league goal kicking.

WithTraralgon focussing on finalstocome, could Morwell take the opportunity to give McDonald all supply this week?

Morwell has not had aplayer win the league goal kicking since the colourful John Featherston in 1985.

As they reflect on the season, the Tigers will surely be kicking themselves after losses to Warragul and afour-point loss to Sale have potentially been the difference between them playing finals and not.

Perfect away record season forLions

FOOTBALL GIPPSLAND LEAGUE

BY LIAM DURKIN

GOALS: Bairnsdale:

JSimic CHudson BSmith ACampbell.Warragul: LGronowG Johnston. BEST:

KMcDonald CLavertyDMcGuiness OWaugh LPlaceS Fyfe. Warragul: WHatfield

GOALS: Maffra: JOldham WPleming HHareS Walker BHarrington. Moe: TEden. BEST:

Maffra: SWalkerW Brunt WPleming HHareMRodaughan BBatalha. Moe: CNashW Claridge TEden WHester AWilson JMorrow

GOALS: Leongatha: NNagel 3KMateria 3RKemp2L Wright 2A Trotto2R KellyS Forrester

ELamers MBorschman.Drouin:

IT'S honestly weird seeing Maffra so uncompetitive.

Thoseaccustomed to the Eagles dominating for most of the last 20 years are surely now findingthemselves in astrange paradigm at just how much the tide has turned.

Maffra was never in the hunt against Moe at the weekend, and went on to lose 13.22 (100)to2.6 (18).

In ayear where they seem to be breaking records, the Lions set acouple after their victory.

Moe has now completed aperfect away record thisseason -the first timeinclub history competing in the Gippsland League (1954-present).

It wasalsoMaffra's lowest score against Moe, beating the 3.4 (22) kicked only afew years ago in 2019.

Astrongwind toward the netball court end at Maffra saw the Lions add six goals in the second term kicking with the advantage. The Eaglesonthe other hand, did not even score.

MaffracaptainDaniel Bedggood wasforced to play as an extra in defence to help stem the bleeding,asMoe forwards HarryPepper and Billy Gowers ran riot.

Pepper kicked three for the term, as he and Gowers ended with four goals each. The Eagles wereagainheld scoreless in the third, as Moe did as they pleased. Midfielder Riley Baldi racked up possessions, as did MitchellStanlakestreaming downfrom halfback. Moe midfieldersLucas Foratoand

Trent Baldi also won their share of the ball.

Things got so desperate for Maffra, they threw Ben Brunt into the ruck just to add a bit of seniority.

Maffra'smore senior players, some of whom have enjoyed premiership success, were clearly frustrated at times by their younger

counterparts. AMaffra player waiting to come on perhapssummed up the issue, saying words to the effect of "they keep running away from the ball".

Thediscrepancy in age was evident, and it was asimple case of boys against men the further the gamewent on.

Moehad some youth in their team as well, and welcomed thirds player Liam Weir in for his first senior game, along with Tom Blackshaw.

Perhaps the only concern for Moe was the sight of playing-coach Declan Keilty with his right ankle iced after the game. Keilty left the field in the thirdquarter after coming down from amarking contest.

Aboutthe only highlight for Maffra was their last goal,which came after the ball literally bounced at aright angle in the goal square.

Brayden Monk, Jonathan Boyd, Ed Carr, Alex Carr, Brunt and Kade Renooy battled hard for the Eagles.

Traralgon’sseason losingsome power

FOOTBALL

GIPPSLAND LEAGUE

BY LIAM DURKIN

JUST what is going to happen to Traralgon come finals.

The Maroons lost their third game in arow at the weekend, going down to ladder-leaders Wonthaggi.

Traralgon was only 10 points down at the main break, but faded badly in the second half,adding just three behinds.

The Power might have just been toying with their opponents, as they clicked right into gear on the resumption, kicking 6.2 (38) to no score in the third.

The home side eased up on the scoring in the last, but still only conceded ahandful of behinds.

Traralgon really only had five minutes of

dominance, which came duringthe second term when they kicked three goals in as many minutes. While this might have shown how well the Maroonscan play when fully up-andrunning, it is hardly sustainable to win a gameoffootball playing three blistering minutes.

Luis D'Angelo tagged key Power playmaker Ryan Sparkes, and did asound job keeping him to just 12 disposals.

D'Angelo wasvoted bestafield for the effort, and wasjoined by Sammy Hallyburton, Max Jacobsen, Tom Schneider, Tye Hourigan and Connor Ambler.

Wonthaggi meanwhile are looking every bit primed to make up forlastyear'sshortcoming that saw them miss the Grand Final by two points.

The Power kickedvirtually 100 points against afinals-bound team at the weekend,

even without leading goal kickerCooper McInnes. Opportunistic forward Tom Davey stepped up with sixgoals,and received goodsupport fromTom Murray, MitchHayes, Jack Blair, Kyle Reid and Toma Huther. McInnes has missedthe last few weeks with injury, but is expected to be available come finals.

If Traralgon loses to Sale this week, they will enter finals against the same opposition with fourlosses undertheir belt -hardly ideal form.

The Maroons will however go into finals with its seniors and reserves secure, and as such, afull complement of players to choose from.

Traralgon sewed up aspot in the reserves finalsseriesafterwinning in abizarrescore line of 2.8 (20) to 1.6 (12).

If that doesn't sum up twos footy...

All status quo for thetop fiveteams

FOOTBALL GIPPSLAND

LEAGUE

BY LIAM DURKIN

THE top five remained as is in theGippsland League.

The penultimate round of competitioninthe home and away season returned no great talking points, as finals-bound teams looked to fine tune, while the others played for pride.

Wonthaggi all but secured the minor premiership, and head into the last round equal-first with Moe, but nearly 60 per cent to the better.

SALE tooktheir win-loss ledger into thepositive following victory over Warragul.

The Magpies' win was their ninth for the season, edging them one numerical figure ahead of their number of losses.

As expected, the match between fifth and ninth didn't reach great heights. Sale led from start to finish, andonly concededthreegoalsina final scoreboard reading 13.14 (92) to 3.12 (30).

Sale kept the Gulls goalless in the first half, as the result quicklybecameaforegone conclusion at Sale Oval.

Perhaps most pleasingly for the Magpies was the fact Brad Dessent didn't do all the goal kicking. Dessent was one of five players to kick two goals, along with Shannen Lange, Jack Leslie and Jack McLaren, who all featured in the best.

Cody Henness played his first senior game since Round 1, and showed no signs of rust, while cult hero Pat Tainsh and Nathan Whitford were also prominent.

Better players for Warragul were Cooper Alger,

Sean Masterson,WillCole, PatrickIreland,James Davidson and Jasper Alger.

As hasbeen thestory of theiryear, Sale was forced to make bulk changes to the side.

While this could be viewed as anegative two weeks out from finals, it did provide opportunity for anumberofyoung players to comeinto the side, one of which was Tom Wrigglesworthback from boarding school.

Another wasHarry Tatterson,who made his senior debut.Still only afourths player, Tatterson became what is believed to be one of the youngest Sale senior debutants of all time.

Tatterson has had abusy year, doubling up most weeks to play in the reserves. He isn't just filling in either, playing on awing with aSale reserves teamcurrently enjoying a12-gamewinning streak

In afurther show of increased depth, Sale also brought Traralgon premiership player Jordan Bourke into the senior side for the first time this season.

The Magpies play the Maroons this weekend, in what will be adress rehearsal for the elimination final.

LEONGATHA was too strong for Drouin, winning by 70 points.

The visiting Parrots set up theirwin with five goals in the first term, and went on their way from there.

Drouin will more than likely claim the wooden spoon this year, but with apercentage touching 70, could well go down as the 'best-last team ever'.

Netball Victoria announces Gippsland Stars VNL team

NETBALL VNL

THE Victorian Netball League will expand to welcome three new clubs next year.

The Gippsland Stars will join the Bendigo Strikers andWestern Warriors in entering Victoria’s premier netball competition as part of exciting changes set to help grow the game across the state.

The Bendigo Strikers and Gippsland Starsjoin existing club Geelong Cougars in representing regional Victoria, reflecting the strength of the game and passionate netballfanbase outside of Melbourne. Gippsland

Stars will initially field a23&Under team before entering the Championship division by 2027.

The third new club, Melton-based Western Warriorsaddresses thefast-growing appetite for the game in Melbourne’s booming north-west fringe. The three new clubs are based in parts of the state identified in NetballVictoria’s broadergrowth strategy.

Theywill help buildthe profile and reputation of oursport,whilemaking the competition more accessibleand creating additional opportunities for emerging talent.

With the overall strength and depth of applications, unfortunately current VNL club Ariels was unsuccessfulinrenewingtheir licence. Netball Victoria thanks Ariels for their contribution to the VNL.

Netball Victoriarecognises this outcome is disappointing for those involved at all levels with Ariels andisworking closely with the club to manage the impact of thedecision.

As the VNL expands from 10 to 12 clubs, next year’s new-look competition will reduce from three to two divisions –Championship and 23&Under -aligning with other State Leaguecompetitions in Australia.

Clubs will be alloweduptotwo development teams, competing in and bolstering feeder competitions, as part of their club pathway.

“We are excitedtowelcome three new clubs to the Victorian Netball Leaguefollowing ahighly competitiveapplication process,” said Netball Victoria CEO Andrea Pearman.

“The inclusion of theseclubs will ensure more athletes, coachesand officialsfrom regional Victoria and north-western Melbourne arerepresented in our premier competition and showcase the exceptional talent and passion for netball in those regions.”

“We thank all the applicantsfor their commitment to the licensing process, which was reflected in the high quality of applications received and which gives us great confidence in the passion and capability of our Victorian netball community.”

More to follow in next weeks edition of the Express

LEGACY

THE Latrobe Valley Group of Melbourne Legacy will be conducting it’s annual badge appeal, starting this Saturday (August 26), running to September 2.

This year, Legacy reaches avery important milestone, being the 100th year of Legacy.

To celebrate the 100 years of Legacy, atorch relay has been running from early this year, whichstarted in France,and willconclude in Australia in late September.

The torch relaywill be passing through Sale September 28, with representatives from the LatrobeValley Group taking part.

Legacy was started by Sir Stanley Savige, who came fromMorwell. The chairty was establishedin1923and founced on apromise madefrom onediggertoanother, to "look after the missus and the kids."

Moe RSL president Steve Mayes, well known to many in the local sporting community, is encouragingpeople to purchase aLegacy Badge to show your support, Legacy Badges are available through local RSLs, dedicated street stalls or online.

To find out more about legacy, visit legacy. com.au/

Support: Moe RSLpresidentSteve Mayes is taking partina torchrelaycelebrating Legacy’scentenary. Legacy Week begins this Saturday. Photograph Liam Durkin

On aroll: Sale notched theirninth win of the season afterdefeating Warragul. File photograph

Valley group of Melbourne legacy reaches100 years

GOALS: Foster:M Green 5BNeville 4MCooke2JRathjen CVan Dyke JThornellT Bastion.

StonyCreek:T Bernaldo 2JByrnes 2HFunnell JStuart. BEST: Foster:J Thornell BNeville

MGreen JSegat ESmith JDickerson. StonyCreek:T Bernaldo CLoughridge ASimmons

MPortelli JStuartDZuidema

GOALS: Newborough: JMitchell3MRowlings2JRobinson 2JHecker2N Wheildon 2

LFlahavin 2PAinsworth 2H Prestidge.Tarwin: KPatterson 2D Lawton JKennedy JMatheson.

BEST: Newborough: LFlahavin PAinsworth JMitchellN Wheildon JVan DykL Webber

Tarwin: FWarren JKennedy BEllen TVanderkolk RO’loughlin JCann

THORPDALE1.3

MORWELL EAST

GOALS: Thorpdale: MPowell2 CMillsom2H Sinclair-StanleyTPatten. Morwell East: MDiaz 2

LTowns JFrancis ZMangion RMichaelides BEST: Thorpdale: TPattenH Sinclair-Stanley

MGraeme SPickering KO’Connell JHolland-Burch. Morwell East: JLont JPickett LTowns

ZMangion MDiaz

GOALS: Meeniyan Dumbalk Utd: DSheen 5JBromley 3JBrydon SWalsh BTomadaJDeas NAllen THarris. Toora: LManders JWeston. BEST: Meeniyan Dumbalk Utd: THarrisBPerry

DSheen JBromleyAAllen. Toora: JWeston PGrant JMooreJ Toner CGardiner JPintus

GOALS: Fish Creek: BCoates WVoorham

Mid Gippsland Football League League

Finals fever strikes as season comes to close

FOOTBALL MID GIPPSLAND

BY ROB POPPLESTONE

AS we entered the last round of the home and away season, seven football clubs’years would end, whilst for six, the pre-season dream of finals footy would commence.

 FISH CREEK VYINNAR

IT was only 12 months ago when Yinnar made alateseason rush to scrape into the finals beforedazzling with asuperb month of football culminating in premiership success.

The contrast could not have been any more different this year with the last month along way off of where the Magpies needed to be, falling out of finalscontention aftertheir heart-breaking six-point loss.

Fish Creek 5.10 (40) to Yinnar 5.4 (34).

“Very heated and physical game on Saturday, with our season on the line we leftitall outthere but we came up just short,” Yinnar coach Daniel Taylor said.

“Unfortunately our premiership defence has come to an end with injuries being the story of ourseason, Kane Grinstead Jones was alateout on Saturday which meant we had nine walk up start players unavailable from what our bestsidelooked likeatthe start of April, unfortunatelysometimes that’s just the way it goes.

the top sides, and it was greattosee the improvement throughout the year.

“We will support our twos side next week who have played good footy to make the finals so congrats to Bryce and his team and good luck!”

It is only in reflection that coaches and players can understand just what those one or two moments that can turngames can mean for aclub within aseason.

ForFoster, it meansfinals and alook at Thorpdale in an elimination final next week, for StonyCreek it means lessonslearnt from which to build next season.

 THORPDALE VMORWELL EAST

TOUTED as quite possibly the match of the round between two of the big improversinthe MGFNL, the Blues and the Hawks clashed, with the result capable of turning Morwell East’s season on its head if results -both theirs and others -didn’tgotheir way.

In the end, one result did and one didn’t with Thorpdale winning 6.14 (50) to Morwell East 6.4 (40).

“As expected it was agreat finals like game against Morwell East. Tough and scrappy conditions ensured it was close all day. Our focusnow turns to Foster,”Thorpdale coach Jason Winderlich said.

last game at the helm for the Rovers, the Hillsmen brave, but falling short of what was needed eventually going down by 26 points, Mirboo North 13.9 (87) to Hill End 9.7 (61).

“That’s awrapfor 2023 and anotherseason done for our senior playing group. Our clear focus was to finish the right way and that’s what we did as aclub with two good wins,” Mirboo North coach Peter Mongta said.

“A threetofour-goalbreeze towardsone endgot us offtoa pretty good start but to Hill End’screditthey put up agreat fight and were always in the contest.

“Hill End’s Ruckman,LachlanWilson’s stoppage work dominance was hard to watch butour midfieldgroup fought hard at ground level to get momentum back our way.

“Josh ‘Ubby’ Taylor and Rhys Kratzat looked dangerousupforward and both came into the game with big injuries so to get seven goals between them was pleasing.

“In the end the game played itself out, Jacob Blair was solid in defence all day and cleaned up alot of loose ball and our captain Hudson Kerr was best once again.

“Wesangthe song and then reflectedon the year that was. Riddled with seasonending injuries to very good players but on the flip side it also presented us with new opportunities.

McLachlan RDrake

GOALS: Tarwin: JKilsby2 TLomax 2N Tucker JMcMicking. Newborough: NCurtisP Frendo

JJacovou DMcColl CNickels BEST: Tarwin: NTucker SKilsbyT Cameron JCarmody JBloom

JKilsby. Newborough: RWilson TPeters DSmith JGrubb SBurns NCurtis

STONYCREEK1.4

FOSTER0.1

GOALS: StonyCreek:BRenden 3RMcKnight 2G Gray2G Batten THorsburgh AVerboon

Foster:NGundrill BEST: StonyCreek:A Atkins CJames JBattersbyT Davies RHarrington

SCope.Foster:ALacanaria MHouse MDalla-Valle JAlbrecht ELavis BJudd MORWELL EAST

THORPDALE1.1

GOALS: MorwellEast: ITerrick 2L Little 2J Mackenzie.Thorpdale:Z Danger JHecker

SLawson. BEST: MorwellEast: LDay JMackenzie SWinmar NHarrisonBLewisD Heyden.

Thorpdale: BHotchkin JSinclair-Stanley SForbes DBrennan CChopping

9.4 10.8 (68)

YINNAR 1.2

FISH CREEK0.0

GOALS: Yinnar:PMcGrath 3DSchneider 2CLePage 2R Malcolmson DWebster TRenwick

Fish Creek:CMcPhee. BEST: Yinnar:D Schneider PMcGrath THoghton RMayo TRussell

LAlexander. Fish Creek: OStrawBCooper TManne CJones TWalters CMcPhee

“With that being said, for our season to be alive up until the final siren and our twos making the finals it just goes to show the depth, gritand determination of the group.”

Thefinal game for the senior Yinnar side was also to be the final game for Daniel Taylor as coach, the man affectionately known as Tac opting now to spend more quality time with ayoung family and two daughters.

The Kangaroos on the otherhand still have some unfinished business, and will use the week off they have earned to recover from the brutality of the weekend’s game to prepare for an even bigger challenge the following week.

“A scrappy game on the weekend, but it was ahot contest,” Fish Creek coach Jarrod Walker said.

“With Yinnar needing to win to make finals they were throwing everythingatit. The boys showed some great grit and determination to get thewin andfinishthe home and away season on ahigh.

“Looking to come against clearly the best team of the year in Newborough in the first final willbea massive challenge.Something Ifeel our group has been building towards all year. Aslightlydifferent side to the first time we played them so can’t wait to see how we go.”

In afortnight both Fish Creek and the top of the table Newborough side will be fighting foradirectroute to the 2023 MGFNL Grand Final, and for both teams that can’t come around quick enough.

 FOSTER VSTONY CREEK

AS good as theTigers had been, there was stillnocertaintythat afinals campaign was guaranteed unless they could manage just one more win over their weekend opponents in Stony Creek.

Foster, evenwithahandful of changes, proved too strong in winning 15.11 (101) to the Lions 6.11 (47).

“Proud of our guys today -anotherfive changes from last week bringing in another debutant from the 18s and we honestly played the bestfourquarters of footy for over amonth,” Fostercoach Sam Davie said.

“We preach roles and discipline and it showedinspades, everyone got their chance and they all took it when they had to go.

“We’ll celebrate the AGrade girls having their first win for the year tonight and then back to recovery tomorrow.”

In an open season, Foster is very much still in contention for bigger and better things in the weeks ahead, while for Stony Creek it will be 2024 before the Lions can get another opportunity.

“Disappointingend to the year for ourboys Skillerrors cost us at crucial times in the game,” StonyCreek coach Chris Verboon said.

“The focus is now on building on what we have learnt this year. We haven’t been able to win those close games but this group has played some good footytomatch it with

“We feel they are one of the top three teams in the comp this year which is backed up by their percentage for the season.

“They play agood brand of footy and have hit good form again defeating Stony by nine goals who we rate highly.

“All we can do is head downsouth and give it acrack. Our players willdoeverything possible to get the win.”

TheBlues will get their chance, but so will Morwell Eastdespite their loss, the Hawks remain in the top six after Yinnar failed to secure afairy-tale finish for the second season in arow.

“We knew the scenario coming into this game. We win, we play finals. It was atough contest all day against Thorpy,” Morwell East coach Paul Henry said.

“We gave it everything, unfortunately we fell short. Fortunately though, aresult went our way, so finals here we come.”

Morwell East will now turntheir attention to an elimination finalnext week against MDU, abig challenge you can be sure.

 TARWIN VNEWBOROUGH MATHEMATICALLY possiblebut realisticallyunlikely, Tarwinhosted unquestionably the best team in the competition with just one goal in mind, win and the chance to playfinals mighthappen,but loseand there would be nothing for the Sharks beyond the weekend.

The result speaking for itself,Newborough 16.19 (115) to Tarwin 5.6 (36).

“After awet drive over the hill we arrived to agood ground and conditions at Tarwin,” Newborough coach Craig Skinner said.

“After aquick start with anice breeze we headed into quarter time with ahandy lead, Troy’s boys brought the heat after that and we were happy to finish the season off with ahard fought win.

“We now get aweek off to reset and prepare for Fish Creek in two weeks.”

Newborough are where they deserve to be, aterrific season that has yet to taste defeat, but the mountain now gets higher for the Bulldogs and you expect they look forward to the challenge, it’s achallenge that Tarwin would have been happy to face, but in 2023 it wasn’t to be.

“We finished up against the top of the table and I’m proud of the boys as they played in good spirit right to the end!” Tarwin coach Troy Hemming said.

“We didn’t quiteget it right this year but we enjoyed the journey and saw great development from the group and also the club!

Threenetball teams in finals and reserves minor premiership, we willberallying around our club for the next month to hopefully add to our trophycabinet!”

The senior Sharks might not have made it, but as with every club, it’s about all grades, all sports and local community, so let’s hope the weather is kind and the crowds support their towns teams.

 HILLEND VMIRBOO NORTH

COACH Mike Santo had hoped to bid his team and clubasuccessfulfarewell in his

“But it was then our all round great clubman in Josh Taylor stood up and announced his retirement to the playing group and families in the rooms.

“Ubby took astepbackfrom coaching after five years but he certainly didn’tstophis leadership in the background. Congratulations Ubby and we thank you mate.”

The retirement of Josh Taylor is aloss for the league, apopular player and person on and off the field, as is Hill End coach Mike Santo whohas also coachedhis last game for Hill End, but was robbed of awin in his bid farewell.

“Strung together some of our best passages of play for the season. A10-minute patch in the first quarter was the difference in the match,” Hill End coach Mike Santo said.

“It was aatightly contested battle. Basic skill errors have been our worst enemy all year and that trend continued yesterday.

“JoshTaylorretired. hats off to him for a greatcoaching and playing career.”

As some of the good guys call it aday, the game goes on, but all the better for having these men apart of it.

 MDUV TOORA

THE result was of no real surprise, but what was important was how the Demons went abouttheir business just aweek outfrom afinals campaign in which they hoped to play abig part.

The final score line of 14.15 (99) to 2.1 (13) indicatesthat MDU are well and truly in contention for bigger and better things.

“Today was agreat waytofinish the season. Afour-quartereffortintrying conditions was really impressive,”MDU coachNathan Allensaid.

“Ends areally successful home and away season for the club with all three footy sides finishing in the top three. Looking forward to next week, we now know we have Morwell East out at Mirboo.

“They have been in really good formto finish off the year and have alot of talent on theirlist.Going to be alot of fun and hopefully we are good enough on the day to move on.”

The Demons have managed to find away to victory more times than not in season 2023, but from here there are no second chances, Toora may have fallen short at senior level, but will throw their support behind a reserves side that is looking to back to back.

“Meeniyan showed why they finished top three today. Slick away from the contest and with afocal point like Darren Sheen, they’ll give sides troubleinthe finals,”Toora coach Jack Weston said.

“Lookingforward to what looks like it’ll be aterrific final series. Good luck to all sides, especially our netball and reserves sides.”

The attention now turns to afinals series that promisestodeliver quite possiblythe best football the league has seenfor many years, Newborough will enter as deserving favourites but apack of clubs are closing in very quickly.

 BYE-BOOLARRA

What lies ahead for Gippsland’s place in the energy future?

allthe resources

By PHILIP HOPKINS

CLEAN energypresentsanenormous andgrowing investmentopportunity, which Gippslandisideally positioned to capture, accordingtothe Committee forGippsland (C4G)

“The region hasthe naturalresources, infrastructure, workforceand educational capability to support cleanenergy developmentatevery scale,” saysC4G in aposition paper prepared with Regional Development Australia Gippsland

C4G chair,Rochelle Wrigglesworth, said Gippslandhad aproud historyas Victoria’sforemost energy producer,but decarbonisation meant that theregion’s traditional industries had a finite life as the energy systemwas transformed to meet the challenge of net zero emissionsby 2050.

“The cleanenergy transitionis aoncein-a-generationinvestmentopportunity.

Transitioning to acleanenergy economy is forecast to resultinthe phasingout of highemission uses of fossil fuels and renewablesgrowing to adominantrole,” shesaid.

“In Gippsland, the Hazelwoodpower stationclosedin2017and Yallourn’s closureis planned for2028. Bass Strait oil production began to fall some time ago, andgas productionisnow doing the same, due to reducedreserves

Thewaning of these key industriesisan economic lossfor Gippsland’seconomy andcommunities. Decarbonisationleaves Gippsland vulnerablebut it is also amajor opportunity.”

Ms Wrigglesworth saidGippslandwas endowed withnaturalresourcestosupport arange of cleanenergy developments

“The highand steady winds offthe Gippsland coast have attracted Australia’s firstproposal foranoffshorewind farm Grid-scaleonshore windand solar projects arealsoproposed forthe region, andbioenergyhas potential,” shesaid. Ms Wrigglesworth saidGippsland’sfossil fuel reserves mayhaveanimportant role in transitioningtonet zero.

“Gas-fired power thatuses offsets in the near-term, andtransitionstoburning hydrogeninthe longerrun,will help acceleratedecarbonisation by producing essential, flexibleback-up energy as wind andsolarpowergrows,electricity storages increase, and coal-fired powerstations close,” shesaid.

“GeologicalstructuresunderBass Strait could permanently sore carbon emissions from newusesofcoal and gas (forexample, to producehydrogenor derivatives)and non-energyapplications suchascement-making

“Finally, Gippslandhas particularly high rainfall in thesouth-western andeastern zones -animportant input to many industries and cleanenergysources.”

Infrastructure

MS Wrigglesworth said Gippslandwas home to one of thebestpower grid connectionsinAustraliadue to the Latrobe Valley’spowerindustry. Atotalof2000MW of space capacitywas now available as a low marginalcostfactor,which would grow as as remainingcoal-firedpower stations closed.

Transmission infrastructure could be further built upon to connect renewables andoffshoreenergy, whichcould be serviced by postsatBarryBeach andPort Welshpool.

“Gippsland provides by far the largestand strongest grid connection of anyVictorian Renewable Energy Zone, making it cleanenergyinvestment-ready,” shesaid.

“Renewable energyproduction in Gippsland can be supportedbygrid-scale

batteries, and net zerogas-fired power stations which arecapable of providing 24-hour power to homesand businesses

“Gippsland also hasa network of gas andliquid fuel easements andpipelines that could form partofa cleanfuel gridcarrying hydrogen and other zeroemission fuels.”

Workforce

MS Wrigglesworth saidGippslandhas an increasingly available skilled workforcewith potential to grow

“Earlyestimates indicated that Gippsland willneed 320 renewable energy workers by 2025,” shesaid

“Thesejobswill requireskillsin construction,planning, electricaland mechanicaltrades, andcommunity engagement.”

Gippsland could provide some of these skills from its traditionalenergyindustries, as 1200peopleweredirectly employedin theminingsector,and more had related energy and resources jobs.

“This workforcehas transferable technical and operationalskills andwillbecome increasingly availableas coal-firedstations close,” Ms Wrigglesworthsaid

“Gippsland canprovide additional skilled workers from our current population and canattractworkersand theirfamilies from outside the region to ourtowns, whichprovide goodhealth and education servicesand an attractivelifestyle.

“Much of Gippsland is closetothe rapidly growingsouth-eastcorridor of Melbourne, which adds to theattraction of livingand working in theregion.

Education

MS Wrigglesworth said Gippsland has theright institutions to supporta workforce transition and technology commercialisation

“Strong educational institutionsare key to creating newopportunitiesfor people currently employed intraditional fossil fuelindustries anddeveloping career

pathways for thenextgeneration of Gippslanders,” shesaid.

“The regionhas aproud historyin providinghigh-quality,high-skilltechnical training back, which hascarried forwardfromthe former State Electricity CommissionofVictoria to thepresent day “TAFEGippsland operates atertiary training facility in everymajor town and works closelywithFederationUniversity to deliverindustry-ledtraining partnerships

“The Hi-Tech Precinct Gippslandand proposed Regional CarbonInnovation Centre will strengthen Gippsland’s educational and commercialisation capability.These institutions will be aconduit betweenacademia and industrytosupportthe development andcommercialisation of cleanenergy research.”

Carbon captureand storage

MS Wrigglesworth saidGippsland was concentrating on low-emission technologies such as carbon captureand storage

“Gippsland was focussed on these through itsgrowthasaRenewableEnergy Zone andhydrogenhub, the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC)project, and CarbonNet,” she said.

“Permanent storageinsuitable geological formations is amajorfocus of research.”

The reportsaid initial assessments had given theGippsland Basin thehighest technicalranking of 25 major basins across Australia.

The CarbonNet project, ledby the state andfederal governments, is alargescale,multi-userCCS hubinGippsland.

Engineering andgeological investigations have identified ‘Pelican’ as the most promisingsite

Pelican is aporoussandstone formation capped by layers of shale andcoal,eight kilometres offthe Gippsland coastand 1.5km below the seabed.

“It has beenassessed as capableof

safely and permanently storing aboutfive million tonnesofcarbondioxide peryear, thereportsaid.

HESCisaworld-first liquidhydrogen project that gassifies theLatrobe Valley’s browncoal, siphoningoff thecarbon dioxidethatwill be stored in offshore reservoirs, while hydrogen will beliquefied at Hastingsand sentvia specialised ships to Kobe in Japan,where the gas willbe distributed to users.

TheJapanese consortium behind the project hassuccessfullycompleted its tests at itspilot plant andhas takenthe decision to proceed to the commercial stage, which they hope will be completed by thelate2020s

Alliedtothisisthe Gippsland Hydrogen Cluster.National Energy Resources

Australia haschosen Gippslandasone of ahandful of clusters across Australia that will play apivotal role in thedevelopment of theAustralian hydrogenindustry.The project aimstotobuildVictoria’s and Australia’s hydrogensupply, develop training programstobuildaskilled workforce and be an early adopter of hydrogen

Ms Wrigglesworth said commercial-scale hydrogen could providecleanfuelfor manypotential uses:industrial heat, long-distance heavytransport, exportand in power stations thatprovidefirming.

“Blue hydrogen can be produced in Gippsland by gassifying the coalor reforming natural gasand permanently store the resultantcarbondioxideusing CCS. Green hydrogencan be made through the electrolysis of waterusing renewable power,” shesaid.

In the near term, emissions from gas turbines couldbereducedbyblending hydrogen with natural gasfuel.

“In the longer-term, powerplants fuelled by pure hydrogen arebeing developed,” shesaid.

Ms Wrigglesworthsaid Gippsland couldbecomeAustralia’s leader in the development of hydrogen-based industries.

“Existingpipeline easements in Gippsland for naturalgas and liquid fuels cold provide astarting point for ahydrogen pipeline network which couldcarry clean fuel to theMelbourne marketand to an exportport, forexampleatHastings,” she said.

“New coal-firedpower stations integrated with CCS arealso prospective investments in Gippsland, subject to thedevelopmentofcommercially viable coal-CCS technology andthe discovery and commercialisation of enough carbon storage capacity under Bass Strait.”

Bioenergy

MS WrigglesworthsaidGippsland’s established agricultural, forestryand industrial sectorsprovidedopportunities for bioenergy and energy-from-waste.

Initial studies estimated that by 2030, Gippsland couldhave785,000 tonnes per year of plantation forestbiomassfor bioenergy; similarly,close to 800,000 tonnesoffood andfibrewaste could be used forenergy production.

“The opportunity remains open,”she said. In the Latrobe Valley,the Maryvaleenergyto-wastefacility at Opal AustralianPaper will divert325,000tonnesofresidual waste from landfill and useittogenerateenergy forthe Maryvalemill.

With an investmentofmorethan $500m, thefacility will create morethan220 jobs duringconstruction and morethan130 ongoing jobsinGippsland

Construction of Phase 1isplannedfor completionby 2025.

Committee for Gippsland Chair,Rochelle Wrigglesworth.

Carbon capture holdskey

By PhilipHopkins

THE Latrobe Valley andthe broader Latrobe regioncan play aleading role in Australia’senergy transition, according to the chiefexecutiveofthe CO2CRC, Dr MatthiasRaab

Theenergytransitionincludes renewables -wind,big offshorewind, solar in the various projects in theplanning- andthe opportunity,globally recognised,inthe production of hydrogen from Victorian browncoalwith carbon captureand storage (CCS), he says

“This project (HESC -Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain) is in consideration by the Japanese at least since 2010 and it was CO2CRC whobroughtaninitial concept study to KawasakiHeavy Industries in 2010,”says Dr Raab,who will chair theCCS sessionatthe NewEnergy Conference.

TheCO2CRC (Co-operative Research Centre), operating since2003 and based in EastMelbourne, is aworld leader in carbon capture utilisation andstorage research.DrRaab, born in Germany,has an international career spanning morethan 25 years in academia,governmentand industryand thenot-for-profit sectors

“One key consideration …istohave low-cost hydrogen production because we still havea very nascent industry.The volumes of hydrogenthatneedtobe produced havetoincrease many times overthe next decades in ordertohave the appropriate estimated substitutionfor naturalgas, or the complementation of energy requirements to naturalgas.”

Dr Raabsaysnatural gasisunlikely to disappear,but hydrogen willplay abig

role in replacing natural gasovertime provided “wecan get to theappropriate levelofrenewable electricitygeneration, andthe appropriate transmission that is required”.

“That is very significant,” he says. Further, other factors arethe appropriate infrastructuretodistribute hydrogen,the

Exxonintensifies storage research

By PHILIP HOPKINS

EXXON MOBIL is continuingits

studytodetermine thepotential forcarbon captureand storage (CCS) in the Gippsland Basin.

Theaim is to reducegreenhouse gasemissionsfrommultiplelocal industries.

Theearly front-end engineering designwork waslaunched lastyear as part of Exxon’s global LowCarbon Solutions business to commercialise thecompany’sextensive lower emissionsportfolio.

Theaim was to create long-term shareholder values andsupport emissions-reduction efforts.

TheSouth East Australiacarbon capture(SEACCS) hubwould initially useexistinginfrastructuretostore CO2 in the depleted Breamfieldoff thecoast of Gippsland.

Theinitial phase of the SEACCS willtakeCO2 from theLongford gas plants to theBream Aplatform, where it will be permanently injected into the Breamreservoir.Ithas the potential to captureuptotwo million tonnesof CO2 -equivalenttotaking almost half amillion carsoff theroadfor every yearofoperation, according to the company “Our previousexperiencere-injecting intothe Bream fieldand detailed knowledgeofthe reservoir makes it

the ideallocation for Gippsland’sfirst CCS opportunity,” thecompany said.

When theBream Aand Bplatforms wereinitially developed in the 1980s andthe 1990s, natural gas was considered aby-product of oil production,and wasreinjected back into theBream reservoir.

In response to thegrowingdemand fornatural gas, Esso Australialater installed agas pipeline, which took gas from Bream to Australia’seast coast from 2002 to 2020

“During the last 10 years of production,Esso Australiasafely re-injectednaturalgas produced at theLongford gasplants during summer into theBream reservoir, drawing on thegas duringwinter when the needfor gas on Australia’s eastcoast is greatest,” the company said.

“This demonstrates the suitability of Bream forpermanent injection and storageofCO2.”

Exxonsaiditwas in active discussions with local industries “whichmay beinterested in accessing theSEA CCS hub to reduce emissions from their operations”, the companysaid.

In 2009, afederal government taskforce identified Gippsland as themostattractiveregion for CCSin Australia

appropriate hydrogencarrier -ammonia or anyother productsindevelopment -or whether it’sliquefiedhydrogen.

“Ultimately there will be reasonsfor allof the above, butthathas to be determined on aproject-by-project basis,” he says DrRaabsaysthe big opportunityfor the Latrobe Valley isthe massive amounts of feed stock- lignite/brown coal -to run afully commercial-scalehydrogen productionfacilityatverylow costand very lowemissions per kilogram of hydrogen

“That hasbeencalculatedbythe project proponent andhas been selected by the Japanese Green Innovation Fund as clean, greenhydrogen because itmeets themaximumallowed emission per kg/ hydrogen on international standards,” he says.

“This isthe conceptual projectplan andnow the projectisundergoing due diligence on theVictorian andJapanese side to proveall aspects that arerequired for afull-scalehydrogen facility.”

Dr Raab says theuse anddistribution of hydrogen willbedeterminedbywho the enduser is, andthe distancetothe distribution or refuellingnetwork.

“Hydrogenhas averylow energy density, thereforecompression,transportation, flow rates andapplication -all have to be appropriatelyimplemented so that we understandthe efficiencies of under whichcircumstances wewant to produce hydrogenoranotherapplication,or even replacingnaturalgas for domestic applications,” he says.

DrRaabsayshavinga large-scale hydrogen production facilitywhere the CO2 canbestored safely in the Gippsland Basin- in theformer oiland gas reservoirs, with pore spaceavailabledeeply under theseabed -opens manyopportunities for otheremittersinthe region andpotentially internationally, to usethe pore space and infrastructuretoreduce carbon dioxide emissions.

“A strategic partnership with, forexample Japanand Korea, couldbecome abig secondarybenefit of having aCCS project in Victoria. Emissions areaglobal problem, so as global citizens we need to decarbonise/reduce emissionswhere we can andwhereverthereare low-hanging fruitsgeographically,” he says.

“Australia is blessed by many things, includinghaving theenergy resource, having themineralresources and also the pore spaceinthe Basins,and we have this in abundance,far moreabundant than other countries. This is theway the Australian continent and its Basins evolved over geologicaltimes.”

Dr Raab says the keycustomersinour region- Japan,Korea andothers for mineral resources -are netimporters of energy

“They have geologically notthe same opportunitiestostorethe emissions anywhereontheirlandoroffshore. For Japanand Koreatoachieve their own legislated emissiontargets,theyare relying on other nationstostoretheir legislated carbon dioxide,” he says.

“While Australia canstore its own CO2 -it must do so to achieve the Net Zero 20250 target -Japan and Korea do not have this option; theydorelyonAustralia.Byhaving ageologicalcarbon storage project in Victoria, we canfirstlystore ourown emissionsfromthe HESC project, from other emittingsources, andalsooffer this opportunitytoour neighbours in theregion whilecreating an income/royalty stream for Australia andorVictoria.”

Dr Raab rejects the argumentthatVictoria, unlike Western Australia, Queensland and NSW,has fewresources

“The GippslandBasinwas Australia’smost prolific oiland gas Basinand wehave an absolute abundance of provenstorage inthe Basin. The CarbonNetproject and ExxonMobiles CCSproject arejustthe beginningifwecan see the‘BigPicture’ opportunityfor Victoria,” he says.

Dr RaabsaysCCS is proven

“It has been done fordecadesand decades. Thechallenge sitsinthe policy space. Theseare large projectsrequiring large investmentand long-term policy and financialcertainty.Theyalsoprovidevery large emission reductionorabatement opportunities, theywork betteratscalethe largerthe better- the larger,the more the costsare coming down,” he says. Dr Raab saysthese projects, like the geological carbon storage project,willalso set Victoria up for other carbon removal technologies like direct aircapturecapturing the CO2fromthe airatsucha lowerconcentration.

“Westill have to storeit, so withthe help of the HESC, CarbonNet andExxon CCSprojects, we can get the necessary infrastructureinplacethat will also allow in thefutureGippsland/Latrobe Valley to becomeacentrefor direct aircapture, where we canover decades/centuriescleanupthe airand use the infrastructure in theGippsland Basin,”hesays.

“Wewillalso be using thecompetency of theoil andgas industrytoprove up the storageresources. This is asignificant point to make -the industryhas the competency, theexperienceand the financing to dothis,” he says.

Dr Raab says acrucial issue is thetime required to getaproject offthe ground The CO2CRC is assessing theproject approval process.

“Wehave found that the regulatory approval processes for theseprojects is lengthyand complicated, has duplicationand can takeeightto10 years at aminimum. It’sa very significant undertaking forany company wantingto go throughthe process,” he says “The timeline is already at odds for the timelines required underthe federal government’ssafeguardmechanism. (The safeguardmechanism requires Australia’s highest greenhouse gasemitterstokeep their emissionsbelow abassline).

“Wehaveformed aregulatoryaffairs task force where we areworking withstate and federal government departments and ministries toshorten thetimelinefor project approvals.”

Dr Raabacknowledges thateveryindustry has opposition or has people who do not believe in them.

“What we know is,weneed all‘hands on deck’; we need to have everysingle technologythatweknow of and what we have notinvented yet, to achieve ambitious emissionreduction targets. The more political disputeswehave,the more we continuewithstatusquo and slow downemissions reductionatthe scale required.

“Without CCS, we will not achieveour net zerotargets-full stop.”

TheCO2CRC workswith research organisations in Australiaand internationally: GeoScience Australia; CSIRO, the universities- Curtin,Monash Melbourne,Queensland, Deakin;the Department of Energylaboratoriesinthe US;the German geo-research centre;and national research bodies in Japan and Korea.

The CO2CRC haspublished more than 400journalreview papers, educatedmore than 60PhDs,and has at anyone time 60-100researcher on its booksdoing researchonsomeaspectofthe CCSvalue chain.

CO2CRC chief executive, Dr Matthias Raab will chair the carbon capture and storage session at the New Energy Conference.

Photo: Supplied

Plan in place at LoyYangA

By Phillip Hopkins

AGL hasunveiled its long-termaim to turnthe Loy Yang Apower station site intoa low-carbon Energy Hub featuring solar materials andbattery recycling,grid-scalebatteries, potential hydrogenproduction and advanced manufacturing

The company’s plansfor the LatrobeValley EnergyHub were outlined at an event at LoyYangrecently, attended by more than 100 people, including theMinister forEnergy, Lily D‘Ambrosio, members of Latrobe CityCouncil,and localcommunity andbusinessgroups.

AGL’s chiefoperating officer,Markus Brokhof, said given the early closure of Loy Yang Ain2035, the companyhad begun to planwhat thefuture of the Latrobe ValleyEnergy Hubwouldlooklike

VicGridpreparing for newenery zone

VICGRID is tasked with thejob to co-ordinatethe overarching planningand developmentof Victorian Renewable Energy Zones that formthe infrastructurefor the state’sgrowing renewable energy industry.

VicGrid, which is adivision of the Department of Energy, Environment andClimateAction,isdeveloping changes to theway the energy transmission infrastructureisplanned anddeveloped through the Victorian Transmission InvestmentFramework (VTIF).

It will operate to realise the state government’srenewableenergy policy.The government’stargets arefor at least 2000megawatts (2gigawatts)ofoffshorewind capacity by 2031, 4000MW by 2035 and 9000MWby2040toreplaceenergy from coal-fired power stations in the Latrobe Valley as they close.

VicGrid says this new source of renewableenergy will requirenew transmission lines to deliver power to homes and businessesacross

Victoria

To meet these targets, VicGrid is developing coordinatedtransmission for offshorewindprojects in Gippslandand at Portland. The aim is to reduce theimpactonthe landscapes and communities and reduce unnecessarycosts.

VicGrid’sconcept of ‘coordination’ means that offshorewind farmsand privatetransmissioncompanies will not needtobuild their own transmission linestoconnect to the electricity grid

The aimistominimise theamount of transmission lines cross-crossing the locallandscape,avoiding the potentialspaghettieffect that could occur andkeeppricesdownfor energyconsumers.

LastDecember,the federal governmentdeclaredanareaoff Gippsland’scoast as Australia’s first

offshore wind zone.

VicGrid has outlined four main phases of engagement with communities, landholders and stakeholders that should be completed by early next year. It alsosays it is working with TraditionalOwners as partners,asthe process of planning and developing the transmission projects in Gippsland overthe courseofthisyearand beyond.

Phase 1, whichstarted earlythisyear andisexpected to be completed by mid-year,isaboutestablishing local conversationsand information sharing, such as whyoffshore wind transmissionisneeded.

Subsequent phasesaim to develop anumber of transmissionoptions, includingidentifyingany critical issues missed,culminatinginPhase 3, where preferred transmission solutionsare developed for connecting Gippsland’s offshore wind projects Phase 4, whichis scheduled for completion by early nextyear, aims to confirmthe preferredoptionsand outline thenext steps

“Engagement will continueacross all four phases of theprocess,”VicGrid says.

Thefeedback from Phase1covered a numberofissues. Theseincluded:

▶ Minimiseimpacts on the environment,biodiversity and visual amenity;

▶ Mitigateand avoidriskoffireand natural disasters;

▶ Consideroverhead and underground solutions, existing easements andinfrastructure, and proximity to towns and residents, and;

▶ Future-proofing to preparefor future energy targets.

“Wealso receivedfeedbackon broaderissues. This feedback willbe considered as partofour planning forthe transmission solution,” says VicGrid.

“This involves dialogue with relevant stakeholders andindustrial partners,” he said.

“Loy Yang isa fantastic site with a skilled local workforce andestablished infrastructure.Over thecoming decade, wewill worktogether with partners to explorearange of options includingwind andsolar power, grid-scalebatteries, hydrogen productionand co-location with advancedmanufacturingindustries.”

Mr Brokhof saidAGL hadrecently signed amemorandumofunderstanding (MOA) with Solar Recovery Corporation to explore establishing asolarpanel materials recovery plant at thesite

“Thiswouldenable remanufacture of solar panel materialsatthe end of their life,” he said.

“Thisistypical of industrial partnerswe have invited here andother peoplefrom the renewables industry.”

Around thesite, Mr Brokhof said AGLwas looking to establish asolarand thermal storage projectterminaland storage plant AGLalreadyhad ashareholdingina pilot projectnear Mildurathat it wouldliketo commercialise at theLoy Yang site.

AGL andAustralianenergy technology group RayGen havebuilt a$27 million pilot solar andthermalstorage project at Carwarp,about 20 minutes south of Mildura.

Theplant uses acombination of RayGen’s solar andhydro technology to produce 24-hour renewableelectricitythat AGL says is low-cost. The system is powered by afield of smart, rotational mirrors whose concentrated solar energy is combined withthe energy stored across two water reservoirstocreate a‘hotand cold’ solar hydrosolution.

The Carwarp plant delivers four megawatts (MW)ofsolar generationand 50 megawatt hours (MWh) of storage to produce electricityondemand.

AGLsays this improves gridstability,as well as supplying reliable, synchronous power

AGL committed $5 million to help fund the construction at Carwarp as well as agreeing to offtake theentirety of the plant’s production

Mr Brokhof said theofficial inauguration of the projectwould take place at the end of this month in Mildura. He said advanced manufacturing projects werealso planned for theLoy Yang site.

“Thereare alot of things in the pipeline that Ican’t disclosenow.Weare lookingat allthe technologies -atbatteryrecycling,

waste-to-energy -all these effortsand partnershipswould addvalue to oursite, he said.

Mr Brokhof said AGL didnot plantojust build solarorwindplants.

“Weare taking a different approach - we look at ourcustomers andthe customer needsand build an ecosystemoflow carbon energyproductionaround them. We arenot just building on site;weask the customer,” he said.

“That is thereasonwhy we areplanning early with engagement 12 years ahead of theclosure of LoyYang. We need a planninghorizontobuildinfrastructure aroundthis.”

MrBrokhof said AGLhad already signalled thatitwould build an initial 200MWbatteryatLoy Yang

The company would decide next year, whena financialinvestment decision would be made, about further generation capacity in thecontext of theentireenergy infrastructure, he said

Mr Brokhof said theJapanese HESCcoalto-hydrogen project- the plantislocated next to theLoy Yang powerstation -was goingthrough thefeasibility stage for a commercial plant.

“Thereisa great opportunity.The JapaneseGovernment supports theHESC project, withmorethan$2billion funding

The Japanese parentislookingat the theoretical funding requirements from the federal and stategovernments,”hesaid.

The HESCproject would require continual miningof the Loy Yang site.

“Thisrequiresseparate approval; it is not coveredbythe currentmining licence. Once we startthe evaluation phase and engineering design, we need to apply for different licences,” he said.

Mr Brokhof emphasised that AGL would continuetoredevelop thesiteoverthe next few years.

“Wedon’t wanttodisappearfromthe site, demolishthe plant and leave. We wantto build an energy structure on the site and transitionour people. We aretransparent with our workers. The aim is to create employment for thenextgeneration on the site,” he said.

“Weare also looking at Indigenous projects, recognise the need to give back to the Gunaikurnai people, the traditional owners of theland.”

Mr Brokhof said the Loy Yang plans formed apartofAGL’s broader transition strategy to transform the Liddell and Bayswater sites in NSW into theHunter Energy Huband the TorrenssiteinSouth Australiaintothe TorrensEnergy Hub. “Atthe Torrens hub, a250MW batterywill soon be operational and at theHunterhub, planning permission hasbeen granted for the500MW Liddell battery,”hesaid.

RayGenhas received supportfromthe Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA)for the Carwarp site RayGen’schief executive, RichardPayne, said AGLhad agreed threeyearsago to providea‘voice of customer’ into the designprocess forRayGen’s storage product.

“AGL provided valuable insights that enhanced our technology offering, and AGLisnow supporting deployment with an offtake and investment,”MrPaynesaid. Bothcompanies have workedonthe design ofthe $27millionconcentrated solarand thermal storage sitesince 2019

Latrobe Valley's coal gasification and refining plant at Loy Yang A.

Photo: Supplied

EnergyAus investment works

By Zaida Glibanovic

ENERGY AUSTRALIA has committed to a$400millioninvestmentatthe Yallournpowerstationtounderpin improved asset reliability,safety,and performance ahead of thestation’s planned closureinmid-2028.

The accelerated programofinvestment willcover scheduledmajoroutagesfor eachofYallourn’sfour generation units over 2023 and 2024, and includes works to support theplant’sintegrity, reliability andperformance of thestationupuntil closure.

EnergyAustraliaManaging Director Mark Collette has beenwith EnergyAustralia since 2003, comingonboard as managing directorinearly 2021. Mr Collette is also chair and directorofthe Australian Energy Council (AEC), which represents20major electricityand downstreamnaturalgas businesses operating in the wholesaleand retailenergymarkets

“We’rea purpose lead company,soour purpose is to lead andaccelerate clean energytransformation forall,” he said “For allitisimportant to u. means employees,itmeans customers, andit meanscommunities, and it meansdoing things in away that bringspeople along “(The year) 2028 is not faraway, so we’ve already started conversationswithour team about what comes next.

“We’reinvestinghundredsofmillions of dollars, about400 million dollars and more in thenextcouple of years, to ensurewe’re as reliable andaffordable as we can be for Victoria andAustralia untilclosure.

“It already meansthe investments are increasingly going to things likeour Wooreenbattery- notquite abillion dollars,but it’squite alargeinvestment.”

EnergyAustraliawill construct a350 MW four-hourutility-scale battery,which is expected to be operational by theend of 2026.Based on land availability and goodgridconnectivity,EnergyAustralia’s gas-fired Jeeralangpower facility in Hazelwood North, LatrobeValley, has beenchosenasthe preferred locationfor the Wooreen batteryconstruction.

“It’sall about providing our affirming for thesystem of thefuture,which is going to be dominated by wind andsolar from an energy perspective,”MrCollette said

“It’sanexciting purpose andanexciting futurethat we have, butit’sone that brings lots of change. The challengetoovercome is thespeed at whichthings arebeing built.”

EnergyAustraliahas many projects underway across thenation.These includethe zero-emissions hydrogenand gas-capable TallawaraB project, Lake

Lyell pumpedhydro, WooreenEnergy Storage systemand the gas-firedMarulan Powerstation.

“It’sa big transformation;it’sa big investment horizon that Australiahas got there,” he said “With ourTallawaraPower station …our ambition istocrack thecode on what fuel would be zerocarbon.”

EnergyAustralia willnot look at more efficientways of coal-poweredsystems, optingtoleadthe way incleanand renewable energyasopposed to updating oldtechnology

“We’ve been on the path of reducing emissions since at least 2007-08, so we’ve been on ajourney for 15 years or so. We didgivemuch timeexploring all the different optionsavailabletous, including changes wecould make heretoimprove efficiency, carbon captureand storage, or anyofthose technologies,” Mr Collette said.

“Broadly, wherewelanded,froma technical perspective, they’re(updatesto coal-firedtechnology) just moreexpensive than thealternatives,and wewerebetter offfocusing on wind, solar, batteries,gas turningintohydrogenand pumped hydro because in aggregateand also behind themetre, so solar and batteries in homes leads to acheaper andjust as reliable systemthan the coal-based alternatives.”

EnergyAustralia continues to invest in cleaner technology,and another way they aimtodothisis throughanelectronic vehicle trialnow underwayatYallourn.

“It’sa goodexample that theremight only be five years left of operation at Yallourn; that’s no reason we don’t use cutting-edge technology,” Mr Collettesaid.

“It’s from twoangles, oneisthatthe technology can givea lotofbenefits, either it’scheaper,orlower emission or different applicationsthat we weren’t able to do with previoustechnology.”

“The other thing is that it helpsset out better careers for thefuture forour people, soyou’ll go to the mines and theguysand girls working in themines,they’reworking withcutting-edgetechnology

“The opportunity from thatfor our team is

that thetechnology they’reusing they can use in otherplaces, whichmakesthem moreand more employable.”

EnergyAustralia remains committed to ensuring asmooth transition of energy and employees.

The company has invested in a$10 million programtoprovidetransition supportfor employees and ongoing planning forthe safe rehabilitation and transformationof theYallournmine and power station site to become an asset for thelocal community With regardtothe mine’sremediation,the mine willhavetobestabilised with either dirt or water; withthe sheer size of the mine, EnergyAustralia willopt to fillitwith water to stabilise it.

“Wewillremediatethe site …itmeans deconstructing anddemolishingover timeand returning ittoa flat site,” EnergyAustralia’s GM said.

MrColletteexplained that because Yallournisona floodplain,EnergyAustralia coulduse the mine to preventfloods and continually benefit the community

Speaking in regard to EnergyAustralia’s investments in wind and solar,MrCollette said: “Weown 50 percent of awind project in SouthAustralia; that’s the only one thatweown at themoment. We tend tobuy the offtake,sowe’ll buyintoother people’sprojects.”

Oneofthe reasons EnergyAustralia opts to operate like thisisbecause they area retailer, andpartofthe jobfor retailersisto get the cheapest energy forcustomers, Mr Colletteexplained.

“Things change overtime, and particularly we like to make sure we have enough storageand generational capacity to meet theneeds of our customers,”headded.

“Asbatteriesand the othersortofstorage technologies starttoget more locatedon thesamesite as thewindand solar.That might meanwemight investmoredirectly intosomeofthose projects.

“It’snot we’rein, or we’reout;it’swhat’sthe best for ourcustomers that drives what we do.”

Batteriestoprovide vitalback-up role

By PHILIP HOPKINS

LARGE-SCALE batterieslocated in the Latrobe Valley that storeenergy for usewhen requiredwill play an important role in Central Gippsland’s contribution to thefutureenergy system.

A150-megawatt capacity batterywas opened at thesite of theold Hazelwood power station in June, while Energy Australia will build an $800 million,350 megawatt-capacity batterynexttoits gas-firedJeeralangpower station at Hazelwood North, justsouth of Morwell This battery is expected to be in operation before theend of 2026.

AGLisalso planninga 200MWbattery based at the LoyYang power station. Thecompany has lodgeda planning applicationtothe state government. Thefour-hour duration batteryispart of AGL’s broader plans to develop 850MW of grid-scalebatteriesby2024.

TheHazelwoodBatteryEnergy Storage System was built by ENGIE, Eku Energy andFluence. Thecompanies say thebatteryhas the capacity to power about 75,000 homesfor one

hour during the eveningpeak.

Hazelwood is thefirstretired coal-fired power stationtohosta batterystorage system in Australia.

The EnergyAustralia battery,which will provide350MW for four hours,is based on a1400MWhbatterycapacity. Construction is expected to take12-18 months and will create more than 80 jobs.

The battery will be known as the WooreenEnergy Storage System (WESS). ‘Wooreen’ is aGunaikurnai language name meaning‘light’.Energy Australia was gifted the name by Aunty DorisPaton and theGunaikurnaiLand and WatersAboriginalCorporation.

TheJeeralangsitewas chosen as the preferred location forthe battery based on landavailability andoptimal connection to thegrid.The Hazelwood power terminal, whichwill ultimately connect to the proposedoffshorewind farms and proposed Marinus Link to Tasmania, is nearby.The batterywillnot bepartofJeeralang’soperation.

Utility-scalebatteries store low-cost energy,suchas excess renewable

energy. When demand for power is higher and thereis less renewable energyavailable,suchas at night,the storedenergy isavailable for use. This aims to keep costs downfor customers. Energy Australia, which ownsthe YallournW powerstation, saysthat battery storage canalsohelpreduce thepotential for blackouts and any need for‘load shedding’whenthereis asupply imbalance.

In thisway,theyintegraterenewable energy intothe gridand ensurethat energy remainsreliable Hazelwood’sbatterysite features a field of box-like structures known as ‘cubes’. Eachcubehas acooling system and batteryrack, as well as fire detection technology.The battery next to Jeeralangwillbesimilar butbigger.

Energy Australia maintains thatmodern utility-scalebatteriesuse purpose-built containers that canbe positioned and screened for minimum visual impact. Lithium technologies have no noticeable vibration,greenhouse emissionsand emitminimal sound.

In September 2021, EnergyAustralia

called for expressions of interest for businessesthat can engineer, procure andbuild thenew batterystorage facility.

Preferred criteria were to maximise localparticipation in the Latrobe Valley andbroaderGippslandregion. The selected contractor is expected to be announced in the firstquarter of next year

According to Energy Australia,the batteryhas several advantages:

▶ Storedenergy can step in on cloudy or windless dayswhenrenewables arenot available. Whendemand for power rises, utility-scale batteries candischarge their stored power, helping to keepthe lights on;

▶ It storeselectricity at times when lots of renewableenergy is being produced, thussupplying dispatchable power to theenergy system, and;

▶ The quickrelease of stored energy during periods of highdemand helps maintain theenergysupply andkeeps costs down.

EnergyAustralia Managing Director Mark Collette.

Photo: Zaida Glibanovic

Newlife forJeeralangplant

By PHILIP HOPKINS

THE Jeeralang gas-fired power station, owned by Energy Australia, is undergoing amajor upgrade to prepare thestationfor aprime role in the energy transformation of the LatrobeValley andCentral Gippsland

Jeeralang, which opened in 1979 as aniche peaking station to supportthe Valley’s brown coal powerstations, will take on an additional firming role as renewablesenergy kicksintothe power grid.

Wind andsolar areintermittent when the wind drops offand thesun isn’tshining, so gas-fired power from therefurbished Jeeralang will take up the slackinthe grid’s electricity supply

It is locatednext to theHazelwoodterminal station, so hasdirect access to the power grid, and will also connect to output from theproposed Star of the Southwindfarm in Bass Straitand theMarinusLink to Tasmania.

Witha nominal output of 449megawatts, Jeeralangoperates in tandem withits sister station, the 500MW, gas-fired Newport power station in Melbourne.

Dale Hogarth, theheadofgas assets at Energy Australia, said Jeeralang was designed as aniche playerwhen the former SEC built the coal-fired power stations.

“It has stood thetestoftime. It was built for peaking demandsand systemrestart, but now will be firming for renewables and system restart, andhas moved through that evolutionsince 1979,”hetoldthe authorduringa tour of Jeeralang.

“Basically,Jeeralanghas performedthat samerole, randepending on whathas beengoingoninthe marketplace.”

Whenthe SEC outsourced its activities in thelate 1980s, Jeeralang went through different ownerships, but when thethen ownerEcoGenput it up for sale in 2018, EA boughtthe asset andtookitover,along withNewport.

However,Jeeralang had becomea tired ‘old warhorse’

“A lot of expenditurewas needed as it largelyhad an expiredlife. Not a lot of outages (formaintenance and refurbishment) had been done,”Mr Hogarthsaid. He and Julia Heslop, Jeeralang’s assetleader,weregiventhe tasktospendmoney andput life back into thepeak gasstation

Ms Heslop said that between2020 and 2023, major worksonthe sevenunits totalled towards$60 million.

“It’s significant forasite thissize,”she said.

Butmorewas needed.MsHeslop said it wasestimated onenew Bunitfor Jeeralang would cost $75 million.

“Welooked at that as option; theidea did notmakecommercialsense, we would have walkedaway from Bstation and shut them down.”

Mr Hogarthsaidreplacingthree units, plus thedemolition costsand new parts, would push thetotalcost towards $300 million.

Then luck and persistence took ahand.

EA wasable to buy some old unitsfor $15million from aclosed peakingpower station at WilmersdorfinBerlin.

“Itwas critical for us to get these componentsthat still had lifeinthem,” Mr Hogarthsaid.

These unitsare nowbeingrefurbished in Italyand Thailandand should be on site within18months.Theywillnot be notquite new, butveryuseable andhave plenty of life.

“We’ve done that effectively for$15m,” he said,includingthe refurbishment work, which would takeJeeralang through to 2039.

“It’sa really goodstory forrepurposing

asite. In current environment, notsure anyonewould spend$300m to build a 200MW gasturbinestation.”

Ms Heslop said therefurbishment work could be done whilethree unitswerestill available EvenifEAsaid, ‘build another unit’that could notbedone as generation wasnot available.

“Whereas with this,wecan getthese rotorsand when ready, we plan asmall outageand we change them out,that becomesa spare.Ifwedid need that later, we canrefurbish that and put it back in -it gives us alot of flexibility,” shesaid EA’s plannedbattery -the Wooreen Energy Storage System- will be built on empty paddocks next door to Jeeralang. The

batteryisnot connected to Jeeralang operationally, but is deliberately located near theHazelwoodterminal station.

“Weown the land it’s on,soit’seasierto get relevant permissionsand thereare synergies. The technical people areon hand if needed,” Mr Hogarthsaid. Jeeralang’snew firmingrolewillnot change how it runs,but will change depending on thetime of the year.Ms Heslop said thepeaking station would typically run morningsand evenings, especially in hottimes of year when air-conditioningwas operating. “Nowit’s moreautumnand spring, depending on when renewablesdropoff,” she said Mr Hogarth said inwinter,inthe middle of day, solar was pumping as well as it

can,and windwas typically “not great,but okay”

“The marketislongwithsupplyinthe middle of the day, so the big stations Yallourn andLoy Yang trytoget outofthe way; the sungoesdownbeforeafternoon peak- you have effectively lostall your solargeneration by 4.30-5pm, “hesaid. At the afternoon peak,when people turn on their heater andtelevision, energy supplywas short

“JeeralangorNewport become important; they canstart quickly,coverthe afternoon peakand then shut down again. They may run for two hours, they arepurpose-built for that. Yallourn andLoy Yang can’t respond that quickly.”

Jeeralang is remotelyoperated from Newport; it has 10 day workers and no nightshift. Thereisa direct communications link to Newport and its operations in the control room.

“They have acontrol system screen;they start the Jeeralang plant from there. If there is an alarm, they cancallthe call officerhere, andthey willlook at what is goingon,” Ms Heslopsaid

Mr Hogarth said Jeeralang wasnot 24/7in terms of staffing butwas 24/7 in terms of operation.

“The gas turbinescan remotely start-just pressa button. This sitecan be available without manning around theclock comparedwitha bigger sitethatruns around theclockwithstaff.This plantwill run fine unattended,”hesaid.

Time for Gippsland to re-energise

By Jeremy Stone

sectors -aCO2 reduction winfor Victoria.

FOR acentury,Gippsland

has generated affordable power that hashelpedgrowand support Victorians’way

of life

As we transitiontonet zero emissions by 2050,the Gippsland regionisina unique positiontobecome an even greater contributor-a hubfor the production of arange of cleanand affordable energy, well intothe next century.

Gippsland’s existing grid connections, infrastructure,natural resources and skilled workforceare advantages that must not be squandered, northe communityleft behind, as we move to our netzerotargets.

The regionhas cleanenergy opportunities throughwind,solar, biomassand batteryprojects.

Gippsland also has aplentiful supply of Latrobe Valley coal thathas astable price and is asecuresourcefrom whichtoextract hydrogenthrough gasification.

Combined with carbon capture utilisation andstorage (CCUS)this approach also providesopportunities to create aclean energy hub,byalso producing ammonia, fertiliser/urea, methanoland aviationfuel- reducing global CO2emissions, providing even morelocal jobsand securing our sovereign clean energy supply chains.

Gippsland isalso home to someofthe best carbon storage sites inthe world.

For example,utilising depleted oiland gas reservoirs in Bass Strait,wecan usethe natural rock formations that have been securely storing gasfor millions of yearstostore theexcess CO2 from hydrogenproduction,and also from the hardtoabate industrial

It’s worth noting that Victoria isalready hometoa successful carbon capture storage(CCS) project.Overthe past 15 years, theCO2CRC hassuccessfully stored nearly 100,000 tonnesofcarbon dioxide offthe Otway coast. Andwe arenot alone. Today thereare more than 200 CCS projects in various stages of development aroundthe world-with morethan30projects already built, safely storing some 40 million tonnes of CO2 per annum. The Intergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange (IPCC)and InternationalEnergy Agency (IEA) regardCCS as acriticalpartto achieving our global netzerotargets. Nowtobring this opportunitytoreality, theHydrogen EnergySupplyChain (HESC)project hasbeenunder developmentinGippsland for10years

With the supportofthe Victorian, Australianand Japanese governments and several Japanese organisations, the world’sfirst liquid hydrogen pilot projectwas successfully completed in early 2022.

In March of this year,the Japanese government,after more than 12 months of assessing potentialAustralian and international projects,showed its commitmentwith a$2.35billionGreen Innovation Fund (GIF) grant, awarded to the HESCProject.

Japan Suiso Energy (JSE)will co-invest withthe GIF funds,tobuild ahydrogen liquefactionand loading terminalatthe industrial PortofHastings.

In addition, theJ-Powerand Sumitomo CorporationJoint Venturewill invest in a gasification and carbon capture facility in the Latrobe Valley thatwillsupply clean hydrogengas to theliquefaction facility

Together,these facilities will employ up to 1000 peoplewhen operating at full capacity

In thefirst phase, the project will produce 40,000tonnesper year of clean gaseous hydrogen, of which 30,000 tonnesper year will be liquefied andexportedbyship to Japan. The remaining 10,000 tonnes peryear will be for the Australiandomestic market, reducinglocal carbon emissions. Importantly, this project givesVictoria first mover advantage in theglobal and domestichydrogen market, critical to securing long termcontracts with key trading partners like Japanand Korea. This is aglobal race and Victoria has a $2.35 billion head start

In this energytransitionperiod, timing iseverything

Subjecttoplanningand environmental approvals, the project is expected to beinconstructionaroundthe time of the plannedshutdown of theYallourn power station, providing career options forthe existingworkforce. It will also deliver significantforeigninvestment andexport revenue forVictoriaata time when the State budget needsit most

To ensure carbon reduction targets aremet, theprojectwilluse thefederal government’s hydrogen Guarantee of Origin scheme to providetransparency to customers on carbonintensity By harnessing theregion’s advantages Ibelievethis is theright project,inthe rightplace, at theright time and I’d encourage theGippsland community to seize theopportunityitpresents.

JeremyStone is aNon-Executive Director &Adviser of the Australian subsidiary of J-Power, oneofJapan’s largest utility companies

EnergyAustralia head of gas assets Dale Hogarth and Jeeralang asset leader Julia Heslop.

Newera forold coal-fired station

By Liam Durkin

THERE will hopefully be no doubting thisHazelwood’sabilitytorun over consecutive days

TheHazelwood BatteryEnergyStorage System(HBESS)was officially launched recently, heralding anew eraand anew life forthe former coal-fired powerstation. Ministerfor Energy andResources Lily D’Ambrosio was on hand to unveil the plaqueatthe battery site,standing alongsideindustrypartners from ENGIE, Eku Energy andFluence.

The collaborationbetween ENGIE, Eku and Fluence will see the Hazelwood batteryhave thecapacity to power around 75,000Victorian homesfor onehour during the evening peak.

Apacked mediaattended thelaunch, as MinisterD’Ambrosio reiterated the state government’s commitmenttoachieving 95 per cent renewable energyby2035.

“The Latrobe Valley hasbeen thehomeof Victoria’s energygeneration for decades, andnew investment in technologies like energy storage willhelp solidify itsrolein ourrenewable energy future,” she said.

“We’releadingthe nationinour investment in batteryand energy storage projects, from the biggestofbig batteries to the smallest household units, which will all help us deliver moresecure, affordable andrenewable energy.

“Ournation-leading energy storage targets areensuringthatVictoria continues to attract industryinvestmentand collaborationopportunities likethis.”

The150-megawattcapacity at Hazelwood will be addedtothe state’s grid- oneof sixbig batteries as part of the Victorian Renewable Energy Target auction

Along with95per cent renewables by 2035, thestate government is also aiming foratleast 2.6gigawatts of energy storagecapacity by 2030, andatleast6.3 gigawatts by 2035.Hazelwoodisthe first retired coal-fired power station to host a batterystorage system in Australia Eku Energy chief investment officer Daniel Burrowssaid the systemworkedto ensureenergy would always be available, regardless of weather conditions

“In this particular case, whatthe battery will do is chargeand storeenergy when energy’sabundant,”heexplained.

“Whenyou comehomefromworksay, you’llhaveenergy available, so when the sun isn’tshiningorthe wind isn’tblowing,it makes that energy availablefor you.

“In additiontothat, what this energy systemwilldoisalsoprovide servicesto thegrid to makesureitwilloperate safely and reliably.”

Eku has workedonsimilar projects to the HazelwoodbatteryinCranbourne andon the CanberraBig Batteryinpartnership withthe ACTgovernment Physically,the batterysitefeaturesafield of box-like structures knownas‘cubes’. Each cube has acooling systemand batteryrack, as wellas fire detection technology

As key stakeholders of the Hazelwood Power Station, ENGIEchief executive Rik DeBuyserie said it was an excitingfuture for the site.

“ENGIE’s deliveryofthe Hazelwood battery is partofour commitmentto building long-term,reliableassetsthat play akey role in the future of Australia’s energytransition,”hesaid

“With its accesstotransmissionand availablespaceatsite, Hazelwoodis theperfect locationfor an assetthat can grow in depth and duration,increasing the hostingcapacity forrenewables ”

While there is anew battery at the power station,there is stillabig holeinthe ground where the formerminesite was located.

Addressing the elephant in the room, Mr De Buyserie said therewas still anumber of boxestotick dealing with themine void.

“The rehabilitation processisongoing, we arecurrently in the EES(environmental effects statement)process with environmental authoritiestosee what willbethe finallayoutand design of the rehabilitation, which will take acoupleof years,”hesaid.

“Weare convincedthatthe best wayto stabilise the mineistofill it withwater,the morewater thereisthere,the better it is for stability,that’srainwater or the river diversion.”

Those drivingalongthe Princes Highway might have noticed sprinklersrunningin the mine

Mr De Buyserie moved to reassurethis was simply forfireprevention.

Star of theSouth edgescloser

By Liam Durkin

A50-strong crew spent fiveweeks at sea recently,collectingsoiland rock samples from beneath the seafloor offthe Wellington coast to help design the proposed Star of theSouth offshorewindenergy project.

Samples were taken from up to 70 metres beneath theseabed,ina project led by international geo-data specialists Fugro

Dignitaries gathered at QUBE’sBarry Beach Terminal (nearWelshpool) in Maytoformally announce theworks, andtourthe Fugro vessel

Amongthem wasMinister for Energy andResources, LilyD’Ambrosio, along with Star of theSouth chief executive CharlesRattray andFugro regional directorShalu Shajahan.

TheBarryBeachTerminal is themain supplydepot for Esso Australia’s Bass Strait oiland gas operations, andfacilitates the transportation of equipment andsupplies to more than 20 offshoreplatforms.

Ms D’Ambrosiowelcomedthe works, saying theywouldcontinue astrong legacy of energyinGippsland.

“This will be thefirst marine geotechnical campaign in Australiafor offshorewind energy -whichisahuge achievement for Victoriaasitmakes thetransition from coal to renewables,” she said

“Thiseventissuch an important next stepinthe creationofAustralia’s first offshorewind energy industry,and Victoria will deliverthat.

“This geotechnical surveythatwe

aremarking is the first of itskind in Australia forthe offshore wind energy industry. It is amajor milestonefor the development of thecountry’s first offshore windenergy industry,here, hosted by the Gippsland region.

“That is really such afundamentally and significant focus forus, whenwe understandand acknowledge therole that the Gippsland region hasplayed for many decades in delivering energy.”

Investigations arebeing fundedin part by the stategovernment’s Energy InnovationFund

“From our$108million Energy InnovationFund,we’ve carved offabout $19.5 millionfor the Star of theSouth to do workssuchas pre-construction surveys,” Ms D’Ambrosio said.

“These things donot happenby accident, they happen with having clear,ambitious targets.”

Thoseambitious targetsinclude having 95 percentofthe state’selectricity comingfromrenewable sourcesby 2035

However,with the imminent closureof coal-fire powered stations at Yallourn in 2028 and LoyYang Ain2035, questionssurrounding thelikelyvoid between 2028 and2035continued to linger.

With thestate government announcing the returnofthe SECatlast year’s election,Ms D’Ambrosio said the returningworkforcewas settoplaya keyrole.

“Certainlythe SEC is an agency that will help to accelerateour drivetoward creating 95 per centrenewable energy

by 2035.I wasverypleased to launch thePioneer InvestmentMandatefor the SEC, and we’rewantingtoget offand running as quickly as we cantoget the first project, or projects backed by the SEC, built by theSEC,and we’renot wastinga day,” she said.

“Rightnow,weare wanting to find projects that areready to be built, we’relooking to havethe firstprojects selected by theend of this year.”

Following formalities, attendees took theopportunitytotour theFugrovessel Interestingly,patrons were requiredto wearmasks on board,and were shown aroundthe control room, getting afeel for lifeatsea

Spotting atable tennistablefolded up, acrewmemberquippedhow itcan be quite challenging playing ping pong on boardaboattackling rough seas.

As MrShajahanexplained, the Fugro vessel’s capabilities wereextensive. “Wehave acombination of CPT(cone penetration test)equipmentaswell as drilling equipment,” he said.

“As we go outwecollect actual quantitativedatainterms of CPT’s and samples, which we bring back and do the analysis, becauseweneed to characterise thekindofgeology.”

The vessel can cater forupto500 metres of drilling simultaneously Seabed studies follow fouryears of engineering and environmental investigationsonthe project.

Addressing media assembled at theQUBE dock in frontofthe Fugro vessel,MrRattraydescribeditas a“momentousday for Victoria, Gippslandand Star of the South”.

“Theseinvestigationswillcollect critical datatodriveprogress on the project, andbringusanother stepcloser to bringingoffshorewind energy into the gridthisdecade,”hesaid.

“Knowingwhat’sunder theseabed in thisspecific locationhelps ensure everything we do -fromturbine design andplacement throughtoconstruction methods -istailored especially forthis spot in Bass Strait.”

While notdiscountingthe value of renewables, Member forEastern VictoriaRegion, MelinaBath, said longevity and prosperity of the Gippslandregionalso needed to be carefullyconsidered.

“Investment in new energy jobs presentsanopportunityfor Gippsland, however we must be activeparticipants in such projects,” she said.

“The Nationals willcontinue to advocatefor sustainable long term careersfor locals, includingthe use of local expertise in manufacturing, engineering,constructionand maintenance.

“It’s fair to sayour community expects morethan short term,localised benefits -given thescopeofthe project, establishingstakeholder relationships that benefitlocals inthe long term will be centraltoits acceptance.”

Star of the South isAustralia’smost advanced offshorewindproject, proposed to belocatedoff the Wellington coast.

It is estimated Star of theSouth will power up to 1.2million homes.

Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D’Ambrosio tours the Hazelwood Battery Energy Storage System.

Photos: Katrina Brandon

Gippy internationalattention

By Phillip Hopkins

ASPANISH company, BlueFloat Energy,has set itssightsonan offshorewind project in Gippsland offthe coast between Seasprayand WoodsideBeach

BlueFloat Energy hasapplied for afeasibility licencefor theGreater Gippsland OffshoreWind Project, in thefirstdeclared offshore wind zone in Bass Strait. Afeasibility licence will enable marine andenvironmental studies to ensurethe suitability of the site for development.

The project hasabout 140offshore wind turbines, with ageneration capacity of 2.1 gigawatts,which is enough new energy to power amillion homes whenatfull capacity.Itisproposedthe project will use shared transmission infrastructure to connect into the electricity grid in the Latrobe Valley

BlueFloat Energy stakeholder and engagement manager, andproud Gippslandlocal,KateLancaster,said the community was at the heart of the company’s ambitions.

“Ourproject alone will create 2000 jobs duringconstructionand 300 ongoing jobs once operational in 2030. There will be flow on effectsand indirect jobs forlocal businesses and industry,”she said.

“For us,the keyisharnessing theskills we alreadyhaveinthe region and inspiring thenextgenerationtobepartofthe new energy sector in Gippsland

“We’reworking withFederationUniversity andTAFEGippsland to develop education

andtraining pathways foryoung people entering theindustryand supporting existingpower industryworkers wanting to transition.

“We’ve been active at jobs andskills expos sharinginformation with university andschool students aboutthe new industryand thejobs available in offshore wind.”

BlueFloatEnergyconsiders thetraditional owners,the Gunaikurnai people,askey

partnersinany Gippsland development.

“A partnership withGunaikurnai peopleis critical to ensureoffshorewindprojects are developed in the best possible waythat respects the land,air,sea and sky,” Ms Lancaster said.

“Atthe heartofour conversations with GLaWAC (GunaikurnaiLandand Waters AboriginalCorporation) is adeeprespect of their enduringconnection withLandand SeaCountry.”

BlueFloat Energy chief executive, Carlos Martin, told theAustralianFinancial Review earlier this year that thedeveloper had faced intense competitioninother jurisdictions,but wasconfident its Gippslandproposal would winfavourwith Australian authorities.

“Wefacecompetition everywhere. We have ourown wayofworking which ishopefullybetter than others, but it’s definitely ours,”MrMartintoldThe AFR.

“I cantell youScotlandwas definitely more competitive than inAustralia,and we came outofthe bidding quite successfully,”he said.

“Wehaveverystrong capabilities with ateamthat hasexperience in different backgrounds, differentparts of thevalue chain,differenttypes of players, andwe areextremely motivated.”

Mr Martin saidBlueFloat, which has morethan20offshorewind projects in developmentaround theworld, hadstrong financialbacking from its shareholders. BlueFloat Energy’s feasibility licence application waswellsupportedwithletters from keylocal people and organisations.It followed community engagementsessions in Sale, Seaspray andWoodside Beach. Moresessionswillbeheldalongthe coast in the future.

TheBlueFloat energyteamwould loveto meetmoreschool students at the Gippy New Energy Youth SummitatSaleon Wednesday,August30.

Theywillalso be at theNew Energy Community Day at Sale on Saturday, September 2

The BlueFloat Energy team at arecent community engagement session at Sale. Pictured is BlueFloat Energy CountryManager,Nick Sankey,HeadofEnvironment and Planning Deb Neumann, Stakeholder and Engagement Manager Kate Lancaster and Committee for Gippsland chief executive Tony Cantwell.

Photo: Supplied

Gippsland’s Transition to a NEWENERGYFUTURE

Linkingpeople with careers

MARINUS Link is expected to deliver 1400 jobsduringconstruction in Victoria, and around 3000 students gottolearnabout theopportunitiesatlast month’s JobSkills Expo

Marinus Link’sEconomic Development

Manager Christina Young presented twice during the expo within the ‘Jobs of the Future’ stream

“The transition to renewable energywill provide alot of employment forthe next workforce generation,particularly jobs requiring technicalskillsets,” Ms Young said.

The JobSkills Expo was heldatLardner Park, and included Year 11 and12 students, alongside students from Year 9 and10, from 30 localschools.

Participants also included students undertakingthe VictorianCertificate of Applied Learning (VCAL)and young people from trainingand community organisationsinLatrobe City,Baw Baw, South Gippsland and Bass Coast regions Theexpogavethoseattending an opportunity to meet with potential employers and find out moreabout job opportunitiesinGippsland

Theevent engaged young peoplewith

‘hands-on’ activities and informationabout thevariousskills, jobs andindustries that make up our workforce.

Supporting workforcedevelopment and training areamongthe toppriorities forMs Young,asGippsland transitions from coal to renewable energyindustries.

“It’sreally important thatschool students areaware of the jobopportunities coming to theregion so they canplan theirtraining andcareerpathways,” she said

“I grew up in Gippsland,soit’sfantastic to be working forthe developmentof communities Iknowwell,and whereI can make apositive difference to thewellbeing of local people.

“With big projects,there is theopportunity to partner with small businessesand enterprisestotrain people and build capacity so peopleare upskilled.”

Construction of Marinus Link is expected to begin in 2025 andwillspansix to seven years

Thelinkwillinclude 90 kilometres of underground cable from Waratah Bayto Latrobe Valleyand aconverter stationin Hazelwood, linking Marinus Link cables to theexisting transmission network.

Valley's future on conference agenda

THE futureofthe Latrobe Valley browncoalmineswas on the agenda at this month’s Life of Mineconference in Brisbane.

The conferenceincluded Australian and internationalvisitorsand presenters.

MineLandRehabilitationAuthority

chief executive JenBrereton presented to apackedroom on the second dayaboutthe future of the Latrobe Valley brown coal mines

Beginning with an introductiontothe region, Ms Brereton talkedthroughthe differentstages of rehabilitationand closureplanning forthe Hazelwood, Yallournand LoyYang mines, and howthe size and proximity of each minehas createdunique risksfor mine rehabilitation.She alsoexplained the creation, purpose and functions of the Mine Land Rehabilitation Authority

Using Germanyand Canada as examples, Ms Brereton discussed alternative models for managingmine landpostclosure.

“Each modelisbased on specific

regionalconditionsbut recognises the requirementfor long-term ‘inperpetuity’ commitmentto environmental managementand covering costsfor unforeseen events,” she said.

“TheMineLandRehabilitation Authorityprovidesthe platform for ensuring relinquishmentcan occur,that costsare covered, and community has confidence in long-termaccesstoand management of rehabilitated land

“Everyone wants to ensure that transitioning awayfrommining to futurelanduses delivers positive outcomes.”

Other presentation themes around life of mine planning at the conference included developingregional approaches, Indigenous participation andsustainable practices Formoreinformation or to request aspeaker visitfromthe MineLand RehabilitationAuthorityonemail at contactus@mineland.vic.gov.au or phone1800571 966.

Combined effort into offshore study

AGROUP of Australian andglobal companies,comprisingMainstream Renewable Power (‘Mainstream’), Reventus Power,AGL andDIRECT Infrastructure,has submitted afeasibility licence application for a2.5 GW offshore winddevelopment offthe coast of Gippsland

According to thecompanies’ preliminary socioeconomic impact analysis, the proposed2.5 GW project hasthe potentialtocreatemorethan$3.7billion in economic value addedand the creation of nearly 8600 full-time equivalentjobs in Australia. Thedevelopmentphase will alsofeature a$400 million investment package to promoteworkforceand supply chaindevelopment, enabling theshift of Australian industryand producing local benefits.

The area in theBassStrait offGippsland, was the first offshorewind zone to be declared bythe federal government. The 15,000squarekilometrezonefrom LakesEntrance to Wilsons Promontory, according to the AustralianDepartment of Climate Change, Energy,Environment, and Water, cansustain more than 10 GW of year-round energy generationand the development of thousands of newjobs Chief FinancialOfficeratAGL Gary Brown saiditwas an importantstep.

“AGL’s strategy to bring forwardour targeted exit from coal to 2035 is coupled with an ambition to supplyour customers

with12GWofadditional renewable and firming capacity,” he said

“Wind energy willbeanimportant part of ourplantoresponsiblytransitionour generationportfoliotomeet ourcustomer demandand keep Australia’selectricity supply secure,reliable, andaffordable.

As amajor employerinthe Gippsland region, we arecommitted to working with our people and thecommunity to ensure the decarbonisation of ourenergy system continues to provideopportunities.

Chair of DIRECT Infrastructure, PeterJ Coleman welcomed thepartnership:

“Weare pleasedtobepartofone of the strongest partnerships in Australia’s emerging offshore windindustry,”hesaid.

“The energy transitioninAustralia is going to requirelarge-scaleoffshore wind generation, andwelookforward to supportingthe Commonwealthand Victorian governments with theiroffshore wind energyambitions.

“I was raised and started my career in the Gippsland area, andIamexcitedby the opportunities ourproposed offshore wind project will create, including the large numberoflocal jobs, opportunitiesfor suppliers andinvestmentinassociated infrastructuresuchasports andenergy storage.”

Australia’s Ministryfor ClimateChange and Energy issued acalltosubmitfeasibility licence applications forthe Gippsland region in Januarythisyear.

Jennifer Brereton speaking at the Life of Mine conference in Brisbane.

Photo: Supplied

Uncle Lloyd Hood, Peter Hood, CherryPrior,Christina Youngand Mark Lindsay at the Marinus Link stall.

Photo: Supplied

AGLisina consortium to submit afeasibility application for anew offshore wind farm in Gippsland.

Photo: File

ANoffshorewind worker guidehas been released, with the aim of enticingworkers to theindustry. Making themovetooffshorewind -a guide forworkers waslaunchedatthe StateElectricityCommission(SEC) Energy Jobs andSkillsForum in Melbourne on June 29,highlightingthe jobopportunities offshorewind will bring to the region. Theguide -co-funded by Star of the South,and the state government through its Energy InnovationFund-identifies

offshore wind

currentroles across the coal,oil,gas and maritime industries andtheir alignment with typical jobs in offshorewind.

It also includes entry-levelcareer pathways foryoung people,and those with limited experience looking to startacareer in theindustry.

Star of the South Chief Development Officer, Erin Coldhamsaidthereisalready ahighlevel of expertise in the Gippsland region, with asignificant number of existing jobs having a‘high’or‘good’skills alignment.

“With the retirement of coal generators in the LatrobeValleyand oiland gas productiondecreasing in Bass Strait,we know workers, their families and local communitiesare thinking aboutthe future and what comesnext,”Ms Coldhamsaid.

“Asa significantpartofthis newindustry we createdthisguide to help get the workforceskilled up and excitedfor their next career path in energy generation.

“There’s so much knowledgeinthe region- and we’llneedthe experience of long-termworkers to train,skill-upand mentor the next generation.”

Touted as Australia’s “most advanced offshorewind project”, Star of the South wasfirstannouncedin2017, and has received bipartisansupportatboth state andfederal levels of government

Theproject is majorityowned by CopenhagenInfrastructurePartners’ flagshipfund, CI IV,together with Cbus Super and Australianfounders.

It is presently in the feasibility phase,with environmental assessments currently

underwaytoinformproject planningand approvals.

Developers estimate that thewindfarm, once built, will generate up to 2.2GWof electricity,enough to provide20per cent of Victoria’s electricity needsand power 1.2million homes.

Up to 2000 jobs areanticipated to be createdoverthe project’s lifetime, including 760Gippsland jobs during

constructionand 200long-term local jobs during operations.

Theestimatedcostofthe project is up to $10billion

Constructionisexpectedtobegin mid-decade,withananticipated completion date of 2030.

Making the move to offshore wind -a guide forworkers is available via starofthesouth.com.au

Star of the South chief executive Charles Rattray pictured with Lily D’Ambrosio in May at BarryBeach Terminal (near Welshpool), announcing geotechnical works to help design Star of the South.

Photo: Liam Durkin

Victorian Minister for Energy and Resources, Climate Action and the State Electricity Commission, Lily D’Ambrosio, with Star of the South Chief Development Officer Erin Coldham in June.

Photo: Star of the South

Golden gas

By Philip Hopkins

it back into the field anditsitsontop until thereishigh demandagain

GIPPSLAND

gas willplay abig role in Victoria’stransition to renewable energy -and the head of the Golden Beachgas field, just offthe South Gippsland coast, is confident about his company’srole in theprocess

TimBaldwin, the chief executive of GB Energy,says the Golden Beach gas field, which willbemainly agas storage reservoir,isinastrongposition to supply the marketasgas supply dwindles over the next decade and demandremains strong, “which is pretty exciting”.

“Gas storage is nothing new -there are about 600-650gas storage assetsaround the world,” Mr Baldwin says

“In verysimple terms, you’ve got atank staying under thegroundfor 60-200 million years,full of gas, and once you have produced gas, whatgenerallyhappens is, you abandon the well andmove away.” The reality, however, is that the gasmarket is hugely seasonal.

Mr Baldwin says average daily demandfor gasisdependedonthe season and the weather.

“Inwinter,itgetscold, peopleput on their heaters and it doublesthe demand. What do we do?Verysimple; 627 metresbelow the surface, we put two wells in, extract somegas -itcomes out into theLongford plant, either flows back into Victoria or up to Sydney,” he says “Once we have createdsomespace, in summer,whendemandislow,weget gas from Exxon/Woodside, or interstate, push

“Weneedtoproduce abit of gas in the front endtocreatethe space. Thegas is important to themarketas thereis a bigdecline. The2030forecastisfor very marginalproduction.”

Mr Baldwinestimates that GB Energy will produce gas forabout14months at a constant rate,with gas “movinginand out all thetime”.

“Somedaysthe market is nicelybalanced, on others thereis excess supply,sowe will put it in storage; when thereis excess demand, it will come out of storage. Theoretically couldgoonforever,” he says.

Mr Baldwin saysthe transitionfromcoalto renewablesis“tough” andlong-term.

Creating abig renewables base load with intermittency problems meansthat immediate availabilityofgas is thebest way to guarantee powersecurity

“Thenatureofgas changes;itdoes not just produce on constantrate, but on demand,” he says, but overtime, the consumptionofgas will alsolikely fall

Mr Baldwin saysabout400 wellshave been drilled in Bass Straitsince the 1960s.

“They getdeeper anddeeper further from shore; it’s very sophisticated oiland gas area.The qualityofthe rock iswhatmakes itsuch an interestingarea,”hesays.

“It’s worldclass, probably oneofthe top half-a-dozenreservoirsinthe world, which makesitreallygoodfor gas storage; theability to take gasout andinis really efficient.”

Thisalsocreates huge potential for capture and storage of carbon dioxide as partofthe planned coal-to-hydrogen process

Barracouta was discovered in ‘62,went online in‘65,and for alongtimewas Australia’s biggest gas field, producing for 60 years.

Mr Baldwin saysBream is another gas fieldjust to thesouth; Exxonis investigating injectingCO2 backinto Breamand leaving it for thousands of years.

“CarbonNet,another CO2 area, sits just below us; they’reabout 600metresdeeper intothe seabedorearth bed,” he says. Mr BaldwinsaysGippslanders who have workedinoffshoregas andcoalcould transfer theirskills to wind andsolar development, butacknowledges that most GoldenBeach jobs,likewindfarms, will be in the constructionsector

“Wehave560 jobsin construction, but probablyonly 10 duringoperation Constructionwillpeak each couple of years when significant maintenance is done; basically,the wells run themselves,” he says.

TheGolden Beachenergy project is estimated to cost$500million todevelop The field was originally discovered in 1967 but hassufferedseveraldelays, withthe project soldonseveral times.GBEnergy is the eighth owner GB Energy’senvironment effects statement has been approved both by the Victorian Ministerfor Planning andthe federalgovernment under theEnvironment Protectionand Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

The project has been classifiedascritical energyinfrastructurebythe federal government.

Around 400wells have been drilled in Bass Strait since the 1960s. Photo: File

Cougarsbegin finalscampaign

NETBALL

By ZAIDA GLIBANOVIC

FINALSfeverhas struckthe North Gippsland Football Netball League.

The 2023 finals series began at Gaskin Park in Churchill, where second-place Heyfield took on third-place Churchill in aqualifying final.

Despite sitting arun lower on the ladder, Churchill had the upper hand. The Cougars had alittle home-ground advantage and had also bet them on two separate occasions this year.

The Cougars came out firing –known for their slow starts; it stunned the opposition as the Churchill side took the first centre passoff the Roo girls and then some.

There wasafull-courtdefensivepressurethat the Cougars brought that theRoos crumbled underneath. Cougar Veteran Stacey Yates had her hands on every pass, with tips galore for the wing defender. The attackers had plenty of opportunities to gainpossession andwith brilliant feedsinto the

ring from Skipper Rachael Loechel and playing coach Katrina Hutchinson.

By the first break, the Cougarswereup13to eight and looked the much better side for the day.

In came the second term, and it was much of the same for the Cougars, who were able to capitalise on most of their turnovers, pushing the margin out by one to acomfortable six-goal lead.

The Heyfieldside, known for their youth and exuberance, came out to play in the second half.

Goal keeper Jayde Parsons took on aliving embodiment of aKangaroo as she jumped sky high on her shot defence. While Heyfield’s centre in Millie Riseley had the game of her life, contesting every ball-making it anightmare forthe Cougars to transitionfrom defence to attack.

Off the back of some very fast-paced Roos play and some poor Cougarsdecision-making, the Roosmadeathird-quarter comeback.Roos goal shooter, Phoebe Escreetpunishedthe Cougars as she made most of her shooting opportunities with some strongholds. The veteran was sinking

Zoe’s netball scoreboard

GIPPSLAND LEAGUE -ROUND 17

AGRADE: Morwell 58 dBairnsdale 25, Traralgon 49 dWonthaggi 35, Sale 38 d

Warragul 31, Drouin 41 dLeongatha 39, Moe

67 dMaffra23.

BGRADE: Traralgon39d Wonthaggi

32, Sale 36 dWarragul 30, Drouin 47 d

Leongatha 39, Moe 67 dMaffra29, BYEMorwell, Bairnsdale

CGRADE: Traralgon38d Wonthaggi 13,Sale

35 dWarragul 33, Morwell 34 dBairnsdale

29, Leongatha 29 dDrouin25, Maffra28d

Moe 12

17 AND UNDER: Wonthaggi 35 dTraralgon

34, Sale 63 dWarragul 6, Bairnsdale 33 d

Morwell 32, Leongatha 38 dDrouin21, Maffra

35 dMoe 15

15 AND UNDER: Traralgon 40 dWonthaggi

12,Sale 57 dWarragul 16,Bairnsdale 33 d

Morwell 23, Leongatha 29 dDrouin11, Moe

28 dMaffra21.

13 AND UNDER: Sale 20 dWarragul 0, Bairnsdale 35 dMorwell 9, Traralgon 58 d

Wonthaggi 10,Leongatha 42 dDrouin13, Moe 43 dMaffra30.

NORTH GIPPSLAND -FINALS WEEK 1

AGRADE: Churchill 39 dHeyfield 30, Woodside 75 dRosedale 24.

BGRADE: Glengarry41d Sale City39, Heyfield 40 dYYN 33.

CGRADE: Woodside 33 dGormandale 31, Churchill 38 dYYN 31

DGRADE: Woodide 28 dTTU 27,Glengarry

35 dYYN 30.

17 AND UNDER: Rosedale 29 dHeyfield 17,

Glengarry24d Woodside 20.

15 AND UNDER: TTU 20 dWoodside 18, Rosedale 35 dHeyfield32.

MID GIPPSLAND -ROUND 18

AGRADE: Toora58dMDU 17,Yinnar 45

dFish Creek 30, Morwell 48 dBoolarra41, Tarwin 43 dNewborough34, Mirboo North 45 dHillEnd 39, Foster 31 dStony Creek 25.

BGRADE: Toora58dMDU 24, Fish Creek 39 dYinnar 25, Morwell East 63 d Thorpdale 10,Mirboo North 52 dHill End 27, Newborough 52 dTarwin 36, StonyCreek 52 dFoster 27,BYE -Boolarra.

CGRADE: MDU45d Toora26, Hill End 31 d Mirboo North 27,Morwell East 48 dThorpdale

13,Yinnar 44 dFish Creek 22, Tarwin 31 d Newborough 25, StonyCreek 25 dFoster9, BYE-Boolarra.

DGRADE: Toora15dMDU 14,Morwell East

50 dThorpdale 4, Tarwin 29 dNewborough

28, Mirboo North 37 dHill End 26, Yinnar 28 dFish Creek 26, StonyCreek 44 dFoster5, BYE-Boolarra.

17 AND UNDER: Newborough 27 dTarwin 17, MDU 34 dToora15, Fish Creek 22 dYinnar

21, BYE-Stony Creek, Morwell East, Mirboo North, Boolarra.

15 ANDUNDER: Newborough 30 dTarwin

11,MDU 43 dToora10, Yinnar 37 dFish Creek20, StonyCreek 29 dFoster5,Mirboo North 33 dHill End 14,BYE -Morwell East, Boolarra.

13 ANDUNDER: Newborough 19 dTarwin

11,Toora25d MDU 4, Yinnar 28 dFishCreek

3, Hill End 13 dMirboo North11, BYE-Foster, Boolarra.

shootsfromanywhere in the goal circle and by three-quarter timethe Roos camebacktoclose the margin to four narrow points.

TheCougars had led all game and weren’tabout to give it all up. After afire-up speech before the last term, the Cougars found that winning momentum.

Destiny Mackrell found some shootingrhythm alongside goal shooter Lynette (Louie) Patten, who served as an impenetrable feeding point into the ring.The pair combined for 12 goals in the final term. The Cougars ran away with the game in a nine-goalvictory that sees them lock in asemi-final with Sale City next Saturday (August, 26).

WOODSIDE sent awoeful Rosedale home.

On Sunday, Yarram hosted a2022Grand Final matchup; this time,the two sides facedoff in a do-or-die elimination match thatultimately became incredibly one-sided.

TheWildcats are arguably the best side in the competition but finished fourth on the ladder thanks to amidseason lull.

Rosedalehad somelows and highs but undoubtedly deserved to be there; however, the Blues best was nowhere to be seen on Sunday.

The Wildcat’swere too strong, outscoring the Blues by eleven goals in just the first quarter. The Woodside side continued to build on their lead, piling on another 22 shots while keeping Rosedale to amereseven goals by halftime.

The Blues looked like they couldn’t buy agoal, while Woodside looked like awell-oiled machine, well-versed high-pressure netball.

Afew jolted spectators felt as if the Blues were hard done by as Woodside’s playing coach Libby Nicol dominatedthe Blues'defence, with the Blues goal keeper allegedly sent to spend two minutes in thesin-bin.

The final scores reflect averydominant Woodside performance and averypoor Rosedale effort, as the Wildcats went away 75 to 24 victors.

Woodside willnow take on Heyfield in Glengarry nextSunday for aspotinthe preliminaryfinal while the Blues season comes to aclose.

THE Magpies causedabit of astirinRound 17 of the Gippsland League as the home team defeated adetermined Warragul side.

The fifth-place Gulls have beena very hard team to beat all year, but the Magpies sitting in seventh, had afew tricks left up their sleeve.

Sale was down by three goals at the first break, but ahugesecond quarter saw the team score

12 to Warragul’s four. Emma Allman, Dee Dee Lambert and RachelRonaldsonwereoutstanding for the Magpies.

The Sale side wereabletobuild on their lead, and despite alatechallenge from the Gulls, it was theMagpies victorious in the end. The final scores were Warragul's31toSale’s 38.

Warragul’sAlexandra Cole and Sienna Green were notable even in defeat.

MOE is just too good.

Abit of adrive didn’t faze the Lions as they defeated Maffra 67 to 23 in Maffra.

It wasall one-way trafficonthe courtasthe Lions dominated playfromthe get-go. TheLions took an 11-goallead at the first breakand had no thoughts of taking their foot off the throttle.

Maffra’s NatalieAllman, Chloe Proud and Chelsea Allman were the best for the home side, trying their best to stop the pile of goals against them

While, Macy Gardiner, Hollie Bugeja and Abby Gregorovich were Moe’s court specialistslast Saturday.

The Last quarter score linereflects the Lions winning determination, fitness and mental stamina,

scoring 20 goals to Maffra’s mere five -credittoa side that might just go all the way this year. With the strength of this side, Maffra did well to keep the margin to 44.

MORWELL goes roar.

The Tigers were another team this round who just outclassed theiropponent, defeating Bairnsdale 58 to 25.

It was ablowout from the start as the Tigers showed theRedlegsjustwhy and how they won aflag last year.

Daisy Hill had aday out, shooting the majority of the Tigers’ score with 42 points to her name.

Tanya Budge, Hilland Courtney Garth were among Morwell’s best for the day.

Bairnsdale’s Danielle Johnson, Brielle Malady and Ruby Dunkley were influential for the Redlegs in scoring those 25 goals.

Traralgon, get another one on the board.

The Traralgon sidehad agreatwin on Saturday as they came homefromWonthaggi,14-point winners over the Power.

In another shooting masterclass, Traralgon’s Sophie Lecchino could not miss and worked hard on andoff theball to facilitate play. Montanna Styles again stood out from the Maroons' side as her full-court pressure and excellent court vision helped win them the game. Best on for Traralgon was Ashlyn Pavey, Styles and Lecchino.

Despite Traralgon’s strong lead for the entire game, The Power didn’tgive up with the likesofMia Plenkovich, Charlie Berry and Chelsea Bowman starring for the home side. The final scores were 49 to 35.

DROUIN wins the battle of the sky.

ThemightyHawks knocked off the Parrots from the third spot on the ladder as the Drouin side held onto atwo-goal victory.

It was neck and neck as the two birdsbattled it out, but the Hawks had the swoppingpower, in the end, to take away the win. The final scores were 41 to 39.

Drouin’s EllaHenderson, Ava Gaul and April Bethune were great for the winners,but so too were Leongatha’s Nicola Marriot, Jessica Edgar and Lauren Redpath.

The Hawks leapfrog over the Parrots on the Gippsland League ladder, taking the third spot while Leongatha drop to fourth.

MID GIPPSLAND’s last round of the season produced standard results.

Yinnar was among the many favouriteswho won last Saturday, as they defeated Fish Creek 45 to 30.

Fellow Magpie team, andreigning premiers Toora also had agood win against MDU,with finals scores reading 58 to 17.

In acloser affair, Morwell East was victorious over Boolarra in anarrow seven-point win, the Demons just fell short scoring, 41 to the Hawks’48.

Tarwin showed some fight defeating the Newborough Bulldogs, 43 to 34.

Hill End was oh so close to getting over the Mirboo North Line, but the Tigers held on in the end to win 45 to 39.

Foster finished theirseason on high after defeating Stony Creek 31 to 25.

Finals fixtures are now set as the two top teams in Yinnar and Toora will do battle in aSemi Final on Saturday, September 2.

WhileMorwell East andFish Creek face off in an elimination final this Saturday.

Boolarraand Tarwin willalsofight to keep their season alive on Sunday.

North Gippsland Football &Netball League NorthGippsland

Cougars come b back k fromthe dead

FOOTBALL NORTH GIPPSLAND

BY TOM HAYES

WHAT astart to the 2023 North Gippsland Football-Netball League finals series.

The first qualifying final set the tone for amammoth second qualifying final this weekend, while oneofthe bestgames of the year waswitnessed in Yarram thefollowing day.

Five has now turned to four, and as we enter the finalthree weeks of theseason,this is the time were sides will want to be hitting their full stride. WOODSIDE flexed their muscles.

The Wildcatsseeminglyeased their way into the second qualifying final, torching Heyfield in a dominant second half performance.

On awindy day at Gaskin Park, both sides appeared to be up to the task early in abackand forth encounter.

Woodside took an early advantage after the first quarter, goinginwith athree point lead, 4.0 (24) to 3.3 (21).

Heyfield were without younggun AsherEastham, leaving more of the heavy lifting to others, and one option less down forward.

Despitehaving more chances on goal in the first quarter, Heyfield didn’t look as convincing around the ground, as Woodside capitalised on their entries.

From11second-quarter scoringshots, Woodside could only muster 3.8 (26) -still an improvement from their opening term, and they still managed to outdo the Kangaroos who kicked 2.2 (14) to end the half.

That 15-point half time lead would come in handy for the Wildcats, steeringthem in the rightdirection for the second half, where it was all theirs.

The game wasblown out of proportion, considering what we had seen in the first half.

Woodside piled on another 5.3 (33) to Heyfield’s 1.1 (7), blowing the lead out to 41 points.

The repeated entries into Woodside’s half of the ground wastoo much for Heyfield to keep up with, whilethe Kangaroos appeared to be more hesitant with theiruse -their attacks werecounterattacked.

The Wildcats capped off afour-quarter performance, adding another 4.3 (27) to 3.0 (18) in the final term, pushing themargin to ahalfton to progress to the second qualifying final, 16.14 (110) to 9.6 (60).

When you give ateam double the chances at goal, the likelihood of you coming out on top is slim to none, whichwas the case for the Kangaroos, as Woodside scored 30 times to their 15.

NGFNLsenior leadinggoal kickerDaniel Farmer added another five goals to his 2023 tally, now up to 87 for the year, whileMatt Dyke,captain

FINALS ROUND 1

Daniel Missen and Jai Williams were all multiple goal scorers.

Defender Ben Johnson was best on ground for Woodside in his 150th senior game -the third Wildcat to reach this milestone, while Josh Kennedy, Dyke, Alfred Jessup, Missen and Farmer were also highlighted in the monster win.

For Heyfield, their stand-outs were Alex Coleman, Thomas Marchesi, Liam Heasley, Kail Hole, Mitch Bennettand Max Van Der Zwart, while Leigh Brown led the way with three majors.

Heyfield’s Scott Anderson was unable to get the

chocolates in his 200th senior game, but he and Roos will now have to put their second chance to use to keep his games tally rolling in 2023. Woodside will now play the undefeated Traralgon Tyers United this Saturday(August26) in the second qualifying final.

TTU have had the better of the Wildcats this season, but only just.

Back in Round 2, the Bombers only managed an 11-point win at home, before a23-point away win in Round 13.

Awin is not off the Wildcats’radar, but of course

they will need to put their best foot forward to cause abig upset.

Heyfield are down, but not donewith yet, yet for their season to progress, they have to face the winner of one of thebestgames of football displayed this season.

CHURCHILL rose from the grave in an epic elimination final.

The Jets’ Darcy Shellcot was lining up for his 200th club game, undoubtedly hoping to make it one to remember -which I’msure it will be -just shone in adifferent light.

The Jets took off with haste, as they usually do, putting Churchill to the sword in the first quarter to take a21-point lead at quarter time.

The Cougars fought back in the second quarter though, dragging the margin back to nine points at the main break in aseesawing first half.

The wind blew across the ground so therewas no real advantage for either teamquarter-to-quarter, butthere certainly seemed to be ascoringend -the opposite end to the scoringend in the reserves match prior to it.

YYN put themselves in the best position to progress in ascorching third quarter, kicking 6.2 (38) to 3.3 (21).

It looked all butover for the Cougars, proving in recent times that acomeback was off the cards.

But as it is always said, never write off the Cougars, especially in finals.

Coming out into the fourth quarter with apoint to prove, Churchill rose to the occasion kicking eight goals in arow within the first 15 minutes of the final term.

Goalscame from everywhere, whether they were set shots from 30 metres out, in the goal square,or even from the centre circle thanks to athumping strike from Dillon Leys.

One of the biggest cheers came after Leys’ goal, which travelled around 70 metres as it bounced through.

The Cougars had gone from 26 points down to 24 points in front with aquarter to play.

Everyone was getting in on the act,from veteran Brendan Holt to Ben Kearns, and evenNick Celima, Chris Williams and utility Blake Slater.

The game was still very much wide open, and even though YYN had mayday signalsgoing off left,right and centre, they made sure to make acomeback.

How often would you see ateam leading by four goals at three quarter time make acomeback?

YYN put the pressure right back on Churchill booting three consecutive goals in 10 minutes to leaveakick in it for the final five minutes.

Everything was going right for the Jets, everything except the scoreboard.

Theball waslocked inside their attackinghalf for the final five minutes, repeated entry after repeated entry.

But all they could register was minor scores.

One by one, they slowly chipped away at the six-point margin, which became five, then four. KurtHolt’s 60-metrekick-outs still weren’t enough to evade the Jets as they continued to drive inside 50.

YYN’s best chanceatgoalcame from Dylan Bentley -who had kicked five goals at this stage -with aquicksnaparound the body was hit too thin andwent across the face, only just, to bring the margin to three points.

By this time, there was about aminute remaining, and aJets goals would see them win by the same margin they did just two weeks earlier,inapretty similar fashion.

Churchill: BKokshoorn 3BBrereton2 THayesHvan Rossum JAnswerthJ Whykes

Heyfield: JBedggood 3RBean 2I Wheeler BDonahoe BDarbyMJohnston. BEST:

JWhykes Hvan Rossum RCroft SWhittle BTyasBMogford. Heyfield: DParker

SDonahoe BO’Doherty MJohnston LMahony

GOALS: TTU: TMudita 4L Blackwood RJacobsen ABrady THendrickenBPoel BCatlin

RRichards. Woodside: ZRichards2 TLoveMDuncan JSchultz ADean. BEST: TTU: BFleming

TMudita FShields ABrady JKrekelbergG Sinclair.Woodside: EStephens JMorganDMcAlpine

AWalpole ZRichards BReed

YARRAM 1.3

GOALS: Rosedale: LSpeairs 8NHeathcote3 KCarnes 3JEdney.Yarram: JManders 2

WBrunton. BEST: Rosedale: MCaruana JDiamond HRowleyCBarnett JBruceBSyme.Yarram:

LEarles THall JApiataJSheedy SBeer LRoberts

GLENGARRY3.1

SALECITY0.1

GOALS: Glengarry: JHodges 9M Velasco3 HCarman2 HWhateley BOlivier.SaleCity:

KDelacour TLock. BEST: Glengarry: JHodges BLever-Makin SBurgess RNguoth DBalfour

NLeslie.SaleCity: RWilson JJones TJerome CPonton SDeanJ Reid

HARRIET SHING MP

Churchillbroke out on the outer wing, beforeYYN repelled and were moving swiftly on the top side. Just as they enteredthe forward50the sirenblew and the Cougars had confirmed their progression, 18.10 (118) to 17.13 (115).

The Jets had fallenfromthe skies as the Cougars prevailed in one of, if not the best game of North Gippsland football all season.

Idon’t know if there has been an episode of Air Crash Investigations in Yarram before, but there might be one coming out soon, after the reigning premiers were shown the door on season 2023.

Churchill’s best rose to the occasion late, as Williams claimedbest on ground honours (three goals),and was joined in thebestbyLeys, Joel Mason, Ryan Lowrie, Patrick Kearns and Slater.

Slater kicked another five goals, while Ben Kearns kicked four.

Bentley was the Jets’ best kicking five goals, also recognisedwas Mitch Luck, Jai Massese, Owen Budge, Campbell McInnes and Keenan Hughes.

Churchillkeep theirseasonalive in aremarkable effort which won’t be forgotten anytime soon, and will nowbetasked withHeyfield in the semi final.

On aday where Churchill completed four wins from four finals (seniors, reserves, Aand CGrade netball), YYN saw four teams knocked out on the Sunday, which included B, Cand DGradenetball sides alongside their seniors.

They still have the reserves who finished on top of the ladder in the football finals.

Another mammoth effort willbeneeded from the boys in blue and gold, considering their last meeting with Heyfield resulted in a40-point loss at home.

Nonetheless, Ithink were in to see some fireworks still in the final weeks of the season.

Skip: Chris‘Squid’ Williamswas instrumental in Churchillcomeback win. Photograph MickTyas

High-flying Bombers now premiers

Champions: The Boisdale-Briagolong Bombers were crowned Female Football Gippsland premiers after defeating the Moe Newborough Allies last Sunday Photograph supplied

Finals fever making for great viewing

FOOTBALL NORTH GIPPSLAND

BY TOM HAYES

IN the North Gippsland Football-Netball League reserves, second-placed TTU overcame Woodside in the first qualifying final, getting home by five goals at Gaskin Park.

Woodside’sJoshMorgan brought up his100th club game for the Wildcats in the loss, and will surely add to that tally next week in ado or die clash.

The Wildcats got the jump on the Bombers early,keepingthem goalless in the first quarter, but their 17-point quarter time lead was cut to sevenathalftime.

TTU gained the lead in the third term, before kicking 4.3 (27) to one behind in the final term to seal the deal, 11.9 (75) to 6.9 (45).

TheBombers will take on YYN in the second qualifying final this weekend, while Woodside have the Cougars to deal with, after their gutsy win over Heyfield in the elimination final.

FOOTBALL FEMALE FOOTBALL GIPPSLAND

BY ZAIDA GLIBANOVIC

THE dominant Boisdale-Briagolongtookhome the senior Female Football Gippsland GrandFinal trophy at the weekend.

Ted Summerton Reserve saw the Moe Newborough Allies and the Bombers go head to head in afinal clash to dictate 2023’s premiers. The game started off as atight battle between the two sides, with tensionsand stakes equally as high, some of the best footy was played in the first few minutes.

The Allies did well to keep the Bombers to one point for the majority of the first term, but the Bomber’spressurebecametoo much to withstand, and the Allies conceded agoal very late into the quarter.

The Moe Newborough side -with asinglepoint of their own coming into the second term -were determined to set the record straight, but it wasn’t meant to be as the women in black and red, applied even more pressure booting two more majors.

The scores by halftime were the Allies 0.1 (1) to the Bombers 3.3 (21).

Boisdale-Briagolong showed just why they remained on top of the table all year, adding to theAllies’ pain by kicking another two through the big sticks in the third term.

The Moe Newborough side never gave up and continued to battle through until the end, despite conceding eight more points, the Allies remained admirable in defeat.

Best on for the Allies was Rachael Francis, Jade Abbott, Izabella Rosato, Kaylah Thorburn, playing-coach Lynette (Louie) Patten and Hannah van Breugel.

The final scoreswere Boisdale-Briagolong 6.5 (41) to the Allies 0.1 (1).

Coach Patten remainedincrediblyproud of what her team had achieved over the season.

“The Allies played with alot of guts and determination to try and get the win after last week’s outstanding performance,” she said.

“The first quarter was ahard battle with scores pretty tight and Boisdale-Briagolong kicking a goal in the last minute of the quarter.

“Having ayoungand inexperiencedteam we were

able to keep up the pressures throughout the day, buttheyhad overrun us by the end.”

The club took to Facebook to say how proud they were of the players for their determination and grit, now looking toward season 2024.

The Bombers added to their premiership tally, nowhavingwon four consecutive premierships in arow across twodifferent leagues.

Churchill battled hard to keep their noses in front againstthe Kangaroos in asolid performance.

The Kangaroos’ Scott Donahoe playedhis 100th clubgame, and will nowhavetowait until 2024 to add to that.

The first half was one-way traffic for Churchill, who turned a20-point quarter time lead into a33-point half time lead, comfortably ahead.

Tempersbegan to flareatthe end of the second quarter, but the Cougars kept acool head, while Heyfield fired up.

Churchill held a 21-point lead heading into thelast, before surviving alate, late comeback whichsaw the Kangaroos get within akick on multiple occasions, the Cougars winning, 10.11 (71) to 9.6 (60).

THE thirds finals were heavily one-sided. IN thefirst qualifyingfinal between secondplacedRosedale and third-placed Yarram, the Blues put the Demons to the sword to win by 82 points.

After Rosedale kicked 0.7 (7) to 1.3 (9) in the first quarter, they turnedonthe afterburners to keep ahold of their second chance, winning 15.18 (108) to 3.8 (26).

NGFNL third leading goal kicker Lachlan Speairsadded another eight goals to his season tally, which now stands at 111.

Fifth-placed Glengarrywill face Yarram this weekend after a90-point thumping of Sale City.

The Magpies had the better of the Bulldogs for the whole game, which was displayed as the quarter-by-quarter scores progressed.

Jet Hodges kicked nine for the Magpies, almost four timesmore thanthe Bulldogs’ score off his own boot.

Good effort: The Allies side coachedbyLynette Patten willlook toward thenextseason.

Swans, Bombers to face in prelim

FEMALE FOOTBALL GIPPSLAND

TRARALGON DISTRICT JUNIOR FOOTBALL LEAGUE

FOOTBALL EAST GIPPSLAND

BY LIAM DURKIN

FORMERNorth Gippsland Football-Netball

League sides Stratford and BoisdaleBriagolong will play each other in the East Gippsland preliminary final this Saturday.

Stratford movedastepcloser to defending its senior premiership in EastGippsland football, with victory in the elimination final on Sunday.

The Swans overcame apersistent Orbost SnowyRovers outfit, winning 12.11 (83) to 9.10(64)infront of ahugecrowd at Bairnsdale City Oval.

Sunday’s eliminator offered ataleof contrast between aside that hasbecome accustomed to finals football, and one back in the post-regular season for the first time since 2017.

The Blues for their part knew the significance of the occasion and looked determined to give agood account of themselves.

With sentimental support, ORS certainly weren’t overwhelmed by the stage of finals football, and well and truly made Stratford earn their victory.

The Swans simplyestablished atwo to three goal lead in the second quarter, agap the Blues just weren’t ever able to gap. Summer weather made for open and free flowing football, with the majority of goals by eithersidekicked from set shotsorvia arunning play.

Teams traded momentum in the opening term, with seven goals kicked between the sides. The Swans registered fourstraight goals to the Blues’ 3.2 (20). The quarter time break came at agood time for Stratford, who had displayed elements of frustrationata few missed opportunities moving the ball forward of centre.

It may have taken the Swans another few

CENTRAL GIPPSLAND JUNIOR FOOTBALL LEAGUE

minutes into the second quarter to settle,as amisdirected kick-in went straight to Max Welsh, gifting OSR agoal.

Stratford got the game on its terms after this, although for allits dominance, could only manage two goals.

The second half started with Stratford taking aone goal lead, but OSR kicked two goals in red time, with one coming after the siren to make it a10point ball game at the final change of ends.

Stratford gotsome breathing spacewith the first of the last, but the Blues didn’t give up and were only 20 points down at the 15-minute mark. However, Swans mid-forward Jack Rietschel kicked the sealinggoal, receivinga handball from Haydn Erfurth on the outside after trackingforward,havingnot been previously used at half forward.

Stratford stalwart NathanFrenchalso commented on just how good OSR had been out on the ground, saying they had abright future ahead if they stuck together. As Blues players walked off, one couldn'thelpbut notice how young most of them were -there wouldn't have been too many older than 19.

Apacked Blues faithfulgathered at the Grand Terminus Hotel, Bairnsdale after the game. Club president Royston Nettleton addressed the crowd, saying he was proud of their efforts.

The unfortunate Blues had also lost the reserves elimination final in devastating fashion, going downbyone point in extra time to Lucknow.

Despitethe results, there was no shortage of praise for the Blues, and cries of "go the Bridge" from the barroom floor demonstrated supporters were well and trulyright behind theirteam.

For atown facing agreat deal of uncertainty in the wake of the ban on native timber harvesting, to haveavibrantfootball-netball club is every bit awin.

BOISDALE-BRIAGOLONG will have to

take the long way to the Grand Final.

Adisappointing second half saw the Bombers lose Saturday's semi final against Wy Yung. Boisdale-Briagolong kickedjustone goal to four after the main break, eventually going down 10.11 (71) to 5.6 (36).

There was better news for the Bombers in the reserves,who wonthrough to the Grand Final in absolutely astonishing fashion.

Downbyfive points with 30 seconds left,a free kick was paid to Boisdale-Briagolong's Matt Wilkinson.

You can guess what happens next.

Sure enough, the siren sounded as he was going back to take his kick.

After taking the deepest breath of his life, Wilkinson then wrote himself into local footy folklore with agoal after the siren, kicking truly from around 30 metres out on aslight angle.

Some grainy footage doing the rounds from phone to phone shows the kick looked not all that good off theboot, butgoodenough to see the Bombers through to the big dance.

Even more astonishing, BoisdaleBriagolong was five goals down at halftime, having kicked just 1.0 (6) to 5.6 (36) against Wy Yung.

Amazingly, both East Gippsland reserves finals last weekend were decided by apoint -one afterthe siren and one in extra time.

In adramaticpostscript, the win was in keeping with astunning turnaround for Boisdale-Briagolong this season.

The Bombers were woodenspoonersinthe seniors last year, and are now just one win away from aGrand Final.

Addingtothat, Boisdale-Briagolong had nine out of 11 teams feature in finals this year, with their senior women also winning the premiership on Sunday.

Not bad for atown of just over 200 people.

Saints finals bound, Suns sink

FOOTBALL AFL EXPORTS

BY TOM HAYES

THERE were two contrasting stories that played out for our locals in the AFL at the weekend.One brighter than the other, as one confirmed afinals position, while the other continues to fall.

THE Gold Coast Suns welcomed Carlton to Heritage Bank Stadium on Saturday afternoon with the chance to blow their finals hopes all over the place.

Andboy,did it look like they were going to do it

TheSunsbegan the game with their best firstquarter performance of the season, kicking 6.5 (41) to the Blues’ 1.2 (8).

Morwell’s Ben Ainsworth kickedthe Suns’ fourth goal of the game at the 18 minutemark of the first term, which gavethem a lead of four goals at the time.

The Bluesonly kicked their firstgoal of the game in the 30th minutes of the first term. Gold Coast continued to track well for the first 10 minutes of the second quarter, before all of their hard work was diminished.

Carlton came back, with six goals of their own, including four from Coleman Medal leader Charlie Curnow to trail by just two points at half time.

Ainsworth kickedhis secondearly in the third term, which dragged the scores back to level afterCarlton took the lead. Despite their stoppage dominance, Carlton only managedtokick1.7 (13) for the quarter, as GoldCoast heldonto the slimmest of margins.

The Suns started strong in the final term, kicking out to a13-point lead on multiple occasions, but the Blues finished stronger to record their ninth win in arow, kicking five final quarter goals, 13.13 (91) to 13.9 (87).

Moe’s Sam Flandersmight just find himself getting some Brownlow votes in this one.

He was the highest-ranked player on the fieldwith 36 disposals, fivemarks,five tackles and seven score involvements.

Despite only playing half of aseason, expect Flanderstopoll well in GoldCoast’s best and fairest at the end of the season, adding anew string to his bow as weeks go on.

Ainsworth was exceptional too in the loss, he amassed 27 disposalsand kicked two goals, taking seven marks and havingsix score involvements.

Moe’s Bailey Humphrey was kept quiet on the half forward line, he could only muster

Loving life: SamFlanderswas Gold Coast’shighest-ranked playeratthe weekend. Photograph supplied

eight touches (at 100 per cent efficiency), but also had five score involvements.

Gold Coast are currently 15th, and with a game to go against North Melbourne, they are still achancetoriseto14th at best.

Carlton secured afinals berth for the first time since 2013, but it will be the first time they have finished inside the top eight since 2011

The Blueswere famously took Essendon’s spotinthe 2013finals seriesdue to the drugs saga at Windy Hill, winning an elimination final from ninth on the ladder.

TRARALGON’STim Membreyand St

KildaSaints secured finalsintheir win over Geelong on Saturday night at Marvel Stadium.

The Saints collectively grew as the night went on, winning every quarter to not only seal finals for themselves, but end the Cats hopes of defending their 2022 premiership.

St Kilda took atwo-goal lead into quarter time,which was then turned into a16-point lead at halftime.

Down, but certainly not out of it was the Cats, with finals on thelineyou definitely

couldn’t count them as goners.

But the Saints just had an extra gear on them for the whole game, stretching the lead out to 27 points at three quarter time, before adding another goal to that lead, winning by 33 points, 12.16 (88) to 8.7 (55).

Membrey waskept quietfor asecond week in arow since his return to the senior squad, only managing10disposalsand abehind, despite taking eight marks for the night.

He was able to have six scoringinvolvements including oneassist,while playing higher up the ground.

St Kilda weren’t actually secure of finals until the next day, until the Western Bulldogs were shocked by West Coast, leaving the GWS Giants as the only team that can fall out of the eight, with the Dogs still achance to jump to eighth.

The Saintsare currently sixth on the ladder and would be granted ahome elimination final.

With one round to go, they face Brisbane Lions at the Gabba, awin could put them as high as fifth if results go their way, but aloss could see them fall as low as eighth.

Saturday, August 26

6.00 Rage. (PG) 7.00 WeekendBreakfast.

9.00 Rage.(PG) 12.00 ABC News At Noon.

12.30 Midsomer Murders. (Mv,R) 2.00 Death In Paradise. (Final, Mv,R) 3.00 Landline. (R)

3.30 Nyarrpararla Malaju?

3.40 Secrets Of TheMuseum (PG,R)

4.30 Restoration Australia. (PG,R)

5.30 TheSoundtrack of Australia (Final, R)

6.30 Kitchen Cabinet. (PG, R) Annabel Crabb meets Peter Dutton.

7.00 ABCNews. Takesalook at the top stories of theday,including coverage of developing stories and events.

7.30 Grantchester (PGa) Oneofthe residents at Leonard’shalfwayhouse is found dead in what appears to be asuicide.

8.20 Vera (PGav,R)DCI Vera Stanhope investigates the mysterious deathofa pensioner on abusypeak-hour train. For Joe, maintaining aprofessionaldistance turns out to be difficult as his daughter is the keywitness to thecrime.

9.50 BayOfFires. (Mal,R)AsFrankie continues to losesupport, Stellaand Jeremiah team up to sabotage her

10.50 LastTango In Halifax (Final, Ml, R) Tedand Harrison go on an adventure

11.50 Rage. (MA15+adhlnsv) Music video clips.

6.00 WorldWatch. 9.00 Cook Up Bitesize. (R) 9.05 Peer To Peer.(Return) 9.35 Growing

AGreener World. (Final, PGa) 10.05 TheBee Whisperer.(PGal, R) 11.00 Travel Quest. (PG)

12.00 WorldWatch. 2.00 Athletics.World

Championships. Day 7. Highlights. 3.00

Cycling. UCI ProSeries. Arctic Race of Norway

Highlights. 4.00 TrailTowns.(PG) 4.40 Going

Places. (R)

6.30 SBS World News.

7.30 Going Places With Ernie Dingo

(PG) Ernie Dingo learns to catch crab

8.30 Queen Victoria’s RoyalMob: Four Sisters (M) Part 1of4.Explores the saga of Queen Victoria’s extendedfamily through the eyes of her granddaughters.

9.25 World’sMostScenic Railway Journeys: DevonAnd Cornwall. (R) Ascenicrailway journeytravelling through Devontothe tip of Cornwall.

10.15 Tony Robinson’s HistoryOf Britain: Romans. (PGa,R)Part 1of4

11.10 RexInRome. (Mv,R)

Aboy is attacked in apark.

1.00 24 Hours In Emergency (Ma, R)

1.55 Going Places With Ernie Dingo (R)

2.55 Athletics. World Championships. Day 8. Evening session.

6.00 SevenNews.

7.00 Football AFL.Round 24 GeelongvWestern Bulldogs. From GMHBAStadium, Victoria.

10.30 AFL Post-Game Show. Awrap-up of the game,including panel discussion and interviews, with access to players, coaches and staff

11.00 To Be Advised [VIC]Reverie.(Mav,R) [VIC]HomeShopping.

2.00 Reverie. (Mav,R)Maratracks down an elderly womanwho is trying to reliveher lostlove.

3.00 Home Shopping. (R)

4.00 GetArty. (R) Artists complete art projects to encourage kids of all ages to get creative.

5.00 House Of Wellness (PG, R) Luke Darcy,JoStanley and LukeHines takea look at locations that highlight livingwell

7TWO (72, 62)

6am Morning Programs.

11.30 Escape To The Country. 4.30pm Border Security:Int. 5.00 Horse Racing. San Domenico Stakes Day,Saturday at TheValleyand Saturday Raceday. 5.30 Animal SOS Australia. 6.00 Gold Coast Ocean Rescue. 6.30 BondiVet 7.30 The Yorkshire Vet. 8.30 Escape To TheCountry 9.30 Greatest Escapes To The Country 10.15 TheGreat Outdoors: Greatest Escapes. 11.15 Late Programs.

NITV (34)

6am Morning Programs.

10.00 MOVIE: Thunderbird 6. (1968) 11.40

MOVIE: TheCareBears Movie. (1985,PG) 1.05pm

Africa’sHidden Kingdoms. 1.55 MilfordGravesFull

Mantis. 3.35 Power To ThePeople. 4.50 Family Rules. 6.20 FirstPeople’sKitchen. 6.50 News.

7.00 Amplify. 7.30 GoingPlacesWith ErnieDingo.

8.30 Larapinta. 9.00 Alone 10.10 MOVIE: Legend. (1985,PG) 11.50 Late Programs.

Sunday, August 27

8.05 The Lunchbox

Hindi) 10.05 TheLady In The Van. (2015, M) Noon Hilary And Jackie. (1998, M) 2.15 The Chaperone. (2018, PG) 4.15 BugsyMalone. (1976 PG) 5.55 Vanity Fair.(2004,PG) 8.30 Brassed Off (1996,M) 10.25 The Wait.(2021, MA15+, Finnish) 12.15am The Theory Of Flight. (1998,MA15+, ) 2.10 Late Programs.

ABC TV (2) SBS (3) SEVEN (7,6)

6.00 Rage. (PG) 7.00 WeekendBreakfast.

9.00 Insiders 10.00 Offsiders. 10.30 The World This Week.(R) 11.00 Compass. (R) 11.30 Songs Of Praise. (R) 12.00 ABC News At Noon. 12.30 Landline. 1.30 Gardening Australia. (R) 2.30 Grantchester.(PGa,R) 3.15 Extraordinary Escapes. (PG, R) 4.10 Grand DesignsNew Zealand. (R) 5.00 ArtWorks

5.30 AntiquesRoadshow

6.30 Compass: Uniting TheTongan Way.

7.00 ABCNews.

7.30 Restoration Australia: St Martins. (Final, PG)Hosted by AnthonyBurke

8.30 BayOfFires. (Malv) Frankie is determined to find outwho is responsible for sabotaging herBay of Fires operation

9.30 Mother And Son. (Mdl, R) Aman movesback in with his mother

10.00 TheNewsreader (Mal, R)

The newsroom is plunged into drama.

10.55 Total Control. (MA15+l, R)

11.50 Talking Heads. (Ma, R)

12.20 Rage Vault (MA15+adhlnsv)

2.05 Escape From TheCity. (R) 5.00 Insiders. (R)

6.00 Morning Programs. 10.00 Cook Up Bitesize. (R) 10.05 The Bee Whisperer (PGadl, R) 11.00 Travel Quest. (PG) 12.00 WorldWatch 1.00 Speedweek. 2.30 Athletics. World Championships. Highlights. 3.30 Gymnastics. FIG Rhythmic World Cup series. Round 5. Highlights. 4.30 Cycling. UCI World Tour.LaVuelta. Stage 1. Highlights. 5.30 Two Sands. (PG,R) 5.40 Secret NaziBases.(PGa,R)

6.30 SBS World News.

7.30 Colosseum: Commodus. (M) Explores the story of Commodus.

9.15 PhilaeThe Last Temples Of Ancient Egypt. Takesa look at the templesofPhilae, thelaststronghold of the ancient Egyptian religion.

10.15 Raiders Of TheLost Treasures. (R) Part 1of3

11.25 24 HoursInEmergency: Count My Blessings. (Mal,R)

1.15 SurvivingThe Virus: My Brother And Me. (Mal,R)

2.25 Patriot Brains. (Mals, R)

3.15 Mastermind Australia. (R)

4.15 Bamay. (R)

4.50 Destination Flavour: Singapore Bitesize. (R)

5.00 NHK World English News Morning.

5.15 France 24 Feature. 5.30 AlJazeeraNews.

6.00 NBCToday [VIC]HomeShopping.

7.00 Weekend Sunrise. 10.00 TheMorning Show: Weekend. (PG)

6.00 Nine News Saturday.

7.00 ACurrentAffair

7.30 To Be Advised.

12.20 TheKilling Of Breonna Taylor (Malv,R)A NewYorkTimes investigation into the2020events that led to the death of Breonna Taylor.

1.30 It’s All Greek To Me. (R) George Diakomichalis meetsAFL football great and indigenous foodieDaniel Motlop

2.00 TheIncredible Journey Presents. (PGa) Religiousprogram.

2.30 TheGardenGurus. (R)Learn howto growagreat garden by following Shontelle Sinclair’sgreen thumb guide to propagation

3.00 TV Shop: Home Shopping. (R)

4.30 Global Shop (R) Home shopping.

5.00 TV Shop: Home Shopping. (R)

5.30 Helping Hands. (PG, R) Acelebration of people andorganisationsacrossAustralia which make the world abetterplace

9GEM (92, 81)

6am Morning Programs.

1.15pm Rugby League. NRLWomen’s Premiership.

Dragons vTitans. 3.00 Rugby League. NRL

Women’s Premiership.Roosters vTigers. 5.00

MOVIE: Ski Party. (1965, PG) 7.00 Rugby League

NRL. Round 26.CanberraRaidersvBrisbane

Broncos. 9.30 NRL Saturday NightFootyPostMatch. 10.00 MOVIE: MiamiVice. (2006,MA15+)

12.30am Late Programs.

6am Children’s Programs.

1.30pm Raymond 2.00 Desert Vet. 3.00 MOVIE: The

6.00 Location, Location,Location Australia. (R)Property experts Mitch Edwards and Mark McKie search for propertiesinMelbourne and Canberra

7.00 TheDog HouseAustralia. (PGa, R) Aseniorsnaggletoothmay havefound the perfect retirement home with an ex-pat professional.

8.00 To Be Advised.

9.00 MOVIE: Baywatch.

(2017,MA15+ln, R) Adevoted lifeguard and abrash new recruit must put aside their differences after uncovering acriminal plot involving drugs and adeceased councilman that threatensthe future of the bay.Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron,AlexandraDaddario.

11.10 TheCheap Seats (Mal,R)Presented by Melanie Bracewelland TimMcDonald.

12.00 Home Shopping. (R)

4.30 Authentic. (PG)

5.00 Hour OfPower.

6.00 SevenNews.

7.00 TheVoice. (PG) As theblind auditions conclude, contestants set out to prove they havewhat it takestobeasingingsensation.

8.45 7NEWSSpotlight An exclusive, special investigation.

9.45 TheLatest: SevenNews.

10.15 Born To Kill? Bill Suff. (MA15+av) Takesa look at the serial killer Bill Suff,known as the Riverside Killer

11.15 AutopsyUSA:AudreyHepburn. (Ma) Alook at the death of Audrey Hepburn.

12.15 AllTogether Now–The 100 (PG, R) Hosted by Julia Zemiro

12.30[VIC]HomeShopping.

3.30 Million Dollar Minute. (R)

4.00 NBCToday

5.00 SevenEarly News.

5.30 Sunrise

(9,8)

6.00 Nine News Sunday.

7.00 TheBlock. (PGl)

8.30 60 Minutes. Current affairs program, investigating,analysingand uncovering theissuesaffectingall Australians.

9.30 Nine News Late. Alook at the latest news and events.

10.00 Australian Crime Stories: Mark Standen –ADirty Cop (Mad, R) Alook at the case of Mark Standen.

11.00 Killer At TheCrimeScene: Scott Wilkinson –Murder (Mlv)

11.50 New Amsterdam. (Mam, R)

12.40 World’sGreatest Natural Icons. (R)

1.30 Our State On APlate. (PG) 2.00 Killer

At The Crime Scene. (Mlv,R) 3.00 TV Shop: Home Shopping. (R) 4.00 Believer’sVoice Of Victory. (PGa) 4.30 Fishing Australia. (R) 5.00 News Early Edition. 5.30 Today

6.30 TheSunday Project. Alook at theday’snews.

7.30 TheTraitors. No one is innocent as both Traitors and Faithful become tangled in the web of lies and deception.

8.40 FBI. (Mav) Ayoung woman’s abduction leads the FBI back to a cold case from18 years ago

9.40 NCIS: Hawai’i. (Mv,R)Tennant’s team, alongwith NCIS agents Nick Torresand Jessica Knight, uncover plans foranattackinOahu.

10.30 So Help Me Todd (PGadv,R) Thegovernor seeks Margaret’s help 11.30 TheSundayProject. (R) Alookatthe day’snews.

August 28

6.00 TheDrum

7.00 ABC News. Alook at the top stories of theday

7.30 7.30 Presented by Sarah Ferguson.

8.00 Australian Story. (Return) Alook at the story of Gina Chick.

8.30 Four Corners. Investigative journalism program exposing scandals, triggering inquiries,firing debate and confronting taboos.

9.15 Media Watch (PG) Paul Barry takes alook at thelatestissues affecting media consumers.

9.35 Q+A. Public affairs program.

10.35 ABC LateNews.

10.50 TheBusiness (R)

11.10 Space 22. (PG, R)

11.40 TheHuman Revolution. (PG, R)

12.35 Nude Next Door. (Malns, R)

1.35 Rage. (MA15+adhlnsv) 3.40 Tenable. (R)

4.30 The Drum. (R) 5.30 7.30.(R)

6.00 Mastermind Australia. (R) Presented by Marc Fennell.

6.30 SBS WorldNews.

7.30 Finding Your Roots: To TheManor Born: Glenn Close, John Waters. (Return) Hosted by Henry LouisGates Jr

8.30 Britain’s MostExpensive Houses (Mas) Part 4of5.InNew Forest, sales broker Johnhas aunique £9 million family home to sell.

9.25 24 Hours In Emergency: Finding My Voice. (Ma) An elderly man is admitted after falling out of his bed andinjuring his head.

10.20 SBS WorldNewsLate

10.50 My Brilliant Friend. (Mlsv)

WarOfThe Worlds. (MA15+av, R)

Tuesday, August 29

6.00 SevenNews.

7.00 Home And Away (PGa)Tane feelsicedout of his marriage.

7.30 TheVoice. (PG) The contestants continue theireffortstoprove they have what it takes to become asinging sensation

9.15 TheRookie (Mdv) Lopez puts everything on the line to help Elijah take downa gangleader in exchange forher safety.

10.15 TheRookie: Feds (Mv) Abanker’s murderisinvestigated.

11.15 TheLatest: SevenNews.

11.45 Chicago Fire. (Mav)Kidd andSeveride help ayoung girl.

12.45 TheVillage (Mas, R)

1.00[VIC]HomeShopping.

4.00 NBCToday

5.00 SevenEarly News.

5.30 Sunrise

6.00 Nine News

7.00 ACurrent Affair

7.30 TheBlock (PGl) Hosted by Scott Cam.

8.40 Missing Persons Investigation. (PGa) After asuspected heartattack, apatient fleeshospital and no oneknows why.

9.40 FootyClassified (M) Footy experts tackle the AFL’s bigissues.

10.40 Nine News Late.

11.10 Mr Mayor. (PGs)

11.35 New Amsterdam. (Mam, R)

12.25 World’sGreatest Natural Icons. (R)

1.15 Tipping Point.

7.30 TheTraitors Amix of everyday Aussiesand familiar faces band together to win ashare of up to $250,000

8.40 Have YouBeen Paying Attention? (Malns)A fast-pacedlook at news, with SamPang andEdKavaleejoined by other celebrity panelliststocompete to see who can rememberthe most about events of the week.Hosted by TomGleisner 9.40 To Be Advised 10.10 FBI:MostWanted. (Mav,R) Awealthy couple are killed by acon artist. 11.00 TheProject. (R) Alook at the day’snews and events. 12.00 TheLate ShowWithStephen Colbert. (PG) Late-night talk show

abillion timessmarter than human beings by 2050 9.30 Our Vietnam War: The Long Shadow. (Ml)Part 3of3

ABCLate News

TheBusiness (R)

Four Corners. (R)

Australia. (PG, R)

6.30 SBS WorldNews

7.30 GreatCoastal Railway Journeys: Wareham. (PG) HostedbyMichael Portillo

8.30 Insight. Kumi Taguchitakes a look at apologiesand whether they can help heal deep wounds.

9.30 Dateline. Takesalook at Amsterdam.

10.00 SBSWorld News Late.

10.30 ThePoint: Referendum Road Trip (R)

11.30 Pandore. (Mlv)

12.30 TokyoVice. (MA15+av, R)

2.30

RedLight.(MA15+a, R) 4.20 Mastermind Australia. (R) 4.50 DestinationFlavourDown

Under Bitesize. (R) 5.00 NHK World English News Morning. 5.30 ANC PhilippinesThe World Tonight.

6.00 SevenNews.

7.00 Home AndAway. (PGa)

7.30 TheVoice. (PG) The contestants continue theirefforts to prove they have what it takes to becomeasinging sensation

9.15 RFDS (Ma) Pete works with Eliza when the twoare tasked with the retrievalofafour-year-old boy.

10.15 Ambulance: CodeRed (Mad) Follows the work of an ambulance service.

11.15 TheLatest: SevenNews.

11.45 Chicago Fire (Ma) Severide and Kidd investigate an explosion. 12.45 S.W.A.T. (Mv,R)

HomeShopping.

6.00 Nine News.

7.00 ACurrent Affair.

7.30 TheBlock. (PGl) Hosted by Scott Cam.

8.40 TheHundred With Andy Lee. Andy Leeisjoined by apanel of comedians and100 Aussies to explore the fun behind the facts.

9.40 Love Triangle (Premiere, Mls) Three singles meetfor adate after only texting.

11.10 NineNews Late.

11.40 TheKiller Nanny:Did She Do It? (Malv)

12.30 New Amsterdam. (Mam, R)

1.20 CourtCam. (Mlv,R)

1.45 Tipping Point. (PG,R)

2.35 Good Chef Hunting. (PG, R) 3.00 TV Shop: Home Shopping. (R)

Believer’s Voice Of Victory. (PGa)

6.30 TheProject. Alook at the day’snews and events

7.30 Shark Tank. (Return, PG) Sabri Suby, Dr CatrionaWallace, Davie Fogarty,JaneLu and Robert Herjavecare shown inventions.

8.40 TheCheap Seats. (Mal)Presenters Melanie Bracewell and Tim McDonald takealook at the week that was.

9.30 NCIS. (Mv,R)With Parker stillonthe run, the team enlists the help of Special Agent Jane Tennant fromthe Hawaii office

10.30 NCIS: Hawai’i. (Mv,R)The team uncovers plans for an attack.

11.30 TheProject. (R) Alook at the day’snews and events.

12.30 TheLate ShowWith Stephen Colbert. (PG)

1.30 Home Shopping. (R)

4.30 CBS Mornings.

Tradies safety awareness month

By KATRINA BRANDON

SAFETY awareness is very important in all trades and walks of life, but some struggle.

Twenty-five to 30 per cent of people who walk into Specsavers Optometrist Traralgon are tradespeoplewho have come in with work-related injuries that could cost them their sight.

“We do havea lot of peoplewho walkinwith lovely bits of metal in theireye after abit of grinding at least once aday. So we always have that conversation with them about protection,” said Traralgon Specsavers optometrist, Josie Mills.

“Some do have the little excuses like‘the goggles fog up’ or they can’t quite see properly, or they have some of the self-tinting work goggles that aren’t tinting right, causing them to get burns on their eye.”

Ms Mills said that the most common age group to come into the clinic withtheseinjuries tend to be the under 25s.

Most eye injuries are permanent; if not, some go from perfect vision to glasses in just one mishap.

According to areportfrom Specsavers, 89 per cent of 40-yearold tradespeople would tell their younger selves to be more cautious in the workplace.

There are also reports of 37 per centof18to34-year-olds that already have workplace injuries to the eye that needed medical attention, and 53 per cent that said that their hearing got worse over time. The report also mentions that 26 per cent of tradespeople take a‘she’ll be right’approach, only occasionally wearing goggles, and 70 per cent do not always wear hearing protection

“Taking small precautions canhelp protect you for years to come. These preventative measures can make aworld of difference and save you

from experiencing adecline in your eyesight or hearing, which are both pivotal to your quality of life,” said Ms Mills.

In another response to eye and ear safety,The Royal Victorian Eyeand Ear Hospitalhas recorded asubstantial increase in men presenting to theEmergency Department with work-related eye trauma. The 41 per cent growthoverthe past five years likely indicates alack of awareness or adherence to eye safety procedures.

Ms Mills urged younger tradies that are doing their apprenticeship to take it seriously and make sure they start good habits when they begin their trade. Also that theymake surethey have good eye and ear protection so that they don’t accumulate problems faster than normal.

Further advice from the report includes wearing hearing protection in unavoidable exposed areas; wear safety gogglestoprotect debris fromgettinginyour eyes, large coverage sunglasseswhen in the sun; complete the one-metre test for equipment (stand one metre away from someone and if you have to yell over the machine, the job requires protection); regularly get tested; and reduce the number of noises to one at atime.

Most larger companies have safety officers to help keep everyone safe, but for small companies it is harder to enforce protective measures in staff.

Ms Mills said that for those just starting, get them into the good habits of wearing protection, as it then becomes automatic.

For more information visit specsavers.com.au/ and eyeandear.org. au/news-events/41-increase-in-eyetraumas-in-males-sustained-in-theworkplace-since-2018/

National MP’sunfrog-getable SASI experience

STATE Nationals MPs Martin Cameron and Melina Bath have been honoured of being painted as frogs by Statewide Autistic Services (SASI) Newborough.

Attendingthe Newborough facility recently, Martin and Melina were pleased to be presented with their frog artwork by SASI staff and clients.

Frogs are an important symbol to SASI’s clients as they resonatewith the multiple phases of growth on their learning pathway.

The original SASI frog was named ‘George’ by aclient and now multiple artworks adornsthe driveway and gardens of its Haunted Hills Road facility in Newborough.

Mr Cameron and Ms Bathsaidthey were delighted to have their likenesses captured as SASI frogs, knowing how much the green amphibians are synonymous to the respected autism support service.

“SASI clients connect with the frogs, and being involved was agreat waytoacknowledge and connect with Gippslanders with adisability,” said Ms Bath.

“Martinand Iwere both happytoparticipate and our visittoSASIwas arewarding experience.”

SASI’sNewborough facility is home to a wide array of artwork all created by renowned Gippsland artist Henry Young. Henry is aSASI support worker,and his artwork bondsclients to the facility.

Staying with the frog theme, Mr Cameron said he ‘leapt’atthe chance to become afrog model after visiting the organisation and gaining an understanding of the local disability support services.

“SASIhas an important role supporting individuals with autism to access meaningfuland encompassing socialand learning experiences,"he said.

“After being presented with our frogs, Melina and Idecidedthat they will make their wayto Spring Street –our frogs will be agreat wayto start conversations about the disability sector and the importance of meaningful inclusion experiences.”

Following the visit, Mr Cameron and Ms Bath extended an invitation to SASI staff to attend stateparliament in recognition of theirvalued work and to discuss the organisation's future expansion plans and workforce challenges.

Ms Bath said the disability industry was expanding rapidly and The Nationals were keen to advocate forsolutions to alleviate workforce shortages.

“SASI offers many employment opportunities for anyone seeking arewarding and stable career in the disability sector– it’s important to understand the issues and promote careers in the sector,” she said.

Vic Variety Bash with Energy Aus Yallourn

PEOPLE fromEnergyAustralia Yallourn were behind the wheel lastweekasthe annual Victorian Variety Bash took off from Albert Park in Melbourne, bound for the Gold Coast. During the 10-day event, the Bashwill stop at towns in Victoriaand New SouthWales,spreading joy and raising funds for kids in need.

Joining the Bash, where cars must be at least 30 years old and decked out in auniquetheme, are three EnergyAustralia Yallourn-based cars.

GayleMcAllister, operationsleader at Yallourn power station, is captain of Car 25, a1991 Volkswagen Caravelle dubbed Shrek and Co.

In the car are Gayle dressed as Princess Fiona, Pam Kemp as Shrek, Annette Wheatland as Lord Farquaad, Sue Warren as Bar Maid Doris,Sue Twinn as PussinBoots,and Mark Medew as Prince Charming.

Ms McAllister said, "It's my 15th Consecutive year taking partinthe Bash". As well as supporting Variety, whichprovideslife changing equipment and programs to kids facing disadvantage, disability and illness, the Bash is agreat experience for participants.I lovevisitingregionalAustralia,dressing up and having fun with my Yallourn colleagues."

David Bloomfield, operationsteam leader at Yallournpower station, headsupthe two-car Panther Team, consisting of Car 242, a1980s-era Mercedes Benz 380 SEL, and its near identical counterpart Car 243.

The Panther Team includes several past and present Yallourn employees, including Anton DeVent, Paul Koopmans, Otto Stumpf, Steve Foster, Ray York, Duane Clarke and David Tisdale.

The group has been participants in the Variety Bash since 2013, raising an impressive $200,000, including $18,000 for this year's event.

In theknow: Localoptometrist Josie Mills Photograph supplied

Dressed forthe occasion: Gayle McAllister, OperationsLeader at Yallournpower station, dressed as Shrek and Annette Wheatland as LordFarquaad. Photographs supplied

Regulars: DavidBloomfield, OperationsTeam Leader at Yallournpower station, heads up the two-car PantherTeam

Frog fun: Nationals MP’sMartin Cameron and Melina Bath’s unfrog-getableSASIexperience

Resemblance: Member forMorwell Martin Cameron with his frog-alike Photographs supplied

Creative: Melina Bath had thehonour of beingpainted as afrogbyStatewide Autistic Services (SASI) Newborough.

We’ve raised $10,000 this year, bringing our total over the 15 years to more than $120,000.

MS MCALLISTER Operations Leader Yallourn Power Station

NewNiteOwls

MOE Latrobe Valley Jazz Club has secured the New Nite Owls Jazz Band from Melbourne as the club’s feature event this Sunday, August 27 at the Moe RSL venue.

The band willbelead by by Rob Moffat on trombone with Graeme Penderon reeds, Steve Paix on piano, Richard Opat on drums and Simon Van Camm on bass. Club president Bruce lawn said the band was noted for its swing style.

Doors openat12.30pm for a1pm start

Further information can be had from Bruce Lawn on 5174 3516.

Toongabbie Old Time Dance

THE next Toongabbie Old Time Dance will be Friday, September 1commencing at 8pm at the Toongabbie Mechanics Hall at the Village Green.

Musicwillbesupplied by Norm Lade with Monte Carlo, lucky door prize and raffle.

Admission $8 and please bring aplate to share.

For further information phone 0407 842757

Everyoneiswelcome to comealong for anight of fun and dancing.

Father's Daycar show

OLD Gippstown will host acar show on Father's Day.

Date set down is September 3.

Those with cars to show welcomefrom 8am. General public from 9am. Cost is $5 per car. Gold coin donation from public.

Walhalla walk

BEN Cruachan Walking Club members explorevast swathesofGippsland, and recently,Walhallawas the destination.

After arriving at Thomsonstation, with alittle arithmetic, and lots of good luck, acar shuffle was sorted for the short drive to the dayvisitor area at Walhalla.

Ashort walk through the historic villageofWalhalla,and up ashort but steep rise, brought walkers to the entrance of the Long Tunnel Gold Mine

From herethey walked along theold tramway overlooking the quaint little village steeped in gold mining history and tales of supernatural happenings.

The old tramway was used to transport boiler fuel and construction timbers to the Walhalla mines. Pastthe official start of the Australian Alps Walking Track (AAWT) the hikers continued through the tall eucalypt forest with the occasional lush gully lined with magnificent tree ferns.

Beyondthe Mormon Town Track, they walked another four or five kilometres to the National Trust listed PovertyPoint Bridge. Unfortunately, this beautiful old steel bridgehas been deemed unsafe, therefore has been officially closed for around four years awaiting funding for essential repairs. Lunchwas had while admiring it’sstructureand the Thomson River meandering through the valley below.

Brushing off the odd leech,ortwo, hikers made their way back along the winding track to Mormon Town Track to the 600m descent to ThomsonStation

CommunityCorner with Liam Durkin

and the cars.The day ended at the Witchery Café in Walhalla with anice hot brew. The weather was pleasant, and walkers are looking forward to their next trip.

Those interested in joiningawalkare encouraged to check the Ben Cruachan website, with guest walkers most welcome.

Traralgon softtennis

THE Traralgon Soft Tennis Group are looking for new members to jointhis group.

Soft tennis is aprogram designed for olderadults. It is played indoors on a badminton court. The net is lower than badminton and hard moulded plastic bats and soft balls are used for the game. While the program is designed for peopleinthe over 50 bracket, we welcome younger people to come along and play.

Soft tennisisplayedatthe Gippsland

RegionalIndoor Sports Complex in Traralgon on Tuesday mornings at 9am. Cost is only $5 and refreshments are served as well!

Come alongand have ago-itisso much fun -wedonot play for sheep stations! It’s avery friendly group and you will be most welcomed.

Any other enquiriesplease speak to ourspokesperson Judy Morganon 0448 380 067 or our secretary Mariana Pearse on 0417 051 158.

Moe Cancer Council

THIS year, Daffodil Day will be celebrated on Thursday, August 31.

Moe and District Cancer Council

Volunteer Group willbeholding astall in Moore Street Moe, from 9am till 2pm

Tickets are available for our high tea on Monday, September 4from 12.30pm at the Newborough Bowling Club,

Monash Road Newborough.

For catering purposes, entry will be by ticket only. Tickets are available from Diane on 0438 517 470 or Linda 0427 671 780. Cost will be $35 per person

We will have aguest speaker from CCV and aguest speaker from Rotary Centenary House.

Our next meeting will be held on Monday, August28from 1.30pm at the Moe RSL.

All welcome.

Accessible learning

THE accessible listening post drop-in centre at 7Anzac Street, Moe is open each Friday between10amand noon. All are welcome to afree cuppa and confidential conversation. The centre is behind the renovations and can be accessed via the adjoining lanes from Anzac or Albert Street. Phone Alice on 0418 175 042 or Jan 0475 067 145 for further information.

Springtime Ball

LATROBEValley Dance Promotions Inc would like to invite you to their Springtime Ball on Friday, September 8atthe Newborough Public Hall, 18 Balfour St, Newborough. Drinks and nibbles will be available from 7.15pm to 7.45pm with the ball starting at 8pm.

Entry is $15 per person.

Please bring aplate of supper to share. Door prize and lucky spotprizes throughout the evening. Join us for some fun, laughter, friendship and dancing.

Music provided by Silhouettes. The event is supported by Latrobe City. Latrobe Valley Dance Promotions Inc are also conducting weekly Thursday night social ballroomdancing with lessonsonThursday evenings at the

Soundofmusic: Come along to theMoe RSLthis Sunday forsome great jazz tunes

Photographs supplied

Guide Hall, Margaret St Morwell. Beginnerswillbestartingat7pm and are welcome to stay until 10pm.

Intermediate/advanced from 8pm to 10pm.

Cost is $5. Join us for some fun learning, revision, dancing, friendships, and exercise.

Phone Norm on 0428 543 737 or Lynda 0428 489 041. Follow us on Facebook: Latrobe Valley Dance Promotions Inc.

Time to Tango TANGO lessons,Wednesdaynights

7pm to 8.30pm at St David's Uniting Church Hall (9 Campbell St) Yarragon.

Professional tango instructor, choreographer and dancer Fabio Robles and Michelle Di Monte are now teaching at Gippsland.

Joinusfor fun learningArgentine Tango.

No partner necessary.

Private lessons available by appointment for Wednesday afternoons.

Phone Naomi on 0405 739 819.

Churchill Winter Market

THERE will be craft and market stalls to browse at the Churchill Winter Market this Saturday, August 26, 9am to 1pmatChurchill Shopping Centre. Comealong andsupportour local artisans, community groups and retail businesses.

There'll be free sausagesizzlesand entertainment,even aspecial fairy (children's entertainer) for the kids.

Shoppers making purchasesfrom our Churchill retailers on Saturday morninghave achanceofwinning afreevoucher to spend in-storeata nominated business. More than $300 worth of vouchers to be given away.

Latrobe Valley Neighbourhood Watch willbeon-site to affix anti-theftnumber plate screws to vehicles. Bringyour car, park near their barbecue and have a free snag while you wait. Stalls are under covered walkways, but rug up if it's cold!

Moe Meditation Group

YOU can learn to relax, practice the art of achieving an innercalm in the company of the like minded.

Put your money where your houseis

Trek: Ben Cruachan Walking Club membersinWalhalla

The group meets on Wednesday morning from 8.30am to 9.30am in the Narracan Hall at the Gippsland Heritage Park (Old Gippstown) Moe.

Cost is $5 per session.

Contact: clem@asia.com

Phone: 0427 262 064

Screening

LATROBE Valley Sustainability Group will host afree screening of Power On Power On is alocally produced short film about energy transition in the Latrobe Valley.

One hundredyears after the beginning of the Latrobe Valley coal industry, workers and communitiesinGippsland are preparing for anew energy system. Through aseries of interviews with key leaders in the region, Power On tells the story of the incredible transformation happening right across Gippsland, and how communities are seizingthe opportunities in renewable energy right now to build abetter future.

poweronfilm.com.au

The screening will take place on Wednesday,September 13 at 7.30pm in the Gippsland MulticulturalServices building, 26-28 Tarwin Street, Morwell.

Bowling brilliance

WANT to be part of an all abilities tenpin bowling group?

This group will run fortnightly starting on September 7atthe Traralgon Butter Factory.

Cost at your own expense plus gold coin donation.

Time is 10am till 12pm.

Please bring asupportworker if required, companion cards are also excepted.

To express your interest, please phone Philip Chalker on 0400 603 367 or email all.abilities.social.group@gmail.com

Bridgeresults

TRARALGON Bridge Club results, August 15, 17.

Monday -Nobridge

Tuesday -1st Greg Nicholson and KayeDouglas (67per cent); 2nd Rob Graham and Glenis Lohr (60).

Thursday-N/S 1st Moira Hecker and Helen McAdam (65 ); 2nd Rob Graham and Glenis Lohr (64) 1st E/W Maria MacTaggart and Barbara Barr (63); 2nd

Greg Nicholson and Kaye Douglas (61).

If you are interested in learning more aboutbridge, please give Greg Nicholson, ouroresident, aring on 0419 365 739.

Carersget together

OUR next get together is to be held at MorwellBowling Club, from 12 noon on Friday, August 25. Allformer carers from Latrobe City

groupare welcome to come along and join us. If you would like to attend or moreinformation, please phone Pat on 0421 922 731orSandraon0411475 666.

Familyhistory webinars

MID Gippsland Family History Society Inc. is keen to welcome membersand the public to the next topic of interest on ourcalendar for thisyear-webinars-interesting and informative tools which can be of great value to afamily history researcher witha wide rangeof topics. There is something of interest for everyone.

This willimmediately follow the society’s annual meeting and will be held at the Family History Centre, 44 Albert Street, Moe (next door to Tanjil Place Medical Centre) on Thursday, August 24 at 2pm.

Allare welcome and of course there is no cost involved.

Andjustareminder, we would love to welcome you to our Family History Centre which is open to the public every Wednesday afternoon between 1pm and 4pm.

If you are interested in learning more about your ancestors and family history -whether youare araw beginner or an experienced family historian/genealogist -come along and have achattoone of our experienced researchers. We are keen to help you and introduce you to the wide range of resources we have in our collection.

You’ll be amazed at what you can discover about your ancestors by using such resources as Trove, Ancestry.com and our large holdings of cemetery records and transcriptions.

For any inquiries,please call 0403 611 730.

Chess results

PETER Bakker and Ian Hamilton ended on levelterms after bothplayers let the winning position turn against them and won all other clashes.

Aloss againstSteveAhern was aslow start for Matt Bolding who moved on to defeat Cliff Thornton in ashort match. Quinton Morganshowedskills but the material loss was too large.

Ricky Sabrinskasendured three losses after aquick win against Trevor Morgan.

PhoneCliffThornton on 0413 330 458 or IanHamilton (0400221 649) for more details on local chess.

Ostomysupport

THE next gathering of peoplewith a Colostomy, Illeostomy or Urostomy willbeonWednesday, September 6, at Tommy BrockCafé, 11-15 KirkSt, Moe from 1.30pm.

All Ostomates are invited to attend for acasual catch-up, coffee and chat. Support persons are also welcome.

This group meets on the first Wednesday of every month and attendees are invited to justturn up or register their interest by phoning Sue on 0415 751145.

Youcan be apartof Community Corner

IF you are acommunity group andhave any news items you need publicised, feel free to email us at news@lvexpress. com.au

You can address the correspondence to Editor, Liam Durkin.

Please write 'Community Corner' in the subject line and nothing else.

Deadline is Friday 9am to appear in the following Wednesday issue.

From daydot: Hand in HandCraft Group celebratedits 41st birthdayrecently. Pictured cuttingthe cakeare threemembers who have attended since the first day, Judy Ricketts, Joan Lucas andMollieRoberts

Tango time: Tango lessons are being offered in Yarragon, even for those with two left feet

SMART CHOICE

SMARTChoice Electrical has morethan 40 yearsofexperience operating in the Latrobe Valleyand surrounding areas

The team has awealth of knowledge in the electrical industry, which ensures peace of mind when clients call SmartChoice Electrical foranyjob

SmartChoice Electrical business owner Peter Griffiths said the companywas proud of the high-qualityworktheydo

“Weare proud of our achievements in electrical safetyand quality, consistentlyproviding a high levelofworkmanship,” Mr Griffiths said.

Peterand CarolGriffiths at Smart Choice Electrical guarantee their work and products arethe best possible

Theyprovide customerswith the securityofknowing theyare dealing directlywith the approachable business owners

Working in the local area, the Griffiths have seen that many residents in the Latrobe Valleyare still onlyprotected electricallyby fuses,anissue that can be quickly fixedbythe installation of safety

Theyspecialise in working with 240-volt and 415-volt experiences, mains,metering,power,light and air conditioning

If

To find out howSmartChoice Electrical can solve your domestic,

Phone:

All classifications before 3pm Monday

In person: Latrobe Valley Express

21George St,Morwell

NextraLotto Moe

1-3 MooreSt, Moe Seymour St Newsagency 83 Seymour St, Traralgon

PLEASE NOTE:| thatadpaymentis required prior to publication unless afullaccount is held with the Latrobe Valley Express.

Email: classifieds@ lvexpress.com.au

PLEASE NOTE:

Confirm your email if youhave not received a confirmation email from us, emails ARE NOTALWAYS RELIABLE and we don’t alway receive them

Mail: Latrobe Valley Express, “Attention Classifieds’’ 21 George Street, Morwell 3840

Newsagents:

Most Newsagents act as our agents and will accept your advertisements up until the same deadlines as above

Credit Card:

PUREBRED Lab. Retriever pups, DNA tested Sire Milo and Dam Millie, black and choc., born 1/7/23, vet checked, vacc., m/c, wormed, health cert., 9560 00016212820/1357/1955/ 02800/3631, MB166304. Ph Alisha 0490 886 290.

FIREWOOD

work, tree

•

lopping.

•

NEWSPRINT

REEL ENDS

Price: $11 GST incl.

Available at the Latrobe Valley Express Office 21 George Street Morwell Enquiries: 5135 4444

HALFPRICE FORSALEADS FO

CHURCHILL, 32 Amaroo Drive, Saturday and Sunday, 8am -6pm. Lawnmowers, whipper snippers, garden tools, lots more.

MORWELL, 24 Angus St., Saturday, 8am -12 noon. Handbags, TVs, Barbie toys, tapes, CDs, Pokemon and football cards.

Morwell Market

NEWBOROUGH, 12 Chamberlain Road, Sat. 9am-3pm. Trash n' treasure, household items, garden pots, clothing and camping gear.

TRARALGON, 11-13 Breed St. Sat. 8am-2pm. Enter side door on left. Young adult clothes size 6to10, new and as new perfumes, makeup and jewellery.

Responsibility

PLEASE CHECK YOUR AD

TRARALGON FARMERS MARKET Motorists are advised that in order for the safe conduct of the Traralgon Farmers Market it will be necessary for Kay St, T'gon, between Breed and Church Sts, eastbound, to be closed to all traffic on Saturday, 26th August. The market will commence at 8am. It is expected that this portion of Kay St will be closed from 6am-2.30pm.

Public

Please check your ad on the firstday and bring any errors to theattention of the Classifieds Department immediately

The LatrobeValley Express makes everyefforttoavoid errors. We regretthat we cannot be responsible forany errors beyond the first day if you fail to bring it to our attention. No allowances can be made for errors not materially affectingthe effectivenessofthe ad Position cannot will not be guaranteed. All claims foradjustmentofcredit must be made within seven days afterbilling date. We reservethe right to revise or restrict any ad we deem objectionable and to change the classification whennecessaryto conform to the policyof this newspaper In the event an adisomitted from publication, we assumeno liabilityfor such omission.

HELLO BABY IN THE EXPRESS

The Latrobe Valley Express welcomes photos of your newest arrival

Parents are welcome to email a copy of your newborn photos for publication to our editorial staff - news@lvexpress com au with the subject line baby photo

Please include the following details:

Baby’s first and middle name/s

Baby’s surname

D O B

Mum s maiden name Mum and Dad’s names

Location of Hospital Hometown

BOARD DIRECTOR VACANCY YALLAMBEE TRARALGON VILLAGE FOR THE AGED INC.

Yallambee is anot-for-profit community owned organisation, providing services that accommodate and support aged members of the Latrobe Valley and Gippsland community.

Yallambee's facilities are conveniently located in the heart of Traralgon near popular amenities and advanced health facilities.

With 90 Independent Living Units in our Retirement Living Village and 120 beds in our Margery Cole Residential Aged Care Service. Yallambee prides itself on providing individual choice, independence, and quality of life.

The Board of Directors is committed to the provision of strong leadership with focus on fiscal and clinical governance to ensure Yallambee is well positioned to respond to the increasing demands within this growing and challenging sector.

Yallambee currently has one vacancy on our voluntary Board of Directors. If you are interested in becoming part of adynamic Board, can add diversity in thinking and share our vision and mission in making adifferenceinthe lives of our residents, we would be pleased to hear from you.

We encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds, such as those with adisability, CALD, Aboriginal / TSI, LGBTQIA+ community and people of different age groups with different lived experiences and or skill sets. Desirable skill sets include; alegal background, Accountancy, Economics, Project Management or Risk Management.

Yallambee offers support for Directors wishing to undertake education.

The Duty of aYallambee Board Director is available from http://www.yallambee.com.au/careers/ Applications can be emailed to: pa@yallambee.com.au marked Confidential to:

Mr Victor de Beer Board Chair /Chair Nominations Committee Yallambee Traralgon Village for the Aged Inc. Applications close 5pm, Monday 28 August 2023.

For Sale • Real Estate • Accommodation • For Sale • Public Notices • Public Notices • classif ieds@lvexpress.com.au MONDAY TO FRIDAY 9AM-5PM Classifieds 51354455 Page 34 —The Latrobe Valley Express, Wednesday, 23 August, 2023

SILICON MAN

small repairs, leaky showers. 0428 356 957.

Marino's Painting

Business Opportunities •

CUT IT DOWN

Door Installer

Nurses and Personal Care Workers

We're seeking staff to work in our Aged Care Residential home Dalkeith Gardens in Traralgon.

We have Enrolled Nurse, Registered Nurse and Personal Care Worker positions available for both permanent part time and casual, across AM, PM and night duty shifts.

When you first start you'll need:

● Registration with AHPRA Certification for nursing roles

● Minimum Certificate III in Individual Care or equivalent for personal care workers

● NDIS Clearance

For more information visit the home, email your CV to: reception.dalkeithgardens@benetas.com.au or call the home directly Jasmine Langstaff on 03 5174 1759 www.benetas.com.au/careers

PART TIME ADMINISTRATION OPPORTUNITY AT WGR

FENCING

Are you apeople person and have excellent Microsoft Office skills?

Are you accurate with your work, reliable, keen to learn, trustworthy, able to meet deadlines and relate well to suppliers, customers and willing to excelinour team?

Our Admin role is expected to work seamlessly with our Office Manager to develop our tourism business and to run operations.

The part time position is located at Walhalla station.

Key Responsibilities:

Under direction of the WGR Secretary and Office Manager with limited supervision:

● Administer day to day operations and maintain an efficient office administration system

● Provide financial support using accounting software, online rosters, timetables and ticketing systems

● Provide professional communication skills for problem solving and efficient services

● Adhere to and promote WGRs Safety Management System

● Provide coverage for station staff volunteer breaks on operational days when required

If this sounds like you -findout about work hours, workdays (must work Mondays), pay, benefits and other details -please call our office during business hours on 5165 6280.

Don't delay as we are hoping to fill the position soon!

CareersatLatrobe

0421 374 463.

TAXI DRIVERS

Required for the Traralgon area, good shifts with plenty of work. Training provided. If you like driving and talking to people it's a fantastic opportunity to join the team. 0428 743 956.

EXPERIENCED SPRAY PAINTER

REQUIRED IMMEDIATE START EXCELLENT WAGES FOR RIGHT APPLICANT APPLY TO MORWELL PANEL WORKS VIA PHONE O412 594 312

DELIVERERS WTD

Would you like to deliver the Latrobe Valley Express newspaper to individual homes on Tuesday and/or Wednesday afternoons in Morwell, Traralgon, Moe, Newborou gh and Churchill? Please apply to the Circulation Manager 0456 000 541. Please note: Children must be 11 years or over as we will need to apply for agovernment Child Employment Permit Children younger than 11 cannot or will not be accepted. Adult deliverers also welcome.

Applicants are invited for aSenior Leadership position

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL Learning and Wellbeing

Catholic College Sale is aco-educational secondary college for Year 7to12. The College is built on Sion and Marist traditions and is seeking an enthusiastic, student-centred and achievement-focussed Deputy Principal to fulfil this position. As aChild Safe school our focus is to provide afaith-filled partnership between students, families and the College to achieve student learning goals.

This is an excellent opportunity for acommitted Catholic educator who might be aspiring to Principalship to join ahigh functioning Leadership Team and work closely to plan and implement new developments while leading pedagogical change and avenues for student wellbeing.

The successful applicant will bring their own unique gifts and talents to the leadership of Catholic College Sale which will complement those of senior management.

Applicants will:

● Have aproven record as an educator and leader.

● Be actively involved in the development of contemporary learning and pedagogy.

● Be committed to and supportive of the Catholic ethos of the College.

● Be an active member of aEucharistic community.

● Have appropriate experience in education with current VIT membership.

● Have, or be prepared to work towards, 'Accreditation to Teach in a Catholic School'.

● Show ademonstrated commitment to the safety and wellbeing of children.

● Enjoy working in adynamic environment with young people.

● Be committed to working in ateam environment.

● Participate in aformal appraisal program during the term of appointment.

● Have an ability to work with students, staff and parents to ensure that the vision and mission of Catholic College Sale permeates all aspects of our faith and learning community.

LatrobeCityCouncilhasexcitingopportunitiesforenthusiasticand forward-thinkingindividualswithapassionforprovidingexcellent servicestoourcommunity

• SeniorProjects Officer –BuildingProjects–Building ProjectsTemporaryFullTime

• Experienced Maintenance Employee –Tree Maintenance - Main nance- PermanentFull Time

• Experienced Maintenance Employee –Urban Parks Maintenance–EastMaintenance –East- PermanentFullTime

• School CrossingSupervisors-Casual

• Maternal andChildHealthNurse - andChild Health Nurse-Permanent Part Time &Casual

• LearntoSwimInstructorLe mInstructor- Casual

• Preschooland Childcare -MultiplePositionsPermanent, Temporary&Casual

• EarlyChildhood TeachersTeachers-Permanent, Temporary& Casual

• ExpressionofInterestExpressionofInterest -PlanningOpportunities

Forfurtherinformationincludinghow toapply,positiondescriptionsand applicationclosingdates,pleasevisitour websitewww.latrobe.vic.gov.au/careers

Pleasenotesuccessfulapplicantswillbe requiredtoapplyforandsatisfactorilyobtain

If you would like to apply, please access the position description and application form via www.ccsale.catholic.edu.au and emailboth the application form and your curriculum vitae to principal@ccsale.catholic.edu.au or PO Box 594, Sale 3850

Applications close: 4pm Thursday, 14 September 2023

PRINTING TRADES ASSISTANT

An opportunityisavailable for an enthusiastic person to join our printing team at the Latrobe Valley Express Print Site in Morwell. Youwouldberequired to workvarying day and afternoon shifts and be working as part of a team of printing press operators to produce newspapers and other publicationsofthe highest quality.

Limited weekend and public holidaywork would be required.

A“can do” attitude is veryimportant

Applicants would need to be physicallyfit and be able to work on their feet

Agoodpractical mechanical aptitude and basic numericalskills would be an advantage. Aforkliftlicence, although not mandatory,would also be desirable.

Please send cover sheet and resume with references to:

www.latrobe.vic.gov.au/careers

The PrintManager 5Jones Road Morwell Victoria 3840 Applications close: Friday,1September ExpressPrint –Morwell is an equal opportunity employer

Community Financial Inclusion Officer

2roles available

● Full Time -Maximum Term Contract until 30 June 2024

● 100% on site work -Morwell based

● SCHADS Level 4-$82,043.52 -$88,287.68 (plus super and salary packaging)

Good Money is ajoint initiative of Good Shepherd, NAB, and the Victorian Government providing community finance products and services to improve the wellbeing and social inclusion of people who are disadvantaged and on low incomes.

● Be the initial point of contact for clients

● Assess client needs and deliver direct finance services

● Complete budgets and loan applications in client and loan management systems

● Provide effective service and operation of the Good Money Morwell site

Requirements:

● Certificate or Diploma in Community Services, or equivalent community services experience and/or Experience working with complex clients or Experience in loan administration

● Asatisfactory National (or International) Police Check

● Acurrent Employee Working with Children's Check (WWCC)

To understand more about the role in Morwell and to apply visit our website: www.goodshep.org.au/careers-with-us

URGENT Deliverers Wanted TRARALGON, MORWELL and NEWBOROUGH

Would you liketodeliver theLatrobe Valley Express newspaper to individual homes on Tuesdayand/or Wednesdayafternoons in Traralgon, Morwell and Newborough.

Please apply to:

The Circulation Manager 0456 000541

Please note: Children must be 11 years or over as we will need to apply for agovernment Child Employment Permit. Children younger than 11 cannot or will not be accepted. Adult deliverers also welcome

Manager Civil Infrastructure

Full time, Kalimna West Asset Management System Administrator Full time, Kalimna West Communications Officer Full time, limited tenure, Bairnsdale eastgippsland.vic.gov.au/careers

EXPERIENCED TRUCK DRIVER

ADVERTISERS PLEASE NOTE:

Much hardship and difficulty is caused to job seekers by misleading advertising placed in the employment columns. Our Situations Vacant columns are reserved for advertisements which carry aspecific and genuine offer of employment. Ads for `Business Opportunities' and `Training Courses' and `Employment Services' should be submitted under those headings. Placing misleading ads is an offence against the Trades Practices Act and state/territory fair trading acts and all advertisements are subject to the publisher's approval. For further advice, contact the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on 1300 302 502 or your state consumer affairs agency.

Registered Nurse -A&E

CGH are currently seeking Registered Nurses to join

PARK MANAGER

Old Gippstown is anot-for-profit organisation managed by the Gippstown Reserve Committee of Management Inc. under the direction of the Department of Energy, Environment &Climate Action.

Established in 1973, the heritage park covers eight acres of Crown Land at the 'gateway' to Moe. Old Gippstown is atownship of approximately 50 historic buildings relocated from various areas of Gippsland, that house antique furniture and collections from their eras.

Reporting to the Committee Chair, this full-time, salary position offers great scope and opportunity to leave your mark on one of Victoria's unique historical and tourist destinations.

Selection criteria include:

● Management and leadership plus project management skills.

● Proven business and financial management.

● Marketing and tourism skills.

● Asset management ability.

● Knowledge of conservation and interpretation of Australian heritage.

● Applying for and managing grants and sponsorship.

In addition, you will ignite passion in adedicated team of staff and volunteers, and foster aculture of excellence, collaboration, and innovation.

Further information including the position description and selection criteria can be obtained from the Secretary. Applications addressing the selection criteria and including acover letter, resume and references should be sent to: The Secretary Gippstown Reserve Committee of Management at secretaryoldgippstown@iinet.net.au by 5pm, Friday 8th September 2023.

Ambulance TransportAttendants /Patient TransportOfficers

Positionsavailableinyourarea

As oneofAustralia’s mosticonic brands,the RoyalFlying DoctorService hasa long history of providing quality and impactful care to some of the country’smost isolated regions.

TheRoyal Flying DoctorService of Victoria is currently seeking both full-time andpart-time Ambulance TransportAttendants and Patient TransportOfficers to joinour non-emergencyon-road patient transport service to provide the highest qualitypatientcareand treatmentduringon-roadtransport.

We areseeking experienced,capable and compassionate professionalsacrossregional Victoria to help contribute to better health outcomesfor Victorians,nomatter wheretheylive.

If you’re interestedinjoining an iconicAustralian organisation and wouldliketoknowmoreabout the position requirements,pleasecontact careers@rfdsvic.com.au

Classifieds

Responsibility

PLEASE CHECK YOUR AD

Please

Motor Mart

Personals

BRIDGES, Shirley. Passed away peacefully on 31 July 2023. Alife full of service and dedication from the age of 7, through her active participation in Girl Guides Australia and Victoria. At the time of her passing, she was adevoted member of the Strzelecki Boomerang Trefoil Guild. Shirley will be greatly missed by us all XOX.

AUDI A4

Auto, perfect body, very very good interior, needs alittle work, absolute bargain $2500. Phone 0418 830 201.

CASH FOR CARS

Old or new, buying all makes and models. LMCT 11618. Ph 0455 776 443.

FORD Focus Sport, MKII, '14 hatch, 4cyl., man., e.c.

63,500km, 12 mths reg.,

r.w.c., all mod cons, very econ., 1JD-7CU $14,500 o.n.o. 0456 609 278.

FORD TERRITORY

2012 TS, silver 7seats

147,000K's diesel, ZIG263

TBar, Local car $14,900. RWC. Ph 0406 659 920

Tenders

Caravans

THEA VITALE

23/8/2023 Happy5th

our

Caravans

2017 CRUSADER

Musketeer Aramis, 20ft, sep. shower, toilet, wash mach., solar panels, QS bed,diesel heater, gas/elec. HWS, ex. cond., $63,000. Ph. 0412 716 711.

JAYCO PENGUIN. 1990.

Good used cond. New awning $11,000. Ph: Tony 0447 973 115

GALAXY Odyssey 17ft, Limited Edition, pop-top, 2011, TV, gas/elec. stove, top grill, m/wave, a/c, QB, 240v/12v, plenty storage, e.c. $21,000 o.n.o. Phone 0456 609 278.

Lots of love Nonno Joe and Nanna Josie XXXXX

Deaths

AITKEN (née Quick), Kathleen Isobel. Born 20/1/1940. Passed away peacefully 17/8/2023 at Latrobe Regional Hospital. Loved and loving wife of Arthur. Loving mother of Andrew and Mara, Carolyn and Danny, David (dec.) and Sue, Colin and Selina, Russell and Suzi. Much adored nana to Elissa, Kirsten, Brent, Lily, Troy, Imogen, Gil, Zac, Tia, Grace, Paddy and Bella and 7great grandchildren. There are no goodbyes, wherever you are you will be in our hearts forever.

DOUGLAS, Maxwell James "Max". 12/8/1942 -16/8/2023. Passed peacefully at Maryvale Private Hospital on Wednesday, 16 August 2023.

Aged 81 years Loved and loving husband of Barbara. Adored father and fatherin-law of Jeannette and Daniel, Nardia and Shane and Angela and Glenn. Cherished Pa "Grumpy" to Hannah and Mia and Emma, Aimee, Olivia, Amber and Dacian, and Mason and Samuel. Great-Grandfatherto Archer and Bentlee. Brother to Norm. You worked so hard for those you loved, You always did your best, You fought until you could no more, and now you are at rest. Sadly Missed

EBSWORTH, James Scott. Our beautiful Jamesy Boy taken too soon. Father of Jye. Adored fiancé to Scarlett. Papa Jim to Riley, Tyler, Savannah and Jordi. Beloved son of Suzy, friend to Pete. Brother to Aaron and Kathryn. Uncle to Casey, Hector and Remy. Fishing andFree

LITTLE, Shirley Joyce. Of Nicholson, formerly of Traralgon passed away peacefully on 14 August 2023, aged 88 years.

Loved wife of Don (dec.).

Mother of Saul (Russ), Susan and Christine.

Mother-in-law to Ken and Warren. Grandma of Daniel, Leigh. Wade, Anne-Maree, Jaclynn, Stephanie, Brittany and Amy and 20 great grandchildren.

Asocial butterfly who was always there

LOWDEN, Nicholas Anthony (Nick). Passed away suddenly on 3August 2023. Aged 23 years

Much loved and adored Nephew of Denise and Ian. Adored cousin of Melissa and Waz, Michael and Kate, Matthew and Erin, Josh and Kate. We are all saddened to have to suddenly say goodbye to someone who was such abright shining light in all our lives. Much loved and sadly missed.

MAHER, Mary Jean

The President, Committee, Staff and members of the Morwell RSL Sub Branch are deeply saddened by the passing of their valued Affiliate Member Jean. Deepest heartfelt sympathy to Les, John, Leanne and all of the family and friends. LEST WE FORGET

McMAHON, Colin Percival. 20/8/1943 -16/8/2023.

Died at Nunawading, Vic.

Son of Percy and Muriel McMahon (both dec.).

Brother to Ian, Ray, David (dec.). Father to Marelle. Grandfather to Saxon and Jai.

Forever in our hearts

Till we meet again Rest in Peace

STEWART, Kirsten. There is aspecial angel above us tonight, One who is strong and courageous. She will wrap her angel wings around her loving family to guide and protect them. She is not alone as she has her Dad (Malcolm) beside her.

Fly free now Kirsten

To Bern, Paul, David and family -thoughts with you all. Sabrina and Ronnie.

TERRILL, Neil Warren OAM. Passed away 11/8/2023. Age 93 years

Much loved husband of Lois (dec.).

Loving father and fatherin-law of Linda and Laurie, Jenni and Anton, Thea and Richard. Grandfather of Jack and Jemima, Sophie and Andrew, Harry and Danica, and Foster. Great Grandfather of Clarabelle and John. Brother of Ian.

VANDERFEEN, Eileen Theresa. 9/3/1922 -14/8/2023.

Loving widow of William (Bill) Vanderfeen (dec.). Dearly loved mother of Nola and Michael.

Mother-in-law to Carole.

Grandmother of Terri and partner Andrew and John (dec.). Great grandmother of Lenny, Zac and Tommy.

Daughter of Henry and Cis Clarke. Eldest sister of Kathleen, Vera, Edna, Des (all deceased) and John. Sister-in-law to June and Margaret.

Thanks to the staff of Latrobe Valley Village and Doctor Remyn.

Always in God's Loving Care Funeral held (TUESDAY 22 August 2023.)

EBSWORTH. AFuneral Service and Committal for Cremation for Mr James Scott Ebsworth will be held at Latrobe Valley Funeral ServicesChapel,on MONDAY (28 August 2023) commencing at 11am. James' Service will be livestreamed. To view the livestream visit our website.

MOE-MORWELL-TRARALGON

MOE 5126 1111

Place your tribute on latrobevalleyfunerals.com.au

GILBERT.

Requiem Mass for the Repose of the soul of Mrs Marjorie Gilbert will be held at St Michael's Catholic Church, Church St, Traralgon on FRIDAY, (25 August 2023), commencing at 12 noon. APrivate Burial will take place following the Mass. To view the livestream, visit our website and follow the prompts.

MOE-MORWELL-TRARALGON TRARALGON 5174 2258 Place your tribute on latrobevalleyfunerals.com.au

LITTLE. The Funeral Service for Mrs Shirley Little will leave the Peter Murray Funerals Chapel, Bairnsdale after a Service commencing at 2pm, FRIDAY (25 August 2023) for the Bumberrah Cemetery, Johnsonville. For livestream details please see our website. Peter Murray Funerals East Gippsland 5152 4596

JAYCO Swan Outback 2009, excellent condition, rego Jan 2024, sleeps up to six. $20,000. Ph: 0411270997

AITKEN (nee Quick), Kathleen Isobel.

20/1/1940 -17/8/2023

Much loved mother of Colin, mother-in-law of Selina and Nana of Lily and Troy. You may be gone but you will never be forgotten

EBSWORTH, James. Tragically taken on 9/8/23. Much loved Nephew of Kendal and Andrew Laws, Cousin of Angus, Zane and Seth. So sad we never got to say goodbye and tell you how much you were loved. Stole my heart the day you arrived and broke my heart the day you left. Love and light darling boy XXOO

RICKARD, Stanley Passed away Wednesday, 2August 2023.

Husband of Lynette (dec.), Pamela (dec.) and Dianne (dec.). Father of Wilma, Wayne (dec.), John, Jeffrey, Belinda and Amanda. Stepfather to Troy (dec.), Shaun and Rodney (dec.). At Rest Private Funeral.

McMAHON. The Funeral for Mr Colin McMahon will arrive at the Stratford Cemetery on TUESDAY (29 August 2023) for aGraveside Service to commence at 1pm.

MOE-MORWELL-TRARALGON MOE 5126 1111

Place your tribute on latrobevalleyfunerals.com.au

Funerals •

AITKEN.

PARAMOUNT Thunder

19'6'' pop-top, 2020, dual axle, full ens., L-shaped lounge, x2 95L water tanks, x1 95L grey water tank, bike rack, diesel heater, QS bed, elec. brakes, Dexter anti-sway, gas/240v HWS, 3-way fridge, microwave, anti-flap kit, Dometic awn., solar panel, rev. camera, w/mach., CD player, TV, exc. cond., great van, easy to tow, gen. reason for sale $70,000. 0431 159 984.

Selling avan?

Don't waste time waiting for buyers, or on endless consignment plans, sell it today we'll pay cash now.

Affordable Caravans 0418 336 238, 5623 4782.

Machinery &Plant •

JOHN DEERE

Zero turn ride-on mower, very good condition.

$3,600. Phone 0408 395 732.

EXPRESS

BENNELL, Kenneth Robert. 23/6/1951 -13/8/2023. Passed away 13 August 2023atDandenong Hospital, aged 72 years. Loved husband of Anita.

Father of Ross and Belinda. Ken-Dad of Anita, Ingrid (dec.), and Angela. Grandad of Jack and Emma.

Now at rest after battling so hard for so long Atreasured man who always had his family along his journey on earth. Love Anita, Neets, and Annie.

You personified what it meant to be selfless, always making sure others around you were looked after ahead of yourself. Making it this far was a testament to your strength and determination. You got to spend 5great years with Jack which is something we will always cherish.

Thanks for everything Dad Love Ross, Belinda, Emma, and Jack.

BENNELL, Ken. Passed away 13/8/2023. Loved brother of Margaret, Laura, Maureen and Albert (dec.) and families. Lots of love and memories.

GILBERT (nee Duffy), Marjorie Adeline. 29/10/1925 -17/8/2023. Aged 97 years Passed away peacefully with family. Loved mother of Michael (dec.), Maree and Kevin, Leon, Sharon and Bob, Kathy and Ian, Pat and Harps, Shane, Barney and Tuyet, Michelle and Rick. Loved and adored by 21 grandchildren and 22 great grandchildren. Reunited with beloved son, Michael

GIUSTI, Albert.

Peacefully passed away on Monday 14 August 2023 surrounded by his loved ones.

Albert was ason, a brother, afather and a friend. Albert was awellloved man, the life of the party and could always make you smile. He will be missed dearly by his mum, brother, his sons Jacob, James, Paul and Jason, his daughter Dannelle, his granddaughters Mia, Emma and his kid's partners Jimi Kay, Alysse and Heidy. Anyone who would like to pay their respects, we will be celebrating his life at 11am on SATURDAY (26 August 2023) at Tobin Brothers Funerals 111 Wheatsheaf Rd, Glenroy. After the Service, the celebrations will continue at the Glenroy RSL 186 Glenroy Rd, Glenroy VIC 3046 to share stories and raise aglass for Albert.

MOE-MORWELL-TRARALGON MOE 5126 1111

Place your tribute on latrobevalleyfunerals.com.au

ROBERTSON, Ian William. 3/7/1948 -18/8/2023.

Passed away suddenly on Friday 18 August 2023.

Aged 75 years

Loved and loving husband of Christene. Loved and respected father and father-in-law of Kelly and Mark and Jess. Cherished Poppy of Malia and Emily.

Loved brother of David and Beverley and Marilyn and Dennis. Loved brother-in-law of Barbara. Always in our hearts For Service details please visit: latrobevalley funerals.com.au

STEWART, Kirsten. Passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by family on Wednesday, 16 August 2023. Dearly loved wife of David. Loved and loving mother of Luke, Adam and Josh. Loveddaughter of Bernadette and Malcolm (dec). Loved and loving sister of Paul. May the sun shine warm upon yourface May the rain fall soft upon your fields Until We Meet Again. Loved Always Private Family Funeral.

MOE-MORWELL-TRARALGON MOE 5126 1111

Place your tribute on latrobevalleyfunerals.com.au

AFuneral Service and Committal for Cremation for Kathleen Isobela will be held in the Rose Chapel at Gippsland Memorial Park, Cemetery Rd, Traralgon, MONDAY (28 August 2023) at 1pm. SOUTHEAST FUNERAL CARE 0438 671 925 1800 067 782

BENNELL.

The Funeral Service for Mr Kenneth Robert Bennell will be held at The Sale Baptist Church, Princes Highway Sale at 1pm on FRIDAY (25 August 2023) followed by aPrivate Cremation.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the George Gray Centre.

Please see our website for livestream details.

BARRY &ANNETTE LETT 67 MACARTHUR STREET SALE 5143 1232 MEMBER AFDA www.lettsfunerals.com.au

DOUGLAS. AFuneral Service and Committal for Cremation for Mr Maxwell "Max" James Douglas will be held at Latrobe Valley Funeral Services Chapel, 260 Princes Highway, Traralgon on FRIDAY (25 August 2023) commencing at 11am. Max's service will be livestreamed. To view the livestream visit our website.

MOE-MORWELL-TRARALGON

TRARALGON 5174 2258

Place your tribute on latrobevalleyfunerals.com.au

Not as previously advertised STANTON. The Funeral Service to celebrate the life of Carolyn Stanton will take place in the Rose Chapel at Gippsland Memorial Park, Cemetery Drive, Traralgon on FRIDAY (25 August 2023) commencing at 10.30am. Afterwards, Carolyn will be laid to rest within the cemetery grounds.

TERRILL.

The Funeral of Mr Neil Warren Terrill OAM will arrive at the Hazelwood Cemetery for aService commencing at 11am on THURSDAY (24 August 2023) followed by refreshments in the Yinnar and District Memorial Hall. The Service will be livestreamed. Please check our website or Facebook page for details.

QUIRK, Justin George. 19/3/1972 -21/8/2007.

We hold you close within our hearts and there you will remain, Walking with us throughout our lives, until we meet again. Peacefully resting with Matthew. Love Mum, Dad, Nicole and Mick, Jason and Sharon and their families.

QUIRK, Justin. 19/3/1972 -21/8/2007.

Justin you touched our lives and you will stay in our hearts forever. Narelle, Jess, Jack and Kye XOXO.

ROBINS, Bruce Leslie. 13/10/1967 -23/8/2021.

You are loved beyond words and missed beyond measure. Son of the late Raymondand Isobel Robins. Cherished youngest brother of Peter and Rhondell, Carolyn and Gary, Jenny and Steve.

Birthday Memoriam

ASLING, Jacqueline. 25/8/1972 -25/10/2016. Happy birthday sweet, love you and miss you more everyday. Glenn, Brooke and Amy. XXX

Affordable Funerals for Latrobe Valley

John Gabraith 0413 332 647

Craig GalbraithEvans 0407 043 182

BUDGE, Michael. 24/8/1984.

39 years old today Mick, and we can't hold you and wish you Happy Birthday.

We miss you so much and love you heaps Mum, Dad, Sarah, Lauren, William, Danny and Kirsty.

Bereavement Thanks •

FOLEY, Faye Elizabeth.

The family of Faye would like to express our sincere gratitude for all the heartfelt tributes, cards, flowers, love and support given to us with the passing of our much loved Mum.

Thank you to all who attended mum's funeral and made the day a memorable celebration of her life.

Please accept this as our personal thank you.

Family owned and locally based Funeral Directors

We bring35years experience to families in Traralgon, Morwell, Churchill, Moe, Trafalgar, Korumburraand surroundingareas

THECHOICE IS YOURS

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Bourne’s Simpson Desert effort

By TOMHAYES

COULD you imagine trotting across adesert in 30 degree heat? Not me.

Traralgon local Blake Bourne has recently returned from his trip to the Simpson Desert, with memories both good and bad.

Bourne set out to attempt to break the world record of running 380 kilometres across the Simpson Desert in less than three days and eighthours, arecord set by Pat Farmer in 1998.

To cut to the chase, Bourne’s attemptwas unsuccessful, yet has emerged from the experience with ahandful of new lessons and the will to want to try again.

“It’s one of those things where I’ve invested so much time and energy into it, to fall short is a bit of akickinthe guts,” Bourne said.

“I would’ve preferred to be back here knowing I’ve g gone the distance, , now that I’m back Ijjust want to get back out there again and finish it off “But, I believe regardless of the outcome we were still able to make some positive change, so I think that’s awesome ”

While not only trying to attempt a 25-year-old record, Bourne’s main cause was to raise money for mental health via the Black Dog Institute

The Black Dog Institute is a not-for-profit facility for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mood disorders such as depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder

Talking to Bourne, in February, he spoke on his own mental health battles that he faced in the past

“I’ve been through a few mental health battles myself,” Bourne told The Express in February

“I’ve seen mates go through the same thing and watched mates lose people to suicide

“The impact and seeing how it affect their lives, I don’t want anyone else to go through that pain, so I’m doing this to hopefully spark some change and bring those numbers back down because they’re not looking good ”

The lead up to the run did not hold Bourne back mentally, but perhaps physically

Between February and July, Bourne suffered multiple injuries that he believes disrupted his preparation, but they weren’t going to stop him from trying

He had been suffering from hip pain since the start of the year, before calf tear during training

“I tore my calf during a 64-kilometre run the next month or so was where I was going to peak, I was going to do three 100-kilometre runs back-to-back-to-back, and I couldn’t,” Bourne said

“Leading into the run, the most I’d ran was probably about 10 kilometres.

“It definitelyhad an effectonmyfitness levels, like my resting heart rate when Iwas running was alot higher than it was typically, and that probably effected the heat stroke and things like that.”

Bourneset off on his journey, beginning at 4am on Thursday, August 3.

He pulled the pin alittle over two days later, after running 203.2 kilometres in 53 hours and 33 minutes-almost the length of five marathons.

“My body shutdown, so Icouldn’t lift my feet at all, Iwas running and Icould lift my legs but not my feet -which worked okay on the flats and the downhills, but to climb up the dunes I couldn’t push up,” Bourne admitted.

Bourne began strongly, as his pace within the first seven hours was20hours ahead of schedule, meaning that if he was able to continue at that pace, he would break the record by 20 hours

Of course, the trials and tribulations had to come down on him, and there were multiple occurrences, including heat and the vigorous sand dunes

“It was forecast, the hottest temperature the whole time was meant to be 18 degrees (Celsius), and the first day was 32 (degrees Celsius),” Bourne said

“There was no wind, no cloud cover, no trees for protection, nothing And it’s a dry heat as well

“The first two days my body was strong, but it just saps all of your energy out of you, like I was more exhausted than I was sore after running for 48 hours

“The sand dunes were relentless as well, as soon as you go down one, the next one is right in front of you, and it’s just non-stop the entire time

“There’s nothing even remotely close to it down here they’re just different they go forever and ever ”

Within those 53 hours and 33 minutes, Bourne had practically no time to rest either, so keeping up energy levels were vital

On day one, he suffered heatstroke and had to lay down for around 45 minutes in order to cool himself down, before gaining a couple of hours of sleep after surpassing the 100-kilometre mark

Once awake again, Bourne walked and ran throughout day two, before having a brief four to five hour sleep at around 10pm

Despite not reaching the ultimate goal, Bourne remains in good spirits, remembering the highs of the trip, with his persistence to eventually cross the Simpson Desert never wavering

“The first kilometre is the one that I remember the most from the entire time I remember

starting that first kilometre and getting about aminuteinto the run and just all the memories came back that led up to the point,” Bourne recalled

“I was thathypedup, and adrenaline -that fuelledmefor the nextfew hoursthat’sfor sure.”

Bourne found that overcoming hurdles while on his run gave him aspark to continue and push through the pain.

“There were alot of times when my body was shutting down and Iwould get up and go again, so overcoming those hurdles was good,” he said.

Now back at home, already back in training at the gym,Bournehas to takethings alittle easier to accommodate the toll taken to his body.

Bourne sufferedinflammationtohis ankles, calves and achilles -which arestill sore -while his feet were originally swollen so much that he was struggling to fit into asize13shoe, when he is regularly asize 12.

Due to the sand build-up inside his shoe, the rubbing on his feet caused blistering on his toes, which could see him lose a few toenails

Running to raise awareness for mental health, he had to take a step back a think about his own mental health post-run, Bourne opened up to what he felt on the drive home

“The first, probably two or three days afterwards was a massive struggle,” he said

“I was down in the dumps and screaming and crying every day, but I’m feeling better now ”

While in reflection, Bourne thought of what he could change or do better for when he decides to tackle the Simpson Desert again, which still remains a goal for him

Top of his list was to pack more gaiters, as his broke, leading to sand filling his shoes and rubbing his feet, while more ice packs was also high on the list

Another support vehicle would’ve eased things, as his dad - Brad - was busy working the change-overs while Bourne stopped to eat, drink or change something

Due to the heat, Bourne regrets eating hot meals, so next time he prepares to pack dryer and cooler food to keep him fuelled

While in terms of change-overs, Bourne believes they could be quicker in future with improved waiting times for refilling water

Since the start of his campaign, Bourne has had donations open with 100 per cent of proceeds going towards the Black Dog Institute

He had a goal of $38,000 - $100 for every kilometre ran, but now has altered his goals due to the outcome

“The $38,000 figure came about because it was $100 for every kilometre, so I’m still pushing for

the $100 for every kilometre, but it will end up being around $20,000 instead,” Bourne said.

Bourne remains focussed on completing his goal.

“The goal was always to run across the Simpson Desert, the goal was never to run halfway across the Simpson Desert,” he said.

“The body has taken afair hit at the moment, I’ll recover and then work out apath forward.

“I definitely have plans and hopes of getting to that other side and going the distance!”

Despite his goal in mind, at the moment he would prefer to reach the other side without the weight of atime element involved.

“I think Ijust want to go the distance, Iwant to be able to say ‘I’ve set this goal to cross the Simpson Desert,and now Ihave crossed the Simpson Desert’,” Bourne said.

“I’m already y back into trainingg, Iwas in the gym putting in the work

“I knew I could do it, and even though I fell short, I know even more now that I can do it!”

Bourne has become an inspiration to the local community, with messages flooding his phone of well wishes or thanks for the inspiration he had spread

“I get messages pretty much every day,” he said

“So, there’s no service out there the entire time, I was out of service from August 2nd, and then I remember once I got back into service again - the amount of messages I had, I’m still trying to get back and reply to everyone!

“I definitely know that it’s making some change regardless of the end result

“I think it’s definitely helped, the goal going out there was always to spark change and important conversations around mental health, so even though I have fallen short in my goal to do that is awesome ”

Bourne remains thankful to those who got him as far as he could, from his friends and family on a personal level, to sponsor helping with equipment and gear

“I want to say a big thank-you to my friends and family who have supported me on the way, and to the businesses that helped sponsor the run,” he said

Bourne thanks his major sponsors Latrobe Health Assembly, The Athletes Foot Traralgon and Optimum Nutrition

Bourne raised $21,715 in his pursuit help people with poor mental health, with all proceeds going to the Black Dog Institute

Views: Blake and his team were not short of picturesque landscapes

Good spirits: BlakeBournehas returned from his trip to the SimpsonDesert.Photographs FitFocus Media

Tough: Theheat wasamajorissue,considering the original forecast.

Gippsland capoff near-perfect season

BASKETBALL GIPPSLAND UNITED

BY TOM HAYES

THE girls have done it.

Gippsland United’swomen’s team hasundoubtedly been the most dominating team in the Big V second division this season, and have proven it by taking out the Grand Final.

On Saturday, August 19 at the Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Stadium, United claimed the flag, and promotion to Division1after the win. They welcomed Wallan to the GRISS, the second-bestteam throughout2023, but still by some margin.

Gippy United capped off another dominant display to round out the 2023 season.

Wallandid have the btter of them in the first quarter, but from there on out, it was one-way traffic for the Gippsland side.

After achallenging first quarter, going down 20-17, Gippsland ralliedand hit Wallanbackwith aquick response.

Hockey season coming to close

HOCKEY

THELatrobe Valley HockeyAssociation hosted Vic League home games for the last time of the season on Saturday.

The day started with theLVHAMen taking on the Dandenong Warriors.

The Warriors weretoo strong in the blustery condition and won the day 4-2.

Daniel Lineen scored agoal from apenalty corner, and Daniel Godfrey scored from a penalty stroke against the keeper.

Best for the LV Men were Lineen, Godfrey and Jamie Cobbledick, with Lineen taking the player of the match for men’s round.

The LV Women had been displaying improved teamwork over recent weeks.

However, old habits crept back in as they went down 0-3 to Melbourne High School.

AliciaWood-Davies was awardedthe Men’s roundmedal, Carly Thompson and Steph Langstaff also contributed well for the LV side.

Next weekend is the last home and away for Vic League with both teams playing away. The Women take on bottom of the ladderBayside andthe menupagainst the Melbourne Razorbacks.

In the only local game of the round Churchill and Moe played an entertaining match that saw Churchill eventually the winners 4-3. Best players were Ash Vuillermin, Jack Morley,and Brady Cake for Moe, and for Churchill Claire Goodwin, Jess Thompson, andKelly McLauchlan.

Vuillermin and Goodwin were the medal recipients for their teams.

They scored21oftheir own points to Wallan’s 14,tothen take afour-pointlead into half time, and they were just getting started.

The damage was done in the third quarter, which saw Gippsland annihilatetheiropponents, boosting their margin by 11 more points to 15 (67-52).

Gippsland didn’t want to give Wallan any chances of acomeback, doing so by winning their thirdstraight quarter of the game to close out the game and the championship.

Afurther 22-20 finalquarter score led the Gippy girlstoan89-72 win over Wallan.

Lauren Tuplin and MaKenzie Miller starred for United, both ever-so-close to triple-doubles.

Tuplin top-scored with 25 points -which included three three’s, she also added 10 rebounds, eight assists and three steals to her stat-sheet.

Millerclosedwith20points, amonster 16 rebounds and nine assists, as both girlsplayed more minutes than any other, both over half an hour.

Joanna Watson was also influential as the only other double-digit scorer with 11 points, she also had seven boards and five assists.

It is clearthatnew head coach BradRooff has had some impact since joining for this season.

Rooffmentioned his coaching mantrathat he and the team had discussed all season long; CREATE. Commitment, Respect, Effort, Attitude, Teamwork, Enjoy.

When reflectingonthe season that Gippsland Unitedhad, it might become clearer as to why they had the eventual winning formula.

Another team focus that was implemented was One Dream, One Vision, One Team, One Mission.

“Thesupport we had in the crowdfeltlike we were at the Matildas game!” Rooff added.

“It has been an exciting journey coaching women’s sport for so long and having seen the crowd sizes increase and the support of our women in sport is so amazing.

“I am afatherofadaughterand son, and so excited for the future growth and development of women’s sports around the world.”

Gippsland United will enjoy alengthy break as champions, and return fit and ready to fire in 2024 in Division 1.

Ascension: MaKenzie Miller wasnamed MVP forGippslandUnitedinthe Grand Final. Photographs supplied

Harriers report on successful August

AV XCRinBallarat

ON Sunday August 6th, 18 Harriers made the long drive to Ballarat for Round 7ofthe XCR Season, with15km or twoand ahalf lapsofthe circuit made famous by Steve Monaghetti. The conditions were cool, yet ideal for distance running, with only alight wind on onesideofthe lake.

Emilie Cutler and Molly Fitzgerald continuetobe evenly placed,with Cutler earning28th place, with Fitzgerald in 39th. Sarah Lewis ran arapid time of 61:08 being awarded the Women’s Golden Boot. Corey Milnercontinues to improve in terms of placings, finishing 33rd in atimeof48:26.Harriers debutant Charlie Stern impressed, with atimeof 51:50 and 94th place. Ian Cornthwaite continues to make headway in the 60+ category, with second place in the very competitive category. Andrew Greenhill continues to earn multiple minute PBs with every race. Clinton Jolly finished his race despite calfsoreness,exemplifying the old Harriers motto to collect the Men’s ‘Golden Boot.’ Towards the packofthe Harriers pack, Ron Verschuurwas successful in earning a15-minute PB from last year.

Division 3Men and Division 2Women teams bothfinished third,continuing asuccessful season.

The next AV raceisthe ‘EkidenRelays’ at St Anne’s Winery near Bacchus Marsh.

Riverslea Boulevard

62 runners braved the cool winds of last Thursday evening and completed the traditional 3lap,5km course around Riverslea Boulevard. The Harriers welcomed new runner James Alessi who earned a speedy time of 24:30. Three canine friends, Dixie, Queenieand JoeyTurbo,all finishedinimpressive times,showing thebreadth of the Harriers membership.

Karen Graham, Molly Irvine, and Liz Kenney earned female podium finishes, and Dale Murphy as well as usual combatants Miles Verschuur and Ian Cornthwaite were the top 3men.

Peter Fairbairn continues to make improvements

NTP: 4th TBradshaw, 6th RMatthews,13th

GOLF

CHURCHILL &MONASH

StrokeSaturday12th August 2023

AGrade Winner: R. Dent 11 72

BGrade Winner: G. Spowart 25 65

CGrade Winner: W. Sutton2772

DTL: 1.R.Welsh 71, 2. S. Caldwell 73, 3. D.

Byers74, 4. P. Ireland 74,5.C.Sterrick74, 6.

J. Cahill 75, 7. S. Sanders76, C/B

Scratch: R. Dent 83

N.T.P: 3rdPro-Pin:C.Stanlake, 12th G.

Barnes,14th B. Kilday

Target Hole: J. Langstaff:

StablefordTuesday15th August 2023

Winner: J. Sanders1736pts

D.T.L: S. Turner 27 35pts,P.Bolding 23

31pts

N.T.P: 3rdG.Barnes,5th V. Reid,12th C.

Carder,14th C. Carder

MIRBOONORTH

Thursday17th August, Stableford.

AGrade: GShandley. (12) 39pts

BGrade: NBaker,(25) 35pts c/b

DTL: NRutledge 36, GRenwick, SMc

Kenzie 35 c/b

NTP: 4th RRobbins,6th, TBradshaw, 13th

GRenwick, 16th JSmeriglio

Birdies: 6th TBradshaw,

Saturday19th August, Stableford,

AGrade: TBradshaw35pts

BGrade: ALiebe 35pts c/b

DTL: BBradshaw, JSmeriglio 34, J Robbins31c/b

TBaker,16th BBradshaw, Birdies: 16th BBradshaw.

MOE

Saturday, 12 August 2023 MENS

StablefordAggregate

1st: KenJennings &TonyJohnson 68

2nd: PeterStephens &JakeParsell 67

Sunday, 13 August 2023 OPEN Sunday9 hole Stableford

Grade AWinners: Stewart, Doug (28) 24

Place Getters: Coombe,David 21

Sunday, 13 August 2023 OPEN Sunday

Medley

Grade AWinners: Heller,Evan(16)36

Grade BWinners: Matthews,Max (25) 37

Place Getters: White, Rodney36C/B Lodge, Jamie 36 C/B

Wednesday, 16 August 2023 WOMEN’S

WEDNESDAY 9HOLEPar

Grade AWinners: Lee,Judy (48) +5

Place Getters: Hale,Jan (54) -1

Wednesday, 16 August 2023 WOMEN’S

PAR

Grade AWinners: Boulton, Joan (25) +2

Grade BWinners: Blandford, Jane (29) -3

Place Getters: Fitzpatrick, Robin -3 Griggs

Andrea -4 C/B

Nearest to Pin: 4th Robin Fitzpatrick8th

Linda Bates 14th Sue Vincent

Target Hole prize: Helen Stanlake

Thursday, 17 August 2023 OPEN Medley

Stableford

Grade AWinners: Robinson, Brett(11)38

since the joining the Harriers six weeks ago, with atimeof23.44.

Next week’s run is the Waterhole Creek run from behind Morwell Park Primary School in Morwell. With the weather slowly warming up, the light growing, and the trail runs of the Summer Season fast approaching, now is the best time to join the Traralgon Harriers.

 RESULTS: Ballarat Road Race:

SCOREBOARD

Grade BWinners: Donaldson, Murray (16) 39

Grade CWinners: Freshwater,Leigh (19) 39

Place Getters: Griggs,Daryl 38 White, Rodney37C/B Langmaid, Trevor 37 Dent, Russell 36 C/B Stephens,Simon 36 C/B Boyce, John 36 Dyt, Ricky 36 C/B Borg, Manny36Shearing,Jason 35 C/B Richer Paul 35 C/B Panozzo, Gavan35

Great Score: Eric Beveridge (Birdie) @ 4Simon Stephens (Birdie) @4 Andrew Shearing (Birdie) @4 Tony Johnson (Birdie) @8

Nearest to Pin: 4EricBeveridge8th Laurie

Veenman 14th Andrew Shearing

Saturday, 19 August 2023 MEN’S Stroke

-Flag Event

Grade AWinners: Muirhead, Neil (10) 67

Place Getters: Yeomans,Wayne 71 Houston, Neale 73 Stephens,Simon 74

Donnison, Terry76C/B

Nearest to Pin: 4th Neil Muirhead 8th

Simon Stephens 14th Wayne Yeomans

Neil Muirhead: A45Flag Winner

MORWELL

Women’s16th August, 2023 Stableford

Winner: DVuillermin 34 pts

DTL: CPeter 31 pts

NTP: 2nd NTePaa 11th DVuillermin 15th

DVuillermin

TRAFALGAR

16/8/23:Stablefordwith1218-Holeplayers and 89-HolePlayers

Winner: Aileen McNair (35) with 35 points

Female Open

15km: Emilie Cutler 58:22; MollyFitzgerald 59:28; Sarah Lewis 1:01:08; Anna Cardillo 1:11:20; Elizabeth Kenney 1:12:39; Maree Graham 1:27:43; Callie Cook 1:32:19.

Male Open

15km: Corey Milner 48:26; Charlie Stern51:50; Ian Cornthwaite56:41; Martin Lynch 1:01:55; Andrew Greenhill 1:02:37; Darrel Cross 1:02:42; Clinton Jolly 1:03:39; Bill Barry1:09:14;GerardCallinan 1:13:29; Ron Verschuur 1:19:30.

Male 18

6km: Miles Verschuur 22:53.

Riverslea Boulevard:

5km: Dale Murphy18.47,Miles Verschuur 19.26, Ian Cornthwaite19.34, Glenn Graham 19.52, Andrew Greenhill 21.09, Darrel Cross 21.26, KarenGraham 21.37, Pete Sanders22.30, MollyIrvine 22.32, Jason Odlum

23.12, Andrew Broberg23.19, ChesneyPodmore23.35, Liz Kenney23.38, GeoffFrancis 23.40, Chris VanUnen

23.42, PeterFairbairn23.44, GaryFox 24.00, Stephen Renehan 24.11, James Alessi 24.30, AnthonyMagaldi

24.30, NickTalerico 24.35, Adrian Sutcliffe 24.58, Tobiasz Grzmil 25.05, Clinton Jolly25.37,Ron Verschuur 25.38, Stephen McLeod 26.07,Giuseppe Marino 26.29, Jack Marino 26.51, DempseyPodmore26.51, Dixie Legge

27.17, Andrew Legge 27.18, Rose Croft27.50, Angelo Gaudiano 27.57,Kathleen Kent 27.57,Fiona Syme 28.34, MarkFairbairn28.59, ClaireMacumber 29.01, Phill Mayer 29.20, Chris Francis 29.43, Alfie Warner 29.44, Susan Poole 29.44, Dave Mann 29.55, WallyLappin 29.59, Paul Smith 30.11, JohnnyRoscoe 30.58, MariekaReilly

30.58, Mandy Ellis 31.01, Tania Whitehead 32.41, Kate Rowe 37.04, BarryHiggins 38.40, Lynda Jones 38.46, Ian Heafield 38.56, Danelle Wright 39.42, Ella Warner 41.11, TimGraham 43.50, Desmond Dalton 44.00, Belinda Heafield 44.11, Christina Creighton 49.00, Queenie Duncan 49.03, Alysha Duncan 49.04, KathyQuinn 53.05, Michelle Colwell 53.05, Helen Whitby53.05, Joey Turbo 56.59,Kylee Earl57.00. Volunteers: ReeGraham,Michelle Sawyer,Guiseppe Marino,JackMarino

Runner-Up: Ange Bayley(20) with 33 points Down The Line: June Tickell and Cheryl

Deppeler with 30 points c/b

NTP: 5th Di Moody and the 11th June Tickell

Gobblers: Donna Mellon on the 17th,Jo

Baker on the 15th,and Cheryl Deppeler on the 10th

Nine-Hole Winner: Sue Balfour (43) with 18 points

Nine-Hole Down the Line: Sonia Roberts (42) with 16 points

Tuesday15/08/2023 Stableford

Players: 24, Women 3, Men 21

Winner: Franc Kiss (26)

Runner Up: Tobie Davie (22)

DTL: Les Pearce,GeoffFallon, Steve

Klemke, Chris Moody,Heather Savige

NTP: GeoffFallon

Bradmans: Andy Kiss

Thursday: 17/08/2023 Strokeand Putting

Players: 45, Women 12,Men 33

Womens Winner: Sue Klemke(30)

Runner Up: BevKeily(31)

DTL: Sue Balfour,Aileen McNair

Putting: Sue Klemke(13)

NTP: June Tickell

Bradmans: June Tickell

Mens Winner: RodBrisbane C/B (31)

Runner Up: Dennis Scambler (31)

DTL: RichardGould, Hank Fiddelaers, Mick Bennett, Tony Shearer,David Balfour, Graeme Grant

Putting: Hank Fiddelaers, PatO’Connell

(14)

NTP: SteveGould

Bradmans: GeoffPickburn

Saturday,August 19th 2023, Stableford

AGrade Winner: WarwickGriggs 38 pts

C/B

BGrade Winner: RonDavey 40 pts

DTL’s: Bill Williams 38, John Tabuteau 36, Tony Gray 35, Max Taylor 35, PeterRhodes 34, GarryJansen 33, DickSheehan 33 C/B

NTP’s: 2nd: Noel Cornish 5th: Bill Williams 13th:TonyGray15th: TomWoodhouse

PISTOLS

Mon 14/8/23air pistol

CGrade: BKelly547-76-623.

DGrade: DChester 450-122-572. JWest

425-143-558. NCaruso 362-158-520. Wed16/8/23 Centrefire

CGrade: CBenelli 491-96-587

DGrade: DVan Roy340-247-587 25 mt pistol

CGrade: BKelly531-79-610. JSmith 396-195-591

DGrade: MHoward 498-176-674. Sat 19/8/23morning shoot standardpistol

BGrade: VPardini 402-145-547.D Chester 397

Afternoon centrefire

CGrade: CBenelli 513-90-603.

DGrade: DVan Roy233-244-477 25 mt pistol

CGrade: BGoodrich 474-78-552.

DGrade: NMallory366-153-519

She’sarunner: Liz Kenney continues her good form Photosupplied

Falcons one step closer to LVSL title

SOCCER LVSL

BY LAURIE WILLIAMS

THE penultimate round of the ever-intriguing race to the league championship title took another twist as Morwell Pegasus beat rivals Fortuna on Sunday in the match of the round.

In other games,reigning champions Falcons 2000 came from the dead to beat Sale whilst Moe and Monash both won their respective fixtures. However, we start our round-upinthe all-Morwell affair.

FORTUNA 2-Pegasus 4

FORTUNA, seeking their first bit of senior men’s silverware in over ten years, were looking to solidify topspot,given thenight before Falcons had chalked up three points.

Many expected Pegasus to have checked out for the remainder of the home and away season but they did anything but, as they cametoplaywith the sole intention to upset Fortuna’s title aspirations. The home side did startthe betterofthe two sides as Daniel Cooper has two free kicks thwarted by Pegs keeper Santo Simon, but soon enough it was theFlying Horsemen who took the lead as the deadly duo of Germaine Otieno and Kuku Mahmoudcombined,which ended with Mahmoud opening the scoring in the 21st minute. Only five minutes later it was two as Mahmoud

helped himselftohis braceand provide ahandy twogoal buffer.

Pegasus were the better side in the first half and Fortuna fans were wonderingwhentheir side wouldturn up.

It was soon three as Otieno got himself on the scorers ledger and amazingly at the 28th minute mark,the league leaders found themselves with amountain to climb.

The Orangemen clawed one back before half time to make it 3-1 through Damon Scott to give themselves aglimmer of hope.

The second half started much like the first with Pegasus continuing to attack with wild abandon and they got their just rewards as they got afourth on 58 minutes.

Fortuna seemed to awaken from their slumber but could only manage asolitary goal in the second half to add some respectability to the score line as Jake Budija found the net in the 84th minute.

The losshas significant ramifications in the league title race for Fortuna as they now have to beat Falcons on the last day of the championship to lift atrophy that they have worked so hard for over the last few years.

Thewin for Pegasus merely gives them renewed confidencefor the upcoming Battle of Britain Cup.

SALE 2-Falcons 3

IN aseason where drama has met us at every turn, there was no greater example than on Saturday nightasFalcons 2000 came back from the brink

to claim all three points to keep their back-to-back titlehopes alive.

Sale have shown that they are amuch tougher commodity at home and we’re looking to spoil the Birds’ party and they got off to the perfect start in the seven minute mark as Sakhon Khamchom took advantageofarare Falcons defensive mix up to give hissidethe lead.

Falcons dominatedpossession but could not break down the resolute Sale defence,however if being 1-0 down was of concern, then, with Sale taking atwo goal lead on 25 minutesthrough Kieran Horganit quicklybecame amigrainefor the Morwell side. Knowing only awin would do, Falcons were handed alifeline as Sale went down to ten men and this seemed to fire them up.

They got one back before the break with Jamie Pistrin converting from the penalty spot.

The second half was all one way traffic and the never-say-die attitude of Falcons was once again on show as they equalised through aJim Mills finish inside the six-yard box.

They would complete amiraculous comeback six minutes later as wonderful work down the right hand wingfrom Kevin Carcellar gaveMillsthe opportunity to make it two for him the night; an opportunity he gladly took with both hands.

Falcons should’ve converted more of their chances but the many travelling fans were simply glad that three points were secured.

The win, coupled with Fortuna’s loss, sees Falcons

move back into top spot, only needing adraw against their cross-town rival on the final day.

MONASH 2-Olympians 1

MONASH look to be finishing their season in fourth place after atough match against Olympians, the Wolves were two up within 38 minutes with goals from Adam Semple and Shawn Lawrence.

It was alow-key affairwith neither sideshowing their true potential.

Olympians scored just before half time from Mohamad Taleb to give Monash a2-1 advantage by the break.

After half time both teams were going through the motions without worrying the scoresheet and the match finished at a2-1 winfor Monash.

Three titles already decided

FORTUNAhave won the Reserves Championship finishing ahead of Newborough/Yallourn.

Traralgon City has taken out the seconddivision title andSalehavetakenout theWomen’s Championship.

The senior Championship will be decided on September 3, when Fortuna will be home to Falcons with the winner claiming the title.

Moe reach new heights in crushing 15-goal win

SOCCER LVSL

BY JOHN CARDONA

MOEUNITED recordedone of itsbiggest ever wins in the Latrobe Valley Soccer League, when they defeated lowly Churchill 16-1onMorwell Football-NetballClub’s synthetic pitchonSunday afternoon.

Star of the day was English striker Connor O’Hanlon, who bagged eightgoals,whilestrike partner Riley Winkleman gabbed five as well.

Moe Unitedhanded out afootball lessontoa struggling Churchill side, mainly due to adominant midfield led by Joe Stewart, Matt Shearing, Noah Kane, TannerPyleand CampbellDastey, who continually tore apart the Churchill defence with precision pinpoint passing.

In the opening minute, ahandball inside the box saw O’Hanlon convert the spot kick.

Within aminute, arun by Winkleman saw his cross hit home first time by O’Hanlon.

Ashort corner play by Brendan RuddelltoKane saw his cross findWinkleman, who head home the Red Devils’ third.

Moe continued its onslaught and athrough ball

Lowanna take it to the Grand Final

ON Tuesday, August 15 Lowanna College’s SeniorGirls competed in the Senior Girls Gippsland BasketballFinals, playing three games against each of Victorianregion’s winners.

The Senior Girls teams’ first two games were one-sided affairs, defeating Nagle College 74-4 and Kurnai College 57-20.

Lowanna’s team then had the opportunity to face off aginst Bass Coast College in the final.

The final proved to be atougher contest for the Lowanna team, having to match their oppositions pysicality, but they fell short at the end as Bass Coast College came away with the victory.

The final scores read Bass Coast 23 to Lowanna’s 21.

The school took to Facebook to congratulate the girlsontheir Runners-up effort in the School Sports Victoria Gippsland Sport Region Basketball competition.

“It was agreat effort by our girls!” Lowanna boasted.

Proud: Lowanan College’s Seniorgirls basketball team came second in the Gippsland Region Photograph

by Matt Shearing sent O’Hanlon clear and he made no mistake with his chance. Winkleman soon made it 5-0 when aDastey pass to O’Hanlonsaw his cross slottedhomeby Winkleman.

Againstthe run of play,across from the left side sawawell-judgedheader by Brad Sands give Moe keeper Peter Albanese no chance to save.

United were back soon after, when an O’Hanlon pass found Winkleman, who’s cross was driven home by Dastey to make it 6-1.

Before the break, United’s pressure and creative football added another three goals, coming from a shot on the run by Pyle, another well-hit drive by O’Hanlon and Winkleman finished off abrilliant first half, converting acut pass from O’Hanlon. Not long after the second half started, Shearing found O’Hanlon, to notch Moe’s 10th and O’Hanlon’s fifth for the game.

He soon had his sixth when he slotted home a Winkleman cross. Stewart in the midfield was in superb touchand astandout in his flashy pink boots, constantlyopening up chances for Moe United forwards.

It was aStewart Cross which soon saw another opportunity rifled, driven home by Winkleman to make it 12-1.

O’Hanlon brought up his sixth for the match, converting aWinklemancross from10metres out to make it 13-1.

Moe United was relentless with the pressure, and along range low drive by Shearing gave Churchill keeper Trevor Reiss no chance.

In the closing few minutes,Moe United continued their demolition.Shearing crossed and found O’Hanlon, who set up Winkleman to score.

O’Hanlon finished up arecord-breaking day for Moe United, and apersonal best eight-goal-haul after converting across from debutant, 16-year-old Seth Grixti.

Bestfor Moewas O’Hanlon, Stewart, Winkleman and Chad Shelley.

In the reserves, afteraquiet first half, Moe United handed out a10-0drubbing over Churchill.

League top-scorerHarley Robinson grabbed another four goals to bring his tally to 39 goals for the year.

Ben Schembri bagged two and Oscar Sceney, Tully Anderson and Zane Poxon one each. Best were Schembri, Robinson and Sceney.

In the 2nd division, the retiring Reg Poxon and George Aquilina were sent off with a6-0 win over Churchill.

AndrewRobinson scoredtwo goals, Brendan

Farrugia, Zane Poxon and Mark McVerryone each.

Zane Poxon, Farrugia and Robinson were best.

In the women’s match, the two most improved sides of 2023 playedeach other. Moe scrapped in to win 1-0 thanks to afirst half strike from Tylah Armistead.

Best for Moe was again Jade Armistead, who has beenoutstanding forthe past month,along with Paris Troughton and Ash Giles.

There are no gamesthis weekendfor Moe United.