Gippsland Times Tuesday July 2 2024

10-year 10 milestone

Stefan Bradley

WELLINGTONShire Council and all other Victorialocal government areas (LGAs) have beenprovided adraft housing target by the state government, whichidentifies the number of homes to be built between now and 2051.

The draft housing targets represent an initial distribution of new homes across each LGA. The government says the number of existing homes in Wellington in 2023 was 24,100. Wellington’s draft target is 7600 homes to be built by 2051 This totals 31,700 homes.

Wellington ShireCouncil toldthe Gippsland Times they were confident they could meet the stategovernment targets, and pointed to recent steps they’vetaken, such as the rezoningof two areasinNorth Sale,and one in Longford, for residential development.

Victorian Premier, Jacinta Allan,

and the Minister for Planning, Sonya Kilkenny announced the draft targets for the LGAs on June16, with final targets to be released by the end of this year. The government said Victoria has the largest annual population growth of all Australianstates, and it needs more thantwo millionadditional homesby the 2050s.

“To give industry the confidence they need to get on and build, we need government and all councils working towardsthe same goal: morehomes for Victorians -inthe right places,” Ms Allan said.

Ms Kilkenny said: “We want to work in partnership with councils to build more homes in the areas where people want to live -close to the peoplethey love and the things they love to do.”

The Opposition leader, John Pesutto, rubbished the announced targets.

“No one should take this seriously. The

governmenthas never met atargetit has created,” he said.

In amedia release, the state government said that more homes are needed in established suburbs -close to jobs, transport, education, and services -to give more young peoplethe chance to live nearwhere they grew up, and to reduce future growth pressure on families in Melbourne’s booming outer suburbs.

The draft council housing targets are largely based on access to the jobs, transport andservices Victoriansneed.

In regional cities and rural areas, the targetsaim to help deliver more new homes in cities and towns to boost key jobs andaffordable housing. Each draft target took into accountjobs and services in the area; access to existingand future public transport; flood, bushfire and other environmentalrisks; and current development trends.

Victoria’s councils have the powers to

unlock space for more homes by proposing changes to local planning rules.

“Wellington Shire Councilisaware that the state government is currently preparing along-term plan for Victoria and has recently released housing targets as part of this process,” Wellington ShireMayor, Ian Bye said.

“Councilremains confident thatits current zoned township areas and areas identified for futurerezoning and development, providesufficientcapacity to meet the housing target as set out by the state government.”

Cr Bye said it was critical that the state government develop acomprehensive and well-consideredlongterm plan for all of Victoria, “whichhighlights the role that Regional Victoria can take in supporting growth and in turn, ease the pressure on Metropolitan Melbourne”.

Continued -Page3

Local charity, ABetterLife For Foster Kids, started in founder

Photo: File

Your Wellington, Your Saylaunched

WELLINGTON Shire Council wouldlike to hear from residents on the future of Wellington Shire and its communities.

After the launch of FutureWellington last month, council has now opened up its community engagement platform, Your Wellington Your Say, and is urgingthe community to have their say.

Communityengagementwill be key to guiding the long-term planning and reviewoffive key documents that will steer council’s decision-making until 2050.

Thesedocuments includethe Community Vision -led by thelocal community; the four-year Council Plan 2025-2029, which details projects aligned with the community vision; the 10-year Asset Plan; 10-year Financial Plan; and the Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan, which outlines the community outcomes and health priorities for the next fouryears.

Council says it is keen to understand from residents about their vision for the future of Wellington Shire in 2050, and whether the current focus areas of Environment, Economy, Liveability, and Services are still appropriate, or whether the community’s needs have changed over the past fouryears.

Wellington Shire Council Mayor, Ian Bye, said that councilwas working with the communityfor areason

“We are ready to meetwith localpeople to understand their needs and priorities,” he said.

“We are committedtoanopenand honest engagement process, and we need input from locals to make sure we are travelling in the direction our community needs. Participation is important, and it only takes afew minutes to share your thoughts. Whetheryou fillout asurvey, attendaworkshop, enter the photo competition, or simply chat to us when we’re out and about, we encourage everyone to get involved through the manychannelslisted on theYour Wellington Your Say website.

“Throughthis process, we want to make sure that all voices are heard, and the community feels involved and valued, helping us to shape afuture that we can all be proud of. This is your chance to have asay.”

The measures include:

 FromJuly 1toAugust 31,the community is invited to sharetheir views and engage via council’s onlinecommunity engagementplatform, Your WellingtonYour Say.

betweenJuly 1and August 31 to discuss goals and priorities and hear from the community directly For Sale, Longford, Wurruk and surrounds, an in-person workshop is happeningonTuesday, July 23 at 6pm to 8pm. This will takeplace in the Wellington Room,Port of Sale (Wellington Centre), 70 Foster Street, Sale For Heyfield, Maffra,Rosedale and surrounds, an in-person workshopishappening on Wednesday, July 24 from10amto 12 noonatthe Heyfield Hall, 34 MacFarlane St, Heyfield.

For Yarram, Port Albertand surrounds, an inperson workshop is happening on Thursday, July 25 from 1pm to 3pm at Yarram Hub, 156 Grant St,Yarram.

For coastal communities and surrounds, an inperson workshop is happening on Tuesday, August 13 from 1pm to 3pm at GoldenParadiseBeach Community Centre, Surf EdgeDrive in Golden Beach

For Stratford, Briagolongand surrounds, an in-person workshop is happeningonThursday, August15from3pm to 5pm at Stratford Library, 70 Tyers St, Stratford.

Online workshops are available via Zoomon Tuesday, July 30 at 6.30-7.30pm; Thursday, August1 at 6.30-7.30pm; and Saturday, August 24 at 10am-11am.

The communitycan also meet the Future Wellingtonteam at amarket or event at: Rotary Club of Maffra Community MarketSunday, July 7, 8am-12.30pm; Rosedale IGA Street Stall -Saturday, August 3, 9am-1pm; TheMiddleofEverywhere Gippsland RallyFriday, August 9, 4-7pm, and; Gormandale Craft and Produce MarketSaturday, August 17,10am-2pm.

 Postcard feedback. Future Wellington Postcards will be available at Council Customer Service Centres in Sale and Yarram, Wellington Shire library branches and at participating businesses and community spaces throughout the shire. Simply fill out the postcard and return to acollection box

 Survey. Aquick and easy survey is available online to gather input on goals and priorities about Wellington’s future and ways to helpthose in the community live happy and healthier lives. By participating, residents will haveachancetowin one of four $50 VISA gift vouchers.

or take aphoto and upload it to Your Wellington Your Say.

Collection boxes willbelocated in Yarram, Woodside, Licola, Coongulla, Port Albert, Golden Beach, Seaspray,Gormandale, LochSport, Tinamba, Dargo, Briagolong, Maffra, Heyfield, Rosedale, Stratford, Longford, Wurrukand Sale. Exactlocations are listed on the Your Wellington Your Say onlineportal.

 Attend the FutureWellington Roadshow. Council will host aseries of face-to-face workshops

Registration for workshops can be made via TryBooking by visiting Your WellingtonYour Say at https://your.wellington.vic.gov.au

Other engagement activitiesinclude pop-up events, adrawing competition, photo/video competition, or hosting aguidedconversation with community groups. Engagement of Future Wellington will close on Saturday, August 31

For more information, phone Council’s Organisational Performanceand Governance team on 1300 366 244 or email futurewellington@ wellington.vic.gov.au

Photo: Wellington ShireCouncil

10 years of Toastmasters

SALE Toastmasters celebrated adecade-long milestone in the Wellington community.

For 10 yearsithas builtthe inperson and onlineskills of public speaking, presentation skills and leadership for Gippslanders.

At aspecial event on Monday, June 24, current members, former members and guests gathered to celebrate. With speeches on how Sale Toastmasters has improved confidence and professionalism, it was an uplifting and motivating event.

Sale Toastmasters is part of Toastmasters International,who operate in 148 countries, supporting its members with acomprehensive professionaldevelopment program and 100-year history.

Sale Toastmasters meet in person every second and fourthMonday evening at 7pm at the Bond Street Event Centre, 20 Bond St, Sale and online in asupportive and fun environment.

To find out more or contact the club, email saletoastmasters@ gmail.com.or phone Susan Mitrevski on 0408 403 800.

Housing targets made

From Page 1

“COUNCIL wouldliketosee the state government introduce arangeofreforms to the Victorian planning systemtoexpedite the availability of housing land to market; including asimplified Planning Scheme Amendment process and the provision of a regional development infrastructure fund to help activate housing development,” Cr Bye said.

“Council continues to take proactive steps to meet future housing needsacross the municipality. This includes recently approving three rezoningsareas,two in North Sale and one in Longford and preparation of the Wellington Shire Growth Management Strategy.”

In July last year, when council announced the land release, they had identified North Sale and Longford as “key growth areas” because of their proximitytokey infrastructure including community facilities, open spaces, sport and recreation facilities, jobs, and schools.

The state government said it would consult closely with councils to harness their local knowledge,with councilstoreport back on the draft target and the local changes they propose. The targets were outlined in the Housing Statement and form part of a long-term vision for Victoria’s next 30 years In the short-term, the stategovernment faces rising materialcosts,labourshortages and builders going out of business, leading to delays in construction and fewer homes being built.

WIKILEAKS founder Julian Assange returned home to Australia last week.

Touching down in Canberra, Assangewas greeted with applause from supporters as he exited the plane at the military air base in the nation’s capital on Wednesday (June 26). His arrival brought a14-year ordeal to its end, following acomplex series of legal sagas spanning countries and continents dealing with issues related to press freedom.

The controversial figure, labelled ahero by some and atraitor by others, was embraced by hisbiologicalfather,JohnSimpton upon arriving. His father has ties to Gippsland, having spent part of his life in East Gippsland. His son howevertook his stepfather’s name, Brett Richard Assange.

This is not the onlylocalconnection to the Assange family. It is believed his mother, after separating from Brett,began arelationship with the son of Anne Hamilton-Byrne. Anne Hamilton-Byrne was born in Sale, and founded the infamous cult ‘The Family’. Shedied in 2019, aged 97, and was described as “one of Victoria’s most evil persons” by former detective,Lex de Man, who spent years investigating the operation.

While the Assange media connection to Gippsland is very vague, another one carries greater fortitude.

The late Harold Mitchell AC, who died earlier this year, was born in Trafalgar. His company,Mitchell&Partners,evolved intoone of Australia’s largest mediaand communications groups.

Liam Durkin

Wikileaksfounder,JulianAssange upon returning home to Australia last week. His biological fatherhas some ties to Gippsland. Photo: Contributed

Sale Toastmasters memberspastand present celebrated 10 years on Monday,June 24.

Photos: Contributed

Kevin Broughton (left)isreceiving ‘Outstanding Toastmasterofthe Year Award’, presentedbyAsh Hall.

Salebringingbetter foster chances

ErikaAllen

TEN years ago, Heather Baird started acharity out of her kitchen.

Its purpose is in its name -ABetter Life for Foster Kids (ABLFFK). TheSale-based charity provides material assistance to children in care, andcare-leavers, as well as advocating for carer support to help children navigate the out-of-home care system.

The GippslandTimes asked the founder how she would sum up the last 10 years?

“Oh wow”, Heather sighed, followed by afoursecond pause.

“Sum up the last 10 years, well, to think that we started on my kitchen table with myself, my mother-in-law and my daughter… in 10 years we’ve achieved an awful lot.

“I always said, ‘if Icould just help half-a-dozen kids, that would be wonderful’.”

The aim of ABLFFK (written on itswebsite) is ‘to preserve children’s dignity, improve their feelings of self-worth and lessen social stigma’.

The significance of thesefeelings is something Heather knows well.

Raised in orphanages and institutions from the age of two-and-a-half until she left the system as a17-year-old, Heather remembers never having clothes of her own.

“We'd get changed at the end of the week and all your clothes would go to laundry together and then the next week, things would be handed out.”

She saidadifficultsituation that stuck in her mind was going to school, where she was laughed at because of the clothes she wore.

“I used to hate being laughed at because all the kids knew we were ‘homies’ because of the clothes that we wore,” she said.

“Our clothes belonged in the 1920s. Iremember wishing and praying that lcouldhave nice things, like all the other kids.”

Filling agap in the system

Heather said she intended to work in the child welfare system after completing aDiplomaofSocial Services at TAFE Gippsland in 2013.

During her placement in Sale, Heather said she had great difficulty sourcing clothes for children.

“I had it in my head that Iwas going to work for child protection, that's one thing Iwanted to do. But then Irealised that Icouldn't with all the red tape that goes on there -Iwouldn't last two minutes.”

Upon re-evaluating her career path, though not straying from where her heart was telling her she was needed, Heather fixated on solvingthe problem she encountered,both as achild in thewelfare system and as aworker tryingtoimprove children’s experiences -sourcing clothing.

“I ended up going around with my ownmoney and buying these children some clothes to wear and that's when Idecided that that's what I’d do -I’d provide whatever it is that the child needs, and the carers.

Heather said while carers are happy to take children in, often, they don’t have everything kids need, like furniture, abed, and clothes.

“Whatever the carer needs, Itry to get it for them,” she said.

This sparked the evolution of ABLFFK’s core service -the ‘Crisis Case’.

Crises Cases are wheeled suitcases and contain about 55 items; clothing, toiletries, baby supplies, activity books, ablanket and hand-made toys, valuing the case at around $375. Heather said they’re intended to have aweek’s worth of supplies to get the children and carers placement started.

“It's acrisiscase, so it's to get them out of that crisis period of aweek,” she said.

“Most of the kids who, when they're removed fromhomebythe police or the Child Protection (Services), don’t come with anything. Nine times outof10, their clothing that they do have on is not really suitable; dirty, (the) wrong size.”

She said the cases allowcarerstoconcentrate on the child’s emotional needs after being removed from their home.

“A lot of them get removed late at night, so therefore, there's no shops open…so they couldn't go and get anything, even if they wanted to.

“We find that alot of the carers will say to you, ‘it's so nice to be able to pop the child in the bath and go to the case, get apairofpyjamas out and pop the kiddies in bed quickly’.”

Shesaidthe material assistance lessens trauma.

“Remembering these children are neglected, abused: We had one little boy that never owned a pair of pyjamas and just as far as getting (a) brand new pair of pyjamas to wear, he was just amazed.”

She said it is rewarding to be involved in the placement process.

Community and volunteers at the heart

Heather emphasised that ABLFFK “belongs to the community”.

“Gippsland is always going to be our main head office and port of call, but we have cases going out all over Victoria now. We’re unique in that we are the only charity that does it in suitcases and such acomprehensive amount of clothing,” she said.

Today, the charity has grown to ateam of nine volunteers who call themselves the ‘Thursday Ladies’. Afew volunteers have been with the charity for as long as it’s existed.

“I have wonderful volunteers -ladies that we call the ‘Thursday Ladies’ -they keep the cases up andgoing andstacked and packed,” Heather said.

Denise Andersonisone of three Thursday Ladies who has volunteered for 10 years. She said it is “incredible” howmuch the charity has grown in that time.

“We started offwithpaperbags forthe Crisis

Cases…and we’ve gone to littlecasesfor (the kids) now, which is amazing. They’ve got little cases to keep their things in,” she said.

While the lifeblood of the charity is its volunteers and community support, private funding is critical because ABLFFK doesnot accept government assistance. Heather said it would impede her work as an advocate.

Recently, ABLFFK was announced as a recipient of $4,960 from the Gardiner Foundation Community Grants program.

“To get the private funding is very important to us because without it we couldn't do it. We have every oneofour caseshas ahandmade blanketand teddy bear that the community made these for us, and every single case has one in it,” Heather said.

“You know the community is so generous, that's what makes it possible. So therefore, without the funding we couldn't do what we're doing.

Since starting out with donations and secondhand items,ABLFFK hasnow supplied 15 per cent of the 10,000 children in the welfare system with Crisis Cases.

The charity also runs an annual camp and aPJ Day called‘Gippsland’sBiggest PJ Day’, which will be held on September 6 this year Heather said there are 16 ABLFFK depots located around Victoria includinginSale, Morwell, Bairnsdale and Warragul, and that every Christmas, children are sent presents.

“We send out presents to all the children and to the biological children of the foster family, so each child gets threegifts to the value of around $50-60. We do that Australia wide. So last year we sent out over nearly about 6,690 gifts,” Heather said.

“Coming from abandof10people,I think we have achieved afair bit.”

Giving back is in the Baird’s blood Calling ABLFFK’s volunteers an extension of Heather’sfamily probably isn’t astretch.But as well as Denise Anderson, Yvonne Bairdand Tammy Topham round out the charity’s longestserving volunteers -who are Heather’s relatives. “Proud”, wasthe wordHeather’s daughter, Tammy, used to describe the growth of ABLFFK as well as her mum’s work, which has inspired a third generation of charitable individuals.

Tammy is aworking mother of five, and volunteers one day aweek at ABLFFK. She said it’s a “crazy”juggling act but that she “wouldn’thave it anyother way”.

“I’m lucky my kids love to help with the charity as well. They find that really specialtobeable to come along and do something for these kids.”

Tammy said she is particularly fond of Christmas time when she makes the effort to drive from her home in Koo Wee Rup to Sale, to help her mum shop prepare, make up, and wrap gifts.

Yvonne Baird, who is Heather’s mother-in-law, said the work volunteers at ABFFK does not go unnoticed.

“Occasionally, we do get avisit from one of the children, and you knowthey’re fun, we all geta hug. We hear from the carers that they appreciate thecases,some will say ‘oh we loved the rugs, or we loved the teddies’,and that justmakesyou feel (that) anysmall thing you do is helping.”

It’s not all givethough,becauseaswell as helping foster children, Yvonne said the charity has given alot to her and other volunteers.

“It’s helped me alot,” she said.

“I belong to CWA(CountryWomen’s Association), and we have alot of older ladies who have crafty skills and it’s helping older ladies as well because they can utilise these skills and create some of the lovely articles that we put in the cases, which talking to carers, the children really appreciate.”

All the women highlightedonthe remarkable growth of the charity. Froma kitchen tableand Bunnings sausage sizzles and cake stall to raise funds, to ladies donating their crafts and children lending ahand, ABetterLife for Foster Kids keeps getting better.

The good is spreading.

“We had some children from the Grammar School comeatChristmastime when we were making cases and one littleboy said, ‘what happens to these kids?’, and Isaid, ‘well Idoknow for afact that we have one young (girl) around Warragul way, and she’s off to (university) this last year’,” Yvonne said.

“That’s ahappy outcome -that’s what we’re all aiming for kids to getonand create theirown lives,” she said.

As Heather summed up the last ten years of ABLFFK, she looked forward to the future.

“So, it'snow to seewhat thenext 10 yearsbrings.”

Member forEasternVictoria, MelinaBathwithLeonieMcCann, Heather Baird, Yvonne Baird and Andrea ElliottfromA Better Life ForFoster Kids. Photos: Heather Baird

Many hands:Yvonne Baird, Andrew Williamson, PatMcDermott, Judy Gordyn, OliviaTopham, Julie Pritchett, Heather Baird, Desley Gray, Denise Anderson.

Heather Bairdsaid the material belongings in Crisis Cases help carers focusonwhatismost important -achild’s welfare.

50 years of passioncelebrated

StefanBradley

MONDAY, May 20 marked 50 years of service for Ken Lascelles as the farm equipment supplier at AG Warehouse.

Ken’s first role was in May 1974 at the Maffra store, knownthen as Murray Goulburn Trading (MG Trading), as abowser boy,whena meat pie cost 20 cents and the average house price in Melbourne was $19,800.

Much has obviously changed since then, but one thingdid not, and that is Ken Lascelles representingthe MG/AGW uniform.

Ken's work ethic, knowledge and dedication to thecompany allowed him to work his way up the ranks through the business to become atrue leader of AG Warehouse and the agricultural industry.

During his 50-year career, he managed numerous stores with time at Yarram, Finley and Cobram, but his love for Gippsland led him back to Maffra in 1985, where he still is today.

Ken is apassionate man who has always wanted

to do the best for his team and his customers, treating the Maffra business as his own.

When asked what kept him at the company for so long, Ken said, “The people I’ve worked with and the farmers in the community have been awesome and I’ve learned so much from them".

"There's never adull moment and always something going on and to be challenged all the time with different products and to solve problems, it's so motivating," he said.

“The highlight was being able to bring my kids and family up while working at the store. All three of my girls and my wife have played apartinthis business. Imet my wife during the MG Trading Daysand all three of my girls have donework experience here in the store. Imet my wife, Sue, when she was part of the working team.”

The Maffra AG Warehouse team said they will miss Ken at meetings,where he was always proactive in discussion, and of course part of the banter amongst the team.

"Aswillhead office miss Ken, those daily calls or sometimes numerous, but it was all about making

us abetter business, and we will dearly miss this," the team said.

To celebrate the occasion, asurprise celebration was held for Ken last month at the Farmers Arms in Newry, Ken's local, just outside Maffra.

More than 70 people attended with current AGW staff,(SaputoDairy Australia) SDA staff, Ken's family, current AGW suppliers and many ex-staff and suppliers.

The organisers, including Nikki and the Maffra AG Warehouseteam, Sue Lascellesand Narelle Taylor, successfully kept it asecret for months as Ken was totally shocked when he walked in and was overcome with emotion upon realising what was going on.

TonyGomersall, John Blennerhassett and Jason Hobson shared some stories and events,which depicted the fun-loving and team-oriented person Ken is.

AG Warehouse’shead of operations (Southern Region),Tony Gomersall, said Ken’s work ethic, knowledge and passion contributed to him working his way up to become atrue leader of their business

and amainstay of the agricultural industry.

“Businesses are built on their people, and in our case, it ringstrue when you look at the impactKen has had on our employees and the broader community he servesand lives in,” Mr Gomersall said

“Ken’s stories and camaraderie have left an enduring mark on everyone who has worked with him.

“He embodies the spirit of teamwork and is a fun-loving character. These sentiments are echoed by his colleagues, past and present.”

Ken officially finishedatthe end of June, and will take awell-deserved break travelling around Australia with this wife Sue.

Maffra AG Warehouse hopes that Ken will stay on in the business in acasual capacityonhis return from his travels.

"On behalf of the entire AG Warehouse team, we wish you all the best Ken, you are alegend!" his team said.

More rural stories -Pages 18-19

Wellington local,Ken Lascelles,has been commended for his50years of service anddedication to the farming community

KenLascelles outthe front of the AG Warehouse store in Maffra.

KenLascelles (right) hadnoidea a50year celebration wasbeing planned for him.

Photos:Contributed

Blokes’mostmemorableBBQ

Blake Metcalf-Holt

THE Latrobe Valley Big Blokes BBQ for 2024 was held recently in Morwell's revamped Kernot Hall.

The fundraiser attracted another bumper crowd, welcoming blokes fromacross the region for another festiveday to raise moneyfor The Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (PCFA).

More than $100,000 was raised.

This year's BBQ was especially poignant, held in tribute to the late Bruce Ellen.

Mr Ellen put in apower of work to previous BBQ's, serving as chair of the Latrobe Valley Big Blokes BBQ committee for many years, as well as assisting the Wellington(Sale) version of the same event.

Mr Ellen, who was also general manager of the Gippsland Times/Latrobe Valley Express, passed away in March following his own battle with prostate cancer.

His legacy was commemorated at this year's Latrobe Valley BBQ, with aphoto tribute featuring prominentlyonstage, and the BBQ committee all wearing black armbands in ashow of respect.

Current committee chair, Ian Nethercote and committee member, BarryWhitehead led the tributes, while Bruce's brother,Tim and son, Nick were welcomed on stage and presented with amemorial of the late committee spearhead.

The event welcomed former Collingwood players DaneSwanand DaleThomas, along with Norm Smith Medallist, David Rhys-Jones as guest speakers, while comedian Tom Siegert kept the laughs coming as MC.

Accompanying the indelible food, the entertainment of the special guest speakers separated auctions, raffles, and activities for tables to win cash and prizes throughout the day.

The Churchill Lions Club was also on deck, offeringadditional support and clean up across the day.

One in seven Australian men will develop prostate cancer in their life, while in the Gippsland and Latrobe region, there is a30per cent higher mortality rate compared to other areas of Victoria. Alongside the PCFA,asmall committee of volunteers, some of whom personally are affected by thisdisease, plan and run Big Blokes barbecues across the state.

The Latrobe Valleycommittee has funded a number of services including researchprojects through Monash University Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, local awareness campaigns, researchprojects and financialassistance to aid the purchaseofspecialist equipment in localhospitals.

Sinceits inceptionin2013, the LatrobeValley BigBlokes BBQhas raised more than $1 million.

New process to tackle dodgy rentals

VICTORIANS who suspect properties available for rent are being falsely advertised or do not meet minimum standards can now alert Consumer AffairsVictoria (CAV) directly through anew online complaint form.

Victorianslookingfor arental property are urged to use the formtoreportconcerns, aprocess that only takes about five minutes to complete and can be submitted anonymously.

Backed by the state government’s $4 million renting taskforce, the formwill makeiteasier to report issues with properties being put up for rent -including inaccurate descriptions or images used to advertise the property, and breaches of rental minimum standards such as the lack of afunctional kitchen or lockable external doors.

Big penalties will apply to estate agents and

residential rental providers who do the wrong thing, with maximum penalties for individuals exceeding more than $11,000 and $57,000 for businesses.

Higher penalties can also apply under the Australian Consumer Law for misleading advertisements or other false representations.

Prospective renters, real estate professionals and otherscan all use the rental property report form after inspecting aproperty in person or online, allowingthem to provide evidence of their complaint including uploading photos to show the difference between the property advertisement and the property at inspection.

Allowing anew renter to move into arental property that doesn’t meet minimum standards is acriminal offence and evidence in the form will

support the renting taskforce’s work to monitor compliance with the law and target inspections and enforcement action.

The renting taskforcewillbeembeddedwithin CAV, with recruitment currently underway for extra intelligence analysts, investigators and lawyers.

To access the advertised rental prope rty rep ort form ,v is it: consumer.vic.gov.au/rental-listing

Renters wanting to raise issues with their current rental properties can continue to use the general enquiry form at : consumer.vic.gov.au/contact-us/ resolve-your-problem/general-enquiry

Looking out for regionalstudents’ tertiary course issues

REDUCING the cost of living pressures for regional students and improving access to abroader range of tertiary courses are two of the biggest issues facing the education sector, according to local MP, Darren Chester.

In additiontorepresenting his constituency as the Federal Member for Gippsland, Mr Chester also servesasthe Shadow Minister for Regional Education.

Mr Chester visited Mildurarecently to gain insights that in his words, will "contribute to his policy work in addressing the challenges in the regional education sector".

Mr Chester said it was avaluable experience to accompany the federal Member for Mallee, Anne Webster, on visits to localschools, universities, and early learning centres.

"It allowed me to gain first-hand insights into the

current education landscape in different regional areas, acrucial part of my role as we shape policies ahead of the next election," he said.

"We need to keep investing in regional education for our youth to achieve their full potential as tradespeople, running their ownbusinessorfarm, or undertaking tertiary studies.

"In government, we made access to university

more affordable for students forced to move away from the regions. But in the wake of increased cost of living pressures, we need to go further and continue to implement policies that improve access to tertiary studies in our own communities and reduce the financial barriers for students who are forced to move away from home to access the course they require."

Ellen’s brother Tim, flanked by Bruce’s son Nick and LatrobeValleyBig Blokes BBQ Committee Chair,Ian Nethercote.

Latrobe Valley Big BlokesBBQ committee withaportrait of the late Bruce Ellen. Mr Ellen wasakey figureinorganising previous BBQ events throughout Gippsland, helping to raise moneyfor the ProstateCancer Foundation of Australia.

Former Collingwood and Carlton player Dale Thomaswas one of three guest speakers.

Photos: Blake Metcalf-Holt

Bob Yeates, chairman of East Gippsland’s Biggest Ever Blokes Lunch with Gavan Budge, Peter Camera and Alfi Prestipino of Latrobe’s Biggest Ever Blokes BBQcommittee.

Federal Member forGippsland, Darren Chester accompanied Federal Member for Mallee, Anne Webster on recentvisits to local schools, universities,and earlylearning centres in Mildura to gain insights into current regional education.

Photo: Contributed

Dr Greg Steele

Dr Reeha Nandha

Call to support regional hospitals

Vics urged to get flu shots

VICTORIANparents are beingurgedtobook their childreninfor theirfreeflu vaccination, as casesof the virus surge across the state and concern grows around low vaccination coverage.

The Department of Health's latest surveillance datashows notified cases have increasedacross all age groups, with the biggestincrease in those agedunderfive, up 37 per centinthe fortnight ending June 15.

Meanwhile, just23per cent of Victoriansaged underfive have had their free annual flu vaccinationthis season

The state's Chief Health Officer, Dr Clare Looker said flu cases hadquadrupled between Apriland June, with asix-foldincreaseinthe number of presentations to Victorian emergency departments

"We're expectingflu cases to keep rising in the weeksahead so it's critical people book in their flu vaccination now,particularly for those groups at higher riskofsevere illness such as children," Dr Looker said.

"The flu vaccination is freefor children and other high-risk groupsand is widely availableacross GPs,pharmacistsand otherproviders."

Dr Lookersaid the flu vaccine provided the best protection againstinfectionand severe illness

"Flu is highly contagious and while most people may only experience mild to moderate symptoms, for some it can be deadly."

The flu vaccine is free for people at higher risk of severe disease, including children under five and people aged 65 and older, as part of the National Immunisation Program.

It is available through your GP, local pharmacy, Aboriginal health service or local council immunisation service.

The rising number of flu cases in Victoria comes at the same time as COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) continue to circulate in the community.

Flu vaccines can be given at the same time as other NationalImmunisation Program vaccines and COVID-19 vaccines.

In addition to vaccination,simplestepscan be taken to stop the spread of respiratory illnesses in the community, such as flu, seasonal respiratory illnesses and COVID-19.

This includeswashing hands,coughing or sneezing into your elbow, wearing amaskand staying home when sick.

More information on flu vaccination is available on Better Health Channel and Kids Health Information.

MEMBER for Gippsland South, Danny O’Brien, is seekingthe support of Gippslanders through a petition calling on the state government to drop plans for mega-mergers.

Mr O'Brien said the online petition had been launchedinresponsetoconfirmation fromMinister for Health, Mary-AnneThomas, that at least 20 health services across Victoria will have their funding slashed -reportedly by up to 30 per cent -leaving many of the affected services with no choice but to cut front-line services.

“I am aware that some of ourhospitalsin Gippslandare subject to these significant cuts and management are currently desperately trying to work outhow they'll make savings,"MrO'Brien said.

“It will either mean job cuts or services reductions, if notboth. Likewise,there is no questioninmy mind that the forced merger of our regional health services will only result in areduction of service and more travel for Gippslandersseeking medical care.

“With our local emergency departments already struggling to meet demand, and in many cases failing to meet key performance targets, the idea that reducing funding would have anything other than adetrimental impact is insulting."

In the wake of media coverageofthesecuts to health, including Melbourne hospitals reportedly imposing hiring freezes, the government spoke out last week, with Ms Thomas saying it was time to tackle “waste and duplication”.

The Premier, Jacinta Allan, said that hospitals had not submitted their draft budgets to the health department and budgets had not been approved.

"Absolutelynofinal decisions have been made on those budgets," Ms Allan said.

Ms Thomas said in an interview with the ABC that "there’s alot of fearmongering and politicking going on at the moment”.

“Let me be clear: our government delivered an additional $8.8 billion into our hospitals at our most recent budget.This year alone, $20 billionisbeing invested into our hospitals," she said.

“Right now, we are asking our health services to look at their budgets, to negotiate their upcoming budgets with my department,and to look at where they can streamline that spending.”

Mr O’Briensaidthe government's priorities were

all wrong and regional Victorians were paying the price.

“Premier Jacinta Allan can find the money for a$200billion train line in Melbourne but goes missing when askedtofind the money to keep local health services up and running," he said.

“The Allan Labor government cannot manage money and it’s Gippslanders who are suffering the consequences.”

Those wanting to sign the petition can do so at: handsoffourhospitals.com.au

 ST Vincent de Paul monthly garage sale will be held this Saturday (July 6) at the Jack Kelly store, 28 Laura Street, Maffra from 9am until 10.30am. Weather permitting.

 ROTARY Club of Maffra Community Market will be held this Sunday (July 7) at the Island Reserve, McMahon Drive, Maffra (at the back of the Woolworths car park), from 9am until 12.30pm. Don’t forget to check out the community barbecue. All welcome.

 MAFFRA Garden Club’s nextmeeting is the annual general meeting, and will be held on Monday, July 8, beginning at12pm at the Maffra RSL rooms, 'Shelton', 16 Boisdale Street, Maffra. Alight lunch will be provided. Phone Jeanette on 0438 456 491 for more information.

Member forGippsland South, Danny O’Brienhas launched apetition to try and halt the proposed mergers of regional hospitals.

Photo: File

Call for bushfireexpert on panel

PhilipHopkins

THE Howitt Society has condemned the state government for not including bushfire expertise on the panel that is investigating the future of Gippsland's native forest.

"The Howitt Society is astoundedtonote that a panel to make recommendations on the future management of the state's publiclandestate,including the 1.8 million hectares of forest previously available fortimber harvesting, does not include any members with astrongpractical background in forest and fire management," saidthe Howitt Society's secretary, Garry Squires, in aletter to the Minister for the Environment,Steve Dimopoulos.

The Howitt Society is agroup of experienced land and firemanagersand bushmenconcerned for the healthand safetyofthe Australian bush and in particular, fire management. Theyare inspired by the work of 19th Century Gippsland scientist Alfred Howitt, who wrote extensively on eastern and north-easterngeology, ecology, forests, fire and Gippsland's indigenous people.

Mr Squires said Howitt Society members recognise thatthe bush faced an immediate, intensifying and ultimately existential threat from large, high intensity wildfires.

"In addition, multiple pest plants and an explosion in feral animal numbers adds further pressure to native flora and fauna, as do increasingand often conflicting demands for access and use," he said.

"Fire is by far the biggest threat to the future of the forest areas of Victoria and if fuels are not managed, all other management actions will be overtaken by the impacts of large intense wildfires such as those which Victoria experienced in 2019/20. In addition, the structure of forests and the flora and fauna, soils and water values will be permanently impactedbythe effects of these regular intense fires."

For this reason,MrSquiressaidthe Howitt Societyurged Mr Dimopoulostoreconsiderthe membership of the taskforceand add aperson with astrong background in practical forest/fire management. This way, the review by the taskforce can contribute in apositive way to improved outcomes forthe future of the forests of Victoria, he said.

Traralgon consultant, John Cameron has made similar criticisms of the lack of bushfire expertise in the nativeforest investigation by the state government's Victorian EnvironmentalAssessment Council.

The Howitt Society's bushfire fears come as a cross-section of bush users, minersand prospectors that are rebelling against the possibility that severalhundredthousand extra hectares of forest could be included in aGreat Forest National Park. Last December,the Victorian Environmental AssessmentCouncil (VEAC) noted that anational park could be created from three areas in the north and south of the Central Highlands that would link the Yarra Ranges, Kinglake, Lake Eildon and Baw Baw national parks and the Bunyip, Cathedral Range and Moondarra parks.

Engage Victoria, is due to makerecommendations to VEAC on the Great Forest National Park later this year. Arally of more than 1000 peoplein Drouin amonthago, attended by Victorian Liberal leader, John Pesutto,voted overwhelmingly against closingthe Central HighlandsState Forest, by incorporating it into aGreat Forest National Park. Apart from Baw Baw Shire residents, people came from central Victoria, Omeo, Woods Point, Marysville, Alexandra and eastern Melbourne to show their rejection of the proposal. The crowd consisted of business owners from forest towns, unemployed timber workersafter the closure of the nativeforest industry, hunters, fishermen, campers, trail bike riders, 4WD owners, prospectors and fossickers. Miners and small prospectors fear

“Stupidity” wins in forestry

PhilipHopkins

WITHthe formal closure of VicForests on Sunday (June 30) symbolisingthe final destructionof Victoria’s native forest industry, thoughts turn to an essay by arevered Australian forester,DrAlf Leslie: Stupidity Nearly Always Wins Issues surrounding forestry are proof of that proposition.

Dr Leslie, who died aged 88 in 2009, had an outstanding career in Australianforestry before soaringtonew heightsinternationally.Asceptic and teacherwho urged critical and independent thought, he combined his knowledge of ecology witheconomics and business management.

He was variously adirector of the forestry division of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), a project officer at the University of Nigeria during the Nigerian civil war,the ForestEconomistwiththe FAO in Rome, and later Director of ForestIndustries with the FAO.

Inhisessay,publishedinSeptember1999,DrLeslie said Man, we are told, is arational animal. “But rationalism doesmore than imply that manhas and uses this capacity; it accepts, without question, that he does. Yetthe evidence hardly supports that belief.” DrLesliesaidthehistorianBarbaraTuchmanused the word “folly”todescribe amajor war, but that was really just aharsher way of saying “stupidity”.

“Theideaofstupiditymorethanreasonrulingman’s decisions and actions has along history,” he said. However, as acontender for the title of the most outstandingexample of the invincibility of stupidity, “the environmental conflict affecting forestry over the last two to three decades must be afirm favourite”.

“For stupidity is the most consistent and repeated common attributefound on both sides of the argument. Neither side has shown much respect for the facts of for rational argument from them, although thisfailing is much less marked on theforestry side,” he said.

“Forestry’s credibilitywas fatallyundone by its initial denial of the indisputable evidence of the damage done by conventional logging, the problem which lies at the core of the dispute, and then by its justification of the damage as an unavoidable economic necessity before finally recognising there was aneed for some (relatively modest and not too costly) modification.”

However, on the environmental side, Dr Leslie said thedamagedonebyloggingwasexaggerated,misrepresentedand blamedfor all forms of deforestation so as to make avisually dramatic and appalling case.

"No exceptions were allowed, although there were morethanafew,whilescientificevidenceofbeneficial environmental effects of logging, of which there were some, was denigrated and denied,” he said.

“Both sides thus forced themselves into extreme positions from which they were unable to withdraw, even slightly, without loss of face, so they did not.”

Dr Leslie said that forests can be conserved while simultaneously being used for multiple purposes including timber production and conservation.

“The evidence for this, although not numerically great, is enough to be scientifically irrefutable. That

that the proposal, by locking up swathes of forest, could shackle mining as adriver of economic growth and jobs in west and central Gippsland.

The executive directorofthe Victorian divisionof the Minerals Council of Australia, James Sorahan, told the Gippsland Times earlier this year that VEACwas considering extending areas of forest into protected conservation zones that are mineral rich.

"A properanalysis of impacts on economic opportunities for regional Victorians needs to take place to ensure abalanced analysis of the economic, social or environmental impacts of mining and minerals exploration in the study area," he told the Gippsland Times.

"There has been no detailed analysis."

Mr Sorahan saidactive exploration and miningin the region showed the potential for minerals which can benefit the local and broader state economy.

More than 20 mining and exploration companies with 38 explorationlicences (EL) and eight EL applications are in the study area.

"Explorers are looking for not only gold exploration, but at least one other commodity including antimony, tungsten, tin,molybdenum, bismuth and base metals such as copper and zinc," he said.

Many critical minerals needed for renewables were available.

Mr Sorahan said Geological Survey Victoria (GSV) estimates there is "significant potential" for gold and critical minerals worth at least $3.4 billion.

"MCA Victoria is not against extending protected areas, but they need to be areas that don't risk sterilising minerals rich regions because exploration has effectively no impact on the environment, andmining's is minimised and highly regulated," he said.

"Conservation and modern mineral resource development are not mutually exclusive outcomes."

Mr Sorahan said minerals development had not

been identified as amajor driver of biodiversity loss in Victorian state of environment reporting. "The footprint is small, and most exploration is low impact," he said.

AProspectors and Miners Association of Victoria (PMAV) Committee member, David Bentley, told the Gippsland Times that amajor mining area like Walhalla-Woods Point could be lost.

Mr Bentley said the processinGippsland was akin to the Central West Investigation area, which resulted in the loss of more than 70,000ha of goldfields into national parks. The interim VEAC report into the forests of the Central Highlands, based largely on desktop assessmentofpreviousresearch and talkswith experts, emphasised that forest values were particularly threatened by climatechange:heatwaves, floods, higher temperatures, declines in annual rainfall,and increased bushfire frequency and severity. Other threats were invasive plants and animals,such as blackberryand deer, andlossand fragmentation of habitat.

Melbourne's growing population was also placing more pressure on the forests for recreation and other uses.

VEAC saidithad identified large areas of high-quality natural values with relatively low conflicting usesthat could be protected in anational park, and that link the existing parks in the region.

"Theupper Thomson catchmentalsocontains outstandingnatural valuescommensurate with anational park designation and would link to the YarraRangesNational Park to the west. More detailed consideration is needed however as there are potentially high value uses such as mineral extraction that would conflict with such adesignation," VEAC said, noting there was significant potential for gold in the state forests in the east of the Central Highlands RFA area.

they rarely are under conventional logging has been allowed to dominate the conflict so that the real possibilities have not even been explored,” he said.

“And since to recognise this would breach the edicts of political correctness(incidentally another monumental load of stupidity) they are likely to stay that way. Society, as usually happens when stupidity prevails, is the loser, but this hardly matters.”

Dr Lesliesaidanother example was the way the environmentalmovements had been allowed to transform the term “clear felling”.

“A technical term for an ecologically correct type of treatmentfor regeneration, it has become apublic term of abuse and for shame. However, instead of educating the public as to its true ecological meaning, theresponseshavetended to emphasise its economic necessity and thus applying areas of clear cut much greater than the ecologically necessary minimum. Anything less likely to win public support would be hard to imagine.”

Dr Leslie said the fact that stupidity nearly always winsout againstrationalitywas averyimportant one for forestry and especially for forestry education.

“One stupidity is the myth thataforestryeducation is not neededtopractice forestry.Anybody, it seems, who has amodicumofpractical experience,orofbiology or of ecology or of sociology or of almost anything is apparently as well, if not better qualified,” he said.

“It is nonsense, but it is widely propagated and accepted, nonsense. Andforesters haveplayed along with it. To recognise that otherdisciplines have a placeinforestryissensibleenough.Toaccepttheyare substitutes for it is stupid,unlessthe idea of forestry is aseparate discipline is itself amyth.”

Dr Leslie said to some extent, both misinformation and disinformationoriginated in stupid decisions reachedeither within forestry or comingfromoutside affecting it.

“Ratherthanbecoming an expert in information technology and the techniques and mathematics of rational decision theory what is, therefore, first needed isatheoryofstupiddecisionmaking,” hesaid

“Not so that foresters can learn how to make stupid decisions- the record shows that they are already fairly capable of that -but in order to anticipate the sort of stupid decisions which are likely to be reached in the governing political and social environmental outside and thus to recognise the nonsense, masquerading as information, with which they will, as aresult, be fed.

“Only then will they be in aposition to counterattack with their own rationally-baseddecisions before they are defeated or constrained by the stupidities imposed on them.”

Dr Leslie said the trouble is that the fiction of man as arational animal was so ingrained in education, research and thinking, that no theory of stupid decisionmaking had yet emergedfrom which to learn or even the elements of one.

“Yetforesters are so exposedbythe long-term nature of the forestry production process that they probably have amore urgent need for one than most. By default, therefore,they will have to startthe development by themselves and virtually unaided,” he said.

Saying goodbye to Bass oil production

AFTER more than 50 years of producing energy forAustralians, anumber of our predominantly crudeoil-producingplatforms in Bass Strait are now reaching the end of their productive life.

We are now working on plans to responsibly remove these platforms in our first decommissioning campaign in Bass Strait.

Our Decommissioning Campaign 1project will include the removal of the topsides of up to 13 facilities,two mono towers,and the upper jacket sections of up to 10 steel-piled jacket facilities.

Removing these platforms is ahugejob and to enable them to be removed safely and efficiently, aheavy-lift vessel, the Pioneering Spirit, along with multiple supportvessels, will be used to removeand transport the platforms to Barry Beach Marine Terminal for dismantling, recycling, and disposal. This activitywill start in late 2026 and be completed in 2028.

The HelixQ7000semi-submersiblevessel also recently arrived in BassStraitand will startplugand abandonment work on two of ourexploration wells, Gudgeon and Terakihi.

The team at Longford is also in the process of regenerating Gas Plant 2, installing anew liquid treating facility to expand its capability. Work is well underwaywith expected completion laterthis year.

All of these works will ultimately complete the transition from acrudeoil-producing business to apredominantly gas-producing

business and enable Esso to continue providing local employment opportunities in the region as well as contribute to the Gippsland economy well into the next decade.

Our Heliport team also recently participated in the Sale ANZAC Airshow in April, displaying one of our Italian-built AW139 helicopters on site. The Esso Heliportemploys more than 60 people and over the years, we have been astrongsupporter of the local community along with the aviation industry, training a large number of pilots and more than 30 young apprentice aircraft engineers, who have all gone on to support the industry worldwide. On the community front, Iamreally pleased to note thatour recent donation to Mirboo North &District Community Foundation has allowed their Storm Cell Volunteers to assist more than 300 homeowners whose properties weredamaged by the storm in February.I would like to personally thank the volunteers for their support and their personal time they have contributed to help the community.

To celebrate NAIDOC week,some of my team members and Iwill be attending Ramahyuck’s NAIDOC Flag RaisingCeremonyonJuly 8. Iamlooking forwardtoacknowledging an important occasion and learning more about Aboriginal history and culture and hope to see some of our community there.

Longford Plants Manager Clinton Gentle

Esso Australia LongfordPlant Manager,Clinton Gentle. Photo: Contributed

Whatisthe reality of nuclear?

BRIAN Mawhinney (in asubmission to the Latrobe Valley Express Letters, 12/06/2024) uses some unrelated facts and some dubious logic to imply that, if we followedthe Finnishexample, we could have nuclear power in two years at acost of 12 cents per kilowatt.

The reality is that government reportsshow nuclear at 41 per cent of generation output in 2023 with wind and hydro at 18 per cent each; ie renewables are 36 per cent of their capacity. They alsohavea goal of 50 percent renewables by 2030. Power pricesinFinland are highly variable, depending on season and your contract.Inthe second half of 2023, households paid an average totalprice of 0.23 Euro per kWh or about $A0.37.

His information about the Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant is also misleading.

The 1600 Megawatt Unit 3reactor was ordered in 2005for 2010delivery,but commercial operation onlybegan in May 2023; 18 years afterconstruction began.

Whilst the contracting consortium bore the financial risk, total costs have ballooned from the budget price of 3billion Euros to 11 billion Euros. Put another way, an experienced nuclear country (they have five reactors) took 18 years to deliver nuclear energy at acapital cost of over $A17billion or about $A11 billion per gigawatt of output.

Another sobering example:the UK’s 3.2 Gigawatt Hinkley Point Cnuclear power station will come online around 2030-31, three years late after 12

years construction and is estimated to cost more than46billion pounds (nearly threetimesthe original budget) or $28 billion per gigawatt!

These costs are similar to severalotherrecent large projects.

The harsh realityfor us is it really doesn’t matter what Finland has done; our risks revolve around what we can do.

Australia has not covered itself in glory doing massive, complex projects on-time and on-budget.

Snowy 2.0 ring abell? Throw in a“first of akind” project and20yearsdoesn’t sound toofar off for when we will see our first nuclear power output.

If we can match current average capital costs (a big 'ask'), we’ll be spending around $15 billion per Gigawatt of built output.

To replaceour current22Gigawatts of coalfired power would cost us more than the AUKUS submarines.

So, anyone who thinks nuclear will do anything for us before 2040 and will deliver cheap power is ignoring the facts and swallowing the populist crap

Peter Dutton is offering.

John Gwyther

Coongulla

Act of kindness

RECENTLY on clearing the mailbox, we found avery precious note attached to achocolate bar.

The note read 'Hope you know what an amazing person you are'.

To the unknown person who wrote the note, we thank you for the beautiful thought, it made our day. What abetter world we would have, if there were more people with your beautiful heart.

Cecilia Temple Stratford

Watchful eye

WITH the millions of taxpayers dollars the Labor government is planning to spend in an attempt to regulate hunting, perhaps they could mandate the fitting of 'GoPro' type cameras to all firearms. It would be cheaper and more effective than trying to monitor the hunting activities with humans on the ground, given hunters are permitted to hunt in more than 50 per cent of Victoria’s public land.

Each camerawould be registered to afirearm.

Whenthe gun leavesits registered gunsafe,the camera and gps activate, making it an offence not to keep it in working order.

With cases such as is playing out in our courts today and the too common shooting of threatened species, hunters are proving they can’t be trusted to regulate their own behaviour when in possession of adangerous firearm.

It would also go some way to giving the rest of the population alittle bit of peace of mind given hunting often occurs close to private property and other recreational users.

The Game Management Authority and hunting

groups are boasting low numbers of infringements issued during this years duck shootingseason. This doesn’t correlate with what is actually happening in the majority of areas that aren’t monitored. Perhaps GMA couldmention the amount of illegal hunting incidents reported by the public but not followed up to balance the story.

Elizabeth McCann Regional Victorians Opposed to Duck Shooting Inc

Have your say

THE Gippsland Times welcomes letters to the editor.

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

The editor, Liam Durkin, reserves the right to edit letters for reasons of space and clarity, and may refuse to publish any letter without explanation. The Gippsland Timesdoes not publish letters from anonymous contributors.

Letters must include aphone number or email address and the author's hometown for purposes of substantiating authenticity.

Readersare entitled to one right of reply to a letter directly solely at them.

The views expressed in letters to the editor are those of the writers, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Gippsland Times management or staff. Email letters to news@gippslandtimes.com.au

Dutton blindsides Gippsland with nuclear announcement

Comment TomMcIntosh

FEDERAL Opposition Leader, Peter Dutton has announced anuclear power plant for Gippsland, again with no detail about costs or answers to key questions.

My petition already has hundreds of local signaturestelling the Coalition“No Nuclear Reactors in our Communities”.

The energy industry doesn't supportnuclear, businesses don’t want to invest, it doesn’t stack up economically,and it willleadtohigher power prices.

The Liberal/Nationals must come clean on these questions:

 What will anuclear reactor do to the value of critical agricultural land, and how will it affect resale prices?

 How will farmers' water supply be impacted

due to water demand and whose water supply will be prioritised in periods of drought?

 Given the taxpayers will have to foot the bill -how much will Australians pay per nuclear reactor?

 Howmuchwill consumers pay to store waste and to insure the multinational energy company in the event of ameltdown?

 How big an exclusion zone would be implemented in the event of an accident and how will they compensate communities?

 Howwillanuclear plantcompete with cheap renewables including daytime solar without huge subsidies?

 How will the community be protected in the event of fire and flood, or earthquakes?

One in fourVictorianhomes have installed solar on their roof and wholesale prices in our state are among the cheapest in the country.

Renewables are the cheapest form of electricity generation, nearly 40 per cent of electricity in Victoria’s grid is renewable and by 2035 it will be 95 per cent.

CSIRO and AEMO figuresshow that the cost of asingle nuclear plant is as high as $16 billion.

Labor has awellplanned energy agenda- which has resulted in tens of billionsofdollars of planned investmentinGippsland -we’re getting on with building renewable energyprojects by using proven technologies that lower our emissions, and deliver cheapand reliable power to Victorians.

Renewables investment stands ready to deliver

thousands of construction jobs,followedbygenerations of operations and maintenance jobsin Gippsland.

Peter Dutton is now the single biggest threat to these jobs and investment.

There is currently no federal regulatory framework for approving nuclear power plants in Australia, thereare no nuclearwaste storage sites in Australia and the state Liberaland National parties are divided on whether to repeal nuclear prohibition to enable nuclear power in Victoria. Tom McIntosh is the ALP Member forEastern Victoria in the Legislative Council.

Whale rescuemission on Gippy coast

StefanBradley

AFTER asighting near Loch Sport sparked anearly week-longsearch, ahumpbackwhale entangled in fishing lines was freed on Saturday afternoon off the coast of Marlo by an IncidentManagement Team (IMT)

OnSunday,June23,anentangledhumpbackwhale was sighted about 18km from Loch Sport. The whale, whichwasabout18metresinlength,wasfirstspotted by helicopter crews flying to offshore platforms.

The Department of Energy, Environmentand Climate Action (DEECA) the next day, established the IMT to find the whale and get ready for adisentanglementoperation.DEECAappealedtothepublic to report any sightings of the whale, but urged those in boats to keepadistance of at least 200 metres for safety reasons. The whale also posed apotential navigational hazard for mariners.

Incident Controller Ellen Dwyer said ahelicopter searched for two days between Wilsons Promontory and Point Hicks but was unable to find the whale. “ADEECAspecialisedwhaledisentanglementcrew, includingstafffromVictorianFisheriesAuthorityand ParksVictoria,wereonstandbyatLakesEntranceto removethe ropesand linesifitwas located,” she said “These crew members are trained to deal safely with entangled whales. After an assessment, the crew makes adetermination on the best course of action. The safety of the crew is always our priority when making assessments.”

DEECAsaysitwasn'tuntiltheafternoonofFriday, June 28 that the whale wasspotted againnear Lakes Entrance.VictoriaPolicesaiditwasfoundbyarecreationvessel about 4.5 nauticalmilesfromLakeTyers. TheIMT's aim was to remove 200 metres of rope and line, as well as 11 floatationbuoys that were attached to the whale, which it may have towed all the way from Antarctica.

Ms Dwyer said specialised whale disentanglement crews, including staff from DEECA, Victorian FisheriesAuthority and Parks Victoria, had attached atelemetry buoy to the whale on Friday, allowing them to track its location.

On Saturday morning, the crews caught up with the whale, 24 kilometres off the coastofMarlo in East Gippsland, where they began the disentanglement. “By Saturday afternoon, the bulk of theropes and buoys had been removed, allowing the whale to continue its migration along the east coastof Australia,” she said.

“Unfortunately, asmaller section of rope could not be removed and was still trailing from the whale.”

Police said the team were able to use smaller boats to get in close enough to the ailing whale to

"successfullycut approximately800kg of tangled ropes and buoys from the animal".

Police used acrane to lift theheavy fishing tackle out of the water to ensure it didn’t become ahazard

HELP SUPPORT OUR NEWBORN BABIES

The Newborn Intensive CareFoundation is hosting aLadies High Tea Fundraiser on 9August to help raise money for aportable bedside ultrasound for our Women’s and Children’s Unit.

Your help will ensurenewborn babies at CGH get the quality carethey deserve.

Therewill be spot prizes, guest speakers and free transport to and from the event. Dress code is colourful! Bookings areessential before26July. Scan the QR code for tickets, bus bookings and other information.

for any other vessels or marine life.

Ms Dwyer said the disentanglement crews worked in difficult conditions to free the whale.

“Our crews, with the help of aVictoriaWater Police and Victorian Fisheries Authority support vessels, performed their work professionallyand with the utmost care for the whale’s welfare. Working in the open ocean during winter with one of the world’s largest animals isn’t an everyday job, but they have managed to achieve agreat outcome,” she said.

“We place aheavy emphasis on training and crew safety, so it was great to achieve the desired result with everyone returning safelybacktoshore.”

Water Police Inspector James Dalton said it wasn’t anormal day in the office for his team.

“Normally police are searching for missing people or vessels in waterways, so this was acompletely different kind of search for us,” he said.

“The whale was so tightly tangled in the ropes and it wasn’t travelling very far so we knew it was in real distress. To safely cut the ropes away, we neededtoreturnthefollowingdaytoensurewecould successfully remove enough of the rope that it could swim freely again.

“This was ahugeteam effort and we’re so happy that it had agreat outcome.”

MsDwyersaidDEECAwasinvestigatingtheorigin of the fishing equipment, with an initial analysis indicating that it was from an international vessel. “It is possible that the whale became was entangled during its summer feeding season off Antarctica and has been dragging it while it is undertaking its seasonal migration,” she added.

Abandoned,Lost,DiscardedFishingGear(ALDFG) is aglobal problem affecting entire ecosystems and directly affecting animals such as whales. Humpbacks migrate up to 10,000 kilometreseach year from the rich feeding grounds near Antarctica to the warmer waters of northern Australia where theycalve and mate.

Members of the publicare encouraged to reportall whale and dolphin incidentsorstrandings, either aliveordead, to theDEECA Whaleand Dolphin Emergency Hotline on 1300 136 017. Public in boatsmust stay at least 200 metres from whales and should not attempt to disentangle. Moreinformationisavailableat:wildlife.vic.gov.au/ wildlife-emergencies/whale-and-dolphin-emergencies

Will nuclear plant prove to be “excellent”?

GuyIncognito

IF thereistobeanuclear power plant built in Gippsland, employees may need to be aware of afew things.

Colour monitors are sure to pick up even the smallest detail, such as any “free thinking anarchist” daring to wear apink shirt to work.

Watching those monitors with an eagle eye will be the plant’s billionaire owner, on the lookout for any “jackanapes”, “lollygaggers” or “noddleheads”.

While possibly appearing cold and heartless, plant employees could be gifted afew luxuries from their boss.

Anight at Rosedale Speedway has been arranged, although drivershave been instructed to “keep it in firstgear for a couple of laps”, while it is understood aplant baseball teamisalsointhe works, withplayers the calibre of DarrylStrawberry, Ken Griffey Jr and Roger Clemens rumoured to be “given token jobs at the plant” in order to play on the team.

These luxuries however need to work both ways, and if for any reason the plant’s boss feels productivity is lackingand employees need “a serious lesson in teamwork”, aretreat to Mount BawBaw might be in order.

There, teams of two will work their way to ahidden cabin on the mountain containing “sandwiches and moderately priced champagne”.

To show the employer isn’t playing favourites, they will be taking part as well, although allegations of rigging have already come to the surface as everyoneknows “cheating is the gift man gives himself".

If employees survive that challenge (and aren’t the last group to make it to thecabin), more tasks outside their immediate trade could welcome them back at the plant.

The boss likeshis lunch,consisting of “one bouillon cube, one concord grape, aPhilly cheesesteak and ajar of garlic pickles”, and employees can do their chances of a promotion no harm if they are able to open the last item.

Promotion could come the way of being the boss’ assistant, which may seem like a big job, but in actuality is just “2800 smaller jobs”.

Some of those jobs require delivering messages and monitoring car parking times Neglecting this could result in the boss’ car being impounded and getting“crushed into acube”,whereby they will then have “30 minutes to move your cube”.

Those jobs surely top afew others on offer at the plant, such as turning the gears on the rotatingcakestand,orbeingindustrial chimney sweep for the day.

If employees are ever seeking aquick getaway from the stress of work (or to get to the brewery/Moetavern), documents uncovered by the Gippsland Times reveal there is an escape route via Sector 7B. Oncethere, there is an obstacle to overcome, which can be achieved simply by quoting abible verse.

In order to stop employees sneaking out, ideas to helpboostmoralehave been suggested. Funny hat day and Tom Jones music could be implemented, although the move to entirely healthy snacks might not be fully embraced. Employees reportedly clashed with achain-whip wielding donut truck driver recently in abid to reclaimtheir favourite food. One employee, who was once accused of “eating half the population of the planetofthe donut” was said to be in hysterics, exclaiming “you can’t take away our donuts!”

As discussion around alocal nuclear power planttakes off,interest will abound to see if it inadvertently becomes connected to other community initiatives.

Could we see the plant’s owner open a casino in theLatrobeValley? Or indeed get on the campaign trail to run for government? Look out for someone going by the name of ‘Mr Snrub’ speaking from the gallery at the next council meeting.

Author's note: Before people lose their minds,this is just abit of fun,not to be taken seriously, written by local Simpsons aficionado, Liam Durkin.

The whale wasrescued near Gippsland at the weekend as part of amulti-agency operation.

Photos: Contributed

Water Police officersdeployed in a14.7 metreoffshorevessel VP09 with aspecialist teamfrom DEECA, Victorian Fishing Authority and Parks Victoria to attach atracking device to thewhale

Iconic drama nowavailable

LOVERS of cinema, rejoice! Sale Film Society meets this week for its latest monthly get-together.

July’s screening of choice is On the Waterfront,anAmerican dramadescribed by Society president Rob Ziffer as “iconic”.

“It revolves around alongshoreman engulfed in the criminal affairs of the labour union,” Dr Ziffer said.

“We only need to cast our minds back to the Painters and Dockers Union on the Melbourne waterfront for aparallel.”

First released in 1954, On the Waterfront is directed by Elia Kazan and stars ayoung Marlon Brando (The Godfather)alongside Lee JCobb, KarlMalden, Rod Steigerand Eva Marie Saint.

Dr Ziffernotes the picture was acommercial and critical success, earning 10 times its budget at theAmerican box-office, and securing 12 Academy Award nominations, ultimately winningeight -a record-equalling feat at the time.

“It was also one of the first films to be

selected for preservation in the United States’ National Film Registry, having been deemed ‘culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant’ by the LibraryofCongress,” he adds.

On the Waterfront is showing at The Wedge this Thursday, July 4- adatewhich also marks, quite appropriately, the United States’ Independence Day.

As usual, the screening begins at 7.30pm, withprospective attendees encouraged to arrive ahalf-hourpriortominglewith fellow movie buffs, and purchase adrink at Shirley’s Café and Bar.

Entry is free to Society members and $10 for non-members.

Moreinformation aboutthe Society andits upcomingscreenings can be found on the official webpage: salefilmsociety.wordpress.com Images: Contributed

FILMS at the Bundy is amembership-based film society screening recent award-winning and highly regarded films every month at the Bundy Hall. Each six-month membership is $50 for five screenings, aconvivial group of local film lovers to watch with and abacklog of hundreds of wonderful films on DVD to borrow.

This season features much lauded South Korean drama The Broker,Australian film Shayda, Scrapper and Blue Jean from the UK and Macedoniandocumentary Honeyland.Film nights arethe fourth Wednesday of the month at 7.30pm. Memberships: trybooking.com/CRUAE Doors openat7pm for a7.30 start. Popcorn, ice creams, lollies and hot drinks available for a goldcoin donation. Audiencemembers are also welcome to BYO. Locals are welcome to come to ascreening and try it out beforejoining.See you at the Bundy everyone!

The Wedge shows ‘The Visitors’

ON asweltering day in January 1788, seven clan leaders gather on asandstone escarpment overlooking the harbour.

The attendees,six of them Elders and one new initiate,catch-up,laugh together, share ameal and compare notes. But beyond the friendly banter, protocols, and hospitality,amomentousdecision is waiting to be made.

After its Sydney Theatre Award-winning premiere production at the 2020Sydney Festival, Muruwari playwright Jane Harrison’s The Visitors embarks on anational tour, thistimedirected by one of

Co-produced by Moogahlin Performing Arts and SydneyTheatreCompany,The Visitors is at once ariveting, deeply researched insightinto one of the mostimportant days in Australia’s history,and ahugelyentertaining study of howcommunities respond to change and the unknown.

Australia’s most celebrated directors, Quandamooka man Wesley Enoch.

Check out The Visitors at The Wedge in Sale on Tuesday July 23 at 8pm and Wednesday July 24 at 11am. Learn more and get tickets at: thewedge. com.au/event/the-visitors/

Photo:Rob Hookey

ONE POINTERS

1. What material are mummies wrapped in?

2. What is the term for zero in tennis?

3. In America, what is used instead of degrees Celsius?

4. Who played Billy Madison in the 1995 film? TWOPOINTERS

5. Which American actor became President?

6. Who was the first man on the moon?

7. McDonald’swas founded in what year?

8. What is the highest-grossing Broadway show? THREE POINTER

9. What kind of doctor invented cotton candy?

10. Whose death started World WarI?

11. What does SPF in Sunscreen stand for?

12. How many countries are in the European Union? FOUR POINTERS

13. What scale are earthquakes measured on?

14. Who painted the Sistine Chapel? FIVE POINTER

15. What was the first countrythat women could vote in?

Using the 9letters in the grid, howmany wordsoffour letters or morecan you list? The centreletter must be included and each lettermay be used onlyonce No colloquial or foreign words. No capitalised nouns, apostrophes or plural wordsending in ‘s’.

Dentist;

chdukeAr Franz Ferdinand;

entyTw Seven;

The Richter Scale; 14: Michel-

WELCOME to 151 Somerton Park Rd, Sale. This family home offers aperfect blend of tranquillity and convenience, privately positioned with stunning rural views, yet just ashort drive to the CBD, according to agents.

Spread across a1033sqm block, this residence is designed for family living both inside and out, boasting aversatile layout to suit avariety of buyers and lifestyles.

As you step inside, you're greeted by a large open plan kitchen/dining and living area, featuring amodern kitchen with ample bench and storage space. Adjacent is alarge formal dining and lounge space, illuminated by large windows that invites natural light to flood the room.

Enjoy year-round comfort with amenities such as awoodheater with ducts to upstairs, split system heating/cooling, ceiling fans, and gas heating.

The ground floor hosts amaster bedroom with ensuite and built-in-robes, along with three additional bedrooms, all featuring built-in-robes. Acentral family bathroom with vanity,shower,and bath,

Brief details

Property:Fivebedrooms,three bathrooms, twocar spaces

Address: 151SomertonParkRoad, Sale Price: $775,000.

Agent: ChristineHaylock,0417 007 336, Wellington Real Estate.

as well as aseparatetoilet and laundry with storage space, cater to the needs of family living.

Additional storage under the stairs and alinen cupboard provides practical solutions for organization.

Upstairs, discover aversatile space that could serve as asecond master suite /parents retreat, rumpus room for the kids or accommodation for guests, agents say

This floor features aspacious living room, abedroom with walk-in-robe, and abathroom boasting avanity,toilet, shower,and spa bath. Sliding doors from both the bedroom and the living space opens onto abalcony,providing agreat spot to sitand have your morning coffee.

Outside, entertain guests effortlessly in the undercover entertaining area. Alternatively,bask in the sunshine beside the inviting salt-chlorinated inground pool, perfect for cooling offon hot summer days, while the charming Balinese hut offers ashady retreat for relaxation and leisurely afternoons, agents say

The secure backyard offers peace of mind for families,while the double garage provides ample space for vehicles and storage.

Designed with family living in mind, this property offers all the space and versatility you need to create cherished memories for years to come.

Space and versatility in privately positioned home

Lifestyleproperty on the edge of Stratford

INTRODUCING 37 Sandhill Road -a property set in an elevated position, offering rural views over Stratford.

The home is built on atwo-hectare (five-acre) parcel of land.

This property has fenced boundaries and a long driveway leading to the house, set well back from the road and is located on the edge of the township.

Prospective buyers will finfeatures likethe living area, blended with the meal area, and an updated kitchen featuring timber bench tops and brand-new oven, stovetop and dishwasher,agentssay

Sunlight streams through the large windows, while areverse cycle air conditioner and wood heater ensure year-round comfort. The property also features solar panels, and a4.5 kw solar system.

There are four bedrooms plus a designated study or fifth bedroom. Three of the bedrooms feature built-in-robes, while the master suite has an ensuite and awalk-in-robe. The residence also features acovered outdoor entertaining area with anortherly aspect, agents say.The gardens have mature trees and plants. Additionally,the water supply comprises both tank water and bore water

Other amenities, include paddocks, shedding that includes afive-bay machinery shed, alock-up storage shed, adouble carport, and adouble garage.

Briefdetails

Property: ty Home on the edge of Stratford.

Address: 37 Sandhill Road,Stratford.

Price: $790,000. Bed: 4, Bath: 2, Car: 4. Agent: Christine Haylock,0417 007 336, Wellington Real Estate.

or

estate?

Entry levelhome readyfor renovation

Education for aged careresidents

RESIDENTIAL aged care homes in Gippsland now have access to an education package designed to improve the lives of residents.

Called BERTIE -Better lives for residents through innovative education -the package has been designed and developed in response to the findingsofthe RoyalCommission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. It aims to build capacity and capability in the residential aged care workforce and supports both clinical and non-clinical staff to recognise and manage early signs of deteriorating health of residents.

Gippsland PHN and the other five Victorian PHNs co-funded the BERTIE project. Subject matter experts in the project team included 16 geriatricians,two First Nations clinicians/ academics, aregistered nurse/health coach, and aresident/consumer expert.

Geriatrician at Aria Health and the Royal Melbourne Hospital, Dr Jesse Zanker, said key recommendations in the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety related to the

educational needs and aspirations of hard-working aged care staff.

“BERTIEdirectly addresses these needs by providing abroad cross-sectionofeducational content across 20 sub-topics, all relatedtothe care of deteriorating or at-risk residents,” Dr Zanker said.

“It provides afresh and novel approach to education. The aged care workforce is spread far and wide across the state, so education needs to be delivered in an easily accessible,on-demand andsuccinct online format.”

The training package is easytodigest and self-paced. Each of the 20 modulesincludes a short engaging video, summary sheet and quick quiz. Knowledge is tested immediately following the completion of each module, in line with best practice on consolidated learning.

BERTIE is free to all residential aged care workers in Victoria and NSW border communities that come under aVictorian PHN and is accessible via the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission’s ALIS platform.

Dr Zanker said the importanttaskofpeer review was part of developing the training package.

“We could not have asked for amore amazing contributor than Esmae Pimm. As an aged care resident herself, her perspective and experience were vital,” she said.

Esmae, aged 99, peer-reviewed key BERTIE modules. Her role was to carefully scrutinise the work produced by the subject matter experts to ensure it matched her experience of aged care.

Esmae said peer-reviewing work was askill that requiresconcentration and adiscerning eye. “I’m no academic, but Ihave plenty of common sense.

And we couldall do withmore education,”she said.

Gippsland PHN Chief Executive Officer, Amanda Proposch, said BERTIE offered the opportunity for the aged care workforce to upskill, assistinginthe deliveryofhigh-quality and safecaretoresidents

“Through the recommendations from the Royal Commission, we saw the need to focus on ensuring residents are always at the centre of care,” Ms Proposch said.

“Bycompleting BERTIE, aged care staffwill be able to develop their skills, particularlyaround deteriorating conditions in residents, and therefore, support residents to receive appropriate and timely healthcare.”

The widerange of topics included in the BERTIE training package cover subjects such as painassessment, communication, advanced care planning, how to assess acute deterioration, movement and mobility, and palliative care.

Dr Zanker said the ultimate goal of BERTIE was to improve the lives of residents in agedcare

“This is also the goal of our hard-working aged care staff. Through BERTIE, we are providing some of the tools to help achieve this goal,” she said

BERTIE can be accessed through the Aged Care Quality and SafetyCommission’s ALIS platform: agedcarequality.gov.au/workers/ education-and-training-workers

Russell Northe refused asentenceappeal

ErikaAllen

FORMER Member for Morwell, Russell Northe lost an application for leave recently to appeal against his 21-month prison sentence. Northe was sentenced last October for falsifying documents and setting up fake expenses while serving in public office.

Lawyers on behalf of Northe attended Victoria's Court of Appeal to argue the sentence of imprisonment was “excessive”. However, the appeal was refused.

In Victoria’s Court of Appeal’s, Northe’s lawyers applied for an appeal to leave, arguing the sentence of imprisonment posed arisk to Northe’s “deteriorating” mental health.

When Judge McInerney announced the sentence in October 2023, the Express reported the verdict was met with “shock”, and that

“most (people were) expecting Mr Northe to be handed acommunity corrections order”.

That acommunity corrections order should have been issued is precisely what barrister Paul Smallwood argued at the appeal hearing on Wednesday, June 19.

Mr Smallwood argued the sentence was “manifestly excessive” in circumstances where prosecutors had agreed arelatively short sentence followed by acommunity-based order was in range.

Justice Phillip Priest and Justice Stephen McLeish however emphasised that acommunity correction order was “insufficiently punitive”.

“The offending profoundly breached the trust which the community places in Members of Parliament, and the trust of the electors of the district of Morwell in particular.”

It was also argued Judge McInerney had failed to give sufficient weight to Northe’s mental health problems and risk of deterioration in custody.

It is documented that Judge McInerney noted imprisonment would “weigh heavily” on Northe given his mental health history. The court heard Northe was diagnosed with adepressive disorder with anxiety in 2021 and was admitted to hospital ayear later.

“The judge accepted that the consequences of asentence of imprisonment were ‘of powerful mitigation’ and that the hardship the applicant would experience in prison in respect of his mental health was also avery weighty factor in mitigation,” Justice Priest and Justice McLeish said.

“But ultimately, the judge said that the only appropriate sentence was one of imprisonment.

“We accept that the mental health condition of the applicant… was avery powerful mitigating factor in the sentencing exercise,” they said. Hence, Justice Priest and Justice McLeish concluded that the sentence was “far from being manifestly excessive”.

“The sentence reflects the very careful attention given by the judge to aparticularly challenging sentencing task. Leave to appeal must be refused on this ground accordingly.” Northe served as the Member for Morwell from 2006 until retiring before the 2022 state election.

He served with the Nationals from 2006 until taking indefinite leave in 2017 to deal with depression.

Northe quit the Nationals that same year, before returning as an Independent and winning the 2018 state election.

Wellington wins in grant program

THE federal government says it is backing more community-led projects in Wellington Shire, with more than 200 newinitiatives state-wideset to makethe "smallest communities evenbetter places to live, work, stay and play".

Member for Eastern Victoria, Tom McIntosh recently announcedthreegroupsinWellington Shirewould receive grants through round one of the federalgovernment's $20million Tiny Towns Fund. The program’s first round is bringing more than 180 projects to life in rural and regional towns, and more than 20 projects in outer metropolitan towns,

each with fewer than 5000 residents.

Mr McIntoshsaidsome of Victoria's best "tiny towns" are in Wellington Shire and that he was "proud" the funding is going to them.

“We're backing community led projects right across Gippsland to ensure they’re getting the support they needtotakeadvantage of theiruniqueopportunities,” he said.

In amediarelease, the government said the successful projects "celebrate each community’s local spirit and will drive visitation to thesevibrant towns".

CRT programs receive boost in regional schools

PRIMARY schools across regional and rural Australia willreceive aboostunderthe 2024 Combined Rural Traders (CRT) Primary Schools Program.

In itsthird year, the CRTPrimary Schools Program will distribute $50,000 among Parents and Friends Associations(P&Fs) of primary schools in regional and rural Australia.

CRT HeadofIndependents, Rebecca Gay highlightedthe program's overwhelming response this year.

“We received over100 applications, making it a challenging task for the selection panel to narrow it down to the 25 successful applicants,”she said.

“CRT stores are localemployers in many regional communities, and schools play avital role in these areas. This program aims to recognise the crucial contributions P&F associations make in fostering the growth and development of the next generation.

“We believe investing in primary schools is an investment in asmart,strong, and confident future for regional Australia.”

This year’s fundingwill support various initiatives, including improving outdoor play spaces,

upgrading technologies in the classroom, and providing funding for sporting and educational equipment and ag learning resources.

“We’reseeing many P&F associations eager to connect with agriculture through cattle clubs and paddock to play initiatives.

"Theseprojects providestudentswith ahandson connection to food and agriculture and a chance to immerse themselves in the outdoors.

“We’realsopleased to be able to fund excursions and extracurricular activities, whichare often astrugglefor regional and remote schools to access.”

The CRT Primary Schools Program will return in 2025.

For alist of successful applicants, visit: crt.com. au/primary-schools-program/

CRT HeadofIndependents, Rebecca Gay says the company is proud of itsstronglink to local communitiesand schools.

Contributed

Gormandale Football-Netball Clubwill receive $35,200 to refurbish and renovate the club changerooms.

Loch Sport Foreshore Committee of Management willbegiven $31,636 to repair and reinstateanall abilities walking and cycling track at Loch Sport.

Atotal of $8450 will go to Briagolong Quarry ReserveCommittee, so the Briagolong Quarry Reserve Pavilion can get areplacement roof, and water tanks installed.

The fund is apartofthe federal government’s $45 billion investment since 2014 in projects and

programs that support regional and ruralVictoria to be an even better place to live, work, stay and play. It says the investments mean more locals have jobs closer to home, more communities have the infrastructure they need to thrive, and more visitors can experience everything the regions have to offer. For more information, visit: rdv.vic.gov.au/ tinytownsfund or suburbandevelopment.vic.gov. au/grants/tiny-towns-fund

Welcome additiontoSaleShowgrounds’ horse yards

THIRTY-FOUR new outdoor horse yards at the Sale Showgrounds has increased the total to 124. All yards are steel-railed for horse security and welfare,including existing indoor horsestables, increasing the total single-horse accommodation to 161. The Saleand District Agricultural Society president,Laurie Jeremiah, said the new 3.6 by 3.6-metre yardsstandardisedthe outdoor yard sizeand wereawelcome additiontoprovide secure horse confinement.

Mr Jeremiah said the society appreciated the state government grant of $10,000 toward the new horse yards cost.

The horse yard installation was supported by the state government through the Agricultural and Pastoral Society Grants Program 2023-24.

“Without that grant we would be unable to build the new yards to meet the demands of horseentries at our Show and other major equestrian events,” Mr Jeremiah said.

Sale and District Agricultural Society membersKeith Miller, LaurieJeremiah, Chris Heib and Ross Jones building the new yards.

Photo: Contributed

Photo:

Promoting QFever awareness

GIPPSDAIRY has partnered with Gippsland Region Public Health Unit(GRPHU) to bring awareness to dairy farmers on the importance of being vaccinated against QFever.

AQFever vaccination clinic has been set up at the Maffra Medical Centre to provide access to dairy farmers and workers in need of testing and vaccination. Bookings were recentlymade available through GippsDairy at adiscounted price.

All 32 available bookings were filled, and GippsDairy and GRPHU hope this demand will encourage participation across Gippsland.

This initiative comes as aresult of asteady high number of QFever cases across Gippslandover the last 10 years, compared to the rest of Victoria.

In 2023, Gippsland had the highest proportion of QFever cases in the state, at 34.4 per cent of total cases, accountingfor 4.6per cent of the population.

QFever is adisease caused by bacteria that is spread to humansfrom wild and domestic animals, mainly cattle, sheep, and goats. The bacterium that causes the disease can survive in air, soil, water, and dust, and on items such as wool, hides, clothing, straw, and packing materials.

QFever is generally caught via:

 Breathing or swallowing contaminated dust particles;

 Contact with infected animal waste products;

 Contact with soiled straw or wool;

 Handling infected placental tissue such as afterbirth, and;

 Consuming infected unpasteurised milk.

GippsDairy Regional Manager,Karen McLennan stressed the importance of being prepared for the upcoming calving season.

“Given how QFever is contracted, calving season does pose asignificantly higher risk for farmers,” she said.

“We understand that access to the vaccinations can be difficult so hopefully this gives farmers the opportunity to make sure they are protecting themselves, their loved ones, and their workers in the lead up to calving.”

PeoplewithQFeverdevelop symptoms two to three weeks after coming into contact with the bacteriaand often exhibit severe flu-like symptoms. Without treatment, symptoms can last from two to six weeks. Severe disease, chronic infections, and chronic fatigue-type illnesses are some of the complications from QFever that also occur in 10 per cent of cases.

GippsDairyand GRPHU would like to thank Iain Nicolson, founding General Practitioner of the Maffra Medical Centre, and the Sale Medical Centre for their support of the testingand vaccination initiative.

All farmers and farm workers in Gippsland that have not been tested and vaccinated against Q Fever are strongly encouraged to get in touch with their local GP clinicfor informationonwhereto get vaccinated.

Young adultmen “on the beers” at high risk

ALMOSThalfofyoung adult men (aged 18-29)are consistently drinking at risky levels, with 48 per cent consumingmore than four standard drinks on atypical occasion. Boys in aregional area were muchmore likelythanthose in metropolitan areas to be drinking at risky levels.

Furthermore, 11 per centare consuming around nine standard drinks on atypical drinking occasion, and maintaining that high-risk level over subsequent years, according to anew report by the Australian Institute of FamilyStudies (AIFS).

Researchers from Ten to Men -a longitudinal studywhich has been tracking more than 16,000 boysand men over the last 10 years -surveyed males aged 10-57 years fourtimes between 2013-14 and 2022.

Some boys (aged 10-17) also reported high-risk drinking. When first surveyed all were under the legal drinking age -yet six per cent consumed around nine standard drinks on atypical drinking occasion. Over the next decade, 13 per cent of this group are expected to consistently drink at risky levels.

Across all age groups, consuming alcohol underage was shown to be astrong predictor of risky drinking in later life. Young adult men (aged 18-29) whoconsumed alcohol for the first time while underagewere 4.4 times more likely to have high-risk drinking patterns overthe subsequent 10 years than those who waited until they were of legal age.

Living in aregional area was also astrong predictor of later riskydrinking. Boys (aged 10-17) living in aregional or ruralarea were almost twiceas likely as their city-based peers to be drinking at risky levels over the subsequent 10-year period.

The leader of the TentoMen program at AIFS,Dr Sean Martin,saidthe research highlighted that for many men, an unhealthy relationship with alcohol can start early and persist over years.

“What we can see through this longitudinal data is thatdrinking patterns are fairly well-established by the time men reach the age of 30,” Dr Martin said.

“Drinking at riskylevelsdoesn’t only occur on the cusp of adulthood,and during aman’s early 20s -it

canalso carry on when adult responsibilities ramp up, including work and family commitments and into middleage. For manymen, unlessthey make aconscious decision to reduce their consumption, unhealthy drinking can affect work performance and relationships,aswell physical and mental health."

Dr Martin said surveyingthe same menover time helps pinpoint some of the predictors of high-risk drinking later in life.

“Boys livinginrural andregional areas,boys or men who smoke or take illicit drugs, and older men with disability need to be aparticular focus for policies and programs aimed at reducing alcohol harms,” he said.

Of adultmen (aged18-57), those who smoked andthose who took illicit drugs were both at least twice as likely to drink at high-risk levels. Older men (aged45-57) with disability were more likely to drink at risky levels, consuming about six standard drinks on atypical drinking occasion, than those without disability.

Accordingtothe currentnational alcohol

Providing better support to regional arts

ANEW support program will be offered to creative organisationsand businessesfrom July 16 this year. Regional Arts Victoria will be expanding its membershipoffering,which provides discounted liability and volunteerworkers cover amongst other benefits, to include all smallcreative and arts organisations across the state.

"The Board of Regional Arts Victoria reflected on changes in regionally-based creativeorganisations such as open studios networks, music ensembles, artist run initiatives and collectives", the board chair, Sue Hunt AM said.

"These organisations were previously ineligible for Regional Arts Victoriamembership, but they are important to the regional arts sectorand contribute enormouslytoour communities. We wanted to address these changes while also recognising the costofinsuranceincreasing and the nature of creativecollaborations. The proposal to change membership eligibility was unanimously supported by our current members."

Regional Arts Victoria is one of only ahandful of creative not-for-profit organisations that provides amasterinsurance policy scheme to artists and

creative organisations. The program allows access to three insurance policies that are essential but would likely be out of financial reach for many of their members. Othermember benefits include access to an extensivefunding database and support, professional development and networks throughRegional Arts Victoriaprogramsand staff

The Regional Arts Victoria membershipprogram is available at: rav.net.au/membership.

Small creative organisations and businesses will be able to join for annual memberships from July 16, 2024.

guidelines, adults should drinknomore than 10 standarddrinks aweek andnomorethan four standard drinks on any one day. It is also recommended that children andyoung people under the ageof18shouldnot drink any alcohol. Ten to Men is the largestlongitudinal study on male health in the world. Funded by the Department of Health and Aged Care, thestudyhas been tracking more than 16,000 boys and men since 2013,askingthem about significant issues such as gambling, drinking, drug use, family violence, social connection and mental health.

Experts sayfarmerscan be more vulnerabletoQFever duringcalving season Photo: iStock

HORSES

Clearing Sale

Saturday, July 6, 10am

A/c Bradley and Farley 544 Velore Road, Denison

Items include: Kubota L440 tractor and bucket, 1000L fire trailer with new pump and tank ,caryall, hay forks, caryall caged, spreader, Berends slasher, Berends single tine ripper, 6x4 cage trailer, chicken trailer, Stihl chainsaw, s/steel bench, Triton 2000 workbench and accessories, tools and boxes, gardening items, bee keeping items, cake fridge, Lazyboy chair, craft items, catering items, 240L rubbish bins, indoor plants, rusted garden art. Acc. Outside Vendors: Two Stihl chainsaws, hydraulic jacks, bench drill, Ryobi vac. cleaner, extension ladder, power tools, tools boxes, socket sets and hand tools. Photos on Lions Facebook page. AHeyfield Lions Project. Enquiries Damian 0427 451 286

GREAT CATCH

David is a74years young ,fit and active guy who is good lookingand well presented. David is fortunate enough in having alife style allowing him to enjoy travel, thej outdoors, gardening, dining out and enjoying life with that someone special. To speak to David please call 1800261848 or 0488200554 Quote code 70

AGM

Please be advised that the annual general meeting for the Gippsland Vehicle Collection will be held at GVC., 1A Sale Rd. Maffra, on Wednesday August 7th, commencing at 7:30pm.

Dragonboating

you out on the Port of Sale for apaddle. Suitable for all ages (10 -85yrs +) and fitness levels. Some paddle for personal fitness and social reasons and some paddle to compete within Victoria or interstate. Bring afriend with if you would like to! It's great fun! We're looking forward to seeing you! To learn more about us search Gippsland Water Dragons Dragon Boat Club on Facebook and WWW or email gippslandwaterdragons @gmail.com

Acopy is also available for inspection during the ordinary business hours of the Authority, free of charge, at the WEST GIPPSLAND CATCHMENT MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY offices at 16 HOTHAM STREET TRARALGON VICTORIA 3844.

Acopy of the by-law is able to be purchased, on demand, at the offices of the

Advertise

MOTORING DEAL

TANTARO, Concetta (Connie). Passed away suddenly at home. Saturday, June 29, 2024, aged 85 years, in Sale (Vic.), Australia.

It is with great sadness we would like to extend our condolencestothe families of Jeanette Ellis, Wil Woodman and Allan Drew on 26.6.2024 Lives so beautifully lived deserves to be beautifully remembered Much love from all at Ashleigh House.

It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of our dear Mother's passing. She was aselfless, nurturing and caring person who always put others first. We will miss her dearly; and we hope that her spirit finds solace and peace. Reunited with her husband, ourfather, Sebastiano (Sammy).

current-job-vacancies

pa@yallambee.com.au

BIRTHDAY GREETINGS

DREW Allan of Heyfield, passed away peacefully on 26th June 2024. Aged 79 years. Loved husband of Linda. Loving father and fatherin-law of Kaylene and Glenn, Sandra and Peter, Neil and Mel. ALoved Grandfather and Great Grandfather. At Rest.

ELLIS, (nee Delany) Jeanette Francis 18/4/1931 -26/6/2024 Aged 93 Passed away peacefully at Ashleigh House surrounded by her loving family.

Loving mother and nonna of: Nick, Judy and Luca Matthew and Sammy Giuseppe (Joe), Leigh, Pia and Nina Tony, Nico, Harper, Sage and Kobe Teresa Anna and Ava. It's been an honour and a privilege. Thank you Mum, Teresa.

Mum/Nonna, You were our rock through the good and the bad. Your warm hugs and infectious smile will stay with us forever as you watch over us with Dad/Nonno.

You will always remain in our hearts. We love you so much; our world will never be the same without you. All our love, Anna, Ava and Ruby (dog).

Funeral details yet to be announced.

JOURNALIST

The Gippsland Times and Latrobe Valley Express arelooking for ajournalist to join our team.

This is afantastic opportunity for you to contribute to the communities in our region.

The role will include general news reporting in aregion with awealth of stories to be told about current challenges and future opportunities in addition to the normal story telling expected of alocal newspaper serving its community.

The ideal candidate will:

Haverelevant tertiaryqualifications

Have great communication skills, both verbal and written

Be able to write punchy,informative and excitingstories on arange of subjects

Possess great news sense and an understanding of what engages local readers

Have acurrent driver’s licence

Be motivated with acommitmentto accuracy and quality reporting

The position will be based in Sale.

The successfulapplicantwill reportto the Editor Send aletter of application, resume, list of referees and work examples to:

The Editor -Liam Durkin

Gippsland Times

ldurkin@lvexpress.com.au

Applications close: Friday, 19th July 2024.

Loved Wife of Allan. Adored Mother of Chris, Mike, Jen, and Jo. Sister to Alyson. Mother-in-law of Graeme, Maree, Terry, and Robert. Loving Nan to Kirsty, Bec, Tim, Steph, Jack, James, Jess, Mitch, Christopher, Matt and Gem. Great Nan to eight. You devoted your life to your family and we will be forever grateful. We will miss our great timestogether and especially your classic one liners.

FOX, Max. 23/4/1946 -25/6/2024. Son of Harold and Laura Fox (both dec.). Little brother of Harold (dec.) and Ray (dec.). Uncle of Ian, Pam Richards (dec.), Lynne Glover and Anne. Thank you to his family in Wilton at the Grahma Kumaris Centre. Acreative and talented man.

R.I.P.

Though you are no longer here with us, your love and light continue to guide us every day. We cherish the beautiful memories we shared with you, dear dad grandpa on your 10th anniversary. Love Merran and family.

ORCHARD, Darby. Passed away 2nd July 2018.

Far away you're not forgotten. Someone thinks of you tonight, love Betty. Dad, Never forgotten. Jo-ann, Vicki and Mark.

SMITH, Elizabeth Marie 21/09/1932 -5/07/2008

Our beautiful mum and nan, missing you everyday, love you. Kisses to you and dad in heaven, Love Jen Harold Chris Ebie Casey Chris and khealie and Bentley.

TANTARO, Concetta. Cara Zia Connie, Though deep sadness surrounds our last goodbye, our hearts will always be filled with joy rem emberi ng your embracing hellos.

Non ji dimenticheremo mai, sarai nei nostri pensieri enei nostri cuori.

Con amore, Nick and Kirsty, Teresa, Maria and Greg, Angelo and Anna, Dino and Molly, Frank and Liana, Stephen andSuzanne and families.

To our cousins and their families, our sincere condolences on the passing of abeautiful soul.

OGILVIE, Edna. 14/10/1924 -25/04/2024

The Ogilvie family would like to extend our sincere thanks to all those who provided care, love and support during Edna's short illness and for all the beautiful floral tributes, cards and kind messages.

To Brad, Pal and all the team at Semmens Funerals we cannot thank you enough for the care and compassion you providedduring this difficult time -your team went the extra mile to fulfil our family's wishes and provide abeautiful service.

PAGE (nee O'Dea), Irene Bernice 22/07/1920 -29/06/2024

Passed away peacefully at Wilson Lodge, Sale, almost 104 years old. Loving wife of Joseph (dec.). Loved mother of Denis (dec.), Robert, Allan, and Anne (dec.). Loved mother-in-law to Sharon, Carmel (dec.), and Maarit. Much loved Gran and Great Gran.

Cherished memories of alovely lady.

WRIGHT (Willhelme), Constance (Connie). At Wangaratta 21/11/1936 -29/6/2024.

Sister of Margaret (dec.). Loved eldest sister of Les, Kevin, Judy and Greg Ruff. Special sister-in-law to Glenyss, Corry (B er kelm ans) an d Pauline. Loved Aunty Con to all our families. R.I.P.

We would also like to sincerely thank all those who assisted Edna through the last part of her earthly journey. Special thanks to the Rev. Laurie Baker and Rev. Janet Wallace for all their pastoral care, all the staff at the Johnson Street Clinic and Maffra Hospital for their wonderful care and to everyone at St. John's who assisted with the lovely afternoon tea. We will all be forever grateful for the care and compassion that was provided to our Mum, Nan and GreatNan. Please accept this as our personal thanks.

TAYLOR. Afuneral service for Mrs Betty Louise Taylor of Mirboo North was held on Monday, June 24, 2024.

Irene Bernice

OSBORN, Robert.

Denise, Kathryn, Martin and their families would like to thank Brad and Pal Semmens, and Shane Smallwood for the lovely tribute to Robert, also thosewho attended Robert's funeral.

Ahuge thank you to Donalda Motors for the fantastic effect in presenting the tractor for display, it was greatly appreciated.

Footy’s FavouriteFarmer

WORKSAFE is inviting Victorians to shine a spotlight on the unsungheroes of their farming communities, by nominating them to be crowned Footy's Favourite Farmer.

The competition, in collaboration with AFL Victoria and Netball Victoria, offersanexciting opportunityfor farmers and their local clubs to win more than $20,000 worth of safety upgrades and other prizes.

Nominees stand achancetosecure $10,000 towardssafety upgrades for the winner'sfarm, and another $10,000 for safety improvements or repairs at their community football netball club.

Monthly winnersdrawn in the lead-up to the major prize in August will receiveasafetypack valued at almost $2000 which includes aFooty's FavouriteFarmer branded shirt,apersonalsafety trackingdevice,and aquadbikeoperator protective device (OPD).

Thefarmer's club also receives amerchandise pack of footballs and netballs valued up to $1000,

and the personwho nominatedthem receivesa prize pack worth more than $500.

WorkSafe Executive DirectorofExternal Affairs, Sam Jenkin said the competitionlaunchcoincided withthe start of WorkSafe'sCountryClubWeeks for2024, withWorkSafe visiting Numurkah last week ahead of the highlyanticipated clash with Nathalia

"Our role is to reduce workplace harmand to improve outcomes for injured workers and in country areas we know alarge part of staying safeatwork means staying safe on farms," Mr Jenkin said.

"Sadly,too manyworkers are killed or seriously injured on farms every year and we are working to change that entrenched 'she'll be right' attitude passed down through generations.

"The initiative aims not only to honour the invaluable contribution of farmers to local communities but also to emphasise the critical importance of workplace safety in the agriculture sector."

Four lives have already been lost in workplace incidents on farms this year, while more than 550 people working in agriculture and related support services were injured seriously enough to receive workers compensation last year.

Rosedale's Luke Stuckey, the Footy's Favourite Farmerwinner in 2023, said there was incredible value in WorkSafe's support of countryfootball and netball.

"Every day is dangerous and you know, every day is different. So, the dangers change from day to day (working on afarm)," Mr Stuckey said.

"The WorkSafemessageismassive. if you see aWorkSafe footy or you just see the banner somewhere it justmakes you stop and think about getting home at the endofthe daytosee your kids and family."

Nominations for Footy's Favourite Farmer are open until Friday, August 2, 2024.

Social pickleball sessions running

SALE Social Pickleball and Sale Keen-Agers Table Tennis Club are both welcoming newcomers for afriendly hit and socialising at the Sale/ Maffra BadmintonStadium (corner of Gibson and Cobains Road, Sale).

Sale Social Pickleballisrunningpickleball between9am and 11am on Tuesday and Sunday.

Bats provided and participants are taught all thebasic skills needed for this growing sport. Cost is $5.

Sale Keen-Agers Table Tennis Club is running table tennis gamesevery Mondayand Thursday at 8.45amto11.45am, and your first session is free.

Morningtea is provided. Bats areprovided or you can bring your own, and bring suitable footwear.

For further inquiries on pickleball or table tennis, phone Sharon Collins on 0439 310 751, or email at sharonleecollins@hotmail.com

Battle of the Birds through the lens

Saturday’s wet conditions didn’t stop the Eagles or Magpies flying high, though the slippery ball washardertopluck out of the air

Sale’sKateVan derVoort wins alob ball against Maffra’s Zali Wheatley.

Maffra playing coach, Daniel Bedggood wasgreat in defence, even launching himselfata shot on goal thathepunched back into play beforeitcouldcross the line.

Photos: ErikaAllen

Maffra’s Chloe Proud moved quickly across thecourt to spoil Sale’s run towards goal, backing up interceptswithefficient offensive play

Tournament upcoming

Sale Tennis Club junior,IsaacLazzaro will be hoping to do well in thestrong field in the 12 &Under Boys singles.

EXCITEMENT is building for the upcoming Sale Openand JuniorTennis Tournament.

With 113 players competing in 178 matches, Sale Tennis Club said there is guaranteedtobesomeoutstanding tennis whenthe three daytournament commences this Friday, July 5.

Sale TennisClub President,Robin Lowe said, “With player entry numbers increasing from 75 in 2023 to 113 for this tournament, it is ahugevote of confidence for our hard working TournamentDirector, Jason Yap and his committee.

“Entries haveincreased in all events but it is especially exciting to see the Open events so well supported in 2024,with a nearly full field of 29 in the Open Men’s.

“This year, the tournament is being stagedwithsupport from aWellington Shire CommunityAssistance Grant. An event of this sizebrings over 200 people to our region for the three days, so it is a major boost for the local economy.”

Yap said: “We have some highly-ranked players in the open events. Among the locals, Jess Boardfrom Sale will start as the Number 1seed in the Open Women’s Singles. Her major threat will be Number 2seed Under 16 girl, Zanha Assi, who is oneofVictoria’s leadingjuniors.

“Ben Grumley from Traralgon and Mitchell Allman fromMaffra willbehoping to do well in the Open Men’s but they will have to get past top seed, James Elia from Melbourne to take out the title.

“We are really delighted to see so many of our Sale Tennis Club juniors in the age based events.Lawrence Zhang will start as theNumber 1seed in the 10 &Under singles, and there are local playerswith agenuine chance to do well in all of the junior events.”

Matches commence at 8.30am each day. The public are invited to come down and watchsome high quality tennis fromthe comfort of the seated grandstand.

Entryisfree.Acoffee vanwill operate on site each morning and the club will be running acanteen crammed full of delicious treats for lunch and snacks throughout the day.

Open Singles Number 1seed, Jess Boardslams aforehand drive in a recentsingles matchatSaleTennis Club Photos: Contributed

Sale United recognised

Stefan Bradley

SALE United FootballClubwas once again recognised for it’s Annual Primary Schools Twilight Tournament.

The eventwon Sale United a2023VictorianSport Award fromVicsport forCommunity Sporting Event of the Year.

The tournament has seen 700 kids from the WellingtonShire participate in seven weeks of games, boosting club registrations by 30 per cent. Last year saw the club celebrate 30 years of bringing Twilight soccer to the entire Wellington Shire community. Gameswere held every Monday forseven weeks during Term 4, with four sections in place: Prep/Foundation; Year 1/2; Year 3/4; Year 5/6. Theclubsourcesrefereesbytraining the youth members of the club to referee the games.

LaurelIrvine,GabrielleClare,Anouk Meereboer and Madelaine Breakspear were invited to attend Victoria’sNight Of Nights For Sport, on Wednesday, June 12 at Marvel Stadium.

The club was also named as astate finalist for the Community Club Of The Year.

Whenthe Annual Primary Schools Twilight Tournament began in 1993, there were 15 teams. In 2023, there were 67 teamsenteredand thisis up from 52 in 2022. That is almost 700 kids playing soccer every Monday during Term 4.

“As we encourageeveryone to come and give football agoina fun and enjoyable tournament, we have found that our participation rates have increased dramatically, especially females,” Sale United Football Club said.

Thesporting eventhas given every single child aged four to 12 years, the opportunity to participate in football and give it ago. All primary school-aged children, no matter what fitness or skill level they are at can participate in this tournament. The sole focus is on participation while having fun. No child is left out and everyonehas the chance to be involved in football regardless of gender, nationality, religion and ability.

The club’s co-ordinator, Laurel Irvine ensures that everyone feelswelcome, and withadministration support behind the scenes from Secretary, Darleen Richardson, it’s no coincidence it’s been another successful year for participation in football.

“It is very humbling to win this award. To be acknowledged for the effort that we put in for our local sport has made us very proud,” Richardson said.

“The local communityare telling us they are proud as they also played or coached their kids in our tournament going through primary school. Many feel they are part of the award too and rightly so. Every single participantover the past 30 yearshas left their mark on this award.

“We have also had new sponsors come on board since as they know we have good governance and are committed to the local community.”

Richardsonalsosaidthat winning this award gives their volunteers arenewed passion to create “an even better tournament” for the Wellington Shire primary school-aged children in Term 4.

“Our adult 7v7 competition is strong for everyone aged 15-65, butweare hoping that the affect of winning ‘Event of the Year’ encourages boys and girlsaged 12 to 16 to joinour 5v5 tournament to give them an avenue after school to play sport,” she said.

“We are just so happy that something as simple as sport brings everyone together.”

Ms Irvine has beeninvolvedwiththe tournament for over 14 years, and said it recently provided an opportunity for children to participate in sportafter the pandemic.

“It’s just something for kids who are unable to get into the mainstream of sport,” she said.

“So,weinvite primary schools to enter teams and we keep the cost as lowaspossible,sothat any childcan just have agoand thenthey play with their mates.

“And it’s avery shortspan, like seven weeks, and it gets alittle bit of sport.”

Many volunteers acrossthe club,and the schools and community, have enabled the tournament to continue yearafter year. Especially withpeople like Cameron Irvine -who ensurespitchesare ready,and

PaulMcGrathand AndrewOlijnyk giving support.

“We have apositive partnership with the Wellington Shire Council itself, who helpedus navigate through road safety in the area on a Monday evening where they gave us agrant for new fencing around the ground to keep the players safe and also helping with agrant for anew line marker,” the club said.

“The sheer volume of participants and onlookers has also given our Club agood name in the community,and businesseshave come on boardtosponsor for the first time and we can’t thank them enough. The club won an award for the Tournament back in 2019 for the Wellington Shire Council Community Event of the Year.”

Eachyear, the Victorian Sport Awards (VSAs) honours the athletes, coaches, administrators and volunteers who made an exceptional contribution to sport in Victoria duringthe previous calendar year as well as the initiatives that promoted sport and active recreation participation.

Presentedbythe state government and Vicsport, this year’s VSAs was held in the Victory Room at Marvel Stadium wherewinners across 18 categories were announced.

Following nominations from State Sporting Associations as well as teammates, club members, friends, family and the recipient’slocal community, an esteemed panel of 37 highly-qualified Victorian sportspeople were charged with selecting both the finalists and winners.

The mostprestigious honour bestowed on the night, the Outstanding Contribution to Victorian Sport Award, which is presented to an individual in recognition of outstanding achievement in, or contributionto, sport in Victoria. Thisyear’s recipient was Dr Peter Brukner OAM. Minister for Community Sport, Ros Spence took the chance to thank all those that contribute to what makes Victorian sport so great.

“Theawards night celebrates the dedication and importanceofour clubs, coaches, officials, administrators, and volunteersacross the state-it’s fantastictosee theseVictorian icons receive the recognition they deserve,” she said.

Dragon boating session this weekend

THE Gippsland Water Dragons Dragon Boat Club is conductingaCome ‘n’ Try Dragon Boating session on Saturday, July 6. Local club paddlers will be there at the Sale Canal Boat Ramp and Jetty, accessed from Park Street, Sale from 9.30am until approximately 11am.

Newcomers can sign up for afreeDragon Pass for one month, which includesinsurance on the day of the session.

The club will provide initial instruction, fit out a PFD and paddle for the session and then take you out on the Port of Sale.

The session is suitable for ages 10 and above, and all fitness levels.

“Some paddle for personal fitnessand social reasons, and some paddle to compete within Victoria or interstate,” the club said.

“Bring afriend with if you would like to! It’s

great fun! We’re looking forward to seeingyou! There really is something for anyone who can get themselves into aboat!

“Some of our members succeeded in winning some medals at the recent Australian National Dragonboat Championships in Perth last April!”

Check out the Gippsland Water DragonsDragon Boat Club on Facebook.

RepresentingSale United Football Club at the media wall, from left:Laurel Irvine, Coordinator; GabrielleHutchins, President; Anouk Meereboer,Coach. Photo: Fifty Mil Studios

Maffra Eagles wererunner-up in the Year 1/2 agegroup at the award-winning Twilight Tournament

Photo: Contributed

Gippsland WaterDragon Dragon BoatClubmembers with theirteam trophies aftera successful RegattaatGeelongAugust2023

Club members as Victorian StateRepresentatives

NORTH GIPPSLAND

ROUND 11

SENIORS

YARRAM 6.5 11.7 15.7 17.11 (113)

GLENGARRY1.1 5.3 5.9 5.10 (40)

GOALS: Yarram: JSwift4LHunter 3W Brunton 3JMackenzie 2A Green KPearce KGriffiths B Motton. Glengarry: LHealy 2AMay 2CHood BEST:Yarram: KPearceTChisholm JMackenzie LHunter BMotton WBrunton. Glengarry: MRyanJ LeeLHealy THarris LMartin BTruin

YYN1.2 4.4 8.7 8.9 (57)

SALECITY1.3 1.6 3.6 5.9 (39)

GOALS: YYN: DMacdonald 2BClymo 2M Luck THutton BBurnett LLittle. Sale City: K McCulloch 3M Evans JSchuback BEST: YYN: BBrown JDeVirgilio THutton JMassese M Luck AYoung.SaleCity: KMcCulloch DMcGuiness CEvans HTollner CKelfT Bowman

TRARALGON TYERS 3.59.7 13.18 16.24 (120)

1.2 3.3 4.5 7.6 (48)

GOALS: TTU: JJacobsen 6JNeilson 2H Willaton 2W Curtain FShields FBrouns JWilliams TMustoe MJacobsen. Cowwarr:K Hughes 3ASaunders 3JBrown BEST: TTU: ZKilgowerJ Jacobsen FBrouns FShields WCurtain MJacobsen. Cowwarr:RLuxfordCCook NTwomey bHood JBrown JKirk

ROSEDALE 1.6 4.8 8.14 15.20 (110)

GORMANDALE 3.1 3.1 3.1 4.2 (26)

GOALS: Rosedale: DBarnett 5JDiamond 3H Bell 2AMitchellJSuter RBoyle HBerryBSafstrom. Gormandale: SSullivan2JCanning DCooke BEST: Rosedale: RAtlee DBarnett BSafstromH BerryR Boyle JSuter.Gormandale: NMillingtonTSalerno FRoscoe KOwenICopland SBurgess

WOODSIDE 6.7 8.12 10.13 13.16 (94)

HEYFIELD 1.1 3.2 8.6 10.9 (69)

GOALS: Woodside: DFarmer4ZRichards2 JKennedy RFoat MDyke JWilliams BTatnell LLeeson MO’Sullivan. Heyfield: MBennett 4AEastham 2FStephenson 2NDinsdale K Graham. BEST: Woodside: BStainer LLeeson BJohnson ZRichards JMorganDFarmer. Heyfield: MVan Der ZwartI Wheeler AEastham RMcMillan JBehaMStevens

Wildcatsyet to be stopped

TomHayes and Blake Metcalf-Holt

NORMALITY is restored.

Results generally went the way of the favourite at the weekend in North Gippsland football,following the last few weekends which have shown otherwise -orclose to it.

Thisjust sets up atasty setofRound 12 fixtures, which sees someladder rivalsgo head-to-head, as well as bitter rivals.

IT’S theirs to lose.

Woodside continued on their merry way to the minor premiership, signing off on their 10th win of the season.

The Wildcats made no mistakeasthey buried Heyfield early to recorda13.16 (94) to 10.9 (69) win at Woodside RecreationReserve.

Never to discount Heyfield in the first term, but against asideofWoodside’s calibre, they made things difficult for themselves.

The Wildcats burst out to asix-goal quarter time lead, scoring 6.7 (43) to 1.1 (7).

Already on top of them around the ground but showing an even more devasting fact on the scoreboard -13scoring shots to two in the first half an hour.

Woodside trucked along nicely to keep the marginmoving in theirfavour. And although they barely won the second quarter, that deficit still remained for the Kangaroos.

Both sideskicked two goals up to halftime, but once again it was the Wildcats with many more chancesinside their forward half,scoring four more times than their counterparts, butitwasn’t to too much effect.

With40pointsuptheir sleeve going into the second half, Woodside could afford to lay of the acceleratoralittle, and perhaps they did too much.

The Kangaroos were always going to come, it was just amatter of when.

Heyfield bounced back, kicking 5.4 (34) to Woodside’s 2.1 (13), bringing the game back within four straightkicks by three quarter time.

theirown terms, Glengarry had other ideas. The Magpies managed to bounceback in a way, but the Demons did just as hard.

The home sidekicked 4.2 (26)inthe second quarter, but Yarram managed to extend their margin in impressive fashion, kicking 5.2 (32), seeing the margin out to 40 points at halftime.

To alloftheir effort after halftime, there was just no polish for Glengarry, who registered six behinds to four straight goals in the third quarter. If the script was flipped, we might’ve had agame on our hands.

Nonetheless, Yarramled by 58 points with aquarter to play, and with the margin well beyond doubt, the Demons finished in style.

The Demons kept Glengarry goalless in the second half, allowing them one more behind in the final quarter, while adding 2.4 (16) of their own, walking away as 73-point winners.

Kayleb Pearce, Tyler Chisholm, James Mackenzie (two goals), Luke Hunter (three goals), BoadieMotton, and WillBrunton (three goals) were the best for the victorious visitors. Josh Swift returned to form with four majors.

For Glengarry, Michael Ryan, Jesse Lee, Luke Healy (two goals), ThomasHarris, Lachlan Martin, and Ben Truin were admirable on their home deck.

The win keeps Yarram comfortably inside the top five in fourth, although remain just two games clear of Heyfield in sixth.

 WET weather was the main character in Yallourn Yallourn North’s win over Sale City, 8.9 (57) to 5.9 (39).

Considering theBulldogs' results against tougher opponents and justathree-goalloss on the day, it seemed as though it would take more than what they were capable of on the day to secure the four points.

YYN have been perpetualslow-starters this season but considering the rain and the well-worked ground by the start of the game, Sale City couldn’tmakethe mostofit, despite leading by apoint at quarter time.

It was ashaky start by all means for Rosedale as they welcomedGormandale to Rosedale Recreational Reserve, but they ensured they wouldn’t be beaten, charging to a15.20 (110) to 4.2 (26) win.

The win brings the Blues up to fifth on the ladder, and they will be thanking Woodside for downing Heyfield.

Bothsides broughtinseniordebutants, withthe Blueswelcoming Hayden Berry into the squad, and Ryleigh Musgrove earnt his senior debut for the Tigers.

In atense first quarter, it wasGormandale who looked to be the goods.

The visitors piled on 3.1 (19) to Rosedale’s 1.6 (12). Sure, Rosedale had almost twice as many chances, but they trailed at the first break.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, their burst of success was short lived, as Rosedale reclaimed their dominance before halftime.

Rosedale fixed their accuracy, kicking 3.2 (20) to nothinginthe secondterm, seeing themselves ahead by 13 points at the main break.

With plenty of work still to do to prove to themselves and the rest of the competition that they areafinalsworthy side, they needed aresponse to that first half, despite leading the battle.

Theydid just that.The Blues added four more goals (while kicking six behinds), to nothingonce again,asthe marginseemingly multiplied by the minute.

From 13 points between them to 43 in the space on 30 minutes, it was hard to see them losing it from here.

As the final quarter got underway, so did Rosedaleonceagain, as they piled on 7.6 (48) to 1.1 (7) in the final term to complete the84-point win.

LMcrae DMayman-French BPryse NO’Connor CJanssenLBurgan. Gormandale:T Baldwin DNortonP FarryJ Schaeche BFreeman RJenkins

(34) GOALS: Heyfield: KAnderson5 JBurton2 BRonan 2XBrooks.Woodside: KHanning 2D Mckean CHanning BReed BEST: Heyfield: KAndersonDPatmoreJCox JBurtonMCasella C Wilson. Woodside: BKuch LLeBlanc BWilson DMcAlpine AJeffsK Hanning YARRAM 2.2 4.6 6.9 7.10 (52) GLENGARRY2.2 3.5 4.5 6.5 (41)

GOALS: Yarram: LRodaughan 2JJames BVardy MMcmahon DVardy.Glengarry: Z Christensen 2LNoble 2R Turner TMay BEST: Yarram: LRodaughan DVardy BVardy TPearce JJames ALucas.Glengarry: LMitchell ZChristensen SBurgess NPeel TMay BMatthews

TRARALGON TYERS 3.47.6 11.8 14.9 (93) COWWARR 2.2 4.3 5.3 7.10 (52)

GOALS: TTU: BPoel 8JAitken 3LBlackwood RJacobsen CTurnbull.Cowwarr:R Ferguson 3 LMeany 2LLow JChalmers BEST: TTU: BPoel AWilbraham RJacobsen RTawsS Duguid J Aitken. Cowwarr:LHegarty RFerguson AMasut DErdely DVeale JChalmers LADDER PW LD FA %Pts

YYN10100 0896 248 361.29 40

U18THIRDS

Heyfield: JChristian 5J PettigrewHughes 3JReid 2BMansonCRonan. Woodside: DHarrison2JMattern JVanderveen. BEST: Heyfield: BMansonJ Reid TMacmanus JParkerJ Mcdiarmid JChristian. Woodside: JScott THall FCupples AJanssen AFrancis

1.7 6.9 9.13 12.18 (90)

0.2 1.4 2.8 5.9 (39) GOALS: Rosedale: LSpeairs 4N Heathcote3CMissen2 JBruceB Waller DTulloch. Gormandale: ZJewked 3BKanara TKanara. BEST: Rosedale:C GriffinJ BorgD Tulloch JBruce BSyme BCargill.Gormandale: ZJewked JCochrane WRhodes TKanara MVelascoJ Whitney SALECITY4.5 9.7 14.8 19.14 (128) YYN0.1 0.1 1.1 1.1 (7)

GOALS: Sale City:JKelly 4OMackinlay3J Wells 3R Wilson 2DCrowson 2Z BirdT Jerome RWells KDelacour BWilson. YYN: JKaschke BEST: Sale City: OMooney RWilson TJerome RWells JWells LKnight. YYN: IGlibanovic JLerstang JKaschke LLaidlawDAshmanN White

3.4 9.9 14.12 15.13 (103)

0.1 0.2 1.3 (9)

GOALS: Yarram: LEarles 3JApiata 3NDaldy 2SClarke 2CEarles BMcAlpineLRendell Glengarry: ARigby. BEST: Yarram: NDaldy LEarles JApiata CEarles BMcAlpineLRoberts Glengarry: KSutherland CBickerton JMcGregor HYoung ARigbyF Cawcutt

(8)

TTU: RDenovan 6H Whateley 5N Wasalski 2BRobson 2MNoble 2R Payne J Colaciello SMoonJStimson DLongmore. Cowwarr: JWall BEST: TTU: RPayne HWhateley Z Bastin JStimson NWasalskiNPoel.Cowwarr:T ArmstrongDMartin CBassCCox

As they entered the final term, both sides had some work to do to finish this game off. Woodside needed to do enough to hold on, while Heyfield had some catching up to do.

Woodside’s presence and power early in the piece was enough to see them over the line, winning by 25 points.

Thehome side nailed three more majors to twointhe last quarter to remain undefeated so far this season.

Bordy Stainerwas assessedasthe Wildcats’ best.Joining him wasLiam Leeson, Ben Johnson,Zac Richards (two goals), Josh Morgan, and DanielFarmer -who was a welcomed inclusion with four goals.

For Heyfield, Max Van Der Zwart, Isaac Wheeler,AsherEastham (two goals), Robert McMillan, James Beha, and Mitch Stevens were highlighted.

The win keeps Woodside first,and sets up an incredible one versus two bout next weekend against Traralgon Tyers United.

Heyfield fell dangerouslyoutside of the top five,but remainjust one game from jumping back in, but next week will be no walk in the park against Rosedale.

 YARRAM bounced back.

Following their shock loss to Rosedale last week, the Demons were able to rectify that wrong, by returning to the winner’s list.

Travelling to Fred KingOval, Yarram quickly ended the Glengarry’s chances of winning, claiming the four points, 17.11 (113) to 5.10 (40).

Similarly to Woodside,Yarramstarted on the front foot, registering 6.5 (41) to the Magpies’ 1.1 (7) in the opening stanza.

As much as Yarram wanted to continue on

In the backend of the firsthalf, the Jets begantoclick, not conceding amajor and adding three goals to their tally to be up 4.4 (28) to 1.6 (12) at halftime.

That same level of forceful intensity pounding into YYN’s forward line and control in theirforward half of the ground continued much to the same in the third quarter, as theJets'midfielders appeared muchmore accustomed to the bleaker conditions, managing to tear the Bulldogs apart in the stoppages, beating them to the ball around the ground. YYN led 8.7 (55) to 3.6 (24) at three quarter time.

Having to make up more than five goals in the final term, it was going to be difficult for the Bulldogs considering the how the day had gone, but they did find some success in patches to conclude.

Kaden McCulloch finished with three goals as Sale Citykicked theonlytwo majorsofthe last quarter,but theJets would hold onto the win, and remain in the top three.

Bailey Brown had his best game of the season for the Jets along the wing, with James De Virgilio, Tom Hutton, Jai Massese, Mitch Luck, and Anthony Young following suit.

The Bulldogs had McCulloch, Daine McGuinnes, Chad Evans, Hudson Tollner, Chris Kelf,and Tom Bowman has key contributors.

The loss moves Sale City back to seventh on theladder with awin-loss record of 4-5 for the year, but they still have plenty of time left to etch afinalsberth, beginning withCowwarr this weekend.

YYNwillnow go into hibernation for the week and return to take on Cowwarr.

 INSIDE the top five.

As mentioned, the Blues are in the finals picture. Aftersliding into fifthplace at Heyfield expense, the position will be back on the table next week when Rosedale host the Kangaroos.

As for Gormandale, it was an improved performance against an in-form side. But I assumethey are far from where they wish to be.

 TTU will take some stopping.

The Bombers capped off yet another strong victory, this time over Cowwarr at Cowwarr Recreational Reserve, 16.24 (120) to 7.6 (48).

TTU welcomed Jesse Selwyn intothe senior squad to make his senior debut, marking the occasion with awin.

TTU made sure this one was over before it could even get started. The Bombers led to start proceedings, kicking 3.5 (23) to 1.2 (8) at quarter time.

The trend of goal kicking inaccuracy begun here for TTU, and it might be something they want to tidy up before they face amore formidable opponent, like Woodside next week.

Things improved for the visitors in front of goal duringthe secondterm however, as they ledby40athalftime.The Bombers added6.2 (38) to 2.1 (13) in the second stanza.

After halftime, the bloodbathcontinued. TTU added four more majors while keeping Cowwarrtojust one goalfor the quarter. The Bombers kicked 11 behinds in the third term though.

With67points up their sleeve going into the final quarter,TTU continued to press relentlessly as they closedout a72-pointwin.

 CHURCHILL had the bye.

Everyone back in action at AFL level

Blake Metcalf-Holt

THE AFL had everyone back on the park at the weekend in Round 16 action, and it was atipper’s nightmare with close results going unlikely ways and some smashes on the final day of play.

 BRISBANE Lions dealt ahugeblow to Melbourne’s season on Friday night, as in Queensland, the home side fought from behind to win 11.20 (86) to 11.15 (81).

After an early start for the Lions that had them up by three goals in the second quarter,the Demons took everyoneby surprise, kickingseven of the next eight goals to end the first half up 9.7 (61) to 5.8 (38).

The Demons didn’t kick agoal in the final quarter of play as the Lions climbed back into it and leapt into the top eight after aHugh McCluggage sealer from the boundary.

Yarram’s Josh Dunkley had agame-high 32 disposals and 10 tackles as adriving force through the Lions’ midfield.

 SATURDAY afternoon offered the Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium with the Bulldogs winning 11.11 (77) to 9.6 (60).

Punters may havesuspected an upset withthe way the Kangaroos havebeen playing and they kept those thoughts alive through the first quarter, only down 4.4 (28) to 3.1 (19).

North Melbourne fell down in the second quarter, not registering ascore, but salvaged things slightly to conclude the game

Sale’s Charlie Comben saw plenty of the ball down backfor the Kangaroos, collecting 21 touches and taking seven marks.

 COLLINGWOOD were downed by the rising Gold Coast Suns, 14.17 (101) to 13.12 (90) at People First Stadium.

The Suns made astatement facing the reigning premiers at home, up as much as

five goals through three quarters. The Magpies attempted heir standard fourth quarter comeback and hit the lead with under 10 minutes remaining, but the Suns kicked the final two goals of the match from Ben Long and Morwell’s Ben Ainsworth to stamp the win.

Sale’s Scott Pendlebury returned for the Pies with 18 disposals in their loss that drops them to sixth and moves the Suns to eleventh on the ladder.

 GWS suffered aconcerning loss away against Adelaide, 13.16 (94) to 12.6 (78). The Crows were up by as much as 38 points against theGiants on theirhome deck which was enough for them to hold onto the four points.

Maffra’s Sam Berry performed exceptionally with 21 disposals and seven tackles. The loss drops GWS out of the top eight forthe time being, after astrong start to theyear. The Crows get their fifth win for the season.

Netball Scoreboard

GIPPSLAND LEAGUE -ROUND 12

AGRADE:Drouin 57 def Bairnsdale 37,Moe 51 def Morwell 35, Warragul 52 def Wonthaggi44, Traralgon 43 def Leongatha 37,Sale 40 def Maffra 29.

BGRADE:Drouin 55 def Bairnsdale 42,Moe 46 def Morwell 38, Wonthaggi52def Warragul 44, Leongatha 41 defTraralgon 31,Sale 43 def Maffra 25.

CGRADE:Drouin39def Bairnsdale 26,Morwell 33 def Moe 27,Wonthaggi 29 def Warragul 17,Traralgon 34 def Leongatha 28, Maffra 38 def Sale 27 17 AND UNDER:Bairnsdale 49 def Drouin 41,Moe 34 def Morwell 26, Wonthaggi39def Warragul 20, Traralgon 45 def Leongatha 28, Sale 38 def Maffra 32. 15 AND UNDER:Bairnsdale59def Drouin 20, Moe 38 def Morwell 24, Wonthaggi44def Warragul 18,Traralgon 44 def Leongatha 34, Sale 42 def Maffra 35. 13 AND UNDER:Bairnsdale 43 def Drouin 17,Moe 57 def Morwell 17,Wonthaggi 22 def Warragul 6, Leongatha 37 def Traralgon 22, Sale 50 def Maffra 14

NORTH GIPPSLAND -ROUND 11

AGRADE:Sale City 50 def YYN 25, TTU67def Cowwarr 27 Woodside 56 def Heyfield 40, Rosedale 48 def Gormandale 30, Glengarry 55 def Yarram 20, Churchill -BYE.

BGRADE:YYN 40 def Sale City 34, TTU40def Cowwarr 38, Heyfield44def Woodside 39, Gormandale 43 def Rosedale 26, Glengarry 53 def Yarram 44, Churchill -BYE.

CGRADE:Sale City 35 def YYN 30, TTU39def Cowwarr 27 Woodside 40 def Heyfield 22, Rosedale 37 def Gormandale 30, Glengarry 38 def Yarram 30, Churchill -BYE.

DGRADE:Sale City 47 def YYN 31,TTU 43 def Cowwarr 32, Woodside 44 def Heyfield 21,Rosedale 43 def Gormandale 29, Glengarry 34 def Yarram 22, Churchill -BYE. 17 AND UNDER:Sale City 47 def YYN 19,TTU 63 def Cowwarr5,Woodside 22 def Heyfield 21,Rosedale 46 def Gormandale 16,Glengarry 41 def Yarram 18,Churchill -BYE 15 AND UNDER:Sale City 45 def YYN 13,TTU 71 def Cowwarr 7, Heyfield 42 defWoodside 23, Rosedale 40 def Gormandale 21,Glengarry 49 def Yarram 8, Churchill -BYE.

EASTGIPPSLAND -ROUND 11

AGRADE:Stratford54def Lindenow 52, Lucknow 47 def Boisdale-Briagolong36, Wy Yung 50 def Orbost Snowy Rovers39, Lakes Entrance 62 def Paynesville 24.

BGRADE:Lindenow34def Stratford31, BoisdaleBriagolong 39 def Lucknow 31,WyYung36def OSR 25, Lakes Entrance 58 def Paynesville.

CGRADE:Stratford31def Lindenow 22, Lucknow 41 def Boisdale-Briagolong33, Wy Yung 38 defOSR 29,Lakes Entrance 38 def Paynesville 8.

DGRADE:Stratford37def Lindenow 16,BoisdaleBriagolong 47 def Lucknow 26, Wy Yung 46 def OSR 17 LakesEntrance39def Paynesville 17 AND UNDER:Stratford10def Lindenow0,Lucknow 42 defBoisdale-Briagolong 27,WyYung34def OSR33, lakes Entrance 47 def Paynesville. 15 AND UNDER:Lindenow 44 def Stratford32, Lucknow 56 def Boisdale-Briagolong21, Wy Yung 40 def OSR 36, Paynesville 40 defLakes Entrance 23

Sale tastes success

Blake Metcalf-Holt and ErikaAllen

JUST six games remain in the home and away season for Gipplsand League netball, and it’s appearing as though it could be abattlebetween only two clear stand-outs once we hit the pointy end of the season.

In the battleatthe bottom, Sale defeated Maffra, 40-29 to give the Magpies their first win of the year.

In aback-and-forth first half, the Eagles found acomfortable12tosixgoallead at the first break before Sale rallied in the second term to tie it all up at halftime 19-all.

Maffrawouldn’t back up their first quarterefforts, however, being outscored 21 to ten in the last half.

Kate Van der Voort carried the scoring load for Sale with 34 goals as well as Kristy Glover dominating the centre for the Magpies.

Maffra’s Keisha Jackson and Chloe Felsbourg had 16 and 13 goals each for the Eagles.

Traralgon rescuedanunderwhelming performance against Warragul last round, beating Leongatha in Round 12, 43-37.

Throughthe first half, no separation was madebetween the two sidesasthey headed into the halftime break 21-all.

However, theMaroons would break free in the third term, outscoring the Parrots by six goals to give them their highest quarter score for the game of 14 goals.

The Parrots, with their season on the line, didn’t give in and battled to the end, but too big of agap was made to begin the second half.

Undefeated Moe had to work for their win in the latter portions of their game out at Morwell, winning 51-35.

TheformidableLions created ahefty lead through the opening two quarters, jumping out to a31to15lead after they held the Tigers to just five goals in the second term.

Morwell did show acertainleveloffight through the last stretch of the match not suffering any further damage to conclude.

Moe remain two games clear of secondplacedDrouin whereasMorwellare third-last on the ladder with only three wins on the year.

Warragul didn’thave it easycoming up against fifth-placed Wonthaggi at the weekend, however still winning 52-44.

The Gulls found themselves evenlymatched through abulk of the match but created enough of agap through the first and thirdquarterstoget by with the win

half of the home and away season.

The headlining sides remain supreme awaiting finals time where they’re all pitted against each other on the biggest stage.

Round11includedSaleCity moving past YYNonthe Jetshome court, 50-25, winning nine of their nine games across the first half of the season.

The Bulldogs appear sure-firepremiership favourites as they sit atop of the ladder.

YYN remain at awin-loss record of 2-7 includingone draw againstGormandale in Round8placingthem third-last on the ladder.

On their home court, Woodside put away the higher-placed Heyfield, 56-40.

In asurprisingresult between third and fourth of the ladder considering the margin in the end, Woodsidenow collect their seventh win on the year to clear TTU at fifthwhile Heyfieldremainon eight wins but hold position.

Speaking of, TTU travelled to Cowwarr and subsequentlydemolished the Saints, 67-27.

TheBombers remain in finals position at fifthatsix wins, four losses while Cowwarr sit three games back off them at awin-loss of 3-7 on the year.

Rosedalemadequick workof Gormandale, 48-30, to keep the Blues in hunt of finals.

Rosedale have won half of theirgames playedthis season, splitting for five wins of their ten gamesbut still sit at sixth on their ladder narrowly behind TTU for fifth.

Gormandale have only one win on the year for second-lastonthe ladder with their only victory coming against the side that sit one spot below them in Yarram.

Finally, Glengarry got through an expected result against Yarram, 55-20.

The Magpiescollect their fourth win on the year and to sit clear seventh on the ladder andtwo winsbehind TTUinfifth. Yarram continue asombre season making it halfwaythroughthe season not managing awin against any of the other 10 sides in the competition.

Second-placed Churchill had the bye.

 THE conclusion of Round 11 East Gippsland netball action sees Boisdale-Briagolong losing touch with the top three.

Playing-coach Sarah Gardiner had the Bombers out of the blocksfastat the beginning of the season. However, they havelost three of their last five. Most recently, the Bombers succumbed to Lucknow, 47-36.

FOOTBALL NETBALL EAST GIPPSLAND

Warragul’s opening halfefforts keep them agame behind Drouin for second and the Gulls still remain atwo wins ahead of Traralgon in third.

Wonthaggistuck to their normalities throughthe first 12 gamesofthe season, winners of six of those matches, and sit tied with Bairnsdale for fifth position (ahead by percentage).

Drouin continue astellar season moving past Bairnsdale, 57-37.

Drouin collected their 10th win on the year to sit clear second on the ladder, while Bairnsdale remain in the fight for afinals spot with Wonthaggi at sixth.

 NORTH Gippsland netball continues asimilar trend seen across the entirety of the season, and results become clearer as we enter the second

By comparison, the Magpies’ win-loss recordis5-0,welland trulyproving they’re the team to watch.

Amatch-uppredicted to yield an easy win for Stratford, turned intoatwo-point thriller at Stratford Recreation Reserve.

TheSwansovercame Lindenow,54-52 on Saturday but the Cats were hunting the lead all day. Coming so close and falling short is asting forthe Cats, who have just one win from their last five. Forthe Swans, it wasalucky escape. With the four points gained, they stay in touch with Lucknow on top, equal with Wy Yung (second), and eight points clear of Boisdale-Briagolong (fourth). Elsewhere, Wy Yungdusted up Orbost Snowy Rovers 50-39, and Lakes Entrance had apercentage boostingwin against Paynesville, 62-24.

Magpies win birdbattle in the wet

Liam Durkin

THE latestBattle of the Birds clash wasn’tone that will likely find its way onto any ‘best of’ lists.’

Sale however are equally unlikely to be deterred, after beating Maffra 12.17(89) to 8.12 (60) in Round 12 of the Gippsland League.

The Magpies recovered from an indifferent start to eventually record their seventh win for the season.

Theresultkeeps the Magpies in outright fourth, while the Eagles are anchored to the bottomof the ladder.

Conditions were clearly slippery at SaleOval, so much so Maffra midfielders were even dropping the ball during their centre bounce warm-up before the main game.

While the Eagles did kick the first two goals of the game, the score after the first 20 minutes was 1.2 (8) to 0.2 (2), reflecting just how much of aslog it really was.

Sale was able to add threegoals in relatively quick successionjustbeforethe first siren,and thenset up their victory in the second thanks to back-to-back goals from playing-coach Jack Johnstone.

Johnstone snapped truly at six-and-a-half minutes to give the Magpies some breathing space by way of a12point margin, and followed up with a goal off the deck in the square at the clubroom end ashort time later.

Sale went on its way after the main break, and keptMaffragoalless in the third quarter to see out the game.

The Eagles finished with somepositives,kicking fourgoals in the last to again suggest they have thefitness to rungamesout.

Seth Smith kicked three goals, including two in the first quarter, and was namedbest-on-ground.

Zac O’Keefe also played well, as did his namesake but with different spellingZach Felsbourg,Max Stobie,Kade Renooy and Alex Carr.

Jonty McGuinesscontinuedhis likely ascension to the most improved player awardatSale (if there is one), while Josh Butcher, Jack Leslie, Hudson Holmes and Patrick Tainsh were also prominent.

Best-on-ground honours however again belonged to Shannen Lange, who couldhonestly be on track to win his thirdTroodAward and Rodda Medal as best player in the Gippsland League.

ASaleofficial, arguably with the greatest knowledge of the club and all its players, recently rated Lange as the best player he has seen in his 50-year involvement with the Magpies.

 THINK of the worst way to spend aweekend. Bairnsdalenearly experienced that last Saturday. Now think of the best.

Bairnsdale did experience that last Saturday.

The Redlegs drove more thantwo hours, andthen spent anothertwo doing more mud wrestling than football at Drouin Recreation Reserve.

For much of the final quarter, it appeared Bairnsdale would be driving another two hours with defeat and dirt still in their mouths, minus their white alternative strip which was surely sent to the incinerator straight after the game.

As it turned outhowever, the Redlegsfounda Barry Breen-like behind during red time, enough to hold on for an 8.8 (56) to 8.7 (55) victory.

Atwo-hour drive home wouldn’t feel too bad after that (with afew stops on the way back surely).

With players covered in mud from head to toe not long after the ball went up to start the game, the home side used its local knowledgetosome advantage, holding slender leads at each break. Scores were level at the 24-minute mark of the last quarter, before apassfrom BraydenMcCarrey found Ricky Tatnell* directly in front 30 or so metres out.

The asterisk has been usedbecause it was near-on impossible to read jumper numbers watching the footage. This author had originally written ‘19’ in his notes, before checking PlayHQ and seeing the person wearing number 19 had not kicked agoal. Tatnell had, and he wears number 9. Whoever had the shot, they were successful, as the ball sailed through to level the scores.

Acouple of minutes later, the ball was slapped forwardfrom astoppage, and landed in the forward pocket near the visiting team’s coaches box. Aflurry of hands went up to contest, before the

ball found its way to Josh Lando (I think), who sent awobbly snap goalward.

The result was abehind, enough to give Bairnsdalethe lead, and fourminutes later, the match.

McCarrey kicked three goals, probably worth twice as many in the conditions, and did work at both ends, taking acrucial mark inside defensive 50 on one of the last plays of the day.

Will Mitchell was also busy, as was Tyran Rees, Ethan East, Lachlan Cloak and former Port Adelaide and St Kilda player Logan Austin, who was about as far away from the MCG as you could get.

Tim Hancock, Mitch Cotter, Aden Quirk, Ed Morris, Jordan Kingi and Max Williames raged in the rain.

While the state of Drouin’s home ground has been well documented over the years, it is amazing to consider at least one aspect.

Justhow skilfulmust Gary Ablett Sr have really been...

 THIS might be concerning.

Concerning foranyone who doesn’t support Leongatha that is.

The Parrots won the top-of-the-table clash against Traralgon by 34 points,winning13.7 (85) to 7.9 (51).

What’s more, the reigning back-to-back premier did it awayfrom home, and withoutTom Marriott, Cade Maskell, Luke Bowman, Sean Westaway, Cam Olden and Noah Gown, just to name afew.

Speakingonthe Saturday MorningSports Show on Gippsland FM last year, Maroons captain at the time Dylan Loprese jokingly responded to a question about how to stop Leongatha, saying“they are going to need about 17 injuries”.

Not much appearstohave changed 12 months on.

The Parrots broke away from Traralgon after an evenfirst quarter at the weekend,setting up their victory with afive goal to onesecond term.

Witha24-point leadestablishedathalftime, the visitors were able to professionally see out the game from there.

Jenson Garnham kicked three goals in the win, while others to play well were Kim Drew, Sam Forrester, Jackson Harry, Jarrod Stewart and Mitch Bentvelzen.

Connor Ambler, Liam Willaton, Mitch Membrey, Joel Scholtes, Jackson McMahon and Max Jacobsen were listed in the best for Traralgon.

Like Joe Biden, the Maroons will have much to ponder, as it does seem to be acase of the same names getting in the best most weeks.

By the same token, this performance might not have been all that surprising to Traralgon insiders, as results in the last few weeks arguably flattered the team.

The Maroons were more than 20 points down at halftime against second-bottom side Warragulthe weekbefore last, and only beat Bairnsdale with afailed kick after the siren from the Redlegs the week before that.

Unlike Biden however, Traralgon does have age and possibly time on its side, sitting clear second on the ladder and with the league-wide bye giving them achance to reset.

Anyone expecting Leongatha to be compared

SENIORS

BDuve.

Warragul: JLamb 3JHughes BEST: Wonthaggi: JThomasJBlair S

BrayK Yann JSchulz KPatterson. Warragul: IWallace LSerong JLamb

JLewsey MSmartR Senini MOE

(75)

(58) GOALS: Moe: DKeilty2M Woodall NProwseT BlackshawT MatthewsL Masters JWood JBalfour TBaldi BDaniher.Morwell:B

McDonald 3B Bailey JBurr THillier HMcColl DMusil BEST: Moe:

TBaldi JBalfour TGolds TMatthewsC ProwseLMasters.Morwell:T

BrownAQuigley BBailey CBurr

BAIRNSDALE 2.23.4 7.5 8.8 (56)

DROUIN 3.34.6 7.7 8.7 (55)

GOALS: Bairnsdale: BMcCarrey 3J Walker RTatnell LByrne-Jones

JBills JDore. Drouin: THancock 4MCotter EMorris JMarshall R Quirk. BEST: Bairnsdale: WMitchell TRees EEast BMcCarreyL

Austin LCloak.Drouin: THancock MCotterAQuirk EMorris JKingi

MWilliames

SALE3.3 7.5 10.11 12.17 (89)

MAFFRA3.2 4.8 4.10 8.12 (60)

GOALS: Sale: JJohnstone 2SLange 2ZRussell TCampbell JButcher

CHenness ACampbellHHolmes DByron MDowse.Maffra: SSmith

3ZO’KeefeECarr BMonk AWattK Renooy. BEST: Sale: SLange J

Butcher JLeslie HHolmes PTainsh JMcGuiness.Maffra: SSmith Z

O’KeefeZ FelsbourgMStobie KRenooyACarr

LEONGATHA 2.1 7.2 10.6 13.7 (85)

TRARALGON 2.2 3.2 5.4 7.9 (51)

GOALS: Leongatha: JGarnham 3JHarry 2JCallahan 2J Ginnane

TBrill JLamers BWillis NArgentoJStewart.Traralgon:L Willaton

WBrent LD’Angelo MJacobsen CDoultree LTripodi KRuyters

BEST: Leongatha: KDrewS Forrester JGarnham JHarry JStewartM

Bentvelzen. Traralgon: CAmbler LWillaton MMembrey JScholtes J McMahon MJacobsen

LADDER

PW LD FA %Pts

withBiden’s opponentmightbedisappointed. Such acomparison would be unfair -Leongatha actually know what they are doing.

 MORWELL Football-Netball Club will be getting adecent hot water bill for the month of June.

Bodily reactions below the waist on the football field and either side of the sternum on the netball court said all that needed to be said about how cold it was last Saturday, as Morwell and Moe players battled it out under grey skies.

The Lions emergedvictorious by 17 points, in what endedupbeing atraditional winter slog 11.9 (75) to 8.10 (58).

There werenogoals kicked during the final term, played in light so fading it became virtually impossible to see what was happening on the far side of the ground,even from the lofty vantage point of the grandstand in the Stan Morgan Pavilion. TrentBaldi wasbest-on-ground for the winners, whileJacob Balfour continued his good form, along withTim Golds, Chris Prowse, Matthews and Liam Masters.

The win may provevitalfor Moe, as aplaceinthe top three was on offer to whoever won this match.

Morwell perhapsfelttoo muchwas left to too few, naming only five players in the best. Those honours went to Tyler Brown,Brandon Bailey, Aidan Quigley, Boyd Bailey and Charlie Burr.

Umpiringshortagescontinued to cripple the Latrobe Valley.Last Saturday saw the Latrobe Valley Umpires Association represented onlyin goalsatMorwell Recreation Reserve -this for a game in the 'premier' competition featuring two teams under the LVUA umbrella.

Two field umpires weresupplied by Sale Umpires Association to assist, while ‘bring your own’ boundary umpires were also used.

 YOU would start shivering just thinking about how cold it would have been in Wonthaggi last Saturday.

Scores reflected these thoughts, as Wonthaggi won an unspectacular affair 8.3 (51) to 4.5 (29) over Warragul.

The visitors mademostofthe early running, keeping their opponents scoreless in the opening term.

For the second consecutiveweek, aWarragul upset was on the cards, with the Gulls ahead by three points at the main break.

Wonthaggi responded howeverwith four goals to one in the third term, to build agap that was never quite bridged.

Warragul managed just one behind in the final term, and the Power one goal, as conditions only deteriorated.

On aday when goals were worth gold, Cooper McInnes had abig say in the result, booting four in the win.

His efforts finished off some good work from Jakeb Thomas, Jack Blair, Shannon Bray, Kyle Yann, Josh Schulz and Kaj Patterson.

Warragul coach Jed Lamb continued his strong returntofootball, kicking three goals, helped along by Isaac Wallace, Liam Serong, Jack Lewsey, Mitchell Smart and Riley Senini.

The Power have recovered from aslowstart to

the season, to now only be two points outside the top five.

Wonthaggiareloomingastheteamnoonewillwant to play in finals, having built up ahead of steam and addingplayersthecalibreofCollingwoodpremiership player Nathan Brown to the list in recent weeks. Withclearances officially closing lastSunday, league pundits will watch on with interest to see if Power coachJarrydBlair has been able to get anyone else before the deadline.

Around the grounds in East Gippy

From Page 32

IN what could have been the major scalp of the season for the Blues, Orbost couldn’t seizetheir moment losing to Wy Yung, 18.12 (120)to7.10 (52).

The game was well and truly decidedinthe first two quarters, as Orbost couldn’t manage ascore in the first quarter, while having 4.7 (31) kicked on them and finding themselves down 6.7 (43) to 1.5 (11) by halftime.

The Blues did kick six goals to begin the second halfbut equally conceded six goals makingupnoground,asWyYunggains a massivepercentage booster against ahandy opponent to jump to top of the ladder by the end of the round

The loss pushes the Blues two wins back of the top four, splitting their season now at five wins from 10 games.

 LAKES Entrance defeated Paynesville, 10.6 (66) to 7.13 (55) in abattle between two desperate sides hungry for awin. The Gulls jumped out of the gate, booting five goals to two finding themselves up after the first two quarters.

Following halftime, where the Seagulls found themselves down4.4 (28) to 6.6 (42), Lakes Entrance piled on six goals to just one point in the third quarter to shock Paynesville -who aftercontrolling almost all of the first half now looked at afour-goal deficit.

Paynesville did lock in defensively and had all the opportunitiesinthe final term, not seeing Lakes Entrance put through a score and booting the only two goals for the quarter,but it wasn’t enoughand the Seagulls celebrated their second win for the season.

Wonthaggi126 60 705 700 100.71 24

Drouin 12 48 0801 971 82.49 16

Warragul 12 39 0686 890 77.08 12 Maffra121 11 0736 1088

RESERVES

GOALS: Wonthaggi: ABusana3O Dawson 2RMoresco2A Pugh. Warragul: XLaFrantzT O’LearyR Mitchell BEST: Wonthaggi: R MorescoJBrown JJoske AMcNeel KMohen JWilliamson. Warragul: MLynn LMiller XLaFrantz DRidgwayJ OrlickiJSimpson

MAFFRA2.3

SALE1.1

(71)

(22)

GOALS: Maffra: JOldham 5LDyer2 WGieschen CBourke.Sale: K Cutler TRonchi BJones BEST: Maffra: BWrightL Robbins JKelly WRoss LDyerS Tudor.Sale: MAnnearBJones MBaxterL Todd A Heywood SFyfe

BAIRNSDALE 2.2

DROUIN

(47)

(6)

GOALS: Bairnsdale:J Waddell 3MEast 2LDunkley.Drouin: Details

N/A. BEST: Bairnsdale: LBleyswyk RCullinan MNeateBSauer J Waddell LDunkley.Drouin: DFrombergDPhillips FLockwood J Wyatt CFleming BBrasier

MORWELL 2.2 2.3 6.5 9.8

GOALS: Morwell: TGray6RLoprese DMakepeaceL Patterson. Moe: SCurtisSSpiteri AWilson. BEST: Morwell: TGrayJGalea CBailey S Gissara THutchinson ZCheffers.Moe: AWilson WHesterS Hanson K Weir JRiddle JMorrow

GOALS: Leongatha: NHanily2 TMcRae 2HLindsay JBurns J Schelling FMateria RReardon. Traralgon: JMudita BLocandroB Woszczeiko BEST: Leongatha: NFixterJBurns XBolge RKelly JRendenJ Hayes. Traralgon: JMacumber CRuyters JJackwayT AndersonF WattsBHutton

Saleshines brighter

Sale United Football Club were crowned with the Community Sporting Awardofthe Year by Vicsport for their Annual Primary Schools Twilight Tournament.Representing theclub on June 12 was co-ordinator Laurel Irvine, president Gabrielle Hutchins, and coach Anouk Meereboer.

STORY-PAGE26

Bombersdethrone league-leading Magpies

Blake Metcalf-Holt

ONCE again East Gippsland football broughtforth some surprising and exciting results, but equally some dry and expected ones.

THE Round 11 showdown between premier sides Lucknow and Boisdale-Briagolong shook up the rest of the season in terms of who clutchesthe minor premiership by season’s end, with Wy Yung continuing to roll.

The Bombers secured an almighty win over the previous top of the table side in the Magpies, with Boisdale Briagolong defeating Lucknow, 12.13 (85) to 9.9 (63).

After acompetitive first quarter that ended 3.2 (20) to 3.1 (19) the way of the Magpies, it appeared as though we were in for some sort of aday that would eventuallycome down to the final kick, deciding if the Bombers could back up their Grand Final-achieving season of last or if Lucknow would

continue to be the very best of the competition in 2024.

Boisdale-Briagolong found some groove through the second quarter, limiting the attackofthe Magpies and equallyhittingthe scoreboard relentlessly, winning the quarter to bring the scores to 6.7 (43) to 5.3 (33) at halftime.

Following the break, Lucknowshowedwhatthey were made of, bringing the game back into the balance and cutting the margin to just eight points by three quarter time.

The Bombers truly showed how dangerous they can be in the finalterm, however, keeping the Magpiestoasinglegoal, Boisdale-Briagolong dominated and took control of the match from the get-go to secure the four points in what has to be their best win of the year.

It was acompleteteam effort with eight Bombers kickingmajors, fourofwhom booting two goals Brendan Finn (three goals) and John Gooch (two goals) led for the Magpies.

Thomas Jolly (two goals), Kelvin Porter, Matthew Wilkinson, Jim Reeves (two goals),Nicholas Marshall, and Andrew Quirkwere judgedtobe stand-outs for the Bombers, whereas Lucknow considered the play of Joel Mcnamara, Andrew Nelson, Jake Richards, Jack Saulle, Jessie Pescod, and Zack Smith to be their best.

After sitting on top of the ladder for most of the season so far, the win from Wy Yung over Orbost drops the Magpiesonto equal playingfieldwith Boisdale Briagolong and the Tigerswitheight wins and two losses on the year.

STRATFORD did what needed to be done to keep their finals chances alive, beating bottom-sitting Lindenow 13.18 (96) to 2.4 (16).

TheCats put through amajor but also saw 12 shotsgothrough their sticks at the other end as the Swans led 4.8 (32) to 1.1 (7) at quarter time.

Stratford matched that first quarter scoring effort as the halftime break came with the Swans up 8.13 (61) to 1.3 (9).

Lindenow didn’t see another goal for themselves until the dying stages of the game, not scoring entirely during the third term, and Stratford marginally cooled-off for just five goals to one in thesecond half.

Jack Schultz (three goals), William Webb (three goals), and Ryan Auld (two goals) weremajor contributors for the Swans, while Kaian Ritchie booted the only two goals for the Cats.

Thebestfor the Swans included RyanThatcher, Ryan Cuttriss, Schultz, BrodeyReid, Timothy Hawkins, and Lachlan Channing.

Stratford are now 7-2 for the year, only agame back of first, and looking as good asideasanyone being one of two sides to beat Wy Yung during the year in Round 5bytwo points as their signature win for the season.

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Photo: Fifty Mil Studios