Established in 1902 as the
proudly serving Wyndham
12 JANUARY, 2022
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SIG N U P N O W!
A year interrupted YEAR IN REVIEW ... THE YEAR THAT WAS
Members of the Al-Taqwa College community waiting for testing and vaccinations.
the proposed reconstruction of Sneydes Road, from Lennon Boulevard to Hacketts Roads, and $12 million for the regional soccer facility at 1 Sayers Road, Tarneit, which will become home to Western United Football Club. As the state entered its second lockdown for 2021 in late May, Wyndham businesses spoke of their “heartbreak” as the continued restrictions took a toll. The pandemic not only took its toll on businesses, with Crime Statistics Agency data released in June revealing that Wyndham police responded to an average of 10 family violence incidents every day in the 12 months to March, 2021. In that time, 3800 family violence incidents were reported, a 15.1 per cent rise on the 3301 incidents reported in the 12 months to March, 2020. The data showed that incident numbers in Wyndham reflected a statewide trend of family violence reports increasing since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Melbourne was placed back into lockdown
(Damjan Janevski) 246450_08
for 12 days on July 15. The city re-entered lockdown just nine days later. Al-Taqwa College was once again the site of a significant COVID outbreak in August after a teacher contracted the virus. The school was the site of one of the largest COVID-19 outbreaks during Victoria’s second wave in 2020. The school, which was subjected to racism following the latest outbreak, said it was “deeply grateful” for the support it had received from the premier, chief health officer, COVID commander, and Wyndham council. Mercy Health urged Wyndham residents to get vaccinated as an increasing number of staff were forced into isolation as the list of COVID exposure sites grew. Nine healthcare workers from overseas joined the team at Werribee Mercy Hospital in early September under a program designed to boost Victoria’smedical workforce as COVID-19 continued to impact staff levels.
SEABROOK CRICKET CLUB 50 YEAR CELEBRATION SATURDAY 19TH FEBRUARY FROM 5PM ONWARDS Finger food & Live Music (Drinks at bar prices) Bruce Comben Reserve Altona Meadows VIC 3028 For bookings contact Cameron 0419 737 952
In October, Point Cook was named among the top 100 national “supercharged” areas for property sales in a new report. The Spring 2021 Price Predictor Index, issued by residential property researcher and writer Terry Ryder through his investment advice website Hotspotting.com, listed 100 Australian suburbs and towns as “supercharged” due to increasing sales of houses and units. On October 27, Wyndham businesses were celebrating Melbourne’s reopening after the sixth lockdown. In December, Wyndham councillor Marcel Mahfoud vowed to continue carrying out his duties in a virtual capacity until he is able to receive a Novavax vaccine against COVID-19, after councillors voted to encourage unvaccinated councillors to take a leave of absence from their official duties. Cr Mahfoud said that he is “pro choice” and does “intend to be vaccinated”.
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2021 was meant to be the year that life returned to normal. Instead we found ourselves bouncing in and out of lockdowns as a new COVID-19 variant made its way to Australia. As the Delta variant took hold in Victoria, Melbourne earned the title as the most locked-down city in the world, notching up 267 days in lockdown since March 2020. Melbourne’s western and northern suburbs once again bore the brunt of Victoria’s COVID infections as the state’s third wave surged through households in Wyndham, Hobsons Bay, Brimbank, Hume, Melton, Whittlesea and Maribyrnong that were not yet eligible for vaccination. At the peak of the third wave, Hume, Wyndham, Brimbank, Melton and Whittlesea were the five most-infected local government areas in Victoria. But as more vaccinations became available, residents of Melbourne’s north and west turned out in record numbers to be jabbed, helping to halt Delta’s spread and enabling the city to reopen in time for Christmas. We look back at how 2021 unfolded across Wyndham. As the state emerged from its first lockdown of the year, a five-day “circuit breaker” lockdown which ended on February 17, it was revealed that residents at aged care homes in Werribee, Hoppers Crossing and Point Cook would be among the first in the country to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Also in February, a Point Cook man called for an investigation after he waited more than 90 minutes for an ambulance and 75 minutes to be admitted to a hospital bed following a stroke in January. In March, the Royal Australian Air Force marked 100 years of service to Australia – a date especially important to the Point Cook RAAF base, which is known as the birthplace of the national force. Wyndham council announced it planned to spend a record $201 million on infrastructure and capital works as it released its draft budget for 2021-22 in May. Big ticket items included