Victorian support for Queensland bushfires

-

November 7, 2023

Victorian support for Queensland bushfires

More than 200 emergency management personnel were deployed to Queensland last week to support their bushfire response.

Incident management teams consisting of public information, planning, intelligence and logistics officers will work closely with local crews in Toowoomba and Rockhampton.

Aircraft assistance and strike force units with volunteer firefighters are also being provided. At least six vehicles were transported to Queensland to assist.

Victorian Emergency Management commissioner Rick Nugent thanked Victorian personnel for their dedication and support.

“Ahead of what will likely be a busy bushfire season in Victoria, I commend those who have made the commitment to helping our fellow firefighters and communities up in Queensland and I wish them all the best for their deployment,” he said.

“Our teams are highly skilled and we will continue to do all we can to support our Queensland counterparts.”

Country Fire Authority, CFA, chief officer Jason Heffernan praised contributions made by CFA volunteers and staff.

“Our CFA personnel are well-equipped to handle any challenge and we are proud to offer our resources to our partner agencies interstate to continue to keep communities safe from bushfires,” he said.

“We would like to thank everyone involved in the deployments, as well as those who remain behind to continue to prepare and protect our communities.”

VICSES deputy chief officer David Baker also thanked those making the trip north.

“Thank you to our VICSES volunteers and staff for being part of the multi-agency team headed for Queensland to assist emergency management colleagues,” he said.

“We work as one, not just here in Victoria but across our nation.”

NCR (2023-10-31)

North Central Review

The North Central Review

-

October 31, 2023

0

WR (2023-10-31)

Whittlesea Review

The North Central Review

-

October 31, 2023

0

Romsey Redbacks slot application for pokies at Romsey Hotel

Grace Frost

-

October 31, 2023

1

Romsey Redbacks slot application for pokies at Romsey Hotel

Romsey Football Netball Club has applied for 50 poker machines at the Romsey Hotel, reigniting a debate spanning nearly two decades.

The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission, VGCCC, received the application for the electronic gaming machines, EGMs, from Romsey Football Netball Club, which plans to lease and operate the venue if the application is granted.

The Romsey Hotel has been out of operation since owner Jim Hogan shut its doors in 2017, leaving the Romsey community without a pub for six years.

Mr Hogan underwent a four-year legal battle after applying for 30 EGMs at the hotel in 2005.

The Supreme Court ruled in Macedon Ranges Shire Council’s favour in 2009 and refused the approval of the pokie machines.

Mr Hogan operated the hotel until 2012 before leasing the property, and when the last tenant went into liquidation in 2017, Mr Hogan shut the hotel.

But beers could flow once again at a newly-refurbished Romsey Hotel – that is, if pokie machines are approved.

In a submission to the VGCCC, Romsey Football Netball Club president Wayne Milburn said the reopening of the Romsey Hotel had to be synonymous with the installation of gaming machines.

“What is clear from the modelling is that the proposal will not be financially viable if gambling machines are not permitted to operate at the hotel. This is just a fact of life,” he said.

“I acknowledge that there is a small minority of people who are negative about the gaming machines and the TAB but it seems to me, from the conversations I have had, that they accept if they’re going to get the pub back, and a vastly improved pub back, that accepting the gaming is just part and parcel of what is proposed.”

If the application for pokie machines is approved, Romsey Football Netball Club anticipate it would generate between $2.3 to $2.8 million in player losses within the first 12 months of operations.

Also submitted as part of the application, the draft guidelines state that if Romsey Hotel reopens, the first $200,000 of profits plus 30 per cent of the balance of profits would be distributed back to the club.

The club currently has a total annual sponsorship of $50,000.

The remaining profit generated by the hotel would be put into a community chest, to be distributed to community groups as decided by a committee.

Mr Hogan, who also owns Hogan’s Hotel in Wallan and the freehold of Shamrock Hotel in Bendigo, said in his submission that he did not believe the venue would be profitable in its current form.

“It is not viable to understate the works without gaming as any tenant would be unable to pay a rental without revenue from gaming,” Mr Hogan said.

“Essentially, the hotel will be completely rebuilt and significantly extended with substantially more facilities on offer compared to what is currently available.”

Romsey Pub current look — Romsey Football Netball Club president Wayne Milburn said the club’s proposal to lease and operate the Romsey Hotel would not be financially viable if gambling machines were not permitted to operate at the Hotel. Pictured is the Romsey Hotel in its current state. Photo: James Hogan via VGCCC.

The proposed ‘substantial’ renovation to the venue is estimated to cost $10 million.

See below the plan of the premise upgrades, as submitted as part of the application to the VGCCC.

1c. 1-100 scale plan of the premisesDownload

Macedon Ranges Shire Council have yet to announce its formal position on the application.

Council agreed to an urgent business item at its October 25 meeting, and authorised officers to notify the VGCCC of its intention to prepare and submit a social and economic impact submission regarding the application for poker machines.

“I’d just like to emphasise that this means the recommendation of this report is not to make a decision by council, whether they are for or against the application, but it provides officers the direction to notify the commission that council will be making a submission,” Cr Bill West said at the October meeting.

Members of the public can provide their own submissions directly to the VGCCC through its website at .

People can also access Romsey Football Netball Club’s submission to the VGCCC, including the full witness statement from Mr Hogan and renovation plans, by visiting the VGCCC’s website.

The date of the hearing is yet to be announced.

• Mr Milburn declined to comment and Mr Hogan did not return the Review’s email.

Military on display in major event at Broadford

Max Davies

-

October 31, 2023

0

Military on display in major event at Broadford

For the first time in 36 years, Broadford’s main street was filled with military personnel, equipment and vehicles as part of the School of Armour Freedom of Entry Parade.

Thousands of people lined High Street on Sunday to witness the well-drilled spectacle, with many in the crowd applauding the soldiers for their service as the procession travelled north to Memorial Park for an official ceremony.

Commanding Officer, School of Armour, Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Shepherd is challenged by Inspector Michael Layton.

This year’s event acknowledged the 82nd anniversary of the School of Armour’s establishment in Puckapunyal, a military base in the Mitchell Shire.

Freedom of Entry is a prestigious military tradition, where forces were granted permission to enter a township or precinct by a city marshal – or in Broadford’s case, a senior police officer.

If the authority of the time wished to honour troops, they would permit their entry, allowing swords to be drawn, drums beating and colours flying, signifying mutual trust.

School of Armour commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Shepherd said the event was ‘awesome’ and was proud to be able to host the parade.

“It was a great honour to be able to do that. This is the first time in almost 40 years that we’ve been able to do this activity and from the amount of people that turned out from the community and even from a bit further afield, it was a great opportunity,” he said.

“It was really pleasing to see the soldiers and that many armoured fighting vehicles on a parade.”

The parade required considerable effort from the School of Armour in Puckapunyal, as vehicles and uniforms were meticulously prepared in the months leading up to Sunday’s event.

“I felt super proud of the team, having that amount of vehicles and people, as well as the band and the proper ceremony, I couldn’t have been prouder of the army team,” Lieutenant Colonel Shepherd said.

“We brought together the plan that brought the council and the School of Armour together and planned out the route and how to get all the vehicles here, and then storing them with weapons, sabres, and people, so it was quite a large logistical effort to achieve that.

“For us it was just a ‘quick weekend job’ and then back into training, so the flexibility and the versatility of the people that make up the School of Armour is really impressive.”

Mitchell Shire Mayor Fiona Stevens said she was also proud to have been part of the event.

“Not just as the mayor, as the representative of the Broadford community, but also … being a Broadford local puts a high dimension on the proud involvement I’ve had today that sits beside the role of the mayor, so very proud for both reasons,” she said.

As mayor, Cr Stevens was escorted through the parade and had the chance to greet many of the soldiers that marched with the vehicles, as well as take a brief ride in one of the armoured vehicles on show.

Warrant Officer Regimental Sergeant Major Sean McElhinney, left, Commanding Officer, School of Armour, Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Shepherd, Mitchell Shire Council Mayor Fiona Stevens, Major General Craig Orme, and Brigadier Jason Groat.

“The community was just brilliant, showing respect for our connection to the military and the trouble they’ve gone to,” she said.

“It’s the call of the army as to when they would like to exercise the right [again], we have given them the right to exercise it whenever they choose to, so hopefully it won’t be another 40 years.”

Military vehicles parked at Memorial Park after the parade, allowing hundreds of people to inspect them and speak to soldiers, as well enjoy a barbecue by Broadford Returned Services League.

Whittlesea council workers strike

Pam Kiriakidis

-

October 31, 2023

0

About 60 City of Whittlesea employees took industrial action on Wednesday, calling for better wages and conditions as part of negotiations for a new enterprise agreement.

Council employees have stopped working across the municipality for the past few weeks, pausing maintenance for council operations including park cleaning, street cleaning, litter pick-up and rubbish collection.

The ongoing strike, led by Australian Services Union, ASU, members, comes after alleged frozen negotiations between City of Whittlesea executives and its lowest paid workers.

The workers claim their wages have dropped equivalent to one paygrade over the past couple of years due to inflation.

The ASU claims the City of Whittlesea’s proposed deal for workers rejects a range of better work and pay conditions, including 50-plus claims for improving conditions, a 35-hour week for band three workers and the right of ‘secondary’ parents to equal parent leave.

ASU deputy branch secretary Tash Wark said the proposed enterprise agreement would leave City of Whittlesea staff worse-off in the face of rising inflation and rising cost of living expenses.

The ASU claimed that council had accused them of ‘misleading’ their members.

“Whittlesea council says a 35-hour week ‘will cost an extra $.084 million’. This is a wonderfully exaggerated way of saying $800,000 – a cost the ASU had already provided,” Ms Wark said.

“Given the council is spending $75 million on capital works in the coming year, an $800,000 investment in some of the lowest paid workers at council is not much to ask.”

The ASU claimed council were also misleading stakeholders that they were not spending more money on casual workers.

“Their reports predict exactly the opposite, with both an increased casual budget and an increase of 86 … casual staff on the previous year. Council has double-counted costs and it all is very obscure,” Ms Wark said.

“Whittlesea council argue they have no surplus this year. But the 2023-24 chief financial officer’s report states an operating surplus of $128 million. It’s right there, in the budget.”

City of Whittlesea chief executive Craig Lloyd said council had been negotiating ‘in good faith’ with the unions over the past seven months to create an enterprise agreement for their 1315 team members.

“We know the cost of living is a challenge for many people in our community at the moment, including our staff, so we have sought to find a balance between appropriate recognition for our people and keeping our council rates as low as possible while still delivering on what we’ve promised to our community,” he said.

Mr Lloyd said council had tabled an offer that was ‘fair’, and a small number of staff were taking protected industrial action, which included limited work bans such as not emptying bins in parks and local shopping strips.

“We have tabled an offer that we believe is fair and balanced and includes a guaranteed wage increase of a minimum of eight per cent over the next three years, as well as an extensive range of employee benefits and conditions,” he said.

Council has paid private contractors to complete tasks that their workers failed to do during strike action.

“To meet our responsibilities, council has engaged contractors for litter collection in shopping precincts, parks and playgrounds to ensure sanitation is maintained during protected action,” Mr Lloyd said.

An ASU delegate told 3AW last week that council was trying to ‘weather this storm’ with the private contractors, but the industrial action was gaining traction with the support of other unions.’

Seymour shop raided for illicit tobacco

Grace Frost

-

October 31, 2023

0

A tobacco shop in Seymour was one of 16 stores in regional Victoria to be raided by Victoria Police’s VIPER taskforce last week.

The warrants on Thursday were part of the ongoing Taskforce Lunar investigation into organised crime syndicates linked to illicit tobacco.

Taskforce members were joined by police from the Shepparton, Seymour, Yarrawonga and Ballarat crime investigation units, along with representatives from the Australian Tax Office and the Australian Border Force’s Illicit Tobacco Taskforce.

Six tobacco stores in Shepparton, as well as stores in Yarrawonga and Ballarat, were part of the raids.

As a result, the following was seized:

39,184 e-cigarettes (vapes) with a street value of more than $1.1 million;

611,833 cigarettes with duty excise evaded totalling more than $760,000;

153kg of loose tobacco with duty excise evaded totalling more than $280,000; and

More than $16,000 cash, which police will allege to be the proceeds of crime.

An additional 36 warrants at 34 retail outlets and two residential properties across Melbourne, including a property at Beveridge, were executed on October 18 and 19.

Detective Superintendent Jason Kelly, from the State Anti-Gangs Division, said the taskforce would target anyone at any level across the state who was involved in the distribution and sale of illicit tobacco.

“There can be a perception that it is easier to hide in the country, where people might mistakenly believe they are safe from being targeted and out of constant law enforcement attention. That couldn’t be further from the truth,” he said.

“As long as people’s lives remain at risk due to this heightened criminal activity, we will continue to do absolutely everything we can to deter, disrupt and dismantle these syndicates.”

Investigators continue to appeal to anyone, especially store owners and staff, who has information about the illegal tobacco trade and who is responsible to come forward. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential crime report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.

National championships awaits for region’s athletes

Grace Frost

-

October 31, 2023

0

National championships awaits for region’s athletes

By Grace Frost

Two of the region’s residents will represent Victoria Country at the Wheelchair AFL National Championships this week.

Wallan’s Adam Georgelin and Chintin’s Ben Jankovski each secured a place in the Victorian Country team, named among the state’s 20 best wheelchair footballers.

Georgelin and Jankovski both compete in the Victorian Wheelchair Football League, VWFL, for Essendon and Collingwood respectively.

Each year, VWFL players contend for the opportunity to represent the state at the Wheelchair AFL National Championships, with selection taking into account the footballers’ performance during the season and at tryouts.

Every state and territory, as well as the Australian Defence Force and Returned Services League of Australia, will field teams in the competition this year.

Victoria has two teams in the running – Vic Metro and Vic Country – with 10 players in each.

ben jankovski scaled e1686543754607 — Chintin resident and Collingwood player Ben Jankovski was selected as one of Victoria’s top 20 wheelchair footballers, set to compete with the Vic Country team at the national championships.

Georgelin and Jankovski will compete in the national tournament for their second time, both as Vic Country players this year.

It is a welcome change for Georgelin, who last year represented Tasmania as a ‘top-up’ player when the side was short on competitors.

The team emerged bronze medalists in division one, while Vic Metro took home gold.

“That was a great experience, but to be handpicked as a member of the team for the region where I live – it’s a huge honour, it’s something else,” he said.

Vic Country are scheduled to play Tasmania in the first round of the competition, leaving Georgelin to stare down his old team in what is bound to be an ‘interesting’ match.

Merging old teammates and rivals alike, Georgelin said the Vic Country team was shaping up as a strong contender for the win.

“Personally, I’m confident,” he said.

“We’ll potentially go in as the underdogs, but I feel like we’re equally as strong as the Metro side.

“I feel like we’re going to be a force to be reckoned with this year.”

Teams will compete in back-to-back games over the first two ‘intense’ days of the competition, beginning November 2, to detemine their places in either division one or two.

Games are played for about 15 minutes each, shorter than standard 40-minute games.

Once divisions are decided, teams will battle it out in longer games for a spot in finals on November 5.

Georgelin said his recent undertaking of bodybuilding should help build his endurance for the fast-paced competition.

“For the standard season, we do training twice a week,” he said.

“But with this more compacted season, with bodybuilding, I’ve got myself a couple of personal trainers, a nutritionist, a strengthened conditioning coach, so it’s all going to help me significantly, I would imagine.

“I’m not sure how much game time I’m going to get, but I’ll be making the most of every opportunity that I do get because I’m 42 this year.”

AFL Wheelchair is played on basketball courts, with five players from each team on the court at a time, able to score by hand-balling through smaller versions of AFL goalposts.

Players hand-ball instead of kicking the football, and underarm throw instead of hand-balling.

The competition will commence on Thursday at the State Netball and Hockey Centre in Melbourne, with finals on Sunday.

“Anyone can come and watch – it’d be great to get some crowds in there,” Georgelin said.

The tournament will also be live-streamed on Kayo Sports.

Electric fleet rolls out in Seymour

Max Davies

-

October 31, 2023

0

By Max Davies

THREE new electric buses have officially launched at Seymour Coaches as the company works towards a cleaner and more sustainable regional bus fleet.

Delivered as part of a three-year State Government trial, the electric buses first began arriving in Seymour in February this year, and with the fleet now fully completed and ready to go, the town is now the first in regional Victoria to have its public bus network fully serviced by zero-emission buses.

Seymour Coaches 2 — With the launch of all three of Seymour Coaches’ new electric buses, Seymour is the first regional town in Victoria to be serviced by a zero-emissions fleet.

The transition has been supported by manufacturer Volvo, fitters McConnell Seats and Victorian bus builders Volgren, with the three electric buses in use in Seymour all built in Melbourne.

Seymour Coaches general manager Stuart Locke said the deal came at a perfect time for the company, as its three existing route buses were due for replacement when bids for the trials opened.

“For us it’s the chance to have something that no one else has ever had before in transport, so we really are pioneers in a lot of respects,” he said.

“We hope that we can be good ambassadors for electric vehicles, for Seymour, for the State Government and for other operators to come look at our operation and hopefully see it as being cutting edge.”

Seymour Coaches has joined five other operators in Melbourne and Traralgon as part of the trial, which includes the roll out of 52 zero-emission buses – 50 electric and two hydrogen.

Mr Locke said Seymour Coaches would be looking at electrifying its fleet in Kilmore and Wallan into the future, however charging facilities were currently limited to only its main depot in Seymour.

Current buses that service Kilmore and Wallan are diesel-electric hybrids.

“It’d be nice in time to go fully electric in those two towns, we just need to upgrade our infrastructure and have the government approve it all,” he said.

“We want people to see Seymour as a progressive regional town, hopefully it promotes that and brings attention to the town … we are at the cutting edge when it comes to public transport.”

The trial is part of the State Government’s target of net zero emissions by 2045 and provides knowledge and information into how to effectively operate a fully sustainable public transport fleet.

Seymour Coaches pic 4 — An inside look at the new electric bus fleet.

Minster for Public and Active Transport Gabrielle Williams, who officially launched the buses on Wednesday, said the project was a step forward in sustainable infrastructure.

“We know that our transport sector is a really significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, so if we can effectively turn one of our largest heavy vehicle fleets in our bus services to zero emissions, we could make a dent into that target,” she said.

“We usually see these sorts of developments driven out of Melbourne. Instead, we have our first regional town being fully serviced by zero emissions buses, and therefore that makes the Seymour community a really important foundation as we continue to roll out this technology across the state.”

Philippe racks up 80 points in Country Basketball League action

Jordyn Grubisic

-

October 31, 2023

0

Philippe racks up 80 points in Country Basketball League action

Wallan Panthers guard Ryan Philippe starred in a successful Country Basketball League, CBL, double-header at the weekend, scoring 30 points and then 50 points across two matches.

The Panthers first defeated Albury Cougars 96 to 93 on Saturday.

Starting strong, Wallan took a six-point lead into the first break before the Cougars clawed back for a two-point lead heading into halftime up 45 to 43.

The second half remained tight but thanks to huge scoring numbers by Luke Liesegang and Philippe, with 34 and 30 points respectively, the Panthers dug in for the win.

Wallan coach Scott Baillie said the game was ‘quite intense’.

“We went into it with the whole mindset we’ve carried from the start – it’s all about being confident, being able to play our style of basketball,” he said.

“It was a tough fit but we managed to get the win at the end of the game, which is a big confidence booster for some of the guys in the team.

“There were a couple of times our play wasn’t translating as much as we would’ve liked it to but we tried to steady that ship a little bit more, making sure we got back to doing what we do.

“Obviously Albury made it hard for the whole game but we had players like Liesegang and Philippe stepping up in the way they did with that leadership mentality and able to get that win for us in the end there.

“That obviously doesn’t take away from our other big guy Dion Stacey, who was a big impact in that late part of the game. His efforts didn’t reflect on the scoreboard but his defensive efforts late in the game were crucial.

“Even players like Brodie Thrum getting on the court and putting those efforts in was a huge help.”

Lachlan Lombardo also helped the side to victory both on and off the court.

“Lachie with his leadership as a straight-up point guard and his obviously loud personality is enjoyable to have. He’s definitely the voice of the team for sure,” Baillie said.

Sunday’s game against Mansfield was a different story with the Panthers coming home with a 34-point win.

It was a tight first quarter before a 30-point quarter put the Panthers comfortably ahead at halftime.

At the end of the third quarter, Wallan led 76 to 49 before another strong final burst saw the side claim a 103-69 victory.

Philippe dominated the scoreboard with 50 points of his own and with all but one Panthers player hitting the scoreboard.

“Mansfield definitely gave us a run for our money in the first half but then [Philippe] turned around and said ‘we’re not going to way away and lose this’ and said he was going to push hard for this and lift the side’s intensity,” Baillie said.

“It got towards the end of the game where a few of the guys said Phil was on his way to 50 points and he just said ‘no I am getting 50’ then turned around and was able to translate that in the end.

“Having a player with that mindset is a coach’s dream. His intensity at training is always incredible and he’s always wanting to do more and more because of the love of the game.

“You start noticing some of the younger guys’ mentality and mindset starting to change trying to mimic Phil’s mindset. It’s going to be a good thing particularly in these next few seasons if these guys commit to playing. It’s going to be exciting.”

The Panthers have a bye this weekend before facing neighbours Seymour Blasters – this time on their turf.

Seymour Blasters also came away with a 15-point win against Wodonga on Sunday.

The Blasters dominated the first half closing out the first quarter up 28 to 11, before adding another 25 points to the scoreboard in the second.

A third quarter surge saw the Wolves come back, forcing turnovers and untidy offence by Seymour, however the Blasters stifled the attempt to take the win 75 to 60.

Harry Stones and Ethan Bateman dominated both ends of the floor with Bateman the leading scorer of the match on 25 points.

Big man Tom O’Connor was a powerhouse, continuing to make his way to the rim.

“Our intensity on both ends was phenomenal, which really allowed us to control the contest,” Seymour captain Jack Murphy said.

“Credit to the Wolves, they came out and hunted us in the third and fourth term and really changed the course of the game.

“We will look back and review this game closely, as it was certainly a tale of two halves out there.

“Ethan Bateman was great early and Eden Hobbs continued his hot form for us. These two guys have given us a great scoring punch all season.”

This weekend Seymour suit up for a double-header playing Myrtleford at home on Saturday night, before heading to Shepparton to play Benalla.

Women

It was a tough day on court for Wallan’s women, going down to Albury 36 to 113.

At the end of the first quarter, Wallan trailed nine to 17 but Albury’s huge scoring numbers across the next three quarters, including a 43-point fourth quarter, left the Panthers playing catch-up against a formidable foe.

Melissa Buckley was again leading scorer for Wallan with 10 points.

Up in Wodonga, Seymour had its first loss of the season against the Wolves, going down 54 to 70.

The Blasters started well to lead 20 to 13 before a tight second half, but were unable pull ahead.

Seymour’s Nicola Stewart scored 13 points while Kasey Lennox had 10.

Both Wallan and Seymour women have a bye this weekend before stepping back on court to face each other at Wallan.