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ON A BALMY Friday evening, 1st Seymour Scouts’ Hall at Chittick Park reverberated with solemn but hearty smiles as all connected to the movement joined in celebrating the group’s 110th anniversary.
To mark the historic occasion, all Scouts past and present were handed out a badge by Group Leader Stuart Ferguson.
Among them were “over 80” years old Alan Vearing (Baloo) and five-year-old Joey Jensen Walker. The duo joined hands to cut the historic 110th anniversary cake to the great delight of all gathered in the hall near the Aquatic Centre.
Alan, who joined as a Scout in 1987 and is still in the scouting movement, described the day as a very proud moment for Seymour Scouts.
“It’s just great. The milestone, 110, I feel it’s a great thing for scouting and a great thing for Seymour.
“I love to see the kids come up, and I love to see new leadership qualities invested into the system. The new youth members come up. I like to see that. I like to see new leaders being invested because a lot of us are getting old and we need to bring new blood into the system.”
And for the special moment, Jensen had a short answer: “It’s good. Cherries (on the anniversary cake) are good”.
Also among the gathering was the 1st Seymour Scouts Committee chair Madeleine Laming.
“It’s a turning point. We are reflecting on a history, which is good, whether it’s hard. It’s very beautiful. This is the way to tell people in the community Scouts are here. Come enjoy it. Look at all the wonderful things we do,” Dr Laming said.
“We are celebrating the past and looking forward to the future.”
Mr Ferguson said he was quite impressed by the Scouts’ milestone, considering the Scouts’ movement was founded in 1907 (by Major-General Robert Baden-Powell) and Seymour came into being just eight years after that.
“Volunteers over the years have done an amazing job. Without them, you can’t have the sort of program we have. It was a difficult time in the old days, but they have done a wonderful job. The scouting movement is still so relevant today.”
Former Group Leader Ranee Clarke said “as you grow in scouting, you get to do bigger and better things. Once you get up to be venturers, you get to do some really cool things, and international travel becomes available for you. So, you can look forward to that and maybe start fundraising”.
Dr Laming said the Scouts’ numbers go up and down. In the 1950s, 1960s, “we might have had 50 Scouts. Currently, we have about 30 in total from five years old to 18.
Fear and frustration are running high in Laurimar after a violent machete brawl erupted in the heart of the Town Centre on November 28, leaving residents shaken and questioning whether their once-quiet community is becoming unsafe.
About 6pm, two groups of youths, allegedly armed with machetes, spilled out of cars and clashed on Hazel Glen Drive before storming into the Laurimar shopping complex. Some ran toward Woolworths, triggering an immediate lockdown as staff rushed to secure the store and shelter terrified shoppers.
Witnesses have described parents grabbing their children, customers hiding inside stores, and bystanders capturing the chaos on video as the commotion unfolded.
Police arrested two males and both were granted bail, with court dates set in the coming weeks. Others involved fled before police arrived and remain unidentified.
For many locals, it’s the granting of bail, despite the violent nature of the incident, that has triggered the deepest anger. As one furious radio caller put it: “They’ve got knives, they’re trying to actively kill each other on the street and they get bail”.
The sentiment is echoed widely across Laurimar, where residents argue weak bail laws send “the wrong message” and fail to deter youth violence.
Adding to community concern was the point that the local residents interviewed by this masthead agreed to do so on condition that they remain anonymous.
One resident who went to Woolworths that night and found it closed, expressed their concerns.
“I heard that they (the youths) were arrested and let free on the same day. Where are the consequences for their actions? Clearly the government is too slow to act and is not doing enough,” they said.
Long-time residents say fear has now crept into daily life. Some report avoiding Laurimar shops altogether, worried about the safety of children, elderly family members, and themselves. One couple said they now shop in a neighbouring suburb “next door to a police station” instead. Another resident of decades said they had never seen this level of youth crime until the past 12-18 months and fears the area is “losing its community feel”.
Another expressed concerns over the safety of their family, stating that the youths are always at the shops.
“It’s been festering for the past two years before coming to a head last week. After the brawl they were back at the shops the next day, it’s a joke,” they said.
The brawl comes despite a statewide crackdown on machete and knife-related violence. Since September, carrying, buying, selling or possessing a machete without exemption has been illegal in Victoria. Yet locals say the law means nothing if offenders are immediately released.
“You can ban machetes all you like, but it means nothing if the kids carrying them don’t care. The laws feel toothless, and the youths know it. That’s why families around here are so frightened, it feels like nothing is stopping this from happening again,” another resident added.
The incident has reignited debate about youth crime, weapons enforcement and public-space safety, with community members demanding tougher policing, stronger bail conditions and greater accountability for violent offenders.
Many fear that unless the justice system sends a clearer message, incidents like this will continue — and the sense of safety that once defined Laurimar will continue to erode.
For now, residents say the shock remains raw, and the fear is real. The question hanging over the community: what will it take for authorities to act before someone gets seriously hurt?
CRICKET was left reeling again in one of the last rounds before Christmas with rain forcing many men’s teams off on Saturday, while a terrific result headlined women’s cricket on Sunday.
Sadly, all of Saturday’s Seymour District Cricket Association games were called off, leaving two more games before Christmas.
In the Gisborne District Cricket Association Kookaburra Women’s B grade competition, Broadford took its first ever win in the competition, defeating East Sunbury by six wickets at Harley Hammond Reserve.
Maddison Benham did all the damage in the middle order, collecting three wickets, while Lana Wood took two, holding East Sunbury to 8/82.
From there, Melodie Bassett’s 23 helped anchor the top of the order as Broadford scored 4/83.
Lancefield Yellow was successful in taking down Melton Centrals by seven wickets.
The Tigers held Melton Centrals to 78 without loss from its 20 overs, before Megan Richardt’s 25 and Molly Consiglio’s unbeaten 24 helped the Tigers get it done with five overs to spare.
In A grade, Wallan took victory over Macedon by six runs.
Megan Farrell’s 51 helped Wallan start well, while Charli Laity scored 21 late on to help the Magpies make 5/128.
Wallan survived all of Macedon’s advances as the Cats scored 4/122.
Kilmore had a tricky day as it lost to Bacchus Marsh by 123 runs.
Bacchus Marsh was dominant as it posted 1/186, and Kilmore was no match in response, posting 6/63, with Taylah Logie posting 30 runs.
Lancefield Black and Gisborne played a high-quality game, with Gisborne winning by six wickets.
Meaghan Lyons performed strongly for the Tigers, scoring 65 as Lancefield made 4/154, but Gisborne was far too strong in response, despite Luzanne de Kock’s 3/27.
Elsewhere, games were on and off for multiple clubs.
Broadford’s game against Romsey went ahead, with Romsey scoring the runs it needed to take first innings points.
Thomas Boyer scored 60, and Jed Richardson 59, as the game finished with Romsey 103 runs ahead, scoring 5/213.
Despite having East Sunbury 4/45, Kilmore lowered its colours as the Thunder’s middle order performed strongly.
Noah Fairweather and Lachlan Peggie took two wickets apiece early in the piece, while Ben Dawson added two to keep the Blues in the game, but East Sunbury was too good, posting 6/200 in response to Kilmore’s 190.
Despite Benjamin Bryant’s five-wicket haul, Eastern Hill fell just short of an outright victory against Lancefield.
Bryant ran amok through Lancefield’s top order as he finished with 5/32, but the Tigers held on to restrict the damage to first innings points as play finished with Lancefield on 6/85.
Wallan’s McIntyre Cup seconds match went ahead against Sunbury United, but the Magpies fell to defeat by four wickets.
Josh Cumberland provided good runs for the tail with 38, while Bradley Regan scored 40 as Wallan made 178.
Despite Andrew Barber’s 4/54, Wallan was unable to keep Sunbury United from scoring the runs it required, seeing it finish on 6/179 off 40 overs.
In Johnstone Shield seconds, Eastern Hill took first innings’ points against Lancefield. Four Eagles took two wickets apiece as they bowled Lancefield out for 153, claiming a 221-run win.
An impromptu T20 match saw East Sunbury take a 44-run victory over Kilmore, despite the best efforts of Travis Hede, who scored 42, and Elliot Frendo, unbeaten on 41.
In Jensen Shield, Wallan fell to a seven-wicket loss to Romsey, but it was better news for Kilmore, who took a six-wicket win over Rupertswood.
Lancefield fell to a three-wicket loss in Club Grade North to Kyneton, while Romsey lost by 28 runs to Woodend.
THERE was very little luck for cricketers hoping to take the field on Saturday, with rain washing away a large portion of games in the Diamond Valley Cricket Association.
Laurimar’s Mash Shield clash against South Morang at Mill Park Lakes Reserve will be converted into a one-dayer, as will Mernda’s clash against Greensborough in Money Shield.
Indeed, all of Laurimar and Mernda’s two-day games have now been converted into one-dayers due to the rain.
Of South Morang’s two-day teams, just one game went ahead, with the second XI taking to the field against Eltham.
The Lions had a tricky day out in the field as the Panthers made 8/223, with Prageeth Hewa Pothuwilage taking 2/25, Jaskaran Singh 2/29 and Matthew Kiriakopoulos 2/44, meaning the Lions will have to put in a big shift next week to chase the target down.
Whittlesea’s first XI wound up taking to AF Walker Reserve against Greensborough, and it was a productive day for the Eagles as they held the Boro to 9/178.
Kevin Satharasinghege Don was the star of the show as he took 6/48, cutting through Greensborough’s batting lineup.
In the lower grades, all of Laurimar and Mernda’s games were abandoned, as was Whittlesea’s second XI.
South Morang’s fifth XI took to the park against Lower Plenty, and got the job done easily, winning by seven wickets.
Aamer Abbas tore through Lower’s lineup, taking 5/15, while Connor Jamieson was a handy sidekick, taking 3/27.
The sixth XI also had a run on the synthetic wicket at Mill Park Lakes Reserve against Panton Hill, taking a 33-run victory.
It was all Adi Sharma’s doing as he performed strongly with both bat and ball – firstly scoring 51 runs to anchor the Lions to 8/135, before taking 2/33 to help restrict the Redbacks to 3/12.
Nick Perry led the way for the Lions in taking 3/12.
The Lions was also the sole local representative in the North Metro Cricket Association women’s finals, with their division one team taking on Heidelberg.
However, the Lions were outpointed on the day, and bow out in the semi-final stage, losing by nine wickets.
Emma Leatham was the anchor for the Lions as she scored 33 runs, but Heidelberg proved too strong with both bat and ball as they chased down the Lions 85 with ease.
The DVCA continues on with two more rounds remaining until Christmas.
LOCAL Broadford runner Poppy Robinson has set the athletics scene alight in Australia recently, coming to Canberra and scoring a new Victorian record for the under 12 100m and 200m races in the School Sports Australia national track and field championships.
Held in Canberra from November 27 to November 30, Broadford Primary School’s Robinson ran with elite consistency from start to finish to claim two gold medals, an incredible achievement, cementing herself as arguably Australia’s fastest female primary school runner and a star to watch in the future.
The 100m heats saw Robinson qualify fastest by 0.13 seconds, running a 12.4 in the first heat, raising expectations.
Robinson was up to the task in the final with Queensland’s Alexa Gillon pushing her all the way, but in the end, it was a new personal best for Robinson, who ran a 12.3, taking one tenth out of her heat time to win the gold medal.
The times represented an improvement on the Victorian championships recently, where she had broken the Victorian record by running 12.52.
However, it was the 200m race, where Robinson completely blitzed the field, which made people stand up and take notice.
Robinson was 0.12 quicker than any runner in the heats with a lower wind co-efficient, running 26.22.
With the same wind co-efficient of 0.5 in the final, Robinson completely blindsided the field with an incredible run, again claiming a Victorian record time of 25.53 to win by 0.48 from New South Welshman Annika Kumar, and claiming a second gold medal.
The time was 0.42 quicker than the time she had run in the Victorian championships – again, then a state record, with a time of 25.95.
Robinson’s final medal saw her compete in the final of the 4×100 metre relay, running the anchor leg. Despite giving it her all, herself and teammates Zoe Strangis, Mackenzie Duddy and Amelia Miskell would have to settle for third, finishing 1.11 seconds behind eventual winners Queensland.
Robinson’s mother, Skye Bryans, said it was a significant achievement that reflected the hard work she had put in during the school sports circuit.
“She was fit, and did some trials, but her times were still reflective of where they were last year, but then we went to Bali for a couple of weeks, but then we came back and she did school district, and her times were starting to improve a lot, so the break did her good,” she said.
“She’s improved every time she has run, so I think that’s an indicator that she’s grown a lot over the last couple months, so she has gotten stronger and she’s very determined.
“She works hard. She’s back into training now and she’s a determined little girl who does a lot of training on grass. It is overwhelming going to some of these events, you are up against private school kids who have a coaching team around them, and there’s little old us from country Victoria.
“Hopefully it inspires other little kids that being against the odds sometimes, they can achieve awesome things. Broadford Primary School has got behind her and the kids look up to her, so it’s pretty cool for our community.”
THE State Government is talking up Victoria’s economic strength following the release of its latest budget update release last Friday, highlighting modest improvements in the bottom line, strong jobs growth and record business investment. But economists caution that the broader fiscal picture remains far more complex than the government suggests.
Treasurer Jaclyn Symes said the update confirms Victoria is “on track” to meet its five-step fiscal strategy, with an operating surplus of $0.7 billion forecast for 2025–26, about $100 million better than predicted in May. The state has also recorded three consecutive operating cash surpluses, including $3.2 billion in 2024–25 and a projected $6.1 billion by 2028–29.
Net debt is expected to fall to 24.9 per cent of Gross State Product over the forward estimates, with total debt now forecast to be $1.4 billion lower than previously projected.
According to Ms Symes, these figures demonstrate that the government’s fiscal repair plan is working.
However, the Budget Update has been overshadowed by the fallout from the Silver Review, which will cut around 1000 public sector jobs.
Ms Symes maintains the reduction will not affect frontline services, arguing the review targets duplication and inefficiency. But economists warn the job losses sit awkwardly alongside the government’s narrative of strong employment growth, and may raise questions about the sustainability of current labour-market strength.
The tension between the government’s upbeat messaging and the job cuts reflects the deeper structural pressures still shaping Victoria’s finances. While the state is forecasting a return to surplus, analysts note that large-scale capital projects, including the Metro Tunnel and the West Gate Tunnel, continue to place significant strain on the overall budget position. Debt remains high by historical standards and will require ongoing economic momentum to stabilise.
Despite those concerns, the government can point to several robust economic indicators. Business investment has grown faster in Victoria than in any other state over the past three years, with national accounts data showing a 3.6 per cent jump in the September quarter, the strongest rise in more than two years.
The labour market remains one of the state’s most reliable strengths: Victoria has added more than 300,000 jobs over three years, and employment is forecast to grow by 1.25 per cent this year. Unemployment sits at 4.7 per cent, below long-term averages, with participation near record highs.
The update also includes changes to the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund, freezing the variable rate for primary production land and delaying adjustments affecting investment properties by 12 months.
While Premier Jacinta Allan and Treasurer Symes insist the update confirms a “strong, resilient” economy, analysts say the true test will come as Victoria works to reduce debt after a decade of major infrastructure spending and pandemic-era borrowing.
THE Department of Health is under pressure to respond to allegations that it instructed Seymour Health to draw from unallocated funds, including money set aside for staff leave entitlements in a bid to reduce its operating deficit.
The claim was aired during Seymour Health’s annual general meeting, which was open to the public, on December 1. The allegation was revealed by The Age after it received audio from a community member who recorded the meeting.
The Age reports that in the recording, Seymour Health’s finance, risk and audit committee chair Laura Jeffery said the hospital recorded a $1.3 million deficit in the 2024/25 financial year after reporting an “approximately balanced budget” the year before.
Ms Jeffery went on to say that the deficit was due to higher staffing costs after vacant positions at the hospital were filled, and that while the hospital had in place a financial performance improvement plan, “the big headline is we’ve had insufficient funding from the Department of Health”.
“Moreover, they’ve explicitly advised us that we’re required to fund our deficit through draw-down, or use of our untied funds,” Ms Jeffery said in the recording.
“I wanted to convert this into plain language: untied funds, as the Department of Health’s definition, include funds that we’ve set aside for staff and employee liabilities, like annual leave, sick leave, long-service entitlements.”
Audience members reportedly expressed concern about whether the health service would be able to meet future leave obligations, particularly in the event of natural disasters, given that Seymour has experienced significant flooding in recent years.
The matter has also since drawn political reaction, with Nationals Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland describing the situation as “deeply alarming for regional patients and health workers”.
In a statement, Ms Cleeland said the allegations confirmed fears “that Labor’s health funding failures are now being pushed directly onto hospitals and their staff”.
“These are not spare funds. These entitlements belong to nurses, doctors and healthcare workers who have earned them,” she said.
“Using them to prop up Labor’s broken budget is completely unacceptable.”
Shadow Minister for Health Georgie Crozier said the allegations highlighted a wider crisis across the state’s health system.
“This Government can deny it all it likes, but the reality is hospitals are under extreme pressure, and this situation at Seymour Health is a warning sign for what may be happening right across the state,” she said.
“We want to know how widespread this practice is, how many hospitals are in the same position at Seymour and exactly what services are now at risk because Labor will not properly fund our health system.”
Due to publishing deadlines, Seymour Health and the Department of Health did not respond to comment requests in time for publication. The digital version of this article will be updated if the North Central Review receives further responses.
Seymour Health has since responded to our request for comment. Their response is noted below:
“Hospitals Victoria did not provide any guidance or directive to indicate that employee entitlements are tied funds,” they said.
“There has been no change to the way hospitals treat employee entitlements.
“Seymour Health has since confirmed that they ‘can and will meet any and all obligations related to the payment of staff entitlements and that there is zero risk that staff superannuation, annual leave, ADO and/or LSL payments will not be made as they come due.’
“Of Victoria’s 76 public hospitals, Seymour Health was the only health service to request a letter of comfort related to untied funds and debt in 2025-26.
“There has been no change to the treatment of employee entitlements and the reporting or forecast cashflow where tied funds are reported.
“Hospital Victoria monitors cash and the Statement of Priorities operating result closely, partnering with each health service to ensure appropriate use of Victorian Government funds, ensuring all obligations are met and care to Victorians is delivered by the world class health care system.”
