The GEM - 21 June 2024 - Edition 103

AFTER nearly 20 years of ownership and operation David Strange has divested the business and property of the Metung Hotel, effective mid-July.

ASTRANGEFAREWELL TOTHEMETUNGPUB

‘Strangey’, as he is more affectionately known, says “I’m very proud of what the staff and I have achieved over the years, and I’m equally proud of the reputation that our little pub has earned as a result. It’s been a great time owning the Metung Hotel. It’s taken a lot of hard work by many over the years, but the time has come for me to hand over

the responsibility to others.”

“I have very mixed emotions,” David says of the decision. “The pub is open seven days a week, closing only for Christmas Day, and it employs around 47 people, so owning the pub is very draining — on my mind and body. And after 20 years I do

feel mentally drained and in need of a break. Admittedly, I do run the business in a micro-managing way, but I'm not good at NOT focusing 100 per cent on it.”

A syndicate of six has purchased the business; some of whom own other hotels, ensuring that valuable

industry experience will be guiding the iconic establishment into its next iteration.

“I decided not to put the assets on the open market and, instead, deal with this particular group who had approached me previously about selling. Their persistence contributed to the assurance I feel that they will continue the business as usual, while continuing to improve the facility and protect the reputation of this great community asset and tourist attraction.”

Past nurses supporting kids’ wishes

the disbandment of the Bairnsdale and District

Trained Nurses and Associates group, MakeA-Wish East Gippsland members were grateful to be presented with a donation of $1309 as the group’s final funds were distributed recently.

Members of the Past Nurses and Associates group were all nurses who trained at the Bairnsdale Hospital, together with other hospitaltrained nurses who worked at the hospital in their careers. Formed around 57 years ago, its role was to raise funds for the hospital’s needs.

“Many years ago, the Past Nurses used to run the hospital ball and cabarets, and raise money for the hospital,” president, Cheryl Brooks, said.

“Back in our day we bought all sorts; plates for the matron,

doilies for her, and a cover for something else.”

More significant items have been purchased by the group for the hospital over the years, a fully functioning hospital bed being one of its last purchases that will assist patients to recover at home with their loved ones with the support of the home-based nursing service.

“I’ve made a list and roughly, over the 57 years, we’ve given over $100,000 worth of items to the hospital,” Cheryl said.

Now, the saying ‘all good things must come to an end’ rings true for the Past Nurses.

“The Bower Birds now have the role of raising money for the hospital and are provided a list of specific items that need to be purchased,” Cheryl said.

“We’ve decided now is the time to pull up the roots and close everything off. We feel

we’ve run our run.

“We’re all getting older, with health issues, grandkids, doctors’ appointments - it was time to wind things up.”

With funds still in the bank at closing, the group generously split their remaining monies between Rotary Centenary House Traralgon and Make-A-Wish Australia.

“We are so very grateful for this generous donation from the Past Nurses that will go a long way to seeing the very special wish of a sick child granted,” Make-A-Wish East Gippsland president, Bev Sinclair, said upon receiving the $1309 donation.

Make-A-Wish grants wishes that are carefully designed to be specific to the child, empowering them with hope and joy when they need it the most, complementing their medical treatments, and supporting their family

through it all. Wishes have a remarkable, uplifting, and positive impact on all involved, and that impact goes well beyond the wish itself.

“For almost 20 years the East Gippsland branch of Make-A-Wish Australia has been raising funds to make these wonderful wishes come true for children across the country,” Bev said.

“As well as raising funds, our volunteers play a large part in capturing the wishes of East Gippsland Wish children and it’s a truly great honour to be a part of a team that helps bring such joy in difficult times.”

“We thank the Past Nurses for their support of our local hospital over such a long period and now their support of Make-A-Wish and wish all their members happiness as they step back from their fundraising roles.”

Make-A-Wish East Gippsland Volunteer Branch members, Dave Williams, Brenda Pincott, Sue Wright, Tony Callaghan, Cass Williams, and president, Bev Sinclair, (centre front), gratefully accepted a cheque donation recently from Bairnsdale and District Past Trained Nurses and Associates’, Cheryl Brooks (president, front right), and Bette Ferguson (front left), following the Bairnsdale Hospital fundraising group’s recent disbandment.

DAVID'S PUB CALL

FROM FRONT PAGE

STRANGEY says the pub has changed enormously over the past two decades. “I remember when I first bought it, for the first few years business wasn’t great. We didn't make money. But we spent a lot of it! Over time, we’ve built the new marina, or extended the jetty out the front, which brought in another income stream to the business beyond the food and beer. We’ve renovated — we put new windows in, new bathrooms, we installed the outside bar, we’ve painted, cleaned and maintained the exteriors. That building was built just after the Second World War — during times when there was a shortage of raw materials — and we saw that when we did the renovations. Back then, they used materials that wouldn't meet today’s standards! Maintaining that old building is costly, but I've always liked it keeping it a bit old and daggy because it's part of its heritage.”

Strangey says that in the last 20 years, with the population growth, people moving into Metung, tourists discovering the Gippsland Lakes, and with the area becoming more beautified, the pub has really become a genuine tourist attraction for the area, and the business has grown dramatically as a result.

“The 2019/20 bushfires were certainly a challenge, and created a huge roller coaster of emotions” says David. During the 2019/20 bushfires, Metung was evacuated twice but the pub remained open, due to the insistence of Liam Flint, the Bar Manager at the time.

“It was a very extraordinary, interesting time, but to be honest, seeing Australians doing the right thing and helping others during a disaster kind of restored my belief in humanity.”

“The pub was vital during the fires because, back then, we had the only commercial generator in town. There was concern because there’s only one power line into Metung and so if that went out, then the whole town’s power would be disconnected, which would mean the ability for communications would be jeopardised.”

David Strange - Publican

“The pub also hosted members of the Ringwood Police, American chopper pilots, and bulldozer drivers who had relocated to provide additional support to our region. These people were all terrific and we thoroughly enjoyed their company as much as they enjoyed

ours! There were definitely tears all ‘round when Peels Cruisers brought the Americans to the pub for lunch as a ‘thank you’ — we even had the US flag flying proudly on the pub’s flagpole! The Americans had never experienced anything like the Aussie generosity of having drinks bought for them or being dragged away to join in local discussions, for want of a better word!”

Of course, the pandemic also created memorable times for Strangey and his team. “COVID times was an experience I will never forget. It was an absolute nightmare, involving last minute closures, food waste, staff not knowing if they had an income, density limits of 20 customers, checking the inoculation permits of customers, etc.

“The government’s provision of the Jobkeeper payment helped us stay operational through the pandemic. But, in addition, the business was well funded because of its strong financials, so that helped us stay afloat too.”

“I have to commend my staff, again, for standing up to the challenge, for copping abuse, and doing their jobs with dignity. I’m proud that we were able to look after all our staff during COVID times, but it was a very challenging time. It was not a fun time for any of us, but we got through it — together.”

“I've met so many people in the pub, and there are so many people who have worked there over the decades, or their kids have worked there. I remember I had a boy who came in and started working with us at age 16. He washed dishes, cleaned

the floors, scrubbed the toilets, and then over time he worked his way into the kitchen, backing up chefs, and then on his 18th birthday, he took me outside to look at the car he bought with all the money he'd earned from working at the pub. He was so proud of it, and that gave me a real buzz. And there’s probably lots of those sorts of stories out there.”

Of course, the pub is often the goto place where people head to swap stories. “Pubs play a very important role in communities. They provide a social environment; they can serve as a town hall; people go there if they're scared or if they need to figure things out; or when they want to catch up with others, or if they want a chat. Pubs really do serve the community a lot more than just beer and food,” Strangey says.

Over the years, the pub has hosted many a famous person including AFL players and coaches; actors including John Cleese; former Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police Christine Nixon; and politicians such as John Howard, Peter Costello, Tony Abbott, Bill Shorten and Mark Latham. David has enjoyed a rum or beer with most of them, and says “we really don't know our politicians; they all seem like good people when a camera is not in their face!”

“My grandfather, Cyril Nelson, had a home in Metung, as did my other grandfather; so, I'm third generation Metung person. Cyril was quite a property man in his day, and he actually tried to buy the Metung Pub many times, but they wouldn't sell it to him, or they didn't want to sell it at those times when he tried.

I remember my late mother, who also lived in Metung, was quite chuffed with me, because someone in the family finally succeeded in buying it!”

“None of my children want to take over the business, as they've all got their own careers in Melbourne in different industries,” Strangey says. “I’m very happy that it wasn't an on-market sale. I found some buyers who I know and trust to keep the pub and run it well, and I feel relaxed that it’s in their hands.”

“I don’t quite know what life will look like for me after I hand over the keys in mid-July. I've still got my house and my boat there so, even though I’m living in Melbourne, I will continue to tootle between the two locations (often largely dependent on the weather!). I’m definitely looking forward to just being a customer there!”

“I'm still trying to come to terms with what’s next for me, but I do know that after all these years, I really need a break, and I just can’t make that happen while I still own the pub. I’ve certainly got very mixed emotions about selling but while I’m not entirely happy yet, I’m also not unhappy — I’d say I’m pretty content.”

“I’d like to hope that people think I did a good job, and that they’re pleased with what I’m leaving behind. I feel a little bit proud of myself for what I've done. Of course, you're nobody without staff, and everyone who's worked there has been nothing but dedicated, and have done a great job. I can definitely say that I'm prouder of them, than they probably are of me!”

DAVID STRANGE

Statement: Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester

Hon Darren Chester MP

Iwelcome the release of the Coalition’s detailed national plan for energy security.

It’s a plan that respects regional communities and ensures any safety concerns can be overcome, and if we hosted a nuclear power station in the Latrobe Valley in the future, there would be enduring social and economic benefits to our community.

The Latrobe Valley has some strategic advantages due to the existing transmission infrastructure and a skilled local workforce, but more detailed investigations will be required in the years ahead.

I will be listening to locals, consulting the experts, and putting the needs of Gippsland and Latrobe Valley first, and endeavouring to act in the national interest at all times.

I have always had an open mind when it comes to the public debate regarding nuclear energy in Australia, and the potential for the Latrobe Valley to host a nuclear power station.

I welcome the opportunity to have a balanced, rational and mature discussion with the people of Gippsland, whom I have always respected for their common sense and good judgement. This is not a debate we should be scared about as a community.

It’s time for a calm and rational conversation with the Australian people based on facts, technology and environmental science, not fear campaigns and political science.

The same people who recklessly blame each severe weather event on climate change and warn of more unreliable weather in the future, now want to sign our children up to a 100 per cent weather-dependent energy

Wild dog petition launch

WITH future funding of the wild dog control program uncertain past October this year, Gippsland East Nationals MP, Tim Bull, launched a petition to secure its future.

“What I am calling on is for the

system.

No doubt, they will run a scare campaign when what Australians really want is a facts campaign.

I believe in a balanced approach to meeting our future energy needs based on the best available science from Australia and overseas. I believe we should be taking advantage of a range of technologies to meet the challenge of supplying reliable and affordable power while fulfilling our international agreements to reduce emissions.

Energy security is a matter of national security. Every country needs to be able to keep the lights on, run the public transport network, hospitals and universities, and ensure businesses and farmers can still produce goods at a competitive price, which are needed in a modern society.

Frankly, it is juvenile and demeaning to listen to some Federal Labor MPs continually joking about the

Minister to end the uncertainty around the program and announce its continuation unchanged,” he said.

The petition calls for the “urgent need to recommit to the wild dog control program, and requests:

• The 3km buffer zone for controlling dogs be retained without alteration,

• All control measures currently available to doggers be retained without alteration,

‘The Simpsons’ cartoon in Parliamentary debates, as if it’s an intelligent reference point for a mature conversation on an issue of inter-generational significance.

My electorate of Gippsland has a proud heritage as an energy-producing region, and there is a high level of ‘energy literacy’ in the community. I’m proud of the local workers who have kept the lights on and warmed or cooled our homes for more than 100 years. Their hard work has meant that cheap and reliable energy has been a competitive advantage for our nation.

We have a proud heritage as an energy producing region and I’m confident we will an important role to play in the future.

Local people tend to understand the complex energy trifecta of affordability, reliability and environmental sustainability in accordance with international efforts.

This energy literacy

• The annual publishing of the number and location of wild dogs euthanised by doggers, and

• The annual publishing of stock losses and reports made by community members in relation to wild dog attacks.

“There is a clear lack of understanding of the importance of the program in this city-centric government, they really have no idea of the impact on the ground,” said Mr Bull.

has come about because Gippsland has hosted largescale energy-producing facilities, including brown coal and offshore oil and gas, for decades, along with wind and solar farms in more recent times. We are also expecting to see an energy-from-waste project developed at the Maryvale Mill, and we have been identified as a region that could host major offshore wind infrastructure.

Just as we are considering large-scale renewable projects with offshore wind farms, energy from waste at Maryvale, the coal-to-hydrogen project, and the potential recycling of coal-fired power stations with biofuels, we need to take a pragmatic approach to the nuclear debate.

For example, there needs to be full transparency on the claimed cost savings around reusing existing transmission lines because constructing new infrastructure to support industrial-scale renewable

“Time and again I have explained that to remove the three kilometre buffer zone (an area where doggers can undertake controls on public land adjacent to private freehold) would spell disaster.

“Once a dog is on private land it is too late, and it is impossible to trap a dog in an open paddock. Whereas in the land adjacent to freehold, the doggers can effectively trap on the tracks and trails the dogs use.

projects remains a contested public issue in many regions. There also needs to be some factual and honest debate about the resources needed to construct wind turbines and solar panels and their life expectancies.

If there is bipartisan support for nuclear medicine and nuclear-powered submarines as part of the AUKUS agreement, we should be able to have a rational debate about the merits of nuclear technology to help meet our future energy needs in Australia.

Dozens of advanced countries worldwide use nuclear energy, and Australia remains the third largest exporter of uranium to help power those economies. That doesn’t mean we have to build nuclear power stations, but if they are operating safely around the world, it makes sense to consider them as part of the broader mix of energy sources.

“The government also believes the solution lies in farmers installing better fencing and while there is no doubt this is a big part of controls, it cannot be solely relied upon.

“We have falling branches, sambar deer, wombats and other factors that bring fences down, so we need every option available.”

The petition is available both in hard copy and online — contact his office for sheets.

East Gippsland Shire welcomes 18 new citizens

EAST Gippsland Shire

has 18 new citizens following a citizenship ceremony held Bairnsdale on Wednesday, June 12.

The new citizens hailed from the Philippines, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Japan, Colombia, Vietnam, United States, and India formally pledged their commitment to Australia in front of a large gathering of family and friends at St Mary’s Parish Centre.

East Gippsland Shire Council Mayor Cr Tom Crook conducted the ceremony and said citizenship ceremonies are special occasions for all involved.

“This is such a big day, not just for the new citizens, but for all of us here to support them. They've chosen Australia as their home, and that's something to celebrate,” Cr Crook said.

“Becoming an Australian citizen is a two-way street. It shows you're dedicated to Australia, our values, and building a future together. But it's also about Australia welcoming you and saying we appreciate you and you're one of us now,” Cr Crook said.

“Our new citizens come

from diverse backgrounds and ages. Some have been part of East Gippsland or elsewhere in Australia for a long time, while others have recently moved to our wonderful country. Like our new citizens, Council is part of our community, and community is at the heart of everything we do,” Cr Crook said.

“The diversity of people who chose to call East Gippsland home is one of our region’s greatest assets."

Conferees received a certificate, a commemorative citizenship coin, and a native plant as a gift from the Council. This ceremony

signifies the completion of all requirements set by Australian law for citizenship.

The ceremony was livestreamed so family and friends from across the world could watch the special occasion. The ceremony can be viewed on the Council’s YouTube channel, youtube. com/EastGippyTV

Council’s next citizenship ceremony will be held on Tuesday, September 17 to coincide with Australian Citizenship Day.

Around 11 per cent of East Gippsland Shire’s population of nearly 50,000 residents were born overseas.

Cr Mark Reeves and Mayor Cr Tom Crook are pictured with new citizen Thomas and his family, Frankie and Brodie Stubbs, of Lakes Entrance.

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The quiet achiever supporting East Gippsland locals to work and study

AST Gippsland resident

Christine Brooks is passionate about helping our community to reach their potential.

As the lead of the East Gippsland network of Learn Local, Christine oversees the provision of preaccredited courses to support individuals to the pathway back into study, work and life.

“We offer small group learning opportunities that are supportive and responsive to the needs and interests of learners. Our trainers are skilled in their area of expertise, with years of experience engaging learners in interactive learning environments,” says Christine.

“Many remote communities would not have access to preaccredited training without the engagement of Learn Locals.”

The Minister for Skills and TAFE,

Gayle Tierney, says Learn Locals play a key role in building equity into Victoria’s education ecosystem to ensure all Victorians can pursue the opportunities they deserve.

“Adult and community education plays a vital role ensuring all Victorians are supported to gain the skills they need to pursue further study and rewarding careers."

“Learn Local courses are helping people to transform their lives through community-based education that is focused on the needs of learners and their communities.”

According to the 2023 Victorian Skills Plan, more than 75,000 new workers are expected in regional Victoria by 2026, and 60.7 per cent of these workers will require higher-order skills.

Christine emphasises the importance of community education in equipping those in the region to apply for roles and gain employment.

“We can assist with applying for jobs, resume writing, interview skills, navigating computers, managing your financial situation or simply just getting you motivated for next steps.”

In 2022-23, 24,595 learners participated in Learn Local training, and a recent survey indicated that 90 per cent of learners were satisfied with their experience. About 27 per cent of learners took Learn Local courses for work-related reasons.

Dr Teresa De Fazio OAM, Chairperson of the Adult, Community and Further Education (ACFE) Board,

highlights the growing need for community education for Victorians.

“Learn Local offers an experience that can, in many instances, reframe learning for participants in a positive way, helping them to fulfil their potential and set them on a path to achieve their study, work and life goals,” she said.

Christine encourages all locals to turn to Learn Local to begin a new chapter.

“If you are looking to return to work after the children go back to school, or if you have had a break from education and don’t feel confident about returning to work or taking on further study, Learn Local is the place to start.”

To find out more about Learn Local, visit: vic.gov.au/learnlocal

Dreamtime stargazing dazzling Gippsland

AGunaikurnai artist from East Gippsland is helping all Australians understand the connection between life and the night sky through cultural storytelling, thanks to a new stargazing project backed by the Allan Labor Government.

Minister for Regional Development Gayle Tierney late last month announced the launch of the Dark Skies project, which gives people the opportunity to see the Milky Way from under the Gippsland sky. The initiative is supported by $267,000 from the Labor Government’s Local Economy Recovery program and Destination Gippsland.

Artwork by local Gunaikurnai Monero artist Alfred Hudson features on 12 signs across Gippsland guiding people to the sites that are ideal for stargazing. The signage includes Alfred’s Mother’s Night Sky artwork from 2022 which illustrates how stars represent the seasons, time for hunting, eating and moving across

Country in Gunaikurnai culture.

For amateur astronomers not based in Gippsland or anyone interested in taking a trip to learn more about the stars, a new website reveals the best locations to see the stars and shares more of the story behind the artwork.

The Mother’s Night Sky artwork also features an emu representing the cultural story of a boy stuck in a river who was saved by an

who sacrificed itself and became the Southern Cross. The artwork also features Bogong moth decorations which were seasonal food for Gunaikurnai people, and an owl to represent the wisdom of the Elders.

The Dark Skies project is set to attract more visitors to Gippsland at the 12 marked locations ideal for stargazing — in Mallacoota, Nowa Nowa, Orbost, Cann River,

Hicks,

Around six million people visited the Gippsland region last year, injecting over $1.5 billion into the local economy.

Two mobile observatories including telescopes, binoculars and torches are also available for special public stargazing events, paving the way for more astronomy events in Gippsland that will be a boost to the region’s economy.

The project is part of the $68.6 million Local Economic Recovery program which is jointly funded by the Allan Labor Government and the Albanese Labor Government. Destination Gippsland is a nonfor-profit company created in 2008 with support from the Victorian Government to back Gippsland’s tourism sector.

Projects like this are part of the Labor Government’s investment of more than $45 billion in rural and regional Victoria over the past decade.

emu

Point

Cape Conran, Marlo, Buchan, Bruthen, Omeo, Lake Tyers, Dargo and Loch Sport.

Nominate now for Victorian Seniors Awards

LOCAL Nationals MP and Shadow Minister for Ageing, Tim Bull, is urging the Gippsland East community to nominate one of the many hard-working and dedicated senior volunteers for the upcoming Victorian Senior of the Year Awards.

Nominations are now open for the 2024 Victorian Senior of the Year Awards, celebrating senior Victorians who share their skills, experience, time and energy with our community.

There are six categories of awards, including:

• Victorian Senior of the Year — for outstanding contribution to the local community and Victoria

• Promotion of Multiculturalism Award — for promoting the benefits of cultural diversity

• Healthy and Active Living Award — for helping create active and healthy communities

• Veteran Community Award — for exceptional contributions to the veteran community

• Ageing Well Award — for combating ageism and promoting ageing

well initiatives

• Council on the Ageing Victorian Senior Achiever Award — for significant contribution to local communities and Victoria.

Mr Bull said the award ceremony will be held in October, which will coincide with the annual Victorian Seniors Festival.

“All nominees will receive certificates acknowledging their contributions.

“Nominations can be submitted digitally through a new online platform until 11 August, and nominees must be aged 60 years or over, and 50 years or over for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Victorians,” Mr Bull said.

To make a nomination, visit Seniors Online and complete a nomination form at seniorsonline.vic.gov.au/ awards

SEAL OF APPROVAL

Early morning swim turns into lucky encounter

EAST Gippsland resident

Analee Gale started a recent weekend off memorably, after coming face to face with a seal.

“On Friday morning, I went down to Shaving Point in Metung for quick dip in the lake. I originally left my glasses in the car but then decided since it was dark I should wear them so I could see things

more clearly! I dived in, and after I got out I heard the water still moving behind me. When I turned around, there was a seal bobbing exactly where I’d dived in — about a metre away. I squatted down and we just stared at each other. I said ‘hi’ and ‘thanks for visiting’, and he looked right at me, then looked around and swam off.”

This is one of many seal sightings at Shaving Point, with the local cold water swimming group often enjoying their company.

“I didn’t have my dog with me this time, but her and a seal down there, have had numerous swims together over the years. She looks like a seal when she’s wet so we actually joke they’re boyfriend

and girlfriend!”

“And then my day got even better, because during a lunchtime walk on that same Friday, I got to see a pod of dolphins swimming off the same point.”

“From echidnas, to wombats, dolphins to seals — Metung has it all!!” Analee says. “Why would you want to live anywhere else?”

Delivering the healthcare all Victorians deserve

HE Allan Labor

TGovernment is focused on patients, not politics — injecting more money into our health system than ever before.

The recent media reporting about health funding — pushed along by the Shadow Health Minister Georgie Crozier — is categorically false.

Ms Crozier’s conflation between hospital funding and our health services plan is also misleading — these are not related and there is no secret plan.

In the 2024/25 financial year alone, more than 25 per cent of the state’s entire budget will be invested

into our health services, with a total of $20 billion in operational funding to be delivered to our hospitals.

The Victorian Budget 2024/25 is delivering a new multi-year investment, with an extra $8.8 billion to ensure health services can continue delivering world-class care.

This will mean in the next financial year alone our health services will share in an additional investment of $1.5 billion for 2023/24 and more than $1.8 billion in 2024/25.

In true Liberal National fashion, the ongoing spread of misinformation and lies about hospital funding has some communities

concerned — but these lies could not be further from the truth.

There is a sector-wide increase in funding budgetto-budget from last financial year, including a significant lift in the price paid to deliver care.

This approach is in response to requests from hospitals for increased funding and budget certainty to better meet changing healthcare needs, as well as funding that reflects their activity levels.

health services were paid for activity that was not being delivered.

This new funding will ensure services can plan further in advance using available resources to achieve the best outcomes for all Victorians.

All health services have been asked to work with the Department of Health to ensure government funding is focused on frontline care.

It is an important reset that aims to provide greater sustainability and transitions away from the previous model during COVID, where

Minister Thomas was in Adelaide this month joining state and territory ministers who called on the Federal Government to bring a renewed focus on increasing their contributions to our hospitals.

RLCC covers some ground

THE Riviera Lakes Car Club has been clocking up quite a few kilometres over the last few months commencing with a three-day tour to the Beechworth area. After leaving Bairnsdale they travelled via Mitta Mitta (lunch at the Mitta Pub) to Beechworth and then back over Mt Hotham. The tour included visits to Macs Motor Museum, the Whisky and Chocolate Factory and a number of Rutherglen Wineries.

Next was a run to Sale for textile artist Annemieka Mein retrospective at the Sale Gallery followed by lunch at the Greyhound Club.

The monthly Coffee Cruise visited Albert and Co in Lakes where members were treated to fluffy Scones, delicious Jam and Cream and great coffee.

The Cabbage Tree Creek Café hosted our May lunch run. It was a

superb sunny and warm day with all the vehicles (and their drivers) revelling in the driving conditions. Old engines love extended highspeed running and this day was no exception. Various goodies cooked on the premises made for a lovely and interesting lunch thanks to owners Anna and Kim.

The June meeting was transferred from the Johnsonville Hall to the Swan Reach Hotel where members enjoyed our annual free Pizza Night. Thirty-five members braved the cold and there was plenty to eat and drink followed by a brief meeting.

The RLCC currently has in excess of 100 members owning heritage, classic (over 25 years old) and modern classics. An extensive calendar of events caters for a wide range of interests of members. New members are most welcome at the Club which meets on the first Tuesday of the month at the Johnsonville Hall, Nicholson, or go to rlcc.info for contact details.

Riviera Lakes Car Club

RLCC Breakfast on the Balcony of the Beechworth Bakery.

A few of the RLCC Classics at Lakes ready for the run to Cabbage Tree Creek.

RLCC stayed at the Grand Oaks Resort in Beechworth and enjoyed drinks at their excellent Cocktail Bar before sitting down to a superb meal in the Resorts’ restaurant.

Breakfast at the quaint Memories and Moments Café in Beechworth.

Members sitting down to a selection of goodies from the kitchen.

Classics Lined up at Howitt Park for the Coffee Cruise to Albert and Co Lakes entrance and below parked up at Lakes.

Members inspecting vehicles at Max’s Motor Museum, Corowa.

WITH only a couple of weeks until the Victorian winter school holidays, the East Gippsland Winter Festival 2024 program (from 21 June to 21 July 2024) is overflowing with free family-friendly events, workshops and activities to beat the budget blues.

Beginning on the Winter Solstice, the festival program features over 100 different events that showcase the region as a year-round family-friendly destination.

Visitors of all ages are catered for with a variety of free and ticketed offerings including lantern making workshops (and parades to show them off), art and lighting installations, cooking and craft classes, after-dark neon bike rides, guided Koala spotting tours, outdoor cinemas, concerts in caves, ice carving, spectacular fire shows, kite flying and hot springs

Free Family Fun

East Gippsland Winter Festival 2024

bathing!! Families will find all of this and so much more at the East Gippsland Winter Festival during the school holidays.

Located an easy 3-hour drive from Melbourne, East Gippsland is the perfect destination for an affordable family getaway with an abundance of free activities and accommodation options to suit any budget.

Highlights of this year’s free, familyfriendly events include:

• 21 June — 13 July: Lantern

Making Workshops — don’t miss the dozen free workshops happening across East Gippsland to craft your own lantern to parade in one or all of the region-wide lantern parades. And then it’s yours to take home!

• 22 June: Medieval Winter Fire Festival, Bruthen — be transported back in time at the Medieval Winter Fire Festival, featuring thrilling sword fights, bonfires, lively music, medieval costumes, and fireside feasting. Fun for all ages and ragers!

• 2 - 3 July: Wire and Light Sculptures — unleash their creativity with a hands-on sculpture workshop by diving into the imaginative world of wire + light at EGAG.

• 2 July + 9 July: Junior Rangers Camp Fire & Damper Workshops — Learn to build a safe campfire and make damper in this hands-on Junior Ranger workshop.

• 9 July: Glo Ride Bairnsdale — Deck out your bike with neon

glowsticks, fairy lights, multicoloured striplights, flashing LEDs, fluro-paint and join the Glo Ride party!

• 6 July: Metung Fire & Ice — a festival favourite, don’t miss the magic of live ice carving, fire breathing, food stalls and live music in the picturesque Metung village.

• 7 July: Winter Warming Scouts Fun — Join the Bairnsdale Scouts + Girl Guides for a fun filled day of activities including, old-time games (tug-of-war, egg-and-spoon and sack races), camp-fire singalongs, face painting, scavenger hunts and more.

• 13 July: Paynesville Water & Lights Festival — rug up for a

magical night by the water with a lakeside lantern parade, lighting installations off the jetties and a family-friendly outdoor cinema night with food truck fare for all!

• 14 July: Winter Skate at Cann River — Celebrate youthful spirit at the Cann River Community Centre and its new skatepark with free activities, skating, food stalls, and live performances by Regional Arts Victoria’s Bad Kids Project and local artists.

• 28 June - 19 July: Buchan Presents Christmas in July — Buchan presents a three-week long program of events and festival fun in the Buchan Valley. Expect magical light displays, concerts in caves, enchanting lantern parades, Christmas cringe and carolling, cold plunges, craft workshops and more!

New industry training to make energy efficient homes

THE Allan Labor Government is bolstering training for the construction industry to design and build energy efficient 7-star rated and all-electric homes across the state ensuring Victoria’s workforce has the right skills to build the homes of the future.

Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D’Ambrosio today launched the Renewable Homes Construction program which will provide free training on how to build, design or retrofit homes to make them more energy efficient.

The program will also train builders on the new National Construction Code 2022 (NCC) which came into effect on 1 May 2024 and has improved living standards — making homes more comfortable, accessible, and cheaper to heat and cool and helping Victorians save more than $4,200 on their energy bills.

"We’re training our builders, electricians and plumbers so they can build more energy efficient homes — helping Victorians slash

their emissions and cut their power bills,” Ms D’Ambrosio said.

The Home Efficiency Construction Roadshows are being delivered by Solar Victoria in partnership with Master Builders Victoria and the Housing Industry Association at sites across Melbourne and regional Victoria, including Bendigo, Ballarat, Geelong, Shepparton, Echuca, Mildura, Albury, Bright, Mansfield and across Gippsland.

The roadshows begin this week and cover topics including passive house principles and solar design, how to avoid condensation and address air tightness, energy efficient appliances and building techniques and materials required to deliver better energy efficiency.

Another initiative, Net Zero Homes Skills Training is available now through online training modules that cover the principles of residential energy efficiency, thermal performance, and net zero energy design and construction.

The final initiative, Efficient Home Design

and Construction Training will address the key issues faced in the design and construction of energy efficient homes and will be deliver later this year through short training modules.

Demand for rooftop solar and heat pump hot water systems is increasing in Victoria — to help meet this demand now and into the future it’s important more plumbers and electricians can get qualified to undertake this work.

That’s why the Labor Government is also helping electricians and fourth year apprentices become accredited designers and installers of solar PV and battery storage systems through the Upskilling for Electricians program. This will provide free training for 400 electricians — saving them approximately $2,000-$4,500 on course fees. Another round of free training for plumbers and fourth-year plumbing apprentices to design and install energy efficient heat pumps and solar hot water systems will also be available later this year.

Designs unveiled for Sale’s new early years centre

WTax cuts for

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ELLINGTON Shire Council has unveiled initial design drawings for the new Sale Integrated Centre for Children and Families, to be built at Gibsons Road in Sale. The significant milestone marks the project’s completion of stage one, which includes both conceptual and schematic designs for the centre, set to open its doors to the community in 2026.

Located next to the Gippsland Regional Sports Complex in Sale, the undeveloped site is set to be the first of its kind in the Shire.

Spanning 4200m2, the centre will boast a unique butterfly roof, which will provide both internal and external undercover spaces, alongside extensive outdoor areas. The design will incorporate a natural colour palette, taking inspiration from the ocean, bush, and forest to enhance the facade.

Central to the design is the focus on improved accessibility and bringing together a range of key services, including education, healthcare and support services for children and their families, all conveniently located under the one roof.

Once completed, the centre will offer a combined 122 places for long day care (0-3 years) and kindergarten (3-5 years). It will house four consulting suites for maternal and child health, family, and allied health services. Community spaces will include multi-purpose rooms, a community lounge and kitchen, a welcome space, and meeting rooms.

Wellington Shire Council Mayor Ian Bye commended the proactive steps taken by Council in the development of the Greenfields project.

“We are thrilled to share the

first concept designs of this very important project with our community. After the 2022 Sale Feasibility Study showed a growing need for more early years facilities in the Shire, we remain committed to addressing this need and the result of this centre couldn’t have been better.

“The Sale Integrated Centre for Children and Families will not only be a place of learning but also a community hub where families in Wellington can come together. It represents a significant step forward in early childhood education and also offers families the ability to create closer connections with maternal and child health services, childcare providers, and educators” Cr Bye said.

With the schematic designs now finalised, detailed designs

will soon be completed to make the project ready for state government funding applications.

A tender for the construction of the centre is scheduled for September 2024, with the announcement of the successful tenderer expected in late 2024.

The commencement of construction in 2025 relies on significant state government funding to move the project from design to construction.

Additionally, Council will engage in a transparent process to determine a suitable management model for the facility over the next few months.

The total project is expected to cost over $12 million, with funding contributed by Council and government grants.

Sale Integrated Centre for Children and Families - Birdseye view.

Sale Integrated Centre for Children and Families - Exterior View.

Sale Integrated Centre for Children and Families - North East View.

Book your free hearing check today

HEARING loss is more common than you think. In fact, almost one in three Australians1 over the age of 60 are currently experiencing hearing loss. According to the Hearing Care Industry Association (HCIA), identifying hearing loss early is key to preventing the long-term impacts to your health and wellbeing2. Having your hearing tested every year is an important step in ensuring early intervention and the most positive outcome.

This year, Amplifon are running a Hearing Health Prevention Program. It's aimed to support everyone, including those that have never experienced challenges with their hearing. Simply book a free hearing check at

your local Amplifon clinic to get started, it only takes 20 minutes!

Experience Amplifon's exclusive comprehensive diagnostic process, it allows their team to truly personalise your hearing experience based on your needs and lifestyle. If you would benefit from hearing aids, you may even be eligible for fully funded hearing aids under the Australian Government Hearing Services Program (HSP).

Your local Amplifon team in Sale and throughout Gippsland are extremely passionate about providing the best in personalised care, leading with compassion and improving the lives of their clients.

Take the first step, call

1800 139 518 to book a free hearing check with your local Amplifon team today.

Terms and conditions:

Always read the label and follow the directions for use. Conditions apply under the Australian Government Hearing Services Program. Free hearing test is available for persons 18 years and over. See amplifon.com/au/termsand-conditions/ for full T&Cs.

Sources:

(1) www.hcia.com.au/wpcontent/uploads/2024/01/ Hearing_for_Life.pdf

(2) https://hcia.com.au/wpcontent/uploads/2024/01/ Social-and-Economic-Cost-ofHearing-Health-in-Australia_ June-2017.pdf

Amplifon, Sale Shop 8b Gippsland Centre, 37-39 Cunninghame St, Sale VIC 3850 Ph: 03 9011 7677

Your home to over 45 convenient stores along with major

advice

- ask Emma

Overthinking: What it means and how to combat it

Q: Dear Emma, I have not been sleeping well lately. At night, when I finally lay my head down all my thoughts come rushing in and I lose hours to analysing, trying to find other perspectives, problem-solving, planning what I could have done differently or could say next time, the list goes on. I guess I am overthinking! How do I make it stop?

A: The saying "if you are overthinking, you are under feeling" captures a common struggle many of us face, and what I would suggest is happening for you. But what does that really mean? Let’s starting with exploring overthinking. Overthinking involves repeatedly dwelling on the same thoughts, often leading to analysis paralysis. Whether it's rehashing past events or worrying about the future, overthinking can trap us in a mental loop. For instance, as you have indicated, you might replay a conversation in your head, scrutinising every word you said, or you might worry excessively about an upcoming event, imagining every possible outcome. These signs often indicate that our minds are in overdrive, overshadowing our emotional responses. You might find it hard to relax or notice that you are frequently irritable or restless.

Psychologists often link overthinking to anxiety and depression, where the mind becomes preoccupied with thoughts that hinder emotional well-being. Overthinking can create a false sense of control, where we believe that thinking more will lead to better outcomes. However, this often leads to increased stress and emotional exhaustion.

So then, what is the connection between thinking and feeling?

Cognition (thinking) and emotions (feelings) are interconnected, but an imbalance can occur when one dominates the other. Overthinking can drown out

emotional signals, leading to a disconnection from our feelings. When we overthink, we are essentially trying to intellectualize our emotions instead of experiencing them.

When overthinking takes over, we may become emotionally numb, unable to fully experience joy, sadness, or other emotions. This detachment can impact our relationships and overall mental health. Emotional numbness can lead to a lack of fulfilment and a sense of being disconnected from life. Suppressed emotions can manifest as physical symptoms like headaches, muscle tension, and digestive issues. Which means we must find the balance between thinking and feeling. One way to do so is by practicing mindfulness can help us become more aware of our emotions, allowing us to address them without getting lost in thought. Techniques like meditation and deep breathing can be beneficial. Mindfulness involves paying attention to the present moment without judgment, which can help you observe your thoughts and feelings without becoming overwhelmed by them.

Feeling our feelings can also cause discomfort, leading us to subconsciously avoid our emotions. As Jon Kabat-Zinn, a mindfulness expert, says, 'You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf”. So, here’s a simple, memorable method to help navigate and process emotions effectively: the RAIN method. This mindfulness technique provides a structured approach to dealing with difficult feelings without avoidance or overwhelm. The RAIN method stands for Recognise, Allow, Investigate, and Nurture. Here's how you can use it:

1. Recognise:

- What It Means: Acknowledge the emotion you're experiencing.

- How to Do It: Pause for a moment and identify what you're feeling. Name the emotion — whether it's anger, sadness, anxiety, or something else. Simply recognising and naming your emotion can diminish its intensity.

- Example: "I feel anxious

right now."

2. Allow:

- What It Means: Permit the emotion to be present without trying to fix or avoid it.

- How to Do It: Instead of resisting or suppressing your feelings, give yourself permission to experience them. This step is about accepting your emotional state as it is.

- Example: "It's okay to feel anxious. This is a natural response."

3. Investigate:

- What It Means: Explore your emotion with curiosity and openness.

- How to Do It: Ask yourself questions to understand your emotion better. What triggered this feeling? Where do you feel it in your body? What thoughts are associated with it?

- Example: "Why am I feeling anxious? Is it related to something that happened today?"

4. Nurture:

- What It Means: Offer yourself compassion and comfort.

- How to Do It: Be kind to yourself. Provide reassurance and care as you would to a friend. This step helps you connect with your inner sense of kindness and support.

- Example: "It's understandable to feel this way. I'll take a few deep breaths and give myself some time to relax."

The RAIN method provides a simple, structured approach to processing emotions without getting lost in them. By Recognising, Allowing, Investigating, and Nurturing our feelings, we can navigate emotional challenges with greater ease and compassion. Next time you find yourself caught in a storm of overthinking, remember RAIN — it might just help you find your way back to a place of calm and clarity.

I hope that helps. All the best, Emma.

‘Ask Emma’ is for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your GP, mental-health professional, or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have. By submitting a question, you are agreeing to let The Great Eastern Mail use it and we may edit it for length and/or clarity. You can find Emma on Instagram @emmawoodcockcounsellor and Facebook at https://www.facebook. com/emmawoodcockcounselling

Chester pays a visit to Rosedale Primary School

ROSEDALE Primary School may be harbouring a few budding politicians.

Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester visited Rosedale Primary School this week to discuss Australia's political system

with students in Years 5 and 6.

"It's always a pleasure to engage with our future leaders and share insights into life in Federal Parliament, leadership, and my role in Gippsland," Mr Chester said.

"The students were keen

to learn more about how to invoke change and asked some insightful questions about key local issues. They even sent me off with some homework to do, presenting me with a large envelope of letters to read about building a pump track in Rosedale."

Support sought to prevent loss of regional health voices

THE Nationals Member for Gippsland South, Danny O’Brien is seeking the support of Gippslanders through a petition calling on the Allan Labor Government to keep its hands off regional hospitals and drop plans for megamergers.

The online petition has been launched in response to confirmation from Minster for Health, MaryAnne Thomas that at least 20 health services across Victoria will have their funding slashed — reportedly by up to 30 per cent — leaving many of the impacted services with no choice but to cut front line services.

The confirmation of the funding cuts follows plans in a secret Health Service Plan that

involves mergers of health services across the state.

“I am aware that some of our hospitals in Gippsland are subject to these significant cuts and management are currently desperately trying to work out how they’ll make savings.

“It will either mean job cuts or services reductions, if not both.

“Likewise, there is no question in my mind that the forced merger of our regional health services will only result in a reduction of service and more travel for Gippslanders seeking medical care,” Mr O’Brien said.

“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 a detrimental impact is insulting.”

Mr O’Brien said Labor’s priorities are all wrong and regional Victorians are paying the price.

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

“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 online at www.handsoffourhospitals. com.au

Emma Woodcock Counsellor

Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester with Rosedale Primary School captains Cohen and Mahli.

Missed the hot water rebates?

EVEN if your old electric hot water is outside, in the roof or gas outside you are still eligible.

Some of the hot water systems provided within the rebate systems are not suited for our cold local conditions and do not have sufficient storage or recovery for the homes and family’s they are installed in (don’t have the grunt).

Aquatech and Sanden Systems supplied by

Thermal Xchange / KJ Multi Maintenance, will be designed to suit your family’s needs.

These systems will supply hot water in a situation when the temperature is down to -5˚C (Aquatech) and -10˚C (Sanden) without the need for any additional electric element.

(Some of the “free” heat pump hot water systems, require an element for heating water below +2˚C and performing the defrost or just don’t have enough grunt in our

cold conditions).

Thermal Xchange will design a hot water system to suit your needs and provide Government Rebates to approved customers, up to $2,500 (this can nearly cover the purchase cost of a system). You may be lucky you haven’t yet taken up the Government offer.

Contact Ken or Ashley at Thermal Xchange to discuss the hot water grunt further. Free Call 1800 91 30 50.

food & wine

HOW TO TASTE:

Appearance, aroma and mouthfeel: all you need to know to give wine tasting a go

SO you like drinking wine, but don’t actually know much about it? You want to feel more confident when talking about wine? You would like to know how to choose a “good” wine? You are not alone — but I am here to help.

Many of us enjoy drinking wine but do not really understand or appreciate the complexity of this amazing beverage. And many feel nervous about discussing wines, thinking they may say the wrong thing.

Fear not — there is no right or wrong when appreciating wine, however the more you know and understand, the more you will really treasure and enjoy the experience of wine tasting.

Here are my top tips for giving wine tasting a go. Appearance, aroma and mouthfeel

When appreciating wine, all of the senses are employed. Formal wine judges and critics will appraise the appearance, aroma and taste (or “mouthfeel”) of a wine, and anyone who has heard the pop of a cork from a bottle of sparkling has appreciated the sound.

A white wine

Check to see if the wine is clear and free of solids. A wine should be clear: free of any haziness or solids (“natural” wines may have some haziness due to yeast residue).

The colour of a wine is also important. A young white wine should be a very pale yellow or “straw” colour, and a young red may have purple notes. Brown tinges of a young wine indicate that the wine may be spoilt — possibly premature ageing due to poor storage.

There are hundreds of aroma compounds which all contribute to the smell of a wine. The term “aroma” refers to the smells originating from the grape, and “bouquet” from the smells resulting from the wine making process.

A good wine should not be simple — it should have an interesting array of aromas. A wine should not have any undesirable or off odours, as this can also indicate spoilage. The smell of a wine should make you want to have a taste of it!

A wine barrel

Wines can take on oaky tastes and smells from the barrelling process. While you are tasting, you can observe how wines range in style from dry (lacking any sugar) to very sweet, still to sparking, and may have varying concentrations of alcohol (ethanol). Pay attention to how acidic the wine is, and notice if the wine has an astringency or bitterness — these are the tannins found particularly in red wines.

Notice the different flavours derived from both the grape and the winemaking process.

All of these components contribute to the mouthfeel of a wine and should be in “balance”: no one component should over-dominate the others.

There are a number of factors which will improve your wine tasting experience, and three main steps taken when wine tasting. Make sure you have clean wine glasses which can hold a reasonable volume of wine — at least 100ml with room to swirl! Wine should not be cold or too hot — room temperature is best.

STEP 1

Is the wine clear and free from any deposits or solids? Does it have any bronzing? Does it have bubbles when it is not a sparkling style?

STEP 2

Swirl the glass to coat the insides with wine. This helps to release the aroma compounds. Put your nose right into the glass and take a deep sniff. Does it smell good? Free from any off odours? Can you smell fruity and floral aromas that come from the grape? Are there any oak or yeasty aromas from the winemaking process?

STEP 3

Take a big sip and move it about your mouth. Can you taste grape flavours, acid, warmth, some viscosity or oiliness? You can even suck some air in through your teeth which helps to release aroma compounds in your mouth, which can then travel through your nose to help you taste and smell the wine even better.

Is the wine complex? Does the taste last for a long time in your mouth, or does the wine taste quickly disappear?

There are also tools such as aroma wheels and tasting guides which may be beneficial to have on hand when tasting wines — these provide suggestions of wine descriptors. It may also be useful to write down your thoughts in a journal.

The best way to really appreciate and enjoy wine is to talk about it. Enjoy wine with others such as a group of friends or a local wine enthusiast group. Taste wines side by side so you can compare the differences.

There is a wealth of information on wine appreciation available — wine critics give reviews of wines in print and online, and most larger wine retailers will also provide wine reviews. Or get out to wineries and talk to the cellar door staff or winemakers about their wines. It is very useful to talk to other people as this helps you to build up your “wine vocabulary”.

Consider the appearance, aroma and taste and then the overall impression of the wine. Your opinion is your opinion — nobody is right and nobody is wrong. If you want to go back for another taste, or another glass, then you have found the wine for you.

First published at:

STUFFED ROAST PORK

SERVES: 6-8

INGREDIENTS

• 1 x 2kg boned and rolled pork shoulder

• salt & freshly ground black pepper

• 1/2 cup (125ml) dry white wine

MARINADE

• 1/2 cup (125ml) olive oil

• 1 clove garlic, crushed

• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

• juice and grated zest of 1/2 orange

• 1 teaspoon toasted cumin seeds, crushed

STUFFING

• 2 tablespoons butte

• 1 small leek, thinly sliced

• 1/2 cup chopped pistachio nuts

• 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs

• 1 large green apple, peeled, cored and chopped

• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

• 2 tablespoons (40ml) freshly squeezed lemon

• salt & freshly ground black pepper

METHOD

To make the marinade, combine

all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Rub marinade over pork and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 220˚C. Lightly grease a baking dish.

To make the stuffing, heat the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add leek and nuts and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, until the onion is softened and the nuts are lightly browned. Add breadcrumbs, apple and parsley and cook, stirring continuously for 5 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, then remove pan from heat.

Place marinated pork in the

prepared baking dish. Untie the pork and unroll, spread stuffing evenly over the meat, then reroll and tie securely with kitchen string. Brush the pork with any leftover marinade.

Roast the pork for about 30 minutes, or until the skin starts to brown. Reduce the oven temperature to 180˚C and roast for a further 1 1/2 hours, or until cooked through. Transfer pork to a serving dish and keep warm. Add wine to the roasting pan and stir over medium heat for about 3 minutes.

Reduce heat and simmer gravy until slightly reduced. Serve pork with the gravy.

SERVES: 8-10

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups diced sweet pumpkin

• 1/2 cup short grain rice

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 large red onion

• salt

• 2 tablespoons soft brown sugar

• 1 cup sultanas

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

• freshly ground black pepper

• 250g soft goat’s cheese or ricotta cheese

• 1 x 375g packet filo pastry

• 250g butter melted

• icing sugar, for garnish

METHOD

Boil the pumpkin for about 5 minutes, until just tender. Drain. Boil the rice for 10-12 minutes. Drain. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Saute the onion and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat. Add pumpkin and cook gently for another 5 minutes. Add cooked rice,

SWEET PUMPKIN PIE RICE

sugar, sultanas, cinnamon and cloves. Season with salt and pepper, mix well then remove from heat. Place mixture in a bowl and let cool. Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours. Remove from fridge and add goat’s cheeese (or ricotta).

Pre-heat oven to 180˚C. Grease a 35cm (14 inch) round baking dish with melted butter or oil.

Place a sheet of filo pastry on a clean surface. Brush with melted butter then place another sheet of filo pastry on top. Put a line of

SERVES: 4

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup short grain rice

• pinch of salt

• 3 1/2 cups milk, plus extra

• 1/2 cup caster sugar

• 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped

• 5cm strip orange zest

• 2 egg yolks

• 2 tablespoons cornflour

• ground cinnamon, for dusting

METHOD

Place rice in a saucepan over

filling along the edge of the pastry closest to you, about 1.5cm in from the edge. Roll up the filling into a cylinder shape tucking the ends in and brushing the pastry with melted butter as you go.

Coil the pastry roll into a spiral in the centre of the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining mixture and pastry sheets, adding the pastry to the outside of existing spiral to make one big spiral. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve warm or cold.

medium heat with 2 cups water and the salt. Bring to the boil, stir, then lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes until liquid is absorbed. Add milk, sugar, vanilla seeds and orange zest, then stir continuously over low-medium heat for 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Blend egg yolks with the cornflour and a little cold milk until well mixed. Mix about 1/2 cup of the rice into the egg and cornflour mixture, then return to the saucepan with the rice.

Stir rice mixture gently over low heat, just long enough for mixture to thicken.

Remove orange zest. Spoon rice pudding into serving bowls and sprinkle with cinnamon. Serve hot or cold.

Things to do in Paynesville

You

don’t have to visit Europe to find village charm located on a system of canals. Paynesville, located in the heart of the Gippsland Lakes district, has you covered

THIS water-loving town is surrounded by azureblue waterways and is the perfect base for exploring the famed Gippsland Lakes. We’re talking adventures to an island covered in koalas, paddleboarding, cruises and places only accessible by boat. Here we’ve rounded up our favourite activities in and around Paynesville, so you don’t have to do the research for your next weekend away.

RAYMOND ISLAND

Did we mention an island populated with koalas?

Wedged between Lake King and Lake Victoria, this place is a haven for wildlife and a fabulous destination for nature-swooning. Catch the free ferry across from Paynesville and spend the day in search of koalas that are living their best lives — chomping on eucalyptus and soaking up the sunshine. You may also spot some kangaroos and elusive echidnas.

We recommend hiring a bike from Ride the Koalas, which you can find on the island just behind Ferry Park. Get on your bike and hit the 1.2km Koala Walk trail, but don’t forget to stop and look up as you go — we’re not exaggerating when we say koalas are everywhere on Raymond Island.

H20 TOURS

Embark on a scenic cruise with H2O Tours and explore the expansive Gippsland Lakes system, renowned for its natural beauty and abundant wildlife. Expect to meet some dolphins and pelicans on your cruise, and depending on when you cast off, perhaps be wowed by a spectacular sunset.

WATERFRONT DINING

Indulge in fresh local seafood and waterfront dining experiences at Paynesville's charming cafés and restaurants, offering stunning views of the lake and marina.

Sardine Dining overlooks Raymond Island, with an everchanging menu of seasonal sea produce by awardwinning chef Mark Briggs. Complemented by an eclectic beverage list of local and international wines and beers, this destination restaurant has been awarded a hat in The Age Good Food Guide every year since 2019.

Otherwise, if you’re after a hearty, freshly baked quiche or a tasty steak sanga, head to Ginny’s Place. This Paynesville institution is perfect for a hot breakfast or delicious lunch.

KAYAKING & PADDLEBOARDING

Why not indulge your Venetian fantasies and explore

the canals by kayak or standup paddleboard? You can hire kayaks from Gippsland Holidays in Paynesville, or Venture Out in Lakes Entrance provide overnight hire of stand-up paddleboards (SUPs) and kayaks, and can also run tours for groups out of Paynesville.

PAYNESVILLE FARMERS & MAKERS MARKET

Every fourth Saturday, local farmers and crafters come together to sell their handpicked produce and homemade goods. Stock up on sweet jams made from Gippsland berries, bread so fresh it's practically steaming, jewellery, chutneys and handsewn, colourful clothes. This charming country town market is the perfect place to pick up a unique souvenir.

FISHING & CRABBING

Cast a line or try your hand at crabbing along Paynesville's jetties and foreshore, known for their abundance of fish species and delicious blue swimmer crabs. Fish for bream at Newlands Arm, or go to Wollaston Bay for pipis and mussels, and Sunset Flats for tailor. You can make your own Michelin-worthy platter with the delectable variety of fresh seafood around Paynesville. PAYNESVILLE SUNSET COVE WALK

If you’re in the mood for a leisurely stroll, this out-andback walk is perfect for you. This simple 3km route winds its way around the edge of Newlands Arm of the lakes, starting from Progress Jetty. Your walking efforts will be rewarded with stunning scenery from the Paynesville foreshore and if you’re lucky enough, you’ll see some local dolphins.

FISH & CHIPS

Fish and chips are a classic for a reason, and you can’t get much better than what’s on offer in Paynesville. It doesn’t matter which chippie you go to, you can rest assured that your beer-battered flake or salt and pepper calamari is made from fresh, locally caught seafood. Grab a family-sized serve and take the kids down to Sunset Cove, where they

can play on the playground in between chips.

SILT WATER JETTIES

Check out the world’s second largest silt jetties, where the Mitchell River’s flowing waters have created 8km land tracks into Lake King over eons. Silt jetties are a type of delta, where long, thin landforms stretch out into bodies of water. We recommend visiting the jetties on a clear day, ideally around sunset, when you will get a spectacular, fiery view. Just don’t forget your camera.

EXPLORE PLACES ONLY ACCESSIBLE BY BOAT

Live your best riviera life by visiting one of these special, off-the-beaten-track places, only accessible by boat. Nestled on a strip of land between Ninety Mile Beach and the Gippsland Lakes, the Ocean Grange Homestead is an off-grid getaway with a history stretching back over 130 years. A sparkling jewel in the Gippsland Lakes crown, the Ocean Grange team can truly offer a unique accommodation experience. Just east of Ocean Grange is Steamer Landing, where you can dock your boat on the jetty and head into the surrounding bush for some birdwatching. Bring your binoculars and look out for rare shorebirds including the Little Tern and Hooded Plover. In nearby Bunga Arm, the twitching continues, but you may also want to bring your fishing gear — there are plenty of bream and skipjack to catch. Miles from the closest café, we recommend bringing a basket of goodies and spreading a picnic blanket at First Blowhole.

Tucked into a corner of the Gippsland Lakes, Rotamah Island is a nature lover’s dream. Boasting over 190 identified bird species, this tiny slice of land is also home to plenty of koalas, wallabies, echidnas and kangaroos. Bring your walking shoes and hit the trail, but keep your eyes peeled for our furry friends. Take the boat a little further down the coast and you’ll hit the famous Ninety Mile Beach, one of the longest beaches in the world. This pristine stretch of sand is perfect for sightseeing and long, romantic walks, boasting one of the best views of the uninterrupted horizon at sunrise.

Chester welcomes ASH contribution to Gippsland

FEDERAL Member for Gippsland Darren Chester says he is committed to continuing to expose the hypocrisy of bans on the native hardwood timber industry after visiting Australian Sustainable Hardwoods (ASH) in Heyfield.

Mr Chester said ASH was 'continuing to make an outstanding contribution to the social and economic life of Gippsland' despite the illogical decision by the Labor Government to ban the harvesting of native hardwood timber.

"All credit goes to the team at ASH who have worked hard to secure timber supplies from other sources and continued to invest in new technology that allows the business to successfully compete with imported products," Mr Chester said.

"I spoke in Federal Parliament again last week about the madness of shutting down the timber industry when it's so important for our region and the nation.

"It is hypocritical of citybased Labor, Greens and Teal MPs to be calling for a nationwide ban on native

timber harvesting when the alternative is taking timber for countries with poorer environmental protocols.

"I am at a loss to understand how it is a positive environmental outcome to transport hardwood timber long distances just because the Victorian Government has made a decision based on political science, and not environmental science."

Mr Chester said ASH was a world-class business that had been forced to adapt to the changes in state legislation, and he would support efforts to secure Federal Government funding for further improvements to facilities.

"ASH has already adapted and modernised its work-site to employ people with mobility issues, including wheelchairs, and a higher proportion of female staff, which is a credit to the business, which continues to employ more than 200 locals," he said.

"The company has invested in modern technology to develop products which are now being used on major construction projects throughout Australia, including in several capital cities.

Public Notice

"For example, ASH produces MASSLAM, which is a glue-laminated massengineered timber solution that is helping to decarbonise the construction sector and contribute to our national goal of achieving net zero by 2050.

"The Victorian native hardwood timber industry has changed dramatically over the past 30 years. It's now a sophisticated, world-class and environmentally sustainable industry that supports Australian jobs, protects our communities and wildlife from bushfires, and reduces our carbon footprint. It should never have been attacked by the Labor Party, but now we have to play with the cards we've been dealt.

"That means continuing to extract every bit of value out of the wood supplies that are available and investing in the equipment to make it possible for a sustainable business to prosper in the future.

"If the Federal Government is serious about its 'Made in Australia' policy, it would partner with companies like ASH, which are already manufacturing products that are in high demand."

Public Notice of Praecipe, Tacit Acceptance and Reconveyance

Ben McMahon© of Bayswater, Victoria is not a voluntary transactor in commerce and is the irrefutable Holder in Due Course of my properties and all associated copyright protected Trade Names BEN MCMAHON, MCMAHON Ben, BEN McMahon, Ben McMahon, Ben, BEN, MCMAHON BEN, B.M., BM, silverfox11, thesilverfoxtrust, silverfoxshop, thequickbrownfox76, Silver Fox Skate & Sport, silverfox_shop, Online Industry, onlineindustry, The Silver Fox Trust, Silver Fox, Benny, Beno, Ben Mc Mahon, BEN MC MAHON, Ben MCMAHON, and all other variations however styled, punctuated, spelled, ordered, or otherwise represented as pertaining to me and my estate Since unrebutted lawful Reconveyance to the Land and Soil jurisdiction of Terra Australis also known as the Commonwealth of Australia, Public Recording Number RPP4463900051002908130603, Proclamation Date 27th February 2024 Thus severing usufruct subjugation ties with the occupying corporate government of Australia in its entirety. Immediately cease and desist any further infringement upon these copyright protected financial instruments and cease and desist misaddressing Ben McMahon© in fraudulent debased Dog-Latin, GLOSSA.

Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester with ASH Managing Director Vince Hurley at the ASH Retail Centre in Heyfield.

opinion Letter to the Editor

Re: Nuclear Power has changed (THE GEM, 24/5)

THERE is no nuclear power station in the world that is not subsidised by government either as direct subsidy or insurer of last resort (private industry won’t insure nuclear power).

Don’t worry what the pundits say, it will never happen (ask Fed. Member for Gippsland Darren Chester).

So, where to Australia, where there is no industry now or viable in the future, a need for government support and nowhere to put them (NIMBYism)?

Living in the latter days

The Lib/Nats are only offering a distraction from a real climate change policy.

Regards, Andrew J. Lakes Entrance

Success at Live4Life Wellington Launch Day

ON Wednesday 19 June, over 600 year eight students from secondary schools across Wellington gathered at the Gippsland Regional Sports Complex in Sale to celebrate the launch of Live4Life Wellington.

The event introduced the key elements of Live4Life’s groundbreaking, peer-led, evidence-based, community impact model, which spans both suicide prevention and mental health/wellbeing education. Live4Life is the only program of its kind designed specifically for rural and regional areas.

Last month, 38 local students were inducted into the Live4Life Wellington crew, marking their first step towards becoming community leaders and Mental Health Ambassadors. The students from Sale Secondary College, Yarram Secondary College, Maffra Secondary College, Sale and District Specialist School, Gippsland Grammar, and Catholic College Sale attended the crew induction day and yesterday, proudly introduced themselves to the schools’ audience, revealing the theme for 2024: 'Speak Kind, You May Just Change Someone's Mind'.

The launch event was attended by Wellington Shire Councillors, local community health service representatives and secondary school principals and featured inspiring guest speakers, live music, and engaging activities to promote mental health awareness.

Over the next 12 months, the Live4Life Wellington Crew will educate and support their peers to eliminate the stigma around mental health. A key activity to support this will be the delivery of free Mental Health First

Aid training for every year eight student in the Shire, which will be delivered by adults who live and work in Wellington.

Wellington Shire Council Mayor, Cr Ian Bye shared his appreciation to the Live4Life program for their commitment to establishing a successful mental health program across all secondary schools in the Shire. Also thanking the John Leslie Foundation for supporting the program to get off the ground locally.

“Youth mental health is a cause very important to Council and our communities, and following the official launch, I can’t wait to see this program go from strength to strength locally”.

Cr Bye also shared "it was wonderful to experience the enthusiasm of local students. Their energy and ideas continue to be really impressive, and I am looking forward to seeing what the next year holds for this year’s cohort”.

Cr Bye reiterates the importance of programs like Live4Life, where young people can support each other with their mental health journeys.

“We want to encourage open discussions about mental health. This program has a significant impact, as it not only educates but also empowers our youth to take an active role in their mental wellbeing and that of their friends. Today marks an important step in our ongoing efforts to create a supportive and understanding community for everyone, especially our young people." Cr Bye said.

Wellington joins 10 other Victorian communities implementing the Live4Life model, where it has proven its effectiveness in growing mental health awareness and a help-seeking culture.

Viv Forbes The Salt Bush Club

AUSTRALIANS are living in the latter days of the Anglo/American Empire.

For centuries now, world power centres have been moving west — from Mongolia, to Europe, to Britain, to North America, and now Asia beckons.

The Anglo/American Empire today resembles the decadent dying days of Rome. Europe is becoming a green energy wasteland, the British Empire died with Churchill, and America has dodderers and adolescents in charge. Australia plans to defend the outback with batterypowered Bushmasters (good for battlefields with plenty of power points). The new defence minister has restored “rainbow morning teas” (banned by Peter Dutton). And an Australian iron oligarch and green hydrogen speculator, Andrew Forrest, aims to de-power Xi Jinping by inviting him to the Climate Summit.

Every chapter of history ends with a flood of barbarians.

Australia has not yet seen the campfires of an invading army — but our wealth and our powerful friends have bred a dangerous complacency in this fat lazy land.

Australians have always been sustained by hunter-gatherers, farmers and miners.

Our farmers and miners produced wool booms, gold rushes, silver booms, coal bonanzas, and a cornucopia of meat and butter, iron and steel, oil and gas, copper, lead, zinc, nickel, aluminium, lithium, cobalt, manganese and uranium. But now green dreamers think we can afford to destroy our processing and manufacturing industry with solar/wind dreams, shut the gate on mining and exploration, and turn farms, forests and grassland into industry-free world-heritage and first-nations wilderness.

The Comrade Societies have mastered one thing — conscripting all their resources to construct colossal war machines. And naive democracies are easily lulled into inaction by paper treaties such as the Munich Pact of 1938 signed by Hitler, Mussolini, Chamberlain and Daladier.

In November 1938, just after the signing of the Munich Pact, John Curtin (Leader of the Labor Party in the Australian Parliament, and later Prime Minister), made this statement: “... I say that any increase in defence expenditure appears to be an entirely unjustifiable and hysterical piece of panic propaganda.”

Source: Hansard p1095, Nov 2, 1938

Just ten months later, in September 1939, Germany attacked Poland. Then Japan attacked the US base at Pearl Harbour in 1941. By 1942, the British Navy had lost their prized battleships “Prince of Wales” and “Repulse”, Singapore had fallen, Darwin had been bombed and Japanese troops crested

the Owen Stanley Ranges and looked across the shallow sea to Australia. Surrender of Australia north of “The Brisbane Line” was discussed.

Then US General Douglas Macarthur came to Brisbane with men and weapons.

Of the billions of people who live in the Asia/Pacific region, less than one percent are Australian. Australia has enormous natural assets with identified but undeveloped resources of uranium, oil shale, green metals, coal, timber, sea foods and gas. Our only real title to this land is our willingness to use it and our ability to defend it.

Australia is surrounded by a marvellous moat – we need bayonets on the beaches, eagles in the sky, killer whales on the seas and lots of savage piranha underneath.

And we need an armed population. John Howard needs to be forever condemned for disarming honest people and then destroying all those confiscated guns. One day we will need them. (No gangsters or terrorists surrender their arms.)

In 1181, Henry 1 made it obligatory for EVERY ablebodied man to keep arms, and America won the war of independence with armed militia. In the early days of WW2 the British trained with shotguns and broomsticks and Churchill pleaded with America for arms. Yet Australia pretends we have decades of time for labour unions to build our own submarines and some politician felt secure enough to scrap and bury 23 old but airworthy F111 aircraft at Swanbank in Queensland.

Politicians love costly hightech stuff. But numbers play a key role in any battle. Thousands of armed drones controlled by scattered individuals may be more effective than one massively expensive high-tech fighter plane. Soon a sailor with a rocket in a rowboat may be able to threaten an aircraft carrier.

Effective defence needs community involvement and self-sufficiency

If today’s Australia was involved in an armed engagement, we would rapidly exhaust fuel and ammunition supplies. For these there are only two options - make it here, or store it here. It is too late to look for it even one day after a war starts.

Australian politicians have “solved” the looming fuel famine — they negotiated to buy crude

oil stocks. But we will need a very long fuel delivery hose because these stocks are in America, part of their strategic stockpile. And is anyone keeping an eye on what Biden is doing with that oil?

Australia at war would soon face a manpower crisis. We cannot find people to harvest our food, so the flat-white brigade is unlikely to line up for military service. Hopefully we can rely on bikie gangs to step up? They can probably bring their own guns.

The cadet movement has been a valuable prep-school for recruitment and training for the armed services since 1903. But it has been gutted. Gough Whitlam disbanded the cadet corps in 1975 and since then it has been a political plaything. Judging from its web site, it is now a toughened-up girl guides unit.

Officialdom has also been largely hostile to rifle clubs which teach small arms skills, the Army Reserve is just a plaything, and today’s youth are told it is wrong to fight, no matter how provoked. Timid Tim was taught “It is wrong to fight,”

But Roaring Bill who killed him, Thought it was all right.

Undoubtedly there is a place for women in our armed forces, but NOT in mixed-sex units where some men are likely to be either over-protective or over-amorous to the female members. An Aussie Amazon Battalion armed with machine pistols and lasers could be a formidable force, but no bisexual platoons thanks. Russia and China recently signed a defence alliance. Will we take notice when they are joined by Iran and North Korea, or even Turkey, Afghanistan, Argentina, Syria or Pakistan?

Australia is a ripe melon defended by a small population, many of whom are chatting on social media, basking at the beach, or drinking in the pub. We waste resources in pointless climate wars, pacifists infect our Parliaments and Green politicians want to slash defence spending by 50 per cent. We need international friends and allies. The recent treaty with Japan and the AUKUS treaty are worthwhile, and good relations with Indonesia are essential. But when the chips are down, we will have to defend ourselves. That will require tough troops, with big guns, little guns, motor fuels, ammunition, allies and treaties.

Cr Marcus McKenzie (middle) and Live4Life Wellington crew.

Beyond Mad Max with Dystopian AI

John Mikkelsen

THE dystopian future predicted in the Mad Max movie franchise may be closer than ever and it won’t take World War 3 to make it a reality.

To me the only one’s worth watching were the original and its sequel starring homegrown hero Mel Gibson. Those drab desert landscapes from Mad Max 2 on, were traversed by fast supercharged fossil fuel powered vehicles without a single EV on the horizon.

So, while the Teslas pile up unwanted at Port Melbourne and sales of EVs are declining globally, they represent just the tip of the iceberg on which the Western world seems destined to founder in its mad rush to offset climate change “driven by CO2 emissions.”

The fact that climate always changes, and it’s mainly driven by natural cyclical forces beyond our control, is overlooked by political leaders pushing the green dream of “renewable energy” focussed on the unreliable intermittent sources of solar and wind power.

Energy and Climate Change

Minister Chris “Blackout” Bowen and PM Anthony “Each Way” Albanese would like to see an EV, electric scooter or bike in every Australian garage which would certainly keep our firefighters busy, but it won’t change the weather.

As former chief scientist Alan Finkel admitted to a Senate hearing several years ago, if Australia cut all its CO2 emissions immediately, its impact on world climate would be negligible.

But in the unlikely event that EV sales do surge way beyond the current rate of just eight percent of total vehicle sales, it would place increasing demands on a power system already at risk of major blackouts. In its latest 10-year forecast, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) warned that millions of Australians faced the risk of electricity blackouts without the “urgent” delivery of greater energy and transmission infrastructure. Well, that alone might not tip us into the dystopian Mad Max future but combined with a seemingly insatiable power demand created by a villain masked as mankind’s new hero, it just might. I’m referring to Artificial Intelligence or AI — the charmless i-bot that answers almost all government and major business phone calls, the source behind our internet searches and algorithms, the brain behind the helpful

tools that do a student’s assignments or write a novel (badly) or create nude images of anybody from a normal photograph… get the picture?

Sales of AI software are tipped to reach $126 billion by 2025.

Google is just one of the search tools getting in on the act, as I found when accessing emails recently and received the following message: Try the best of Google AI at no charge

Use "help me write" in Gmail and Docs to quickly draft and refine content, or use Gemini Advanced to research and brainstorm using our most capable AI models. Try at no cost/ dismiss.

I immediately clicked “dismiss”.

And now massive data centers are pouring AI chips into the mix as fast as manufacturing plants can build them. As one researcher notes, adding AI to Google “search” boosts the energy use per search tenfold. And that’s only the first, perhaps the least, significant of the many possible applications for AI.

An article in City Journal claims that the huge energy demand will make the type of energy transition our hapless leaders are trying to foist on us impossible.

It claims that Nvidia, a leading AI chip manufacturer, has shipped about 5 million high-power chips over the past three years and each chip uses roughly as much electricity each year as three electric vehicles. And while the market appetite for electric vehicles is sagging and ultimately limited, the appetite for AI chips is “explosive and essentially unlimited.”

“To see what the future holds, we must take a deep dive into the arcana of today’s ‘cloud,’ the loosely defined term denoting the constellation of data centers, hardware, and communications systems.

“Each data center—and tens of thousands of them exist — has an energy appetite often greater than skyscrapers the size of the Empire State Building. And the nearly 1,000 so-called hyperscale data centers each consume more energy than a steel mill (and this is before counting the impacts of piling on AI chips)....”

I find that both scary and mind boggling, to the extent that new mathematical measurement terminology has been developed to try to keep pace with the burgeoning energy demand all this is creating. Forget billions, trillions or zillions, that’s old-hat and doesn’t go anywhere near the AI power horizon:

“...One way to guess the future magnitude of data traffic — and derivatively the energy implications — is in the names of the numbers

we’ve had to create to describe quantities of data. We count food and mineral production in millions of tons; people and their devices in billions of units; airway and highway usage in trillions of air — or road — miles; electricity and natural gas in trillions of kilowatt-hours or cubic feet; and our economies in trillions of dollars. But, at a rate of a trillion per year of anything, it takes a billion years to total one “zetta”— i.e., the name of the number that describes the scale of today’s digital traffic.

“The numerical prefixes created to describe huge quantities track the progress of society’s technologies and needs. The “kilo” prefix dates back to 1795. The “mega” prefix was coined in 1873, to name 1,000 kilos. The “giga” prefix for 1 billion (1,000 million) and “tera” (a trillion, or 1,000 billion) were both adopted in 1960. In 1975, we saw the official creation of the prefixes “peta” (1,000 giga) and “exa” (1,000 peta), and then the “zetta” (1,000 exa) in 1991. Today’s cloud traffic is estimated to be roughly 50 zettabytes a year.

“It’s impossible to visualize such a number without context. A zetta-stack of dollar bills would reach from the earth to the sun (93 million miles away) and back — 700,000 times. ..”

What the …? Are you grasping any of this, Albo and Bowen? Do you really think covering an area bigger than Tasmania including productive farmland and natural forests with limitedlife solar and wind farms and 28,000 km of new transmission lines, all backed by billions in subsidies, will solve our energy needs into the future?

You will need to do a lot more to prevent the dystopian future referred to in the Mad Max movies unless AI becomes intelligent enough to realise it is rapidly progressing towards its own demise. It needs to convince closed minds like yours that the only way to try to keep pace is to embrace clean, long-lasting, safe, modern nuclear energy as promoted by enterprising young Brisbane teenager Will Shackel, the founder of Nuclear for Australia, https:// www.nuclearforaustralia. com/petition and Opposition leader Peter Dutton.

It’s a no-brainer, and many overseas states and nations are already on-board. Civilisation could depend on it.

John Mikkelsen is a former editor of three Queensland regional newspapers, columnist, freelance writer and author of the Amazon Books Memoir, Don’t Call Me Nev.

Work progressing well on historic Snowy Bridge

FEDERAL Member for Gippsland Darren Chester says the restored railway trestle bridge across the Snowy River flats will deliver long-term social and economic benefits for locals and visitors.

Mr Chester said he was pleased to see restoration of the bridge was moving ahead despite the recent wet weather making conditions difficult for work crews.

"Ever since the trains stopped running to Orbost, the bridge has effectively been slowly demolishing itself through neglect, and it would have been tragic to lose such a significant link to our past," Mr Chester said.

"Just think, if we could manage to build such an impressive bridge as a nation during World War 1, surely we can afford to fix it in 2024?

"We need to keep diversifying our regional

economy to create jobs and stimulate a positive economic outlook for Orbost and Far East Gippsland, and restoring the bridge is part of the picture."

Mr Chester said he was approached by community leaders several years ago to discuss the future of the bridge.

"They wanted money to bring the bridge back to life for pedestrian and cycling access, and I agreed it was a project worth pursuing," Mr Chester said.

"The community has enjoyed some success with more than $4 million in grants from state and federal governments and work has been completed to create safe off-road car parking areas and fully assess the structure.

"Now the tough part is underway with ballast taken off the top and the bridge

timbers being removed, replaced or straightened.

"It's a credit to the community volunteers and everyone who has supported the project that we have made it this far but there's still a lot of work to be done."

Mr Chester said it was great to see workers from Gippsland family business, McInnes Earthmoving, on site and delivering this iconic project.

"For generations, McInnes Earthmoving has partnered with clients to provide safe, flexible and cost-effective project management and excavation services, but bringing this old bridge back to life is a unique project," he said.

"Once it's completed, the bridge will link with the improved East Gippsland Rail Trail and become the focus of the visitor economy in the region."

Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester on-site at the restoration of Snowy River Railway Trestle Bridge.

GEM movie review

Movie Reviewer

Jason Cherry

INSIDE OUT 2

IN CINEMAS NOW

FIVE years after the original's critical acclaim, Inside Out 2 takes us back inside the mind of Riley, now a teenager navigating the complexities of adolescence. The question loomed large: Could a sequel recapture the magic of the first film's exploration of emotions? The answer is a cautious yes. Inside Out 2 succeeds in feeling like a natural continuation rather than a forced rehash. The animation remains vibrant and imaginative, showcasing the constantly evolving landscape of Riley's mental world. The voice cast reprises their roles seamlessly, with Amy Poehler's Joy once again anchoring the emotional rollercoaster.

The core strength of the film lies in its introduction of

Movie Reviewer

Jason Cherry

FURIOSA

IN CINEMAS NOW

GEORGE Miller's return to the Mad Max universe with Furiosa is a sprawling epic that both complements and expands upon the masterpiece that was Fury Road. Anya Taylor-Joy steps into the iconic role of Furiosa, this time in a prequel charting her journey from a young captive to the hardened warrior we meet in Fury Road. The film is a visual feast, showcasing the brutal beauty of the Wasteland in even greater detail. Miller's signature blend of practical effects and CGI creates a world that feels both lived-in and fantastical.

From towering War Rigs to grotesque mutations, the film is a relentless assault on the senses, but in the best way possible.

The story itself is a classic revenge narrative, with a young Furiosa (played brilliantly by newcomer Alyla Browne) snatched from her idyllic home by the vicious warlord

A WORTHY RETURN TO HEADQUARTERS

new emotions. Anxiety, voiced with delightful neuroticism by Kristen Schaal, bursts onto the scene, throwing the well-oiled Headquarters into disarray. This addition isn't just a gimmick; Anxiety embodies the constant worry and self-doubt that plagues teenagers. His presence forces the established emotions, particularly Joy, to confront their limitations and reevaluate their roles.

Another newcomer, Envy (voiced by Tiffany Haddish), proves a more divisive character. While her initial jealousy provides some humorous moments, her arc feels less developed compared to Anxiety's. This is a minor misstep, however, as the film excels in exploring the complexities of teenage emotions.

The film smartly avoids simply repeating the "get back to Headquarters" plot of the first film. Instead, it delves into the internal conflicts Riley faces as she navigates friendships, school pressures, and a growing sense of self. The emotions themselves grapple with their own identity crisis, unsure of how-to best guide Riley through this new stage of life.

This focus on emotional growth is where Inside Out 2 shines. The film tackle’s themes of self-acceptance, navigating difficult relationships, and the importance of embracing all emotions, not just the positive ones. A scene where Joy and Sadness learn to work together to create a bittersweet memory is particularly poignant.

While it may not quite reach the groundbreaking originality of the first film, Inside Out 2 offers a satisfying expansion of its world. The new emotions add depth and nuance, the animation remains topnotch, and the story delivers a powerful message about the importance of emotional intelligence. It's a worthy successor that reminds us that navigating the world inside our heads, especially during adolescence, is a complex and often messy journey.

Verdict: Inside Out 2 is a charming and thoughtprovoking sequel that expands on the original's themes of emotional intelligence. While not quite as groundbreaking, it offers a visually stunning and heartwarming exploration of the complexities of growing up.

GRAND RETURN TO WASTELAND

Dementus (Chris Hemsworth). Fuelled by a desire for vengeance, Furiosa spends years plotting her escape and eventual return to the "Green Place" of her childhood.

Hemsworth chews the scenery as Dementus, a charismatic yet sadistic villain who provides a worthy foil for Furiosa. Their dynamic is a highlight of the film, with Hemsworth bringing a surprising amount of humour to the role without diminishing its menace.

Taylor-Joy takes over the mantle of Furiosa seamlessly, capturing the character's steely determination and simmering rage. While inevitable comparisons to Charlize Theron's portrayal will be made, Taylor-Joy makes the role her own, showcasing a younger, more vulnerable Furiosa still finding her strength.

The film's pacing is a departure from Fury Road's relentless action. Furiosa is a more deliberate film, taking its time to explore the world-building and character development. This may come as a surprise to fans expecting a non-stop adrenaline rush, but the slower pace allows for a deeper exploration of Furiosa's backstory and motivations.

Some critics have pointed out a reliance on expositionheavy dialogue, particularly in the first half. However, this serves a purpose, fleshing out the complex political landscape of the Wasteland and the various factions

book review

Can You Teach A Fish To Climb A Tree?

Written by Jane Godwin & Illustrated

by

Terry Denton

vying for power. It also allows for moments of surprising tenderness, particularly between Furiosa and a group of escaped "Imperator" mothers she encounters on her journey.

The action sequences, when they arrive, are appropriately brutal and balletic. Miller stages them with masterful precision, maximizing the impact of every stunt and explosion. While not surpassing the heights of Fury Road, they are a thrilling testament to Miller's continued mastery of the action genre.

Furiosa is not simply a retread of familiar territory. It stands as a companion piece to Fury Road, enriching the overall Mad Max mythos. The film offers a deeper understanding of Furiosa's character, showcasing the experiences that shaped her into the formidable warrior we see later.

VERDICT: Furiosa is a worthy addition to the Mad Max saga. While its slower pace may surprise some, it rewards viewers with a deeper exploration of the Wasteland and its inhabitants. Anya Taylor-Joy delivers a starmaking performance, and Chris Hemsworth chews the scenery as a delightfully unhinged villain. Furiosa is a visually stunning and emotionally resonant film that cements George Miller's status as a master of the postapocalyptic genre.

Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.' - Albert Einstein (or not, as it turns out!)

JANE Godwin poses a series of questions, which initially appear

ridiculous, such as ‘Could you teach a seal to fly?’, ‘Can you teach a fish to climb a tree?’. These questions create a lively discussion, could this feat be possible? Or is it too absurd to even consider?

Throughout the book, Jane asks us to consider the various themes, such as our uniqueness, acceptance, friendship, our differences and curiosity. Why can’t a fish climb a tree? It’s a great book to start a discussion!

Whilst fish are excellent at swimming, they are not able to climb a tree. Children will delight in discussing the abilities of each animal, their strengths and talents

Jane Godwin is a highly acclaimed children’s author of over forty books, across all ages and styles, many of which have been published internationally.

Last year, we were

very fortunate that Jane visited Schoolworks for a very successful children’s writing workshop. This year, Jane won the coveted Pixie O’Harris award for her contribution to the children’s book industry. Terry Denton has been creating children’s books for over 30 years and has worked with many top authors, many of which have been shortlisted for the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) awards. Also best known for his wonderful illustrations in the Treehouse book series with Andy Griffiths. This book is shortlisted in the CBCA Early Childhood category. It is perfect for younger children and a wonderful gentle way to discuss our strengths and abilities, considering these in other people and celebrating who you are!

Book review by Charlotte Tiffin, Owner Schoolworks Supplies

1.

2. WHY DID THE SCARECROW WIN AN AWARD? BECAUSE HE WAS OUTSTANDING IN HIS FIELD!

3. I JUST BOUGHT A SELF-HELP BOOK ON PROCRASTINATION. I'LL GET AROUND TO READING IT ONE OF THESE DAYS.

4. WHAT DO YOU CALL A FISH WITH NO EYES? FSH!

5. WHAT DO YOU CALL A LAZY KANGAROO? A POUCH POTATO!

6. WHY DID THE BICYCLE FALL OVER? BECAUSE IT WAS TWO TIRED!

GEMSKids PACE GEM KIDS GAME REVIEWS

7. I USED TO BE ADDICTED TO SOAP, BUT I’M CLEAN NOW.

8. WHAT DID THE PIG SAY ON A HOT DAY? I'M BACON!

9. I DON’T TRUST STAIRS. THEY’RE ALWAYS UP TO SOMETHING.

10. WHAT DO YOU CALL A CHEESE THAT ISN'T YOURS? NACHO CHEESE!

June 21, 1834: Lieutenant-Colonel George Gawler was appointed the second Governor of South Australia.

June 22, 1938: The British liner RMS Queen Mary set a record for the fastest transatlantic crossing, bringing the Blue Riband award back to Britain. Although this event was not directly in Australia, the ship was built by John Brown & Company of Clydebank, Scotland, a shipbuilder with significant links to Australia.

June 23, 1950: The Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme, one of the most complex engineering projects in Australia, began construction. This scheme played a crucial role in the post-war development of Australia.

June 24, 1948: The Immigration Minister Arthur Calwell survived an assassination attempt when he was shot at close range in Melbourne. He was a key figure in post-war immigration policies in Australia.

June 25, 2009: Michael Jackson's death was widely reported in Australia, leading to massive public mourning and media coverage. Jackson's influence on Australian pop culture was significant.

June 26, 1992: The High Court of Australia delivered its landmark decision in the Mabo case, recognizing native title in Australia for the first time and overturning the concept of terra nullius.

June 27, 1987: Bob Hawke's Labor government won re-election, securing a third term in office. His government was notable for economic reforms and social policy changes.

June 28, 1838: Myall Creek Massacre: In one of the most notorious massacres of Aboriginal Australians, a group of European settlers killed approximately 28 unarmed Indigenous Australians in New South Wales.

June 29, 2000: Cathy Freeman lit the Olympic cauldron at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, becoming a symbol of national unity and reconciliation.

June 30, 1851: Victoria was separated from New South Wales and became a colony, which marked the start of its independent administration.

July 1, 1971: The Indigenous Australian flag was flown for the first time in Adelaide. Designed by Harold Thomas, it became a powerful symbol of identity and unity for Aboriginal Australians.

July 2, 1900: The British Parliament passed the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act, allowing the six Australian colonies to unite and form the Commonwealth of Australia.

July 3, 1971: Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, was born in Townsville, Queensland. He would later become a controversial figure in global politics.

July 4, 1924: The Northern Territory Aboriginals Ordinance was enacted, which placed significant restrictions on the movement and lives of Indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory.

State of the economy and the budget

John Dahlsen

IR REFORMS & UNION CONTROL.

IT is remarkable that Albanese has distanced himself from the misnamed "IR Loophole Reforms," which are better described as a power grab. As a former unionist, Albanese hesitated to engage with these issues for fear of alienating the unions, something Hawke was willing to do in the national interest over sectional selfishness. Remember that Adam Smith recognised the difference between mutual self-interest and selfishness, where the latter excludes everyone else, much like the behaviour of unions such as the CFMEU.

The economic effect of punitive regulations and the irrational stranglehold on employment terms is so profound that sensible modifications could have easily covered the cost of wage increases and benefits. Additionally, the nature of many forms of employment has changed dramatically, often to the detriment of workers. Sector wide industry bargaining, resurrected from the dark ages, fails to recognise that each company is in a unique position. Company specific agreements, which allow for more effective exchanges of wage increases and benefits for productivity improvements, are far more beneficial than standardised sector agreements. Sector bargaining imposes uniform costs, driving inefficiencies and necessitating more arbitration, while reducing

the prevalence of casual, independent contractor, and gig work.

Burke, as a former union delegate, knew exactly how to extend union influence on all companies, regardless of size, through the use of delegates. Unions will appoint delegates to businesses even when only a handful of employees desire such representation, especially at a time when business owners are struggling with rising costs in wages, freight, energy, rent, insurance, compliance, and difficulties in borrowing. Union delegates will get involved in any reorganisation no matter how small. If a business does not have a delegate, it only requires one employee to bring the union in with a delegate. For unions, democratic principles, and proportionality between the number of union members and their rights are irrelevant. What matters is revitalising their power and amplifying their influence beyond their actual numbers.

Only 12.5 per cent of workers were union members in 2023, with even lower percentages in the private sector. Union membership by age group is working against the long-term interests of unions:

100 per cent of the power and control.

Albanese and his team have been brilliant in persuading the public that Labour is governing from the centre and in the interests of all. However, history shows that past Labour governments often fell out of favour with the electorate once their true objectives became apparent. The electorate is slowly awakening to the reality that the unions control the Labor Party. No significant policy can be adopted unless it aligns with union interests, particularly those of the CFMEU. Both unions and Labor are working in unison to gain more control over the private sector, intruding on free market dynamics.

Consider the following:

• Ten members of Labor’s 23-member cabinet (43 per cent) come from unions, including Albanese, Burke, Farrell, and Wong.

• 58 per cent of Labor’s MPs have union backgrounds or come from Labor staffing.

• 44 per cent of Labor’s 2022 campaign donations came from unions.

• 9 per cent of CFMEU membership fees are directed to the Labor Party, making it the party's largest donor. Notably, South Australia has rejected the CFMEU. Not all unions are as greedy and selfish as the CFMEU; many have sound relationships with employers.

This situation is somewhat reminiscent of China, where 7 - 8 per cent of the population are members of the Communist Party yet hold

• 33 per cent of the directors of the top 10 superannuation funds were union members, giving unions a massive power base unseen in any other country.

• $9 million of union funds came from superannuation

funds in 2022, with a record breaking $12.9 million in 2021.

• 70 per cent of union members come from a narrow sector of the economy, primarily public sector unions in education and training (30 per cent), public administration and safety (22 per cent), and healthcare & social assistance (20 per cent).

• Only 7 per cent of union members are casuals.

• 33 per cent of directors appointed to the top 10 superannuation funds were union officials.

The Labor cabinet is unbalanced. Too much union influence with virtually no influence from small- and large-scale businesses. This reflects in the one-sided nature of Burke’s IR Reforms and explains how he was able to out manoeuvre and sidestep businesses in dealing with the legislation. Burke went further and was highly critical of BHP and its Chief Executive. Burke was arrogant and showed no empathy for the aspirations of business. Unfortunately, it will take time for the reality of the IR Loophole Legislation to become apparent and then there will be an outcry.

It is not only the unions exerting substantial influence on Labor policy but also several Labor-aligned law firms that make significant donations to the party. Consequently, Labor halted reforms in litigation, plaintiffs, and funding, where the balance between legitimate collective actions and abuse remains skewed.

The union movement’s control over Labor policy decisions and appointments is becoming increasingly

Turning full circle: Mark Davies’ journey through the hire industry with Kennards Hire

KENNARDS Hire

Bairnsdale employee

Mark Davies is no stranger to Gippsland or the hire industry. For more than seven years, Mark has supported Victorians with all their DIY and construction needs while working for Kennards Hire and Riviera Hire.

Prior to joining the hire industry, he spent more than six years working at a gas log fire company before being made redundant when the company went to a third-party tender in 2017. He spent the next couple of months deciding what to do next before finding a job with Kennards Hire, where he worked for six years across multiple branches including Traffic Narre Warren and Mornington.

“I quickly fell in love with the hire industry because no two days are the same, and you get

to help people with all their DIY and construction needs while learning about and playing with some big toys,” said Mark.

“While the industry might not be for everyone, I would say definitely give it a try if you’re looking for something new, because once you get into it, there is a good chance you will not want to leave.”

Mark would often visit the Gippsland region to get away from the city at a cabin in Venus Bay, and he eventually began looking to purchase land and build a holiday home that he could visit on weekends and retire to, finding the perfect lot near Bairnsdale in 2020.

The new home was finished in April 2023, but with rising interest rates and cost-of-living pressures, Mark found himself needing to choose between his love for the region and his home in Melbourne. It did not

take long for Mark’s longing for a sea change to win out, and he quickly started looking for work in Bairnsdale.

“I found a job with Riviera Hire, which suited us perfectly as it meant I could stay in the hire industry,” said Mark.

“Working regionally also has its perks, like the people you deal with on a day-to-day basis. While working at Riviera Hire, I was able to get to know many of the locals and always enjoyed answering different questions about their projects and what tool might be the best for a job,” said Mark.

In April this year, Kennards Hire purchased Riviera Hire and East Gippsland Hire, and Mark found himself working for the family-owned company once again.

“It’s really exciting to be able to continue the work I’ve been doing over the past year with

apparent. Notably, Labor’s first significant decision was to disband the Australian Building Construction Commission (ABCC), first by budget cuts and subsequently by legislation. As a result, the CFMEU now operates without significant constraints or respect for the rule of law. Multiple cases and penalties have been abandoned, with courts noting that for the CFMEU, penalties are merely a cost of doing business.

The financial benefits to the CFMEU far exceed their donations to the ALP.

We now face soaring construction costs, making Australia one of the most expensive countries for building, measured by labour costs per hour.

CFMEU wage costs are 75 per cent higher than the industry average, pricing companies out of contracts and making the CFMEU the preferred contractor. This has a substantial inflationary effect on the economy and places many activities, such as home building, out of reach. Large government infrastructure projects, controlled by the CFMEU, have absorbed vast amounts of labour, and building materials, leading to supply shortages. Infrastructure wages are exorbitant ($206,000 for an entry level worker), unmatchable by the private sector. Building costs have surged by 40 per cent since 2019, partly because government contracts are awarded solely to unionised sites, further driving inflation, and hindering solutions to our housing crisis.

This raises the issue of wage inequity, which Labor is implicitly sanctioning.

How can the government

stand by and allow these enormous CFMEU wages and similar public servant salaries, while simultaneously resisting salary increases for nurses, aged care workers, teachers, ambulance officers, and possibly police? The government pretends to be a neutral party, claiming wage disputes are between employers and employees. This is nonsense and represents Labor’s Achilles' heel: they loudly proclaim equity and fairness but fail to uphold it in practice. The CFMEU’s opposition to welcoming immigrant construction workers, who are desperately needed, is another area of concern. There are numerous other abuses, such as influencing policies on issues like duck shooting in Victoria, the replacement of a Queensland Premier, and even a Federal Prime Minister. The $3 million cap for a lower tax rate on superannuation limits will benefit union-controlled super funds. This cap which is not indexed applies to unrealised capital gains causing a huge amount of complexity and concern. Bob Gottliebsen has written extensively about where this complexity and uncertainty. In conclusion, the union movement’s control over Labor’s policies and decisionmaking processes is not only evident but also detrimental to economic efficiency and equity. The influence of unions extends beyond reasonable bounds, distorting labour markets and exacerbating economic disparities. It is crucial for the Labor Party to re-evaluate its stance and policies to genuinely serve the national interest over sectional interests.

Riviera Hire at a business that has the same focus on bringing excellent customer service to the local community,” said Mark.

“I still call my old manager, Tony Clarke, for advice, and with more training and upskilling opportunities with Kennards Hire, alongside a broader range and depth of equipment, I am looking forward to bringing nextlevel customer service to the Bairnsdale community.

“For anyone in the community working on a DIY or construction project and could use some advice on the best equipment and tools to use, and how to use them, we are always happy to have a chat and see how we can help you.”

The new Kennards Hire branch is located at 692 Princes Highway, Bairnsdale VIC.

WDoctors usually recommend conservative measures first,

and

These interventions will relieve pain and help you recover movement without needing to resort to more

invasive therapies. Other treatments include: REST: One of the best treatments for shoulder pain is rest, which gives the shoulder time to heal and prevents re-injury.

Depending on what caused your pain, rest can mean taking a break from any activities that contributed to your injury. Avoid heavy lifting, reaching above shoulder height, and moving into positions that worsen the pain. Your doctor

might recommend keeping the affected shoulder still by putting it in a sling or other shoulder immobiliser.

ICE AND HEAT: Immediately after an injury, ice helps reduce inflammation and numbs the pain. For the first 24 to 48 hours after the injury, use an ice pack or cold compress on the affected shoulder for 15 to 20 minutes every three to four hours.

You can use something as simple as a package of frozen

peas as a makeshift ice pack. Whatever you use, do not place the pack directly on the skin, as this can lead to frostbite. Instead, wrap it in a towel or cloth. Once the swelling has subsided, switch to heat. A heating pad eases stiff muscles and joints and it increases blood flow to the area.

PHYSICAL THERAPY:

A cornerstone of shoulder pain treatment, the goal of physical therapy is to help you regain strength and movement in

the affected shoulder so that activities such as reaching for items on a high shelf or putting on your shirt become easier to do without pain.

A general physical therapy program includes a range of exercises — some that you do with the therapist, others that you do on your own at home — to strengthen and improve mobility in the muscles that support your shoulder joint.

You will likely use a combination of light weights,

exercise bands, and weightbearing exercises (such as push-ups or planks), depending on your strength, ability, and stage of recovery. Your therapist might also use other treatments, such as ice, heat, or manual therapy.

Gippsland South sporting clubs awarded grants

GIPPSLAND South sporting clubs will benefit following successful grant applications to round two of the Victorian Sporting Club Grants Program.

The Nationals Member for Gippsland South, Danny O’Brien said he was delighted to see Gippsland South sporting clubs listed among the 400 clubs from across the state that were granted up to $4,000 to help remove barriers to participation in their respective sports.

“The cost-of-living crisis is leaving many families facing tough choices, and many are having to withdraw from sporting activity as the cost of uniforms and memberships fees prove difficult to manage.

“While the Government still has a long way to go to ease the financial burden Gippsland households are facing, these grants will help some of our local clubs remove those financial barriers by covering things like uniform or travel costs.”

Mr O’Brien said successful applications to round two of the program included:

• Fish Creek Football Netball Club

• Venus Bay Surf Life Saving Club

• Cowwarr Football Netball Club

• Sale City Football Netball Club

• Port Franklin Tennis and Sports Club.

“These are all wonderful local clubs and I am thrilled to see that this money will be put to great use in our local community.”

Mr O’Brien said that the State Government had recently announced a new round of the Get Active Kids Voucher Program, which provides eligible Victorian families up to $200 towards the cost of participating in sport. It will be opening for applications soon with more information available at www.getactive.vic.gov.au

boating and fishing

East Gippsland June Fishing Report

LAKES ENTRANCE

Surf beaches for Salmon and tailor chasing lures.

Around the town jetties for bream, flathead and some King George whiting. Snapper and Kingfish are also in the lake, especially in Cunninghame Arm biting on pilchards, local prawn and lures.

LAKE TYERS

For bream try Mill Point and Fisherman’s Landing late in the afternoon till dusk, best results with prawn. Salmon, tailor and trevally are active on surf beaches taking lures.

MITCHELL RIVER

Mullet are being caught in the backwater on pipis and mussels. Bream are at Picnic Point biting on prawn, flathead can be found near the Butter Factory and perch are being caught near the Mitchell River Bridge taking prawns and lures. Ream are being caught in the Backwater on shrimp and prawn. Flathead can be found from the Grassy Banks to the Cut.

TAMBO RIVER

From The Bluff to the Rusty Gate for bream on cut

crab. For mullet give from Johnsonville to Punt Road a go using pipis and fresh mussels, flathead are around the Johnsonville Boat Ramp.

NICHOLSON

Try from the Car bodies to the Nicholson Bridge for bream on live shrimp and prawn. Flathead are at the

mouth of the river, chasing plastics and sardines. The Boat Ramp to the river mouth for bream using local prawn.

METUNG

Sizeable bream are being caught in the lake, hot spots are off the boardwalk and Shavings Point with local prawn. Snapper are also in the lakes.

PAYNESVILLE/ HOLLAND'S LANDING

Bream are around the town jetties on local prawn, a few tailor can be found at the end of the Silt Jetties on silver lures. On the lakes tailor and salmon are being landed using hard

body lures with a silver flash... look for where the birds are diving! Eagle Point is fetching good sized bream.

MARLO

Bream, luderick and mullet are in the estuary taking worm and prawn, best around the islands. Surf beaches for salmon chasing metal lures, poppers and& pilchards. Hotspots are Marlo Jetty and up towards the entrance.

BEMM RIVER

The entrance is still closed, in the lake for flathead and bream, biting on local prawn and soft plastics. Surf beaches for salmon chasing metal lures.

TAMBOON INLET

Bream are taking worm in Western Bay, there are plenty of king prawns in the lake. The Football Ground for flathead and trevally on local prawn.

MALLACOOTA

No report this edition.

OMEO HIGH COUNTRY

The closure of the 2024 trout season in all Victorian rivers and streams is from 11 June to 6 September. Reopening Saturday, 7 September 2024.

Blue Tree Project

BLUE-PAINTED trees are growing in popularity across Australia, with more than 1100 trees painted as part of the Blue Tree Project to promote mental health awareness and commemorate people lost to suicide.

The Blue Tree Project aims to spark difficult conversations and encourage people to speak up when experiencing mental health concerns. Blue trees, which can be found on every continent except Antarctica, serve as symbols of hope and conversation catalysts.

This King's Birthday long weekend, Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester joined East Gippsland residents in painting trees at Lakes Entrance as part of a local Blue Tree Project.

Using food to stay hydrated

IT’S easy to guzzle a glass of water; it quenches your thirst and cools your body. What’s harder is routinely reaching for water and other drinks to stay hydrated each day. Maybe you don’t sense that you’re thirsty (which is common as we age), you worry about frequent trips to the bathroom, or you forget to take a few sips every hour. Whatever the reason, you can make up some of the difference with food.

FLUID IN FOOD

Mr Chester said he was proud to support the community-led initiative.

"The Blue Tree Project is all about helping to build a mentally healthy future by raising awareness about the help which is available and supporting people who may be experiencing difficulties," Mr Chester said.

"Suicide takes more than 3000 lives each year in Australia and shatters the lives of too many local families.

"One of the challenges is removing the stigma about mental health and painting blue trees in highprofile locations is helping to get the conversation started across our nation."

Mr Chester extended thanks to project sponsors Nathan from Roots 2 Leaves and Peter from Crowies Paints

and congratulated the team at Forget Me Not Studios, which spearheaded the initiative.

If you or anyone you know needs help:

Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467

Lifeline on 13 11 14

Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander crisis support line 13YARN on 13 92 76

Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800

Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636

Headspace on 1800 650 890

MensLine

Australia on 1300 789 978

But the superstars of water-rich foods are fruits and vegetables. For example, celery, cucumbers, and lettuce are about 95 per cent water. Other fruits and vegetables, such as green grapes, peaches, and corn, are in the 70 per cent to 90 per cent water range. Soups, milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, and smoothies are also excellent sources of dietary fluid. ARE YOU CONSUMING ENOUGH?

The amount of fluid to consume each day from food

Most foods contain at least a little water, even walnuts (about 3 per cent water), a whole-wheat bagel (about 38 per cent), and cooked salmon filets (about 65 per cent water).

and drink depends on your body size and health needs. It’s recommended about 11 cups per day for women and 15 cups per day for men.

If that seems steep, remember that everything you drink — water, moderate amounts of caffeinated coffee or tea, juice, milk, or even drinks with a low alcohol content, like beer — counts toward this total.

DRINK JUST A LITTLE MORE

No matter how much waterrich food you consume, it’s still essential to drink enough fluids to stay hydrated. Water is the best choice because it has no additives, so it’s absorbed quickly. Have some at each meal. It might take time to find the right combination of drinks and water-rich foods to stay hydrated.

FOODS THAT ARE GOOD SOURCES OF WATER 90-100 per cent - Asparagus,

The Nationals Member for Gippsland South, Danny O’Brien with Cowwarr Football Netball Club’s Garry Blair celebrating the Saints’ success in a recent round of the Sporting Club Grants Program.

baby carrots, broccoli, cabbage, celery, cucumbers, iceberg lettuce, peppers, skim milk, spinach, strawberries, watermelon, zucchini

80-90 per cent - Apples, cottage cheese, green grapes, navel oranges, pears, peaches, pineapple, plain nonfat Greek yogurt, sweet potatoes

70-80 per cent - Avocados, bananas, lentils (cooked), partskim ricotta cheese, salmon (cooked), shrimp (cooked), yellow corn (cooked).

Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester joined East Gippsland residents in painting trees at Lakes Entrance as part of a local Blue Tree Project over the King's Birthday long weekend.

Directors appointed for Racing Victoria board

THE Allan Labor Government has finalised appointments to the board of Racing Victoria with two new Directors set to strengthen the state’s racing industry with decades of leadership, business experience and thoroughbred management know-how.

Minister for Racing Anthony Carbines recently congratulated Mark Player and Tim Rourke on their appointments.

Mr Player has more than 25 years of experience in the racing industry and is currently the Executive Chairman of Macedon Lodge, an equine training facility.

He is also the founding Director of Weanling Solutions, providing advice on the purchase and marketing of thoroughbreds.

Previously he was head of international sales and development for the Hong Kong Jockey Club and prior to this held the role of Director of Equine Business Development at Racing Victoria.

Mr Player also founded International Thoroughbred Solutions in 2011, a consultancy that provides strategic advice on the investment in and management of thoroughbreds.

Mr Rourke has served as the Chief Executive Officer for CitiPower and Powercor since 2013 and in May 2017 also became the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of United Energy.

Prior to this, he concurrently held the roles of Chief Executive Officer at GE Energy Infrastructure Australia and New Zealand and as the Asia Pacific Regional Executive for GE Aero Energy. Mr Rourke currently serves as a director on the boards of Energy Networks Australia and United Energy.

He is also a keen racing enthusiast with extensive ownership and breeding interests in the Victorian thoroughbred racing industry.

The Board will now nominate a Director to be the Chair for the Minister’s approval and will also select a Deputy Chair, with announcements expected later this month.

Our local living legends

IN a quiet paddock just out of Metung, two retired equine buddies are sharing their glory days of retirement. In winter they are well rugged, well fed and well sheltered. In Summer they spend their days in the shade, flicking flies off each other and enjoying the cool breeze off the lake. In racing terms they are somewhat "The Odd Couple".

The Pentagon was a seasoned old campaigner who had more courage and stamina in one hoof than most horses have in four. Just a bit more than a pony, he returned to racing after four bowed tendons and two wind operations and won a Grand National Hurdle.

In England, where Aldaniti (one bowed tendon) and Bob Champion (cancer survivor) returned to win the Grand National, they built statues and made a movie about them. The British know more about

Australian champion chaser, Crisp than most Aussies.

In Australia, in our haste for greedy, speedy returns from milliondollar 2yo races, our Grand National heroes are hardly household names. That doesn't bother The Pentagon of course. Nor does it bother his paddock mate, Seasons Bloom who enjoys sharing the anonymity of country life.

Seasons Bloom, not long retired, was an international star who matched strides with some of the world's best sprinter/milers in Hong Kong, racking up over 25 million HK dollars along the way. He numbered two Gr2s and the Gr1 Chief Executive's Cup (with "Magic Man", Jose Moreira aboard). He has returned to Australia to spend his twilight years with his original owners, Steve and Ceri Jostlear.

So why should we sit up and take notice?

Well here's the kicker.

Ceri and Steve bred the diminutive champ, The Pentagon with their resident stallion, Super Jet at Ampulla Lodge. Name ring a bell? It should. Super Jet was also sire of one of Bairnsdale's best horses... Julie Scott's, Afterburn.

Ceri and Steve also picked Le Capitaine as a weanling and raised him and won a maiden at Pakenham before, as is often the case, receiving an offer too good to refuse from Hong Kong. He was shipped off to the island home of Shatin and Happy Valley and a million fanatical racing fans, where he received a name change (Seasons Bloom) and became a star.

Ceri and Steve know their horses, from elite jumpers to world class sprinters.

So, get out your black book and jot down the name Poised.

This filly by I Am Invincible had

her first start on a heavy 8 track at Warwick Farm recently and showed she certainly has a bright future. Adam Hyeronimus jumped her straight to the front and she just failed to hang on. She will certainly improve with that run under her belt, especially with the application of a little Gai Waterhouse polish. Poised was selected by Ceri and Steve at the Inglis Premier Sale last year and they have retained a share to race her under their banner of Ampulla Lodge. She may have another run this prep and hopefully step up to the better fillies races in the spring.

Although we are sure The Pentagon and Seasons Bloom would love a little female company in their retirement paddock... sorry boys, it's not likely to be Poised.

HOOFNOTE: Poised was an acceptor to run on Wednesday, 19th of June at Canterbury

Seasons Bloom winning in Hong Kong

The Pentagon, Grand National winner up to tricks in retirement

Bloom