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St. Arnaud, Charlton, Wedderburn & Surrounding Districts
Est. 1864
18 Napier Street, St. Arnaud. 3478. - Advertising & Editorial Material - Ph.: (03) 5495 1055; Fax.: (03) 5495 1937. Email: ncn@iinet.net.au Published weekly. Registered by Australia Post, Publication No. VAC 4217.
$2.00
WEDNESDAY JUNE 19th 2024.
Circulating in:- St. Arnaud, Charlton, Donald, Rupanyup, Bealiba, Stawell, Marnoo, Navarre, Dunolly, Wycheproof, Wedderburn, Birchip, Korong Vale, Stuart Mill, Redbank, Avoca & Moonambel.
(Incl. GST)
Above: The initiating group of five Brigades met on Monday morning to finalise their list of demands. Placards list many other Brigades showing support. - PHOTO: Supplied
CFA Brigades call industrial action over untenable risks of powerlines FIVE CFA Brigades affected by the VNI West 500kV Transmission lines have put forward to the Minister for State Emergency Services, a letter of demand with respect to the future of the role of firefighters in view of what they call the Victorian State Government’s proposed “reckless” renewables expansion.
Above: Stuart Mill CFA and other Emergency vehicles including St. Arnaud SES and ambulances were in attendance at a serious incident on the Sunraysia Highway last Wednesday.
The brigades consider that the high voltage transmission lines and renewable energy infrastructure is untenable and risks lives and property and will cause irreparable damage. Industrial action is proposed until genuine consideration and acknowledgement of the negative impacts to firefighters and communities is given. The action calls for an immediate halt to all current and proposed projects and appropriate reconsideration of alternative solutions. The industrial action will be taken to assure the safety and security of CFA members and communities.
Serious crash blocks Sunraysia Highway Brigade support in both directions
THE Sunraysia Highway at Moyreisk was blocked in both directions on an afternoon last week when a semi-trailer jackknifed and came to rest across the highway, colliding with a white SUV.
The scene was one of heightened activity when according to a bystander, who did not wish to be named, alleged the SUV had pulled out from the side of the road in front of the truck. When the truck applied his brakes the vehicle jack-knifed, collecting the car which was then pushed up the embankment on the other side of the road.
Crime Watch Victoria issued a report on the incident quickly saying that emergency personnel were currently responding and that there were indications that a person might be trapped inside a vehicle. The highway northbound was closed at Avoca causing traffic to be diverted through Dunolly to St. Arnaud. Traffic including semi-trailers and grain trucks was banked up on both sides for kilometres and the highway was not cleared until well after dark on Wednesday. The driver of the SUV was reportedly taken to hospital with a broken nose, but was extremely lucky to have avoided more serious injuries.
Above: The driver of the SUV was lucky not to have sustained more serious injuries when a truck collected it and pushed it into the scrub.
The five Brigades, Gre Gre Village, Traynors Lagoon, Gooroc, Callawadda and Wallaloo East, have received commitments from a further 19 impacted Brigades and are looking to add the support of many more either in joining the proposed action or taking their own variation of action. Action will be taken so that the safety and security of CFA members and communities can be assured. It is proposed by the initiating Brigades, and Brigades signing on in support, that they commit to undertaking to restrict turn out commitment to incidents at electricity generation and transmission infrastructure sites to “Property Perimeter Defense” only. Brigades will not commit to enter land or premises upon which such infrastructure is situated, to complete fire management tasks unless there are personal safety issues identified by the incident controller. Brigades will not commit to defending or protecting electricity generation or transmission assets forthwith. • Continued on page 5.