Mail - Upper Yarra Star Mail - 10th May 2022

Upper Yarra

Tuesday, 10 May, 2022

Mail

Casey candidates urged to back urgent care

Yarra Ranges homes at risk of being un-insurable

New Zealand chip brand sets up shop in the Valley

High school joins research project to boost activity

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A Star News Group Publication

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Vic cash splash

Coldstream Primary School are excited about the $2.4 million the school is set to receive. the large debt accrued by the Victorian Government and was disappointed to see funding for roads and agriculture decrease, while land taxation went up.

Meanwhile, our furry friends weren’t forget-

ting with a broad range of animal welfare initiatives set to be supported, with $18.6 million to revolutionise animal welfare legislation and regulation, as well as collect information to help make the best choices to look after animals.

Picture: CALLUM LUDWIG Animal welfare groups are hopeful of seeing the promises to help implement a number of changes in the sector.

For more on the state budget, turn to pages 4-7

HOTEL WARBURTON

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The 2022/23 State Budget was announced on Tuesday 3 May, with big spending on education, healthcare and emergency services.

Coldstream Primary School will redevelop and refurbish its Grade 5/6 area, having been announced as one of 65 schools to receive part of $560 million, with $2.4 million allocated to it for upgrades.

The funding comes as part of the budget’s total $1.7 billion expenditure in education, including $581 million to build 13 new schools and complete additional stages at four others and $326 million (as part of the $560 million) for 36 special schools.

Healthcare was another major beneficiary, with the system receiving $12 billion in funding to help ease the state out of the Covid-19 pandemic and contend with issues such as massive wait times for elective surgeries and ambulances.

Funding is set to help recruit more Triple-0 responders, paramedics and nurses while upgrading and building new hospitals. Spending on mental health initiatives will continue to be spent on fulfilling the recommendations of the Royal Commission on Mental Health.

A dip out of the funding pool also went to a record $28.5 million to improveVICSES facilities and resources, and $11 million over four years will be heading the way of the CFA for their emergency vehicles.

Funding will also go towards improving emergency response capabilities, skills and protection of responders and promoting diversity among recruits.

Over 550 police officers and PSOs are also set to be recruited as part of the $342 million spending on the Victoria Police, with funding for tasers, insurance and a strategy framework.

Eildon MP Cindy McLeish was critical of

NEWS

Agriculture teacher at Mount Lilydale Mercy College Tim Thompson checking fruit for larvae.

Picture: SUPPLIED

The Queensland Fruit Fly. Picture: AGRICULTURE VICTORIA

QFF eggs.

Picture: AGRICULTURE VICTORIA

A trap for the Queensland Fruit Fly. Picture: SUPPLIED

A rotten tomato with noticeable sting and maggot.

Picture: AGRICULTURE VICTORIA

Growers on alert to pest

By Callum Ludwig Yarra Ranges farmers and Agribusiness Yarra Valley are working hard to detect and eradicate the Queensland Fruit Fly (QFF).

Over the summer the pest was detected in traps in Silvan, Yering, Coldstream, and Yellingbo, and as larvae in home garden peaches and tomatoes in Yarra Glen.

With recent detections in traps in Silvan and Healesville in April, the efforts of QFF awareness and promoting action won’t be stopping.

QFF Regional Coordinator in the Yarra Valley Bronwyn Koll said a couple of years ago the Yarra Valley was fruit fly free, and current efforts are aiming to keep the pest away as much as possible.

“We use a surveillance grid of traps and fruit checks, and we had evidence to prove that there were no fruit flies in the Valley,” she said.

“We’re working to ensure a higher rate of certainty that properties are fruit fly free. It’s a three to four-year task for growers, but it is achievable.”

The QFF targets hundreds of different fruit species, including a range of berries, apples and grapes that are prevalent throughout the Yarra Ranges.

Currently in autumn, the most at risk fruits include any fruit that has been left unharvested, like apples, feijoas, quinces, and also fruit that is ripening, like citrus fruits.

Ms Koll said Agribusiness Yarra Valley and farmers are taking preventive action to eliminate the fly, and she encourages home-growers to do the same.

“If you’ve heard of fruit fly risk within your 2km warning radius, start putting out fruit fly bait. Growers should report if they see anything suspicious, and particularly those with

By Parker McKenzie 12546976-AV19-22

COVID-19 measures at polling places A range of COVID-19 safety measures will be in place as you cast your vote. At all times you should follow local rules and public health directions, as well as instructions from AEC staff.

To protect the health and safety of the community, you should not attend a polling place if you’re showing any COVID-19 type symptoms.

Go to www.aec.gov.au for the latest updates and advice, including what happens if you are not able to vote.

Voting is compulsory for Australian citizens aged 18 years and older. If you don’t vote, you may be prosecuted. If you vote more than once it is a criminal offence.

Federal election, Saturday 21 May 2022

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creamy-white maggots/larva that often eat towards the centre of the fruit and cause it to rot.

Whilst hard to spot, they may also notice white, 1mm long, banana-shaped eggs inside fruits and vegetables or oval, brown, hard pupae that have burrowed into the ground to develop into flies.

Adult flies themselves are 7mm long, reddish-brown in colour, with distinct yellow markings. They often hide in the leaves of trees and are mostly only known about when specific fruit fly traps are operating and checked regularly.

Infested fruit needs to be destroyed by boiling or freezing, and then disposed of in a sealed bag in the regular rubbish.

Free QFF information sessions are available and to organise one, growers can contact Ms Koll via email qff@agribusiness-yarravalley. com or the phone 0490381999.

Video unearthed of Casey independent rep at rally

Are you aged 70 years or older?

You must still vote in the federal election.

The federal election will be held on Saturday 21 May 2022. Voting is compulsory even if you are 70 years of age or older.

If you can’t make it to a polling place on election day you may be eligible to vote early.

For more information go to www.aec.gov.au or call the AEC on 13 23 26.

fruit or veggies in their backyards who may not look otherwise,” she said.

The Yarra Ranges Council post letters to affected areas after the first case of QFF detection, or growers can follow the Keep Yarra Valley Fruit Fly Free Facebook page for regular updates.

“We have fruit fly bait, laced with an organic insecticide, which attracts only fruit flies to it because of the decomposing proteins, for a very targeted and minimally invasive technique,” Ms Koll said.

Growers who have heard of fruit fly risk within their location should start putting out fruit fly bait weekly and repeat it after rain.

They should also have a focus on harvesting fruit before it falls, and keeping the production area clean to reduce the risk of the QFF. Growers and home gardeners can look out for a pin-sized sting on the fruit’s surface from the laying of eggs and 5mm to 10mm long,

An independent candidate for Casey claimed if elected he would “get out the M60” and shoot Australian politicians.

In a video seen by the Star Mail, independent candidate Craig Cole, who will be on the ballot on May 21, said during an April 16 Convoy to Canberra event every politician in Australia has remained silent on child sex trafficking.

“Your maiden speech is supposed to be all warm and fuzzy, but stuff that. I’m going to get out the M60 and mow every single one of them down,” he said.

“I’m calling out every single corrupt prick that they are, with as much light and love as possible.

“People say to me Craig you are a bit aggressive, shit, there are children being raped and trafficked. I think a few F-bombs are necessary. This is no conspiracy, this is fact.”

The M60 is an American-made machine gun used by the United States military.

In another video, Mr Cole said Federal Parliament House is where “all the gutless rock spider paedophiles congregate.”

Mr Cole is a retired professional wrestler,

Candidate for Casey Craig Cole said if elected he would “get out the M60” and shoot Australian politicians.

Picture: SUPPLIED having last competed in February 2020 under the name Pitbull in Mulgrave, according to the internet wrestling database cagematch.net.

Through his Facebook page, Mr Cole helped organise anti-lockdown and mandate protests in May 2020 and was detained by police at least once.

Mr Cole’s website for his independent candidacy describes him as working with community agencies as “a mentor for disengaged teenage boys”, working as a disability care worker and facilitating online self-growth and motivational seminars.

Mr Cole was contacted for comment.

Authorised by the Australian Electoral Officer for Victoria, 2 Lonsdale St, Melbourne.

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IN BRIEF

Urgent care needs

By Renee Wood Services for Healesville Hospital Action Group (SHHAG) has been advocating for the need to establish an Urgent Care Centre at the local hospital for almost a decade.

Now the group is hoping this federal election might be the key to investigating the need for the specialised services.

Chairperson Jane Judd is calling for the Casey candidates to commit to an investigation into the need to establish an UCC. “I would love the Casey candidates to acknowledge the need for an urgent care centre and to express interest to the government that if they were elected, that Healesville would be identified as a suitable site,” Ms Judd said.

Currently, the Healesville Hospital is managed by Eastern Health and has GPs available to see patients, however if they are busy patients have to travel to Maroondah or Box Hill hospital to access care.

In the establishment of an UCC, nurses would be up-skilled to deliver specialised services such as running diagnostics assessments and screenings, x-rays etc.

“What you need is an interim assessment and screening service to pick up whether you’ve got a really serious situation or something that can be handled locally,” Ms Judd said.

“In some instances they have the ability to get specialised tests…. Someone might have had a heart attack, they can provide ECGs, and they can do blood tests and get that diagnosis, supported and get extra assistance. So they really are a specialist intervention service.”

Ms Judd said that the benefits of having this centre in the Healesville area, which is short on GPs and has limited ED access, means that there would always be nurses in an acute or sub-acute setting.

It’s also seen as a more possible and financially viable option rather than investigating the delivery of an Emergency Department.

“To have on a roster of at least one specially trained, ‘ripened’ nurse that can manage any presentations - that’s not as hard to do as it is to have a doctor on call 24/7.”

Urgent Care Centres are generally supported at hospitals which are a small rural health service, something Ms Judd has worked in while at Alexandra District Health.

Ms Judd also believes allowing local GPs to admit patients at the local hospital would also

A 15-year-old boy has allegedly ‘glassed’ another boy near the corner of Hoddle St and Warburton Highway on Thursday 28 April.

The alleged offender used a broken glass bottle to stab the victim, 16, in the arm, who was taken to the hospital to treat the wound.

Victoria Police confirmed the 15-year-old and a 17-year-old male were arrested.

The 17-year-old has been released and is expected to be charged on summons, while the has been charged with intentionally cause injury, recklessly cause injury, affray and assault with a weapon.

He was remanded to appear in a children’s court on 2 May where he was released on bail to reappear at a later date.

Anyone with information on the alleged stabbing is urged to phone Yarra Ranges Crime Investigation Unit on 9739 2300.

Gruyere Grassfire It’s hoped this federal election could help Healesville Hospital and Yarra Valley Health establish Picture: ON FILE an Urgent Care Centre. 179027 be a benefit to local heathcare providers.

“It would be a much better local service if our GPs had admitting rights. Currently they have to refer patients either to EH wide waiting lists or go to private hospitals down the line.”

The need for more immediate health care is only growing as the local population and tourist numbers grow.

“Lots of people go walking and hiking and twist an ankle - at the moment, if there are no vacancies in the GP clinic, they are advised to go down to Maroondah hospital or the Angliss Hospital and that’s a significant distance.

“Everyone in that [20 kilometre] catchment from Woori Yallock, Launching Place, Warburton, all of those people would then have an improved healthcare system at their disposal.”

Funds would be needed to develop the Urgent Care Centre but the first step wanted by the action group is for Casey candidates to acknowledge the need for the centre and then to support an investigation, if elected.

“It would be so exciting if we could get a commitment before the election, that our need for an Urgent Care Centre would be given serious consideration by the Commonwealth Government,” Ms Judd said.

Greens candidate Jenny Game said she can commit to this.

Liberal candidate Aaron Violi said the Liberal Government has doubled funding for public hospitals.

“In Victoria alone, federal funding contri-

bution for public hospitals services in Victoria under the National Health Reform Agreement (NHRA) has more than doubled from $3.3 billion in 2012-13 to $6.9 billion in 2020-21,” Mr Violi said.

“I will continue to fight for our local community and have committed to meeting with Services for Healesville Hospital Action Group (SHHAG) if elected and urge the Victorian Government to invest in our public hospitals and health system.”

United Party candidate Anthony Bellve said as a local resident he understands and acknowledges the need for an UCC and if elected will call for establishing the facility.

“Currently, people are left with the option of waiting to seek care with the next available GP appointment, or attend an emergency room creating further pressure on a broken hospital system,” Mr Bellve said.

“The United Australia Party, if elected will fix what Labor and the Liberals have broken by injecting $40 billion into our hospitals. If elected, I would strongly advocate for some of this funding to be used to establish an Urgent Care Centre at the Healesville Hospital.”

Last week Labor leader Anthony Albanese committed to establishing a Medicare urgent care clinic in at least 50 regions across the country if elected at this month’s federal election.

However, it’s yet to be announced if Healesville would be considered as one of the regions.

Labor candidate Bill Brindle and fellow other Casey Candidates were contacted for comment.

Pre-polling locations, call centres open Early voting for the May 21 Federal election began on 9 May, with several pre-polling booths open throughout Casey and the surrounding area.

For in the Yarra Ranges, St Patrick’s Parish Community Centre in Lilydale, Chirnside Park Community Hub and the Darron Honey Centre are the closest voting centres open for early voting.

People affected by Covid-19 isolation rules can vote by telephone, thanks to legislation

Yarra Junction stabbing

passed in early 2022. Up until the Wednesday before Election Day, Covid-affected Australians can apply for a postal vote. Telephone voting for people with Covid-19 is an emergency measure for the final three days of voting. Telephone voting registration will be available on weekdays between 8.30am and 5.30pm from Monday 9 May until 20 May. More information on telephone voting can be found at www.aec.gov.au/election/ blv.htm

Early voting will open on May 9.

Picture: ON FILE

CFA was notified at 8.15pm on Thursday 5 May to reports of a grass fire spreading at Gruyere.

On arrival, crews found a contractor undertaking a burn-off.

The scene was declared under control at 8.36pm.

Three vehicles from Gruyere and Coldstream brigades attended.

Launching Place accident Paramedics were called to a car rollover incident at around 9.41am on Dalry Rd, Launching Place, near Ismails Lane and Whistler Rd. The road is a high-speed area, with signage indicating that large trucks and vehicles can exit driveways at any moment. The circumstances of the incident are unknown.

Ambulance Victoria confirmed a woman has been taken to Maroondah Public Hospital in a stable condition with minor upper-body injuries. She was taken by Air Ambulance.

Motorcycle crash A motorcyclist has been involved in a singlevehicle accident on Warburton-Woods Point Rd in Cambarville.

The male in his 30s was taken to the Maroondah Public Hospital in a stable condition with lower body injuries.

At about 11:25am on Tuesday 3 May, the rider came off his bike on the road that runs alongside the Yarra Ranges National Park.

Victoria Police said no other motorist was involved in the crash and the rider suffered a broken ankle and the circumstances of the crash are unknown.

Firewood collection Yarra Ranges Council are offering their second free firewood collection from the June 2021 storm event, available to Yarra Ranges residents only from Monday 9 May to Friday 14 May between 8am and 5pm each day.

Residents can collect firewood either from Wandin East Recreation Reserve on the corner of Monbulk-Seville Road and Old Baker Road or Don Road Sporting Complex, 263A Don Road, Healesville.

Bookings are essential and Councils Parks and Bushland team members will be on-site to ensure bookings are checked and to direct residents to the collection location.

Each timeslot will be allocated 20 minutes to fill a trailer/vehicle and secure the load. Two able people are recommended per vehicle as Yarra Ranges Council is unable to assist.

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MAIL 3

STATE BUDGET BREAKDOWN

Health top ticket item

By Parker McKenzie Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas handed down the 2022-23 Victorian state budget on Tuesday 3 May, with a focus on big spending on healthcare, infrastructure and education to guide the state out of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The healthcare system will receive $12 billion in funding in the budget as the state grapples with massive wait times for elective surgeries.

The Government said it would deliver an extra 40,000 surgeries in the next year for a total of 240,000 surgeries annually. $333 million has been allocated to recruit 400 new staff for the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority, which is responsible for emergency calls after high demand during surge times left Victorians waiting for ambulances throughout the pandemic.

Also included was funding for hiring up to 7000 more healthcare workers, including 5000 nurses, and 2.3 billion to upgrade and build new hospitals. $124 million will be spent on recruiting 90 paramedics.

The budget allocated $1.3 billion in total for new mental health initiatives. The State Government said 90 per cent of recommendations from the Royal Commission into Mental Health were now underway.

The state will spend $1.8 billion for building new schools and upgrading existing facilities, with a focus on upgrading special schools and $277 million spent facilitating previously announced reforms to VCE and VCAL. The budget has allocated $581 million to build 13 new schools and complete additional stages at four others and $560 million to upgrade 65 schools — including $326 million for 36 special schools.

The budget includes $779 million in investment towards recruiting 1900 more teachers throughout the state.

Another $173 million will be spent supporting teachers with initiatives and funding including $104 million to upgrade school software and $33 million to expand teacher education. $15 million has been allocated to delivering

Eildon MP Cindy McLeish responds to Vic budget

By Callum Ludwig

“kinder kits” to children starting three-yearold kindergarten in 2023 and 2024, which includes books, puppets and games to supplement learning. $131 million has been allocated to continue four-year-old kindergarten services around Victoria.

Alongside VCAL and VCE reforms, the State Government has also allocated $131 million for extra literacy and numeracy support for students.

The Victorian Government is aiming to hire an additional 502 police and 50 Protective Service Officers over the next two years, as a part of the $342 million allocated in the 2022/23 state budget. $215 million has been invested into the rollout of conducted energy devices — commonly known as tasers — to police and PSOs. $15 million is being invested in providing death and disability insurance for operational police officers between the age of 55 and 60. $4.7 million has been allocated to support work on the Strategic Framework for Countering Violent Extremism.

Net debt is forecasted to be $101.9 billion as of June 2022, before reaching $167.5 billion by June 2026. $3.5 billion has been allocated for transport infrastructure projects, more trains and the removal of level crossings. The state government’s infrastructure investment will average $21.3 billion dollars a year.

The State Government is forecasting an operating cash surplus of $1.3 billion in 2022/23, with government expenditure expected to fall by 9.7 per cent in the same time period.

Total revenue for the state government is expected to be $81.9 billion in 2021/22, an increase of $3.9 billion from the previous year.

Victorian Liberal Party leader Matthew Guy said the budget was wasteful and mismanaged.

“How can you trust the government that got us into this mess to be the ones to get us out of it?” he said.

“People’s money is not a play-thing for a politician on the nose and should instead be used to ensure Victorians can have a secure job and better future for their children.”

Eildon MP Cindy McLeish has concerns about 2022/23 Victorian State Budget handed down on Tuesday 3 May. Ms McLeish said the large debt accrued by the Victorian State Government was the biggest issue that jumped out at her.

“What’s really staggering is by 2025, Victoria’s debt is on track to equal that of New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia combined, even prior to COVID, prior to the bushfires, Victoria had tripled the debt,” she said.

“They’ve just continued that borrowing, so compared to the other states, we are way, way behind. Interest rates have been very low, but they’ve just started to go up, and for the government, that means that they have to pay more in interest on that debt.”

The ABC reported that the Victorian Government’s debt is set to sit at $101.9 billion at the end of this financial year, slightly better than the $104.5 billion forecast in the budget update at the end of last year.

Ms McLeish said there have been too many budget blowouts under the Victorian Government.

“Whilst we’ve got record debt that we have to pay back, there’s so many budget blowout, around 24 billion,” she said.

“You’ve got roads, projects like the Maroondah Highway, having to fix just after they’ve done it and paid for it, the quality of some of the work that’s being done isn’t what it shouldn’t be, then things have to go back and get fixed and it adds to the costs.”

Ms McLeish said she thinks the 2022/23 budget is based on assumptions that are unreasonable to make.

“The other thing that really jumped to me is assumptions of the budget are based on population growth and the return of in-

ternational travel and students to pre-pandemic levels in a couple of years,” she said.

“I can’t see those numbers taking off at huge rates, because there are still some people that are going to be reluctant to travel. If you’re a student and you started a course in Canada, you’re not going to all of a sudden come and do your last year in Australia, you’ll finish it where you’ve started.”

Ms McLeish also said she was unhappy with the funding being shaved for the Asset Management program for roads, cuts of $47.8 million from the agriculture and regional development budgets and the taxation of an extra $603 million in land taxes.

Ms McLeish said she has a couple of key concerns for Eildon she will be continuing to advocate for.

One of the things I have already been pushing forward on is certainly the road in the area,” she said.

“In Healesville, I also want to see the Maroondah Dam upgrade done, to get that park back to pristine condition rather than the state that it has fallen in now.”

Last month, State Liberal leader Matthew Guy joined Ms McLeish at the Maroondah Dam to announce a $2.8 million pledge if the party is elected in the November election, which could potentially go towards a playground, new picnic and barbecue areas and toilet facilities. Ms McLeish previously said she receives many complaints to her office about the current state of the park which used to be a major attraction to the area, and ran a survey asking locals what they would like to see done.

The State Government previously announced the park would receive a part of the $21 million Urban Parks Active Wellbeing Program, which would see approved works completed by June next year.

Changes to Victorian electoral divisions for the 2022 federal election The name or boundaries of your electoral division may have changed since the previous federal election because of the recent Victorian federal redistribution.

As a result of these changes, you may need to vote in a different division, or your usual polling place may be in a different division.

To check what division you are enrolled in, or to find a polling place where you can vote, go to aec.gov.au or call 13 23 26.

Federal election, Saturday 21 May 2022 aec.gov.au |

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Authorised by the Australian Electoral Officer for Victoria, 2 Lonsdale St, Melbourne.

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Voting is compulsory for Australian citizens aged 18 years and older. If you don’t vote, you may be prosecuted.

If you vote more than once it is a criminal offence.

MP Cindy McLeish at the Maroondah Dam, which she wants to see finally upgraded. 229379 Picture: ON FILE

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STATE BUDGET BREAKDOWN

Big spend for projects

By Parker McKenzie Reduced spending certainly isn’t on the table for the State Government, with huge expenditure to revitalise the Victorian economy announced in the 2022/23 budget.

With the backdrop of rising inflation and interest rates, Treasurer Tim Pallas handed down the budget speech to parliament with a focus on spending big on healthcare, infrastructure and education.

Mr Pallas said 280,000 jobs have been created across the state since the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions and lockdowns.

“The economy is broadcast to grow by 3 and quarter per cent in the coming financial year, industries are roaring to life,” he said.

“Victorians are crowding back to restaurants, theatres and stadiums.”

Net debt is forecasted to be $101.9 billion as of June 2022, before reaching $167.5 billion by June 2026.

$3.5 billion has been allocated for transport infrastructure projects, more trains and the removal of level crossings. The state government’s infrastructure investment will average $21.3 billion dollars a year.

The State Government is forecasting an operating cash surplus of $1.3 billion in 2022/23, with government expenditure expected to fall by 9.7 per cent in the same time period.

Total revenue for the state government is expected to be $81.9 billion in 2021/22, an increase of $3.9 billion from the previous year.

Mr Pallas took aim at the federal government in his budget speech, which he said was treating Victorians as “second class citizens”.

“Victorians have achieved this extraordinary economic recovery despite the commonwealth government shortchanging them billions of dollars,” he said.

“The commonwealth government must stop shortchanging hardworking Victorians and give us our fair share.”

Big spending on infrastructure projects is a cornerstone of the new budget.

Picture: ON FILE

Plenty of excitement for the grade 5/6 students and Principal Phillipa Adgemis. 280040 Picture: CALLUM LUDWIG

$2.4 mil for school works

By Callum Ludwig Coldstream Primary School is set to undergo major refurbishments of its Grade 5/6 area, having received $2.4 million from the Victorian Government in the 2022/23 State Budget.

The funding is also set to be used to upgrade the air conditioning system, remove asbestos and increase natural lighting.

Evelyn MP Bridget Vallence said she was thrilled the funding was secured.

“It was my pleasure to phone the Principal, Phillippa Adgemis, on Tuesday afternoon to let her know the wonderful news, and thank her and her staff for their hard work and persistence,” she said.

“After raising this issue on behalf of the Coldstream Primary School community a number of times in Parliament, together we now look forward to delivering a better and more modern learning environment for both students and teaching staff.”

The school has more than earnt their funding, having ranked as the top-ranked

school for reading in 2021 NAPLAN. Member for Eastern Victoria Harriet Shing said the funding will help every child achieve their full potential.

“You can’t get a first-rate education, in a second-rate classroom,” she said.

“It’s why we’re going to upgrade Coldstream Primary School with $2.4 million to bring buildings at the school into the 21st century.”

The funding comes as part of the 2022/23 Budget’s total $1.7 billion expenditure in education.

Minister for Education James Merlino said every Victorian kid deserves the best start in life no matter where they live, where they come from or what their abilities are.

“We know kids can’t learn at their best if they don’t feel happy and safe – that’s why we put health and wellbeing on an equal footing with academic achievement for Victorian students,” he said.

“We’re investing in our teachers and our education workforce because it’s good for students and it’s good for Victorian jobs.”

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MAIL 5

STATE BUDGET BREAKDOWN

Upgrades and upskilling

By Callum Ludwig The Victorian State budget announced huge funding aiming to boost Victorian emergency services preparedness, it comes after several natural disaster occurrences around the country, including the June 2021 storm.

VICSES in particular are major beneficiaries with a record $28.5 million allocated to improving its facilities and resources.

The organisation was elated at the cash splash, with VICSES CEO Stephen Griffin saying it is a fantastic outcome.

“This is a sign of the government commitment to the service and to the vital work of VICSES volunteers serving the Victorian community 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” Mr Griffin said.

An additional $8.9 million on top of funding for existing projects has been allocated to new efforts to conduct priority maintenance to VICSES facilities and a continued rollout of replacing priority vehicles.

The Victorian Government have also encouraged VICSES to use the funding to improve the workplace safety and culture, particularly to encourage more women to join their local branch or other emergency service volunteer groups.

Unit Controller for Lilydale State Emergency Service Shaun Caulfield said the one-off funding is appreciated, but he would like to see an Emergency Services levy introduced in Victoria.

“We are having to replace a truck - the total cost is $250,000. We need to find $100,000 plus to contribute to that if we are able to secure a grant to cover the remainder. This grant is not assured.”

“The change to a true ‘Emergency Services levy’ – with a very modest increase of $5 per property over the whole state, would provide

Lilydale SES Unit Controller Shaun Caulflield would like to see an emergency levy established. sustainable ongoing funding to VICSES well into the future,” he said.

“We ask both sides of politics at State Level to consider the role VICSES plays in all Emergencies – Road Rescue, Storm, Flood and direct support to other agencies such as land search and land rescue, and to adequately fund us moving forward.”

For the CFA, the budget is delivering over $11 million spread across four years to perform CFA vehicle driver training and to upgrade and expand their fleet of emergency vehicles.

New initiatives include $8.9 million to a

statewide uplift of CFA’s emergency response capability, $2.2 million to programs upskilling and protecting firefighters statewide.

There’s also a further $9 million of previously unannounced funding to support gender diversity with female-friendly change rooms at over 40 CFA stations and three training campuses, as part of a $16 million total investment.

The funding will also go towards PFAS assessments and decontamination of high-risk stations and appliances.

Minister for Emergency Services Jaclyn Symes said the Victorian Government are con-

Picture: ON FILE tinuing to back the state’s hardworking emergency services with the support they need to protect and save lives.

“We’re delivering more staff, more resources and better infrastructure – attracting more people to begin a rewarding experience in our emergency services,” she said “Our hardworking emergency call-takers have done their absolute best throughout unprecedented demand from the pandemic – we’re ensuring they have the extra support they need to give Victorians the very best care.”

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Tuesday, 10 May, 2022

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STATE BUDGET BREAKDOWN

Backing existing funding

By Mikayla van Loon The State budget released last week has aimed to build on its existing promises for building more social housing and improving conditions for women.

Having already contributed $5.3 billion towards the Big Housing Build in Victoria’s growth corridors, the State government has committed to ramping up the project to build 12,000 new social and affordable homes but the primary focus was on the creation of jobs.

“Our unprecedented investment in safe, secure housing will change lives – providing a home for even more Victorians and creating thousands of jobs as we recover from the pandemic,” housing minister Richard Wynne said.

While Anglicare Victoria’s Eastern Region regional director Shaye Chalmers said the commitment was a welcomed one, more

needed to be done.

“At Anglicare Victoria, we welcome the Victorian government’s commitment to build more social housing but the planned number still won’t be enough to meet demand,” she said.

“There really needs to be an increase in the rate of JobSeeker and Youth Allowance payments to prevent homelessness. While rents, petrol, utilities and groceries continue to rise, our client’s income support payments are being stretched ever more thinly.

“Increasing the level of the support payments would improve affordable access to the rental market for those on low incomes.”

Anglicare Victoria CEO Paul McDonald said as the cost of living rises, as well as rent, people are having to make choices between food and a roof over their heads, a situation that be-

comes even more challenging when a woman has had to leave a violent situation.

“Our agency is seeing dozens of single mums who have had to flee domestic violence situations – often with just the bare essentials – and are finding it hard to get rentals they can afford,” he said.

“This year there were just seven properties out of almost 19,000 which were affordable for single parents on income support.”

The government has stood by its promise to implement all of the 227 recommendations from the Royal Commission into Family Violence, with a total of $240 million announced in the budget.

This includes expanding critical refuge and crisis accommodation for victim survivors, support for family violence services to provide crisis assistance and specialised therapeutic

support for young people, programs to work with perpetrators and prevention and education through Respect Victoria.

Improving outcomes for women on a whole was funded quite heavily with $940 million in initiatives primarily focused on giving women more employment opportunities and closing the gender pay gap.

Minister for Women Gabrielle Williams said the pandemic revealed the disproportionate impact on women when it comes to financial insecurity and safety.

“We know that inequality for women drives violence against women – that’s why our law reform and investments target both,” she said.

“From crisis accommodation to consent education, we’ll keep investing in the services we need to keep women and children safe and the Victorians we need to deliver them.”

Animal welfare reform a win

By Callum Ludwig

Founder and CEO of Holy Fools Neal Taylor isn’t convinced by the Victorian Government’s response to homelessness in the budget.

Picture: ON FILE

Crisis support needed

By Callum Ludwig Homelessness support services are sceptical of the commitment to stemming homelessness in the Victorian State Budget released on Tuesday 3 May. $75 million was committed in the budget to upgrading homelessness support services for homeless Victorians or those who are at risk, including a specific focus on getting them into permanent housing.

Founder and CEO of Holy Fools, a homelessness support service in the Yarra Ranges, said he is very pleased with some of the funding, but failures to address other concerns indicate a ‘band-aid’ approach to support.

“What’s frustrating for me is they talk about providing $75 million to transform the services and $11.5 million towards targeted support for those at the greatest risk after Covid while we are in a housing crisis,” he said.

“I thought it was a bit pathetic that only $1.3 million in low-interest loans was given to community housing agencies to provide social and affordable housing.”

The Victorian Government did announce works for the 10-year Big Housing Build program are increasing, with a promise of more than 12,000 social and affordable homes, 6000 of which are already underway or soon to begin construction. 25 per cent of the total $5.3 billion allocated for the Big Housing Build over its lifespan is dedicated to regional Victoria.

Mr Taylor was much more welcoming of the funding for the Aboriginal Homelessness Access Point and a couple of other initiatives but critical of no additional funding for the successful From Homelessness to a Home (H2H) initiative.

“The funding that is allocated towards providing Aboriginal access points is brilliant, and so is the building of two Aboriginal community refuges, two new Core and Cluster family violence refugees and six new Crisis Accommodation properties. mailcommunity.com.au

These need to go to areas with the most need but I’m pleased to see that,” he said.

“They’ve withdrawn funding from the H2H program, and I think it’s a good indicator of the government and the sector funding band-aid solutions rather than those that work, it was fantastic that a lot of people went into motels, and there was a lot of people that provided there were found homes, even short term as part of H2H.” The Victorian Public Tenants Association (VPTA) shared a similar sentiment, lamenting the loss of the H2H program. They indicated that without the program, the tenancies will be unable to be sustained into the future, leases which are expiring soon.

Chief Executive Officer of the VPTA, Katelyn Butterss said providing promises of long term homes to rough sleepers and other homeless people in 2020, only to cut the funding in 2022, was a cruel trick.

“With the cost of living only increasing, vulnerable Victorians who need support to remain in or access a safe, affordable home need more support – not less,” she said.

“Waiting list times are blowing out, yet this Budget fails to deliver the housing that would allow Victorians to access the safety, security, and dignity of a place to call home more quickly.”

VPTA pointed out in the Budget itself, on page 216 of Budget Paper 3, the Victorian Government’s target wait time for public rentals for priority applications cases is 10.5 months.

The Budget Paper indicates that in 202021, they hit an average of 12.4 months for priority cases and 11.1 for family violence cases. These are predicted to increase by 1.5 months and 5 months respectively to 13.9 and 16.1 months, as per the Government’s own estimate.

VPTA indicated they believe the data is skewed in favour too, stating from their own experience and research, that a recent survey of 310 public housing renters found that more than 30 per cent of the respondents waited three years or more to access a home.

The Victorian Government has recognised the state’s love for animals with huge announcements of funding and reform for the animal welfare sector in the 2022/23 budget. $18.6 million is going to initiatives that cater to the welfare, protection and rehabilitation of animals, marked by the promise of preparatory work for a new Animal Care and Protection Act and the establishment of a regulatory framework for the pet rehoming sector.

CEO of RSPCA Victoria Dr Liz Walker said the funding responds to key animal welfare challenges in the state and will help to tangibly improve the lives of Victorian animals.

“We commend the government’s commitment to modernising the legislation, and as the most trusted animal welfare organisation in Victoria, we look forward to seeing the progression and development of a contemporary animal welfare act,” she said.

“This important new legislation will provide a better framework for RSPCA Victoria’s Inspectorate to carry out its vital work in the community.”

Multiple animal welfare organisations will also have the ability to access animal welfare support that will help them access necessary tools and resources.

Founder of Forever Friends Animal Rescue in Gladysdale Saskia Adams said the funding really shows the State Government is now aware the community cares about animals and their welfare.

“These are election issues now. I think previously governments have ignored the fact that the community as a whole does mostly care about animals,” she said.

“This is a really great sign that legislation and government spending are going to take into account what we care about as people.”

Almost $2 million will be allocated to gathering information and implementing changes to support animal care, with plans in place to conduct Victoria’s first-ever Pet Census to help make informed decisions on what the key trends and issues in pet ownership are for Victorians which will guide the implementation of targeted programs.

Ms Adams said the Animal Care and Protection Act will help replace outdated legislation.

“As I understand it, the new legislation is aimed to replace the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986. For 20 to 30 years now, it’s not been how we expect our animals to be protected,” she said.

“I also personally welcome regulatory framework for animal welfare, rescue or pet re-homing organisations. The vast majority of them do an incredible job, but there are others who can give the rest of us a bad name. Having a code of practice is a really good idea going forward for those organisations that operate professionally, it will actually help animals in our care.”

In previous budgets, FFAR and other animal welfare organisations benefited from the Animal Welfare Fund Grants Program, with FFAR in Gladysdale receiving $15,000 for Equine Rehabilitation and Rehoming Stables in 2021,

The FFAR team at their headquarters in Gladysdale.

Picture: ON FILE $48,500 to establish their headquarters in Gladysdale in the 2016/17 budget and $35,000 for their Mothers and Kittens Crisis Program in 2014/15.

They also benefited from last year’s Individual Pet Rehoming Grants which offered up to $500 per dog and $200 per cat reimbursed to support re-homing efforts.

As part of the budgetary promises, there are areas Ms Adams would like to see implemented.

“I’d like a greater increase in the power to the RSPCA as the government regulator and inspector for animal cruelty reports. At the moment, as long as an animal has access to water, and shelter, and can move around and stand up, the RSPCA has no authority to seize an abused animal in that situation,” she said.

“I also hope to see the Individual Pet Rehoming Grants re-released as Maneki Neko Cat Rescue had about $100,000 reimbursed and we had about $40,000. For a volunteer group, that’s a huge amount of money and it made such a difference.”

A comprehensive cat management strategy, a Victoria first, is also set to be delivered as a long term plan to reduce overpopulation, encourage responsible ownership and support better welfare for both cats and native wildlife.

Ms Adams said she can’t wait to find out more about the plan for cats.

“I’ve been advocating for many years to have new, progressive programs in regards to cat management, programs that have been operating overseas for many years,” she said.

“There’s no doubt that cats in Victoria and around Australia in terms of overpopulation cause the most suffering of any companion animals, it’s a huge issue with the community.

Pounds and shelters have had huge kill rates as a result.”

Tuesday, 10 May, 2022

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MAIL 7

NEWS

Liberals back roads push

By Parker McKenzie The Liberal Party has committed $14.8 million towards Yarra Ranges Council’s Roads for Agribusiness initiative if re-elected on May 21.

Liberal Candidate for Casey Aaron Violi and Minister for Infrastructure Paul Fletcher announced the funding for the sealing of nine roads across the municipality in Seville on April 6.

Mr Fletcher said Mr Violi had worked closely with the council to choose the roads with the most need for funding.

“A key theme here is productivity, so road upgrades to support the productivity of farms and other agricultural enterprises here in the

Yarra Valley, but also of course tourism,” he said.

“Aaron’s worked really hard. He’s consulted very closely with the council, with other stakeholders. Most importantly he’s made the case in Canberra.”

The nine roads are McMeikans Road in Yering, Alex Thompson Drive and Charteris Road, Blacks Road in Wandin East, Victoria Road in Seville, Spring Lane in Gruyere, McNamara’s Road in Millgrove, McCarthy Road in Olinda, Douthie Road in Seville East and Linwood Road in Seville.

Mr Violi said he will work hard to deliver priority road upgrades across Casey.

“The Liberal Government is delivering for

Casey, whether it’s upgrades to local roads and infrastructure, building new telecommunications towers to eliminate blackspots or investing in our local sporting clubs,” he said.

“My local plan for Casey is about making our communities a better place to live, work and raise a family.”

Yarra Ranges Council said the investment would create 48 jobs and leverage a further $33 million in economic activity.

Mayor Jim Child said the announcement was a significant investment in the region.

“It runs in parallel with our roads to community initiative and we know how well that’s been delivered. I think the good story out of this is that candidates are taking notice that

Yara Ranges Council can deliver on pledges that they put forward because we’ve done the hard yards,” he said.

“We’ve done the consultation with the community. We’ve done the costing and we can deliver. It’s fantastic to have a minister coming up today and supporting what we can deliver.”

Yarra Ranges Council has asked candidates in the Casey electorate to support their $150 million Roads for Agribusiness project, which construct 150 kilometres of sealed roads throughout the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges.

Shadow Minister for Infrastructure Catherine King was contacted for comment.

Warburton residents to meet with candidates at pub

By Callum Ludwig Upper Yarra residents will have the chance to hear from the candidates for Casey from the comfort of the Alpine Hotel in Warburton on Thursday 12 May. The event was organised by a group of Warburton residents who got talking politics at the Alpine Hotel, and currently, Independent candidate Claire Ferres-Miles, Labor Candidate Bill Brindle, the Greens’ Jenny Game and United Australia Party’s Anthony Bellve have confirmed their attendance. One of the organisers, Greg McMahon, said Casey residents’ votes are really going to count for a lot after the retirement of former Liberal Mp Tony Smith who had held the seat for 21 years.

“People could be forgiven for thinking, ‘it doesn’t really matter how I vote, my vote isn’t going to count’ whereas your vote is going to

The Alpine Hotel in Warburton is hosting a Politics in the Pub event to meet the candidates for the federal election.

Picture: ON FILE count this time,” he said.

“We just want to make sure that people get out there and are motivated and informed. I probably still don’t know who I’m

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going to vote for.”

All 11 candidates for the Casey electorate were invited and Mr McMahon went to the Healesville Meet the Candidates event and said there were a few key electoral issues that came up.

“I probably went with preconceived ideas about what I thought people were going to say, and only one of those preconceived notions was confirmed, on the other three I was just totally blown away,” he said.

“I think the two glaring things that come though are climate change and integrity, and if you were asking me personally, I’d put integrity number one. Having a live experience for a couple of hours, you get to observe the person’s nature, their body language, and the way they respond.”

With Casey residents heading to the polls on Saturday 21 May, time is running out to put

the candidates under the microscope and decide who will be the elected representative.

Mr McMahon says he hopes the event encourages more Warburton residents to actively vote in the election this year.

“The number of people voting in 2019 was a little bit reflective of Warburton in that there are some things that people just don’t participate in. One of our motivations is for people to be informed and have a say because it’s your future,” he said.

From the 2016 census and 2019 electoral data, approximately 45.8 per cent of eligible voters in Warburton voted, and approximately only 41 per cent of those votes were formal votes or completed correctly. The pub is located at 3340 Warburton Highway, Warburton and the event will run from 7pm to 9pm.

Attendees can RSVP at this link: https:// tinyurl.com/2p8pzh4w

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The home offers 5 bedrooms and 2 living areas, with the master suite enjoying privacy upstairs, ensuite, space for your own private sitting room and a gorgeous Juliet Balcony.

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Tuesday, 10 May, 2022

5966 2530

3407 Warburton Hwy, Warburton

5967 1277

2457 Warburton Hwy, Yarra Junction

mailcommunity.com.au

NEWS

Homes face climate risks

By Parker McKenzie Community reporting on rising insurance costs and the barriers residents and businesses face to fully insure properties throughout the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges has been reaffirmed by new research by the Climate Council.

According to analysis by the Climate Council, one in 25 Australian properties will be effectively uninsurable by 2030, with some suburbs in the Dandenong Ranges reaching 100 per cent risk of becoming uninsurable.

96.5 per cent of houses in Warburton will be at risk of becoming insurable by 2030 according to the Climate Council’s climate risk map.

Climate Council CEO Amanda McKenzie said climate change is playing out in real-time and many Australians now find it impossible to insure homes and businesses.

“Over the past eight years the Federal Government has failed to meaningfully tackle climate change or prepare Australians for the worsening extreme weather events that we are now experiencing,” she said.

“The decisions of the next Federal Government will influence the future impacts of climate change for generations to come. Pollution from coal, oil and gas must begin to plummet and we must scale up our renewable power so it meets the needs of all sectors of our economy.”

In February 2022, The Star Mail reported on a community-driven survey revealing the extent of increasing insurance premiums and the ties to weather and climate events.

Two businesses in the area — one in Olinda and the other in Sassafras — saw their premiums double for 2021/22 compared to previous years.

The Climate Council’s analysis has confirmed the data provided by the preliminary results of the survey, with residents and busi-

The Climate Council has released an interactive map tracking the risk of houses becoming uninsurable in the future. nesses facing year-on-year increases in insurance costs potentially making coverage unobtainable.

Jeremy Francis, the owner of Cloudehill Gardens and organiser of the survey, told the Star Mail on 22 February having an uninsured property creates further dangers for people when natural disasters occur.

“If people start finding insurance costs too much of a burden, what happens to leave early policy? It’s out the window,” Mr Francis said.

“If it means leaving the house, you’re going to lose everything that you spent your life up until then building, people are not going to leave.”

Chief Fire Officer for Forest Fire Management Victoria Chris Hardman said Victoria has seen a 40 per cent increase in very high fire danger days in the last 30 years, where bush-

fires are likely to cause more harm.

“When you live in an area like the Dandenongs or the Yarra Valley, which is an absolutely stunningly beautiful area that is surrounded by forest and rural land, that means in Australia we have ecology or an environment that has evolved with fire,” he said.

“Fire is a natural part of Victoria’s ecological system, so the challenge that we’re facing is many more people live in that environment than they have in the past.”

By 2050, the vast majority of houses in the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges will be at risk of being uninsurable according to the Climate Council’s climate risk map.

Climate Council leading economist and Councillor Nicki Hutley said Australia is fast becoming an uninsurable nation.

“As an economist, I find these new num-

Picture: CLIMATE COUNCIL

bers shocking and deeply concerning. I urge all Australians to use this tool to understand the risk they and their communities face as we progress through this critical make or break climate decade,” she said.

“This map makes it clear that the emissions pathway the next federal government sets us on will play a critical role in determining the insurability and future prosperity of entire communities and regions across the country.”

The Climate Council, who are a non-profit communication organisation formed to provide independent information on climate change, have recommended Australia triple its efforts to reduce emissions by 75 per cent by 2030.

The climate risk map can be viewed at www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/climate-risk-map

Nobody knows their community like you.

Draft Council Action Plan and Draft Budget 2022-23 including Capital Expenditure Program Last year Yarra Ranges Council used input from the community to develop its Council Plan and Budget. These documents outline the key activities that will be undertaken by Council and how these activities will be funded. We have revised the Council Action Plan and developed a new four year Budget to ensure the key projects and initiatives reflect community needs and help guide community recovery from COVID-19 and the June 2021 storm. Key highlights include: • We’ve added a new major initiative to the Council Action Plan focusing on supporting economic recovery.

• This year’s Budget has set aside $3 million in a Community Recovery Fund, to provide for new and ongoing initiatives, such as the four Community-led Recovery Committees, $86.4 million towards the ongoing delivery for more than 120 services and $89.2m to deliver on a Capital Expenditure Program.

From Wednesday, 11 May, Council welcomes your views on these proposed documents that will be available on Council’s website at www.shaping.yarraranges.vic.gov.au/draftbudget-2022-23 or at all of Council’s Community Links.

Submissions will be considered at a public Hearing of Submissions meeting to be held on the evening of Wednesday, 15 June 2022 both virtually and in person at the Civic Centre, 15 Anderson St, Lilydale.

1300 368 333

Scan for more information 12548892-AV19-22

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Tuesday, 10 May, 2022

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MAIL 9

NEWS

NZ chip brand lays down roots locally

By Renee Wood New Zealand chip manufacturer Proper Crisps has set up shop in the Yarra Valley, establishing its first Australian manufacturing facility in Lilydale.

The snack producer was founded in 2007 and has been selling in the Australian market since the 2019, as the decision to lay down roots in the region was made to be closer to consumers.

General Manager Andy Leonard said they secured an existing snack producing plant, with the take over now currently underway.

“The existing plant was very similar to the New Zealand plant and it was underutilised and available for us to come out and operate,” Mr Leonard said.

The move will help reduce shipping costs, while also reducing the food miles for the sustainably conscious brand and consumers.

Proper Crisps products are currently stocked in 1500 retail stores nationally and can be found locally at IGA stores or specialty retail such as organic fruit and veggie stores.

Crisps lovers may also now notice the change in the branding stating the product is ‘crafted in the Yarra Valley’.

The spuds are all sourced from Victorian growers and the varieties have been developed specifically for the PC recipes.

Mr Leonard said a lot of time has been spent working on the agronomy of yellow flesh potatoes, and three have been developed and grown by selected growers.

“There is not a lot of yellow potato used in Australia so we had to develop a seed program for some specific varieties, which has taken us a year or two.

“Some of those varieties haven’t been grown commercially and in big volumes before so we’re working quite closely with the growers.”

Despite the wet season, the crop has performed well and the harvest started in March, running through until May - the stock is then stored and processed at the Lilydale site.

Mr Leonard said skilled workers are needed and they were able to retain employees from the previous owner of the plant.

By Renee Wood

General Manager Andy Leonard with Yarra Valley produced Proper Crisps.

Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS It’s estimated the Australian move will support 20 skilled jobs in the manufacturing sector.

“We have quite a specific cook profile and technique for making crisps, they are more handmade artisan than bulk manufacturer.

For example, “Probably the time and temperature curve subject to the condition that the potatoes are in - the condition of the potato changes a lot depending on when it was dug or what paddock it came from, so we change our cooking profile to match the potato of the day, there’s quite a lot of skill in that side.”

Other skills are also needed for the bagging machines within the production line as well.

Mr Leonard hopes that more employment opportunities will be generated as the brand expands it’s product locally.

“We’re a brand that’s growing fast in Australia and we’re planning to continue that growth and grow manufacturing at the site here quite significantly over the next three years,” he said.

Developing products specifically for the Australian market will be another key factor of the brand’s success across the ditch, including the introduction of new products.

“We do a garden medley product which is vegetables in the bag and it is quite unique and we will look to do that in Australia as well.

So there’s lots of brand extension opportunities.”

Using home compostable packaging is also a sustainability win.

“That product is also available in Australia that was a first for the New Zealand market and we’re just trying to do our bit for the planet.”

One of the key aims for the brand is to connect with food shows and the local community around the product that’s now produced in their own backyards.

“We’ll be doing everything we can to engage with the Yarra Valley community and so people know where their product’s being made and that the potatoes come locally,” he said.

Local mum creates an empowering space

By Renee Wood A hive of empowering energy is being generated at the Healesville Railway Station, driven by a local mum who wants to support Yarra Valley family businesses and bring women together.

Healesville resident Georgina Ellis is creating a community co-op which will become a designated space to host workshops and somewhere to promote products made by local makers and creators.

Ms Ellis said her main focus is to host support groups for women and help build women’s confidence, while also eventually becoming a retail space.

“You are out in the country and there are a lot of younger families and younger mums coming through and I would love to just have a place to go where it’s fun, where it lifts your spirit,” Ms Ellis said.

The make-up artist felt there was a gap in the offerings for women and Yarra Valley makers, knowning first hand with her husband a leathersmith.

The co-op space named ‘Golden Affection’ is expected to open later in the year, however a monthly market has already been launched named the Healesville Railway Market, inviting Yarra Valley creators to set up a stall.

Both platforms will run simultaneously out of a shed at the railway station which was granted by the board.

“The whole idea behind the market was to create that point of sale for other businesses around the valley, and for everyone else to know that you don’t have to leave the valley to get what you need.”

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Tuesday, 10 May, 2022

Immerse yourself in Sth Korea Residents are being invited to come and enjoy an international taste tester at the Healesville Library as it hosts a South Korean Immersion Day. The event scheduled for Thursday 19 May will be embracing the country’s food culture and history, with plenty on offer for attendees to enjoy and learn from.

The idea was born from Customer Service Officer Sarah Hosking who has an arts degree in Korean studies from Monash University.

“I’m looking forward to bringing a culture that hasn’t really touched this part of the world too much into this space and introducing everybody in Healesville to this small little country on a tiny Peninsula across the other side of the world,” Ms Hoskins said.

The event will include food, drinks, history, music and movies all with South Korean flavour.

The library is also stocked with plenty of books to provide a greater learning of the complex country.

Ms Hosking said her love for the country first grew when she was in high school when she started to engage with K-pop, the distinctive music scene within the country.

From there, she invested hours into learning the language through a tutor and followed her passion through to a university degree.

“I fell in love with the language, it’s just so different and so interesting...

I was exploring more of the food and more the history and I just continued to fall in love with it even deeper and deeper,” she said.

“The history really interests me a lot, Korea itself is an ancient kingdom that goes way, way back to before records even exist, and then in amongst the history ties the language.”

It’s hoped the immersion event will help inspire others to fall in love with the country that’s enriched with culture and history.

It’s also the perfect time for those looking into a trip overseas, as globe trotters have been held back due to the pandemic.

“Lots of people are thinking about international travel and... maybe through this event, I’ll be able to share one of my favourite places across the seasons and people might consider it for their trips.”

The free event will run from 2-4pm and bookings can be made through www.events.yourlibrary.com.au

The co-op and monthly market are run out of the Healesville Railway shed.

As a mother of two young children, Ms Ellis hopes the co-op and market will help other parents find strength from following their passions.

“It empowered me that I wasn’t just changing nappies, making dinners, folding washing - it empowered me because I was supporting other women and definitely supporting other mums and dads in business, which is really important.”

“I really want to be able to put that back into the Yarra Valley and to show young people that you don’t need to go to the big smoke to get jobs.”

The latest Healesville Railway Market was held on the weekend for Mother’s Day.

Georgina Ellis is excited to launch a community co-op dedicated to supporting local women.

Pictures: RENEE WOOD

Sarah Hosking from Healesville Library preparing for South Korea Immersion Day. Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS mailcommunity.com.au

YARRA GLENERGY CAMPAIGN

Community-led revolution The renewable energy revolution is here, and it’s powered by our local community. Find out how Yarra Glen locals are leading the transition to renewable energy, generating local power from the sun, cutting household bills and protecting our health and wellbeing.

A free Community Energy Roadshow will be hosted at the Yarra Glen Memorial Hall from 7.30-9.30pm on Tuesday 31st May 2022. The Roadshow will feature keynote speaker and renewable energy expert Dr Moragh Mackay.

Register now at https://bit.ly/3vwyRuN. Vice President of Yarra Glenergy, Trent Evans, stated “Yarra Glen residents are committed to sustainable, clean energy and Yarra Glenergy gives our residents the ability to deliver on that commitment” “Over the last 5 years Yarra Glenergy has successfully installed Solar Panels on the roofs of the local kindergarten, bowls club and football club. With the help of the local residents, Yarra Glenergy is hoping continue with more renewable projects over the next 5 years including an EV Charger at the Memorial Hall” “Yarra Glenergy is not only saving the environment with its various projects but is also helping local organisations save thousands of dollars on their power bills” Yarra Glenergy is leading the local community energy revolution, recently facilitating a fast electric vehicle charger for the townsfolk and visitors of Yarra Glen. This exciting community event will be hosted by Yarra Glenergy and the Yarra Valley Community Power Hub, who are working together to accelerate Victoria’s transition to a renewable energy future and to meet Victoria’s target of zero carbon emissions by 2050. These initiatives are supported by Sustainability Victoria on behalf of the Victorian Government. Get ready to be inspired and get involved! Take local action for a brighter future — register now at https://bit.ly/3vwyRuN.

L-R - Julian Guess (Yarra Ranges Council), Heather Hill (Yarra Glenergy Member), Harald Dingnis (Yarra Glenergy Member) and Melinda Koth (Yarra Glenergy Treasurer). 279811

Yarra Glen’s Free Community Renewable Energy Roadshow

Brought to you by Yarra Glenergy and Yarra Valley Community Power Hub

Yarra Glenergy Yarra Glenergy’s Community Renewable Roadshow is coming!

Yarra Valley Community Power Hub and Yarra Glenergy are bringing a FREE Community Renewable Energy Roadshow to Yarra Glen’s residents so that they can: - Reduce their carbon footprint - Reduce their energy use and as a community, tackle the growing ‘Climate Emergency’.

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Tuesday, 10 May, 2022

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MAIL 11

NEWS

Study to get kids moving

By Renee Wood Healesville High School has joined a Deakin University research project investigating the levels of activity in adolescents in a bid to improve physical activity among students and staff.

Some 50 students have been recruited across years 7 to 11 and seven staff members are also taking part in the study, who are all now wearing fitness tracking devices for the term.

Principal Allan Rennick was thrilled the school could join the project. “[It] sounds like a great thing to do because I’m seeing more and more, particularly through the pandemic, that kids were so inactive by necessity activity was reduced,” Mr Rennick said.

Following the data gathering, the school and Deakin researchers will create change by establishing a school wide program to boost physical activity.

The Transform-Us research project is supported by over 12 years of work by Deakin researchers and was developed to investigate activity levels, then in turn reduce sitting and increase movement.

Evidence suggests that prolonged amounts of sitting can increase the risk of chronic diseases such as obesity, type one diabetes and heart disease.

“The program has been designed to make moving the norm throughout the day,” Lead research Alfred Deakin Professor Jo Salmon said.

The changing of delivery of education not the content is key, with suggestions of transforming lessons to include movement, for example ‘active maths’ teaching.

A trial conducted among primary schools over two years resulted in a 62 minute reduction in sitting per day and showed an increase

Healesville High School students are taking part in a physical activity research project by wearing fitness tracking devices for the term.

Picture: SUPPLIED in overall daily physical activity of five minutes.

After the data is collected from Healesville High School, Mr Rennick is expecting changes will be implemented in term three.

Students will also be included in creating the strategies by putting forward suggestions of how they could improve their activity levels.

Mr Rennick suggested it could be things such as increasing supervision in the community centre for fitness training or purchasing new equipment.

Another example was around improving security for bikes, if students feel they aren’t riding to school due to security concerns.

“It’s really about what do our kids say and what do the staff say - and then from that, how can we make those things happen, how can

we enable activity to give kids the opportunity, to give staff the opportunity to be active,” Mr Rennick said.

Improving opportunities for girls to get active is another aspect Mr Rennick hopes can be addressed, as physical activity reduces for girls from 13 years onwards.

“It’s great to see girls be able to play football and do all those sports now where as they might not be able to do that before, but we still have this reduction particularly for adolescent girls.

“It’s not specifically for girls, but I’m hoping that some of the actions will really support girls to be active.”

Mr Rennick said he’s noticed activity levels in adolescents across the board have reduced dramatically throughout his teaching career.

“If you came here 20 years ago and looked at our bike shed, it would have had 100 bikes in it - now it might have five bikes. You see some students walking to school, but you see lots and lots of kids being driven to school.”

Access to more phones and technology has also changed the way kids engage at lunch times.

“Kids have got very great access to technology so many kids choose to spend time at recess and lunch time on technology, where if that wasn’t in place kids would be out there getting more active,” he said.

“It’s almost now that we have to as schools put things in place intentionally to encourage kids to be active and it’s becoming more and more obvious that we have to formally do those sorts of things to get kids to be active.”

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Tuesday, 10 May, 2022

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NEIGHBOURHOOD HOUSE WEEK

The team from Healesville Living and Learning Centre. 278424

House connects with all Neighbourhood House Week is a great opportunity to share what we have been doing at Healesville Living and Learning Centre recently.

We started April with a very special visit from Wurundjeri Elder, Aunty Kim Wandin.

She blessed us with a Smoking Ceremony that was very special and appreciated. This cleared the space for us to move forward with our work in acknowledging our First Nations people. This was an important thing for us to do

before we placed our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags on the building.

We also acknowledged our LGBTQIA+ community with a progressive flag, and three flags were celebrated by the many folk who came to enjoy “This Includes You”, our celebration of inclusion and diversity.

As was seen at our inclusion event we have enjoyed many new and returning faces who

are benefiting from the rejuvenated HLLC every day.

Our relationships with other community groups, such as Healesville Connect, Healesville Women4Women, Pathways for Carers and U3A brings greater connection, relevance and vitality to the Centre.

With many people rediscovering their love of board games during lockdowns, we are

starting a Thursday Games group. Come and join our two volunteers in a couple of hours of fun, from 1-3pm.

Moving forward we hope to extend the Arts and Minds Mental Health Peer Support group, continue our work in the LGBTQIA+ space, offer more classes and celebrate days of significance with the people of Healesville. If you have a special day you think we should be celebrating let us know.

If this is your year to upskill or return to work, Reconnect is here for you Choose from various support options at no cost to you

Healesville Living and Learning Centre has been providing quality programs and activities, focusing on supporting and encouraging life long learning, for more than 40 years. We are a Neighborhood House and an Adult Education provider, delivering pre-accredited training, recreational and support programs to the local community.

Term 2 at HLLC Funding for pre-accredited & accredited courses

Access to wellbeing programs

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Business and Work Skills Environment and Sustainability Computer Training Art and Creativity Health and Wellbeing Writing Visit www.hllc.org.au online for more information and to enrol.

Funding for employment related expenses

Please contact Kerri Gravina at Mountain District Learning Centre for more information on 0481 993 182 Monday to Friday or via email kerrig@mdlc.org.au

Delivered by Mountain District Learning Centre 13-15 The Avenue, Ferntree Gully VIC 3156 www.mdlc.com.au | 9758 7859 | RTO 3969 Reconnect is an initiative of the Victorian State Government

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Tuesday, 10 May, 2022

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MAIL 13

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Acting workshops

By Callum Ludwig

Gallery Manager Dakini Maddock with Elizabeth Haigh’s ‘Floods’ series. 279517

Pictures: STEWART CHAMBERS

Paper and peace

By Renee Wood YAVA Arts Gallery has opened its May exhibition, with 14 artists joining the show focussing on paper.

Gallery Manager Dakini Maddock said the idea was initially conceived a year ago – to create an affordable art show that showcases anyone who works with paper as their main medium.

“We’ve got photography, we’ve got lino cuts, we’ve got acrylic on paper, we’ve got charcoal on paper, pastel, eco prints - quite a big variety,” Ms Maddock said.

The artists included in the show are Amanda Ruck, Cathie Berry, Cecilia Sharpley, Christine Cafarella Pearce, David Miller, Di King, Elizabeth Haigh, Jan Liesfield, John Bodin, John Christie, Kate Baker, Pamela Gordon, Rachael Rose and Wilani van Wyk Smit.

Ms Maddock said paper is a wonderful medium that can often be taken for granted.

“It’s been with us for 1000s of years and the whole way paper is made from going to the toilet to what you write your shopping lists on to

Retail Manager Kimberley Hughes enjoying the peace dove installation. 279517 making beautiful pieces of art,” she said.

As part of the exhibit, a Peace Dove installation has been created which uses origami birds to install a message of hope and kindness with a difficult time being felt across the globe.

A display has been started, however the gallery invites attendees to sit down and create their own origami to be attached to the display.

“With Ukraine and everything that’s going on with the war in the world, we thought how can we do something to make put a bit of love into the world,” Ms Maddock said.

“So we’re inviting members of the public to contribute so they can come in and make one themselves.

“I think the process of actually sitting down and working with origami gives people a real visceral experience of the paper as well.”

Artist Elizabeth Haigh has been chosen as the feature artist for the promotional material for her series ‘Floods’ which is of handcrafted prints using photography and traditional etching.

Ms Haigh said each print evolves slowly as she reflects on both the dependence and the impact we have on the environment.

“The heavy downpours during Winter and Spring 2021 led to the Yarra River near me flooding and overflowing into nearby fields and pastures,” Ms Haigh said.

“Lockdown restrictions provided the opportunity to photograph the aftermath from these rains. The use of ‘unnatural’ and heightened colour is deliberate to suggest nature’s unease.”

The exhibit ‘Works on Paper and Print’ is open now, running until Sunday 29 May.

Take a peek inside an acrobat’s world

By Renee Wood An internationally renowned show is coming to Healesville, with Circa Peepshow to amaze audience when it arrives on Saturday 21 May. The performance at The Memo in Healesville is set to feature fierce acrobatic stunts, aerial acts and more, all conducted by talented professionals.

The show which is under the direction of circus visionary Yaron Lifschitz, has eight acrobats who will delight and entertain with their skills in their craft.

Circa Peepshow is Brisbane based and most recently the tour has visited Europe, Austria and now is exploring down under.

Acrobat Lachlan Sukroo has been part of the team for three years and is thrilled to join the Australian tour stopping in the Yarra Valley.

“A lot of our work does happen overseas so when we get to come home and perform in the areas that we grew up… It’s always a nice part of the job,” Mr Sukroo said.

The Circa performer said there is a lot of audience and comical aspects in the first half which is followed by an artistically driven second half.

“A lot of the aspects are acrobatic languages and tricks that you might expect to see in a circus, so there’s quite a high level of acrobatic skill,” Mr Sukroo said.

The stunts won’t be for the faint hearted – or for dare devils to try at home – with the performers highly skilled in their profession.

Mr Sukroo has a strong history of performance after starting to learn from a young age in a youth circus, and then further graduating with a bachelor degree from the National Institute of Circus Arts.

“It takes a lot of training and a lot of hours 14 MAIL

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Tuesday, 10 May, 2022

Acrobats also work together to perform highly skilled stunts, making them look effortless. to be able to do these things and to be able to do them safely,” he said.

“I am one of the people that lift other people up, so the base of the pyramids or throw and catch the person that’s flying through the air.

“In the show in Healesville you’ll also see me doing some cigar box juggling and lots of other things. It’s quite a fun show so lots of scope to perform to the audience and to make jokes as you’re onstage which I think is a fun aspect of the show.”

The main message is for the audience to sit back and be entertained by performers pushing their body to the absolute, through acrobatics, air suspensions and more.

“I hope that they entertained, I hope that they’re excited by what they see and I think

Having started out in theatre before drifting away for a while, Mark Brereton moved to Warburton in 2014 and has gotten back into it, joining the Mad Hatter Theatrics group and now hosting character development workshops.

From Tuesday May 31, Mr Brereton will be hosting a workshop every Tuesday until August 2, at the Redwood Centre in Warburton at 7.30pm.

Mr Brereton said he wants to share what he learned being on the job as a theatre professional with actors of all experience levels.

“In community groups people come from all sorts of backgrounds,there’s people that have got no experience as people with a deluge of experience.

SOme people go there, and aren’t quite sure what to do,” he said.

“Character development workshops give people a road or a path in which they can develop their characters for a stage show. Performances are all about character development, it’s all to develop a character and to portray it to the audience.”

Anyone who is interested in any type of character development can benefit from it, with Mr Brereton welcoming actors who wish to take the traditional path through theatre, to aspiring Youtubers who post their work online, to writers or poets who are looking to create characters through words.

Mr Brereton said the workshops are a tool to help actors prepare for auditions or the performance stage, and will help motivate actors.

“The biggest motivator is self-confidence. Any performer will tell you if you know your character, you’re performing better. With YouTube, there are a lot of people getting on there and doing what they do, but they don’t develop their own character,” he said.

“For theatre, this is basically setting up a tool for working from scratch from when you get the script to when you first meet the director from when you first show the director what you think your character is going to be what the director inputs until the final performance.”

Mr Brereton started out performing in high school shows before he entered the industry as part of touring theatre company doing ‘musicals with a moral’ performances for high schoolers.He went on to write a one-man show he toured with for three years, before directing his own big show in 1987. It was after the show his hiatus from acting began until he moved to Warburton.

“In 2014, I teamed up with Cat Print theatre out here, doing quite a number of shows with them and have now joined up with Mad Hatters,” he said.

“I always missed it while I wasn’t doing it, but it’s great to be back in touch with it again.”

For any further information, Mark Brereton can be directly contacted at 0410 408 827 or mbrereton28@gmail. com

Circa Peepshow is set to amaze the audience Saturday 21 May with aerial stunts and more.

Pictures: SUPPLIED also they walk away wanting to know more…

“There’s quite an artistic aspect, particularly the second half, so I hope that that appeals to them as well.”

Tickets are available https://www.yarraranges.vic.gov.au/Experience/Events/Circa’sPeepshow

Mark Brereton (left) as Noel Nightingale in Cat Print Theatre Company’s ‘S.S Farnland Avenue’ in 2019.

Picture: ON FILE mailcommunity.com.au

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

The brightness of the colours in autumn truly inspire the need to capture their vibrancy against the dullness of trees that don’t change.

Pictures: JASON EAST

Autumn lends itself to clear skies but low cloud giving a great contrast when able to be in the right spot at the right time.

Capturing autumn colours

By Mikayla van Loon Autumn is a time for changing colours and the welcoming of cooler months, something that lends itself to beautiful photography.

Croydon photographer Jason East has been out and about exploring some of the wonders of the region and shared with the Star Mail what he looks for when capturing autumn.

“Spring and autumn are the two seasons that change the most. One is a new life and one is shedding off the old life,” he said.

“The colours in the leaves in autumn capture everyone’s attention. It’s just beautiful.”

Mr East said within a matter of days let alone weeks, the colour of the leaves and the number that have fallen can change rapidly, making it even more exciting to capture the season.

Whether it’s light or perspective, Mr East said it can have quite an effect on the way certain moments are captured on camera.

For him when out looking for subjects to

photograph, Mr East said it’s all about framing the most interesting part and is perhaps not something most recognisable to the eye.

“The detail that I capture is different to what people are used to seeing,” he said.

“I like to shoot a little bit lower and look up at things which gives a slightly different perspective. Maybe it’s framing something smaller other than trees. Maybe there’s something else like a bridge. Maybe one random person that adds personality or a human element.”

By capturing movement even in the edge of frame, whether it be humans or animals, Mr East said it breaks up perhaps that one dimensional landscape image.

As someone who has primarily been a drone photographer, capturing the world from above, Mr East said it has been a learning curve for himself to drop down to ground level.

“The drone you can just point and shoot and then you can crop it from there, you don’t

have to think a lot, compared to when you’ve got a land camera you’re thinking ‘what do I want to capture? Is it just that area or is there a figure? What do I want in the frame?’

“So the learning curve was huge. The drones are always fun because you can just fly around but being on the land, you’re a bit more locked into a location so you really have to choose where you want to go and what you want to shoot.”

Mr East said he has steered away from the drone during autumn because it loses some of the immense detail that is presented in these months, whether it be the falling of leaves or the golden light at sunrise or sunset.

While some photographers enjoy the ability to walk and shoot whatever grabs their attention, Mr East said he prefers to have a plan of where he is going and what he would like to capture.

Although the Yarra Valley and Dandenong

Ranges provide ample opportunities to photograph the wonders of autumn, making it hard to pick his favourites, Mr East said there are some stand out places in the region.

“My favourite one is the Alfred Nicholas Gardens. You can go to most gardens and it’s just a garden but there is a water feature and boathouse. It’s more than just the garden and the photographs are beautiful especially when it’s overcast and the trees are changing colours.

“Yarra Glen’s another good spot, it’s got lots of imported trees or exotic trees so they’re the ones that change the colours.

“A bit further along, I’m going to Noojee to catch the waterfall. With the rains that we’ve had over recent times it should be flowing nicely and I should get some good autumn shots up there. But even just the local councils around here have done a good job [in planting trees] so you don’t have to go too far to find the natural autumn colours changing.”

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Tuesday, 10 May, 2022

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MAIL 15

COMMUNITY DIARY

Pony club’s b-day bash

Yarra Junction Library conducting charity sale Yarra Junction Library is supporting their local SES unit, Upper Yarra SES, with a charity DVD sale.

For a gold coin donation, anyone can come to the library and fill up a bag of any size with DVD’s that they wish.

The sale is running from Monday 9 May to Friday 20 May at the library located at 1A Hoddle St, Yarra Junction.

Bags will not be provided, and cash payments are accepted only with all proceeds going to the Upper Yarra SES. Payment can be provided at the information desk.

By Callum Ludwig Postponed due to Covid-19 restrictions last year, the historic Upper Yarra Pony Club is finally able to host its 60th-anniversary reunion this month.

Meeting on Saturday 4 June at 2pm at Wesburn Park, everyone can catch up over afternoon tea and an evening barbeque as they reminisce on old memories with the club. For those who are coming from far and wide, they are free to camp out the night and wake up to a cooked breakfast.

District commissioner Anita Prowse said she hopes to reach more past members of the club from years gone by, as it has been quite a large part of the local community since its founding in 1961.

“We probably had the most we ever had back when I was a member, with about 125 members. We were very involved in the community, joining the Anzac March at Yarra Junction which we still do, and running an Easter parade at Warburton early in our history,” she said.

“I’ve been really impressed with the response so far, everybody certainly remembers it as being a really amazing time in their life, making friends we wouldn’t have had that have lasted forever.”

The Pony Club was started when a group of 50 horse-riding enthusiasts attended a meeting at the Alpine Hotel in 1961 and asked the Wesburn Advancement League if they could use some of the land at the racecourse, now Wesburn Park, to start the club. The racecourse stopped hosting races after 1963, but the pony

Yarra Junction Library is hosting a charity DVD sale.

Picture: ON FILE

The Upper Yarra Pony Club are inviting all past members to join them for their 60thanniversary reunion.

Picture: ON FILE

Pop-up vaccination clinic

club has never left since.

Ms Prowse said the Upper Yarra Pony Club family is far-reaching.

“In the early days, we had members from all over because we were one of the first groups of pony clubs that actually were formed in Victoria at that time. We had people coming from the city and everywhere else,” she said.

“There’s a lot around that are now 30 and 40 with kids now and some of these kids are even going to pony clubs themselves now.”

The club runs 11 or 12 rallies a year, as well as its upcoming Dressage Jackpot on Sunday 29 May and its horse show on Sunday 11 December.

RSVP can be provided to Ms Prowse by messaging the Facebook event titled ‘UYPC 60TH ANNIVERSARY REUNION or contacting her at 0409 953 345 and letting her know how many are attending and an estimated time of arrival.

EACH will be hosting a COVID-19 pop-up information service and vaccination clinic at the Yarra Centre, Yarra Junction, Monday 9 May – Thursday 12 May 9am – 2pm and Friday 13 May 9am – 12:30pm.

Nurses will be available to answer any questions you have about COVID-19 vaccinations for children or adults.

Paediatric Pfizer, Adult Pfizer, Novavax and booster (Pfizer) vaccines will be available.

Vaccines help maintain immunity against Covid-19 and will continue to protect against the virus.

A booster vaccine will greatly reduce the possibility of having a serious case of COVID-19.

For more information about COVID-19 vaccination clinics, visit EACH at: https://www. each.com.au/covid-19-vaccination-clinics/.

No appointment necessary - walk-ins welcome.

Pop-up clinic at the Yarra Centre next week.

Picture: ON FILE

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No colloquial or foreign words. No capitalised nouns, apostrophes or plural words ending in “s”.

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GEARS GENIE GLARE HANDY HASTE HEDGE KORAN LURED MARIA MEATS PLEAS PRISM RAFTS SCARF SEWER SHARP SIREN SLEET STAIR STEER STEPS

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To solve a Sudoku puzzle, every number from 1 to 9 must appear in: each of the nine vertical columns, each of the nine horizontal rows and each of the nine 3 x 3 boxes. Remember, no number can occur more than once in any row, column or box.

QUICK CROSSWORD

E R A S E

No. 080

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SUDOKU

13-05-22

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Tuesday, 10 May, 2022

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MAIL 17

OPINION

State’s cut to region Last week the State Budget was handed down, and unfortunately it represents a troubling picture for our economy and completely ignores our local community.

The Budget will result in a deficit of $7.9 billion, with State Net Debt a staggering $167.5 billion by 2025-26 taking Victoria’s debt level to that of NSW, Queensland and South Australia combined. Victoria has lost its triple AAA credit rating, meaning that interest repayments on Victoria’s debt will only increase and our grandchildren will be the ones left to pick up the tab. Spending on Health and Covid recovery is crucial, yet the State Budget revealed a disturbing $2 billion cut to Victoria’s health system.

That’s despite ambulances ramping at hospitals every day, hundreds of calls to Triple-Zero being left unanswered, and nearly 100,000 Victorians on the surgery waiting list.

Our community will recall in April 2020 being sent into lengthy lockdowns ‘in order to prepare the health system’. Regrettably, Victoria’s health system remains in crisis, our amazing healthcare workers are exhausted, and we still don’t know what happened to the $1.3 billion that was promised for 4,000 staffed ICU beds. Unfortunately, the Budget is putting patients last.

For the Evelyn electorate, the Budget was incredibly disappointing. There was not one cent to upgrade any roads or to duplicate the rail track between Mooroolbark and Lilydale.

The removal of the Lilydale rail boom gates has resulted in not one, but two additional sets of traffic lights on Main Street, causing traffic chaos. Local residents are now actively avoid-

desk Bridget Vallence Evelyn MP ing the intersection, causing traffic pressures in other parts of Lilydale and local traders losing customers. The half billion spent on removing the Lilydale and Mooroolbark level crossings has not resulted in any improvements in commuting times or reliability or frequency of train services. Further, it is astonishing the State Government has again refused to commit to the duplication of Maroondah Highway Coldstream and fix the dangerous Killara Road intersection, despite being gifted $20 million in Federal funding three years ago. The Victorian Liberals remain committed to this project. Additionally, we’ve pledged $5 million to upgrade the dangerous stretch of Warburton Highway between Douthie and Peters Roads in Seville East if elected this November.

Victorians deserve better than a Budget that cuts funding to health at the worst possible time. Instead, they deserve a dose of positivity and a plan to recover and rebuild our health system. I’ll keep advocating for better local healthcare services, support for small businesses, improved learning environments for our children, and better and safer roads and transport infrastructure.

By Christine Yunn-Yu Sun A review of Grass Roots: Adventures of a Suburban Lawyer by Alan Dudley Alpass Those favouring John Grisham’s numerous legal thrillers and Michael Connolly’s “Lincoln Lawyer” series will find Alan Dudley Alpass’s Grass Roots: Adventures of a Suburb Lawyer both refreshing and endearing.

Lawyers are required by their profession to be good storytellers, but Alpass is a collector and conveyer of great stories of humanity, gleaned from nearly half a century of legal practice across Greater Melbourne.

In his words: “Everyone I know is aware that I love my work, and it really is still a great pleasure, after all these years, to immerse [myself] in people’s real-life problems, many of which the best fiction writers could never imagine.”

Initially, Alpass composed this engaging book to help families and friends better understand his demanding life as a legal practitioner. However, in this process the writing transcended, transforming the book from a mere documentation of life to a conscious and compassionate representation of “the diversity of personalities – their drives, reactions and responses – the array of human strengths and frailties” that makes life rich and rewarding.

Alpass started out as a 25-year-old newly qualified solicitor supporting his family with part- time bartending work in 1975.

Gradually his practice grew, mirroring the evolution and revolution of the judicial and court systems in Victoria.

Without burdening readers with disorienting jargons and detailed descriptions of legal proceedings, the author vividly recalled some of the unconventional characters as well as bizarre, sad, and complex cases that he had encountered. Where personal and professional lives collided, he

had also been provoked, arrested, sued, and threatened.

On one occasion, Alpass found “four bleached human skulls gaped at me, their empty eye sockets dark and surprised” while trying to catalogue the estate of a deceased client in Sassafras. On another occasion, he successfully arranged for the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court to convene at the bedside of a dying client in the Yarra Valley – the first for any court in Victoria.

On still another occasion, the author had to dig for a tin containing $30,000 in cash that was buried “one metre south of a maple tree” in a grand old garden in the outer east of Melbourne. That was rather pleasant, compared to being threatened with violence against his innocent children.

To this reviewer, the story of the “Building Society Bandit” is perhaps the most amusing, where Alpass had a brushing encounter with a bank robber who is known today as Gregory David Roberts, the author of Shantaram. But Grass Roots is ultimately about the human side of legal practice, where the sometimes humours, often harrowing stories of real people are respectfully reflected upon. The keyword here is “respectfully”, as writers are duty-bound to strive for the same kind of professionalism and accountability as their counterparts in the legal field do.

As Alpass describes it, these true stories “serve as a reminder that we share the world with an unending parade of people whose lives are varied and whose need for a dependable legal system is central to society”. An excellent point.

Second best multiverse movie of the year

PROUDLY AUSTRALIAN OWNED & INDEPENDENT

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen and Xochitl Gomez Rated M

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Engaging humanity stories

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Like Everything Everywhere All At Once, Multiverse of Madness’s action-packed plot spans multiple universes but tells a moving, intimate story about regret, loss and longing.

Elite sorcerer Doctor Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) must protect America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), a young woman who can travel between universes, from Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen).

Doctor Strange is still quippy but more mature and grounded than in his first film, confronting his hubris across multiple realities, and has great chemistry with America as her beleaguered protector.

Wanda, who wants to steal America’s power to reunite with her lost sons in another universe, is capable of shocking ruthlessness, but

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Olsen still subtly conveys Wanda’s discomfort over her actions.

As such, despite the harsh, even horrific action, Wanda is a phenomenal antagonist who never quite slips into villain territory.

Multiverse of Madness has surreal, vibrant cinematography but compelling moral greyness.

The plot has a steady, suspenseful escala-

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tion, as Doctor Strange and Wanda draw upon ever-darker forces for noble aims, but just as Everything Everywhere All At Once endorses kindness and acceptance, Multiverse of Madness stresses the importance of empathy and self-reflection.

Multiverse of Madness assumes some familiarity with the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including the TV show Wandavision, but is still accessible for casual viewers, and provides the satisfying (if brutally brief) MCU debut of certain iconic comic characters (which I will not spoil here).

Multiverse of Madness is dark and macabre but unwaveringly fun under horror-comedy veteran Sam Raimi’s direction.

As zany, affecting action movies about the multiverse, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness would make a great double-feature with Everything Everywhere All At Once, and is playing in most Victorian cinemas.

- Seth Lukas Hynes

Warburton Shell Service Station 3458 Warburton Highway Warburton Professionals Andrew McMath Real Estate 3371 Warburton Highway Warburton Bell Real Estate 3407 Warburton Highway Wesburn Local Fuel 2835 Warburton Highway Woori Yallock Foodworks Woori Yellock 1/1585 Warburton Highway Woori Yallock Newsagency & Tattslotto Shop 4/ 1585 Warburton Highway Woori Yallock Hillcrest Little Store Great Food 1745 Warburton Highway Woori Yallock Shell Service Station Foodies 1700 Warburton Highway Woori Yallock Australia Post LPO Shop 11 / 1585 Warburton Highway, The Centre Yarra Glen Ritchies IGA Shop 1/38 Bell Street Yarra Glen Caltex Petrol Station 66 Bell Street Yarra Glen Newsagent 32 Bell Street Yarra Glen United Garage 6 Bell Street Yarra Junction Woolworths Supermarket 82-84 Warburton Highway Yarra Junction Bottle O 2440 Warburton Highway Yarra Junction Bell Real Estate 2457 Warburton Highway Yarra Junction Newsagency 2454 Warburton Highway Yarra Junction Professionals Andrew McMath Real Estate 2460 Warburton Highway Yarra Junction Yarra Junction Community Link 2442-2444 Warburton Highway Yarra Junction Gladysdale Bakehouse 2568 Warburton Hwy Yellingbo Central Store 1942 Healesville-Kooweerup Road

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NEWS

Family violence program

By Callum Ludwig

Yarra Ranges Council is delighted to receive funding and support for family violence prevention in the Yarra Ranges.

“Council has previously led and supported gender equity work across a range of settings including sporting clubs, early childhood centres, and Community Houses – this funding will allow us to continue to grow this work,” she said.

“We’ll also be using this funding to progress our gender equity priorities inside Council, through programs with staff which will support us to meet the requirements of the Gender Equality Act and help us ensure Council’s programs and services benefit people of all

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REDGUM FIREWOOD

PUBLIC NOTICE APPLICATION TO CONSTRUCT A BORE AND TAKE AND USE GROUNDWATER UNINCORPORATED GMU

0407 307 432

It is proposed that the bore will be approximately 120 metres in depth and constructed in accordance with the Minimum Construction Requirements for Water Bores in Australia.

All groundwater proposed to be extracted will be sourced from the Unincorporated Groundwater Management Area.

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RED E TRIKE. As new. $1000 or nearest offer.

Phone: 5962 1389

Southern Rural Water is committed to an appropriate consultation process to ensure the proper consideration of relevant matters as prescribed by the Water Act 1989.

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Please quote reference: LH1687501

Cameron FitzGerald Managing Director

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We therefore seek comment from any interested person or parties that considers they may be affected by these applications. Submissions on this proposal will be accepted until 4pm on 31 May 2022 and will be taken into account in determining the application.

Lynda Hardy Senior Assessment Officer P.O.Box 153 Maffra Vic 3860 Telephone: 1300 139 510 Email: srw@srw.com.au

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ADVERTISERS PLEASE NOTE Anyone advertising a puppy, dog, kitten or cat in Victoria for sale or re-homing will need a source number from the Pet Exchange Register and a microchip identification number.

It is now an offence to advertise unless the source number and microchip identification number is included in the advertisement or notice.

For further information, call 136 186 or visit animalwelfare.vic.gov.au

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Provider of work cover and human services Credit card available LumbaJack

Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) began a training program for Victorian GPs to undertake a new training program to build skills in responding to domestic and family violence, following revelations in Australia’s first Royal Commission into Family Violence, held in Victoria, which recommended professional development training for GPs in family and domestic violence. Anyone who is or knows anyone experiencing family violence is encouraged to call 1800RESPECT at 1800 737 732 for assistance.

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The Victorian Equal Opportunity Act 1995 makes it unlawful for an advertiser to show any intention to discriminate on the basis of sex, pregnancy, race, age, marital status, political or religious belief or physical features, disability, lawful sexual activity/sexual orientation, HIV/AIDS status or on the basis of being associated with a person with one of the above characteristics, unless covered by an exception under the Act. As Network Classifieds could be legally liable if an unlawful advertisement is printed, Network Classifieds will not accept advertisements that appear to break the law. For more information about discrimination in advertising, contact your legal advisers or the Equal Opportunity Commission.

ACTIVITES/ LIFESTYLE COORDINATOR We are seeking applications from experienced Activities/Lifestyle Coordinator for our Yarra Ranges Facility in Warburton. AdventCare is a ‘not for profit’ organisation offering aged care that embraces Christian values.

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The successful applicant will have: • Current NDIS Screen • The right to work in Australia • Cert IV level qualification in Leisure & Lifestyle.

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Caravans & Trailers

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MITSUBISHI Pajero, 4x4, 1990 station wagon, complete, goes well, un reg.

ECI-698, $850. Phone 0473 490 207.

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HOUSE CLEANER ADVERTISERS in this section are qualified practi- Small 3 bedroom house. 3 tioners and offer non- hrs per fortnight. $35 per hour. Ph 0407 000 559 sexual services.

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$250 per metre

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genders and backgrounds.”

Yarra Ranges Council is currently working on a publicly available Gender Equality Action Plan for 2021-2025, conducting Gender Impact Assessments, providing Gender Equity and Bystander Training, establishing a Gender Equity Advocates Program and providing Family Violence Support.

They have previously conducted a Gender Equity and Inclusion Project and were involved in the pilot program for the Gender Equality Bill 2020. In March 2022, the Royal

12548056-JW18-22

Yarra Ranges Council is thrilled at the support and funding from the Victorian Government to help put a stop to family and domestic violence in the Yarra Ranges.

Last week, Yarra Ranges Council were named as one of 15 councils in the state to be part of a $3.5 million initiative to implement and deliver primary prevention initiatives under the Free from Violence Local Government Program.

Yarra Ranges Council CEO Tammi Rose said she wanted to thank the Minister for Prevention of Family Violence, Gabrielle Williams, and the State Government for the funding and opportunity to make a difference in establishing greater gender equality in the community.

“We know that one of the biggest drivers of violence against women is gender inequality – when people of different genders have unequal access to resources and opportunities, and stereotypes and attitudes limit people of different genders,” she said.

“Though a lot of work has been done through awareness about disrespect, discrimination and violence towards women, there is a lot more work to do and we all have a role to play.”

The Eastern Domestic Violence Service (EDVOS) said in August last year that the previous 12 months saw the Yarra Ranges represent the highest amount of domestic violence reports of the seven local government areas they service. They worked with 1158 women and children from the Yarra Ranges out of 6192 total cases, or 21% of their total.

These numbers compare to just 16 percent in Knox and 10 percent in Maroondah in the same time period. Ms Rose said the funding will be used to work with local organisations and community groups to help prevent violence against women through awareness-raising, health promotion and supporting local initiatives.

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SPORT

Warb-Mill gets 5/7

By Alex Woods Lots of netball, football and a touch of rain.

On the weekend we hosted Broadford, bit colder conditions compared to the last few weekends. Ellie Stahl hit her 100th game which shows the loyalty and commitment to the club our players have with all the milestones we have encountered and the ones upcoming. 5 games of netball and 2 football games were played and we managed to grab 5 out of 7 wins.

D Grade started the day off with a match against Yarra Junction. Unfortunately, they went down by 4 goals but played an amazing game. Nicole Winzer, Tamin Crunden and Cam Holland were the best players for this game with Cam Holland shooting 10 and Cam Partel shooting 6.

Under 17’s were up next against Broadford. Another loss but our 17’s showed lots of potential. The final score was 5-22 but didn’t reflect on how much this team is improving.

Layla Ata, Emelia Robin and Tegan Butcher were our top performers with Tayah Humphrey shooting our 5 goals for the day.

C Grade was up next in another great win against Broadford. 45-16, these girls are only getting stronger moving more into the season. Emily Hay shot 24, Mel Hancock with 8 and Brooke de Pedro with 3. Nicki Cole, Ellie Stahl and Emily Hay are the bests for this match.

Reserves kicked off the football as the Under 18s had a bye. Another strong win for these boys, and again, only getting stronger as the season goes on. 19.15-129 to 2.0-12 win, we saw both Josh Dobson and Ash Taylor kick 4 goals to their name, Troy Dargie with 3 and Josh Read and Matt Sidari with 2 each.

Brayden Ferguson, Dale Morris, Scott Muir and Aaron Walley all had 1 goal each also. Our best players for this match were Ashley Taylor, Kyton Handy, Josh Dobson, Christian Toy, Brayden Ferguson and Dale Morris.

B Grade had another thrilling game, taking out the win against Broadford by 5 goals. The rain held off for the majority of the game and the girls managed to regain the lead after being down by 8 goals in the 3rd. Jordana Butcher scored 22 goals, Emerson Woods with 12 and Ella Meerkotter with 7. Alexandra Woods, Sally McIntosh and Chelsea Barnard were the stars of the match.

A Grade secured another 4 points with a 13 goal win. Shae Gee had another amazing performance, shooting 39 goals for the game and Kirralee with 14. Our best players for the

In wet and windy conditions, Yarra Glen’s footy team struggled against Berwick Springs.

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Yarra Glen’s wet clash

By David Ball

Emily Hay poised to shoot. match were Ashlee Guerra, Gabrielle Woods and Selina Fotia. Congrats girls on remaining undefeated.

Seniors finished off the round in wet cold conditions. Newly formed Broadford/Yea put up a fight but we managed to secure 4 points in a 11.19-85 to 2.12-24 win. Brady Mitchell had a great game booting 6 goals. Trent Elliot, Jack Farrugia, Mitch Gordon, Josh Sharp and Brayden Woolridge all kicked 1. Jack Lee, Brady Mitchell, Jack Farrugia, Liam Barnard, Josh Sharp and Tyson Henry were all top performers for this match.

Next weekend we host Powelltown, we hope to see you all there.

Pictures: GABBY WOODS

Aaron Walley sends it forwards for WarburtonMillgrove.

Yarra Valley Soccer goes pink for women

By Steve Fleming A big weekend for Soccer in the Valley with victories for the senior men’s teams and a special day for the women.

The Yarra Valley Soccer Club Women’s team took part in the VCFA Women’s Round on the 7 th of May donning pink laces in honour of the event.

“The entire League wore pink laces today to recognise the contribution of women to their sport and their clubs,” said Coach Neil Langmaid. “It’s a great celebration.”

The women’s team played Maroondah at Silcox Reserve and battled valiantly after being reduced to 9 players in the second half but succumbed 3-1 at the final whistle. The team’s sponsor, Impact Nutrition, supported the team by providing Pink Acai Berry hydration drinks to match the ladies’ laces. In the Men’s fixtures The YVSC Premier side saw off Eastern United at Gracedale Park to get back on the winner’s list and the top of the table.

A sour note to the victory was a knee injury to playmaker Ben Shannon.

In the Premier Reserves fixture, an outstanding 4 goal contribution from forward Anwar Ibrahim saw the YVSC beat Eastern Utd Reserves 6-1. It is the 4th game Ibrahim has scored multiple times in only 5 outings. The coach from the Premier team will now surely be looking to find a spot for such a prolific scorer in his team, as they continue to charge up the ladder. mailcommunity.com.au

Yarra Valley Women’s team celebrate VCFA Women’s Round with a Pink Drink from sponsor Impact Nutrition.

Picture: SUPPLIED In the other senior fixtures, both the ‘Thunderthirds’ and the Fourths were narrowly beaten 1-2 by Knox and Blackburn respectively.

In the Junior fixtures, the U13’s shared points with Gideons in a 1-1 draw while the U15’s

were given a footballing lesson by Berwick, going down 7-0. The U10 Dragons had a bye this week but take on Healesville at Millgrove next Saturday morning for their second match of the season.

Round 5 saw our teams heading up to Berwick Springs for the first time where we were met by wet and windy conditions. The reserves once again were forced to dig deep to replace the many injured and unavailable players. Coming up against the ladder leaders they worked hard early into the wind to keep Berwick Springs to just the 1 goal at quarter time.

Adam Beath in the middle and Beau Hawkins in defence stood out. As the day progressed and our bench dwindled Berwick Springs proved too strong, handling the conditions well and with fresher legs they ran out convincing winners, Yarra Glen losing 0.0 to 11.22. Craig Dodsworth in his first game played well in defence and Matt Campbell was admirable in his first stint in the ruck.

The seniors got off to a disappointing start allowing Berwick Springs to a 6.3 to 0.0 lead at quarter time. The second quarter was more competitive with Sam Horsley in the middle and Jayden Schille down back and through the middle getting plenty of the ball. As the rain started getting heavier Yarra Glen’s effort lifted in the third quarter with each team only scoring the 1 goal. Berwick Springs were starting to find space as the Yarra Glen boys appeared to tire and in the last quarter, Berwick Springs added another 6 goals to the River Pigs 2 points. The final score was Yarra Glen 2.6 v Berwick Springs 16.15.

Nathan McCulloch, Ryan Smith and Billy Gardner were among the best along with Sam and Jayden. The goals were kicked by Jimmy Marks and James Whelan.

Netball The netballers faced difficult conditions with a strong wind making goal shooting difficult. The A grade team won every quarter with Chelsea Birchall in the centre being very active, Steph Gibbs made the most of it with 31 goals. The defence was tight keeping Berwick Springs to just 13 goals, Katelyn Vanderkolk and Meaghan Carter teaming well. The final scores saw Yarra Glen win 39 to 13.

B Grade controlled the game from the start to be 26-10 up at halftime. After a lacklustre third quarter, the girls stepped it up in the last to run out 41-21 winners.

In attack Abbey Page (18 goals) and Melissa Hutton (16 goals) combined well, with Kim Williams putting in another great 4 quarter performance. Ashley Shanks added 7 goals.

C Grade got off to a great start being 11-3 up at quarter time. They continued to extend their lead through each of the next 3 quarters to notch up their first win of the season with a convincing 39-15 victory. The best players were Alex Bray (15 goals), Jasmin Wood and Jacinda Fraser who dominated in the centre.

The D Grade game was a great contest with many lead changes throughout the game. The wind made shooting for goal very difficult with Sarah Orlandi doing a great job with 27 goals. The last quarter started with Yarra Glen 3 goals up but we quickly found ourselves 3 down. The whole team worked hard to get the score back to level with minutes to go. Berwick Springs steadied, however, and Yarra Glen lost by 3 goals, 34-37.

Next week we are back at home and face off against Gembrook-Cockatoo.

Tuesday, 10 May, 2022

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SPORT

Gladysdale teacher new head coach

By Callum Ludwig Ladies’ 6-time winner Kim Kennedy and Men’s Open Champion Jon Cross, his first title win.

Picture: SUPPLIED

Cross gets first win

By Ron Hottes Wednesday 4 May, Stroke and M.McGrann qualifier: Our May qualifier for the new golf bag is Mario DeVincentis. Mario found the course to his liking on this day to return a Nett 67, taking home the winner’s voucher, too! Great work, Mario! The runner-up prize went to Ken Barratt, who was just pipped on the line, ( a regular occurrence!), recording a Nett 68.

Well done, K.B. The balls extended down to Nett 73. Our daily NTP winners were Neil Leckenby (3rd), Alan Johnston (5th), Your loyal scribe (9th), Malcolm Dickson (12th) and to Ossie McClay (15th).

Our Ladies’ B-Grade Championships started on this day, too. Although details of standings are scarce, it is safe to say that Lynda Dickson is leading the way,( with an 89 “off-the-stick”), with Ineke DeGraaf holding down 2nd. The 2nd and 3rd rounds will be played over the next 2 Wednesdays, so good luck to all the girls!

Saturday 7 May, Stroke, Monthly Medal and the final round of the Club Championships: Firstly to the daily results. Ex-Captain Cross pulled out a stunning final round in our Championships to record a Nett 66, taking home the A-Grade voucher, and the May medal! The runner-up on the day was Jason Kennedy with a Nett 67. Unfortunately, other results are unavailable at this time! Also, the only Championship information I can present to you is a list of the various winners. Jon Cross has won his first Open Championship, the youngest winner, at 29, for many years! Ken White had a tight 1-stroke win to be our 2022 B-Grade champ. Tim Blanche won the C-Grade title by a healthy margin! Kim Kennedy has now won the Ladies’ Open Championship for the 6th time. Other results are unknown at this stage, but a fuller report will be included in next week’s edition.

Apologies for the delay.

A local primary school teacher and basketball fanatic now has the opportunity to combine her passions for teaching and ballin’; Michelle Letts from Gladysdale Primary School being named as the Head Coach of the U12 Victorian Boys team for School Sport Victoria.

The grade 3/4 and PE teacher will take the team to the annual national championships in August.

Ms Letts said it was a nice surprise.

“It was a bit unexpected because I hadn’t heard anything about it after the interview.

Then coming back to work after the Christmas break, I found out from my principal (Tara Jenner),” she said.

“I’m very excited, and really looking forward to getting started.”

Ms Letts grew up playing basketball, starting when she was only five years old, playing for the SEBC Saints. She now coaches the Knox Raiders rep team and the Wantirna Wasps in the Knox domestic league.

Ms Letts said the tryouts stage has already begun.

“There are three different rounds of tryouts, and we started the first round last Thursday.

We’ve got two more at the end of May,” she said.

“The final selection is in the June-July school holidays, and we select the team for the national championships from that tryout.”

The annual national School Sport Victoria basketball championships are set to take place from 13 to 19 August this year, played at Bendigo Stadium.

Ms Letts said she has high hopes for the side and enjoys the part she will play as head coach.

“Our ultimate goal is to take home the gold medal,” she said.

“I just like putting it back into the commu-

Michelle Letts has been named as the Head Coach of the U12 Boys Victorian Basketball team.

Pictures: STEWART CHAMBERS nity, and being involved in a sport that I’ve always been really passionate about.”

Ms Letts thanked Gladysdale Primary School for supporting her and allowing her to pursue this opportunity.

The Gladysdale Primary School teacher has been playing or coaching since she was only five years old.

Wandin Cricket Club legend now in hall of fame Rick Painter (middle) displaying the G Grade flag and Adrian Hammond Shield alongside John and Ian. Picture: SUPPLIED

On Friday 29 April, an icon of the Wandin Cricket Club in the late Don Strachan was inducted into the Ringwood & District Cricket Association (RDCA) Hall of Fame.

Don Strachan began playing cricket at Wandin at the age of 14, and was involved as a player and official for more than six decades.

He is honoured by the RDCA, with the F Grade shield named in his honour, the D. J Strachan Shield.

Don’s sons John and Ian accepted their father’s honour at the presentation night, while F Grade captain Rick Painter was presented with the F grade premiership flag and the Adrian Hammond Shield.

Sports participation down across the board post-Covid

By Callum Ludwig VicSport and the Physical Activity and Sport Insights (PASI) research group from Victoria and Federation University, held a webinar discussing the changes seen in sports participation in Victoria post-Covid.

In the VicHealth research, the Yarra Ranges saw one of the biggest drop-offs in participation post-Covid, going from a participation rate of 16.5 percent to 11.34 percent, going from the 5th highest rate among growing outer-metropolitan areas to 9th over the year between 2019 and 2020.

For Professor of Sport Participation and Behavioural Epidemiologist Rochelle Eime, the results were shocking as community sport is a way for residents in small towns and regions to meet up which she said is generally embedded in their communities and social connections.

“Given there are fewer other leisure-time activities in regional and rural areas compared to major cities, the absence of sport will have negatively affected regional communities 22 MAIL

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Tuesday, 10 May, 2022

VicSport hosted a webinar discussing the latest sport participation trends, with a focus on recovering from the impact of Covid-19.

Picture: SUPPLIED more than those in metropolitan areas,” Prof Eime said.

Metropolitan growth areas like the Yarra Ranges have the lowest current sports participation rate at 7 percent, considerably lower than all other regions, experiencing a 26 percent total decrease in the participation rate.

Prof Eime said participation rates in highgrowth outer suburbs like those in the Yarra Ranges should be much higher, with relatively young populations spurring on the growth.

However, she said a combination of lower socioeconomic status and a lack of public sports

and recreational facilities is likely the reason why the growth is held back.

In general, winter-based and team sports experienced the greatest drop off in participation rates, as Victoria had reduced restrictions throughout the summer of 2019, 2020 and 2021 (before the Omicron wave).

Executive Manager of Growth and Inclusion at Football Victoria Karen Pearce OAM said the lack of participation from players also impacted other areas of football/soccer clubs as Victoria exits Covid-19 restrictions this year.

“It’s our clubs that have been impacted, particular in the way of volunteers as the big picture item who have sat back and asked themselves; “Do I want to keep continuing to be involved and give all that time up?” she said.

“And it’s the referees, we are lacking. Our numbers have been slow, but they are okay.”

Head of Participation at Cricket Victoria Owen Hulett was asked how cricket has fared, especially considering they were able to conduct relatively full seasons. Despite Covid-19 restrictions being eased, he said they still experienced reduced numbers of people involved in local clubs.

“If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say ‘volunteer burnout’, I’d have quite a bit of money,” he said.

“It’s a recurring theme across all sports: how do we better support our volunteers and we do we get more in.”

The panel also included CEO at Vicsport Lisa Hasker, Professor of International Sport Business Hans Westerbeek and Head of Tennis Delivery at Tennis Victoria Tamatha Harding. mailcommunity.com.au

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