Star Weekly - Wyndham - 16th August 2023

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Reaching for new heights

Wyndham model Sindu Varathan will reach the top of the fashion world when she parades in the Ladakh International Fashion Runway in India later this month. Literally.

Ms Varanathan will be the Australian representative at the show in Ladakh in the Indian Himalayas, which is aiming to break the world record for the highest fashion show ever held.

Ms Varathan was born in India but grew up in Wyndham. She won the 2020 Ms Australia International Pageant and was selected to join models and pageant winners from around the world to strut down the catwalk at 5700m above sea-level.

“I hope that our joint efforts to break the Guinness World Record will gain the attention of the world, and start conversions and change throughout the fashion industry, the region, and across the globe in other regions faced with similar fates.”

The world record attempt will take place on August 30 and is part of a series of events leading up to India hosting the G-20 Leaders Summit in September.

‘Unimaginable tragedy’

By Emily Woods, AAP

Kanady Moo and his friends grabbed their bikes and rode to a tree used to jump into a popular swimming spot on a warm November evening. But unlike his peers, the 13-year-old refugee did not know how to swim.

He jumped off the wooden plank platform attached to the tree, on November 3, 2020, and instantly began drowning.

People who lived near the Werribee River went down to help and a woman jumped into the water to find the boy, but “could not see any movement or bubbles”, she told the Coroners Court.

Police found Kanady’s body about four hours after he jumped into the water, at 10.30pm that evening. He was six metres under water, caught in snags at the bottom of the riverbed close to where he dove in.

Victorian Coroner Leveasque Peterson investigated Kanady’s death and found the drowning was accidental.

“Kanady’s death is an unimaginable tragedy for this family as well as the wider community,” she said, in findings published on Wednesday, August 9.

“It is imperative, especially in the lead-up to the next summer season, that the Victorian community is reminded of the danger of

unintentional drowning in children in both large and small bodies of water.“

Kanady had never been swimming, nor attended lessons, before his family sought asylum and moved to Australia from a Thailand refugee camp.

They settled in Werribee in 2018 and he was about to finish year 7 at Wyndham Central College when he died.

The coroner sought advice from the state’s education department to examine opportunities to prevent future drowning deaths.

The department acknowledged in the past there was a “significant gap“ in swimming

education between children born in Australia and those of a refugee or migrant background. Since Kanady’s death, funding has been introduced for all English language schools to provide free swimming programs.

Both the department and Life Saving Victoriaagreedmoretargetedcommunication wasneededtoensurenewarrivalstoAustralia knew about the supports and programs available on swimming and water safety.

The coroner recommended Wyndham City Council consult with Melbourne Water and Life Saving Victoria, and consider installing safety signs at popular swimming spots, including in the area where Kanady drowned.

Sindu Varathan will appear in a fashion runway 5700m above sea level in a world record attempt. (Damjan Janevski) 351523_01

Residents rally for law reform

By Cade Lucas

Tarneit locals demanding tougher law and order measures after the recent stabbing of a teenage boy, will march on state parliament this weekend.

The ’Community Safety Rally’ will take place on Saturday, August 19 on the steps of state parliament following a march along Flinders and Spring Streets in the CBD.

The march will follow on from a rally last Saturday, August 12 at Baden Powell skate park in Tarneit, the same place where the alleged stabbing occurred in late July.

Speaking ahead of last weekend’s rally, organiser and former Wyndham councillor, IntajKhan,saidthelatestincidenthighlighted the need for a tougher approach to youth crime.

“This rally is about changing the laws, we need tougher laws, the laws now in place are not working,“ Mr Khan said.

“We’dliketheage(ofcriminalresponsibility) looked into and also mechanisms for tougher sentencing and a review of the bail laws.”

Their chances of achieving these changes would appear slim, with the state government recently moving in the opposite direction.

The government has already raised the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12 starting next year and to 14 by 2027.

Itisalsoproposingtoloosenbailrestrictions following the coronial inquest into the death in custody of Indigenous woman Veronica Nelson.

A government spokesman said youth crime was already being addressed.

“We have made record investments in Victoria Police to ensure they have the resources they need to deter crime and keep our community safe,“ the spokesman said.

“It’s important to recognise that only a

Minecraft helps mould young minds

Video games are usually something children do when they get home from school, but students at Truganina’s Garrang Wilam Primary are playing them in the classroom.

As school learning specialist, Kara Claver, explained, the game is assisting students with their studies rather than distracting them.

“To engage them in this geography unit, we’ve used Minecraft Education to allow students to build the community and landscapes,” said Ms Claver, who adds that the results so far suggest the approach is working.

“Students are a lot more engaged,” she said of the geography project where students across all year levels are helping to build their own town.

“They’re not just building things that they would want, but things that would actually help a community like a vet, a library, playgrounds etc.

“It’s teaching them what a community needs, especially a growing community.”

Given that they live in one of the fastest growing area of the country, Garrang Wilam students are already well aware of these needs, something Ms Claver said was reflected in their work.

“Students have identified things that we’re missing in our community such as a swimming pool, a local bus and that they have to travel a long way to get to a shopping centre.”

The students build the community using

school iPads while also learning about information security, online safety and how to use Minecraft appropriately.

Ms Claver said it was the first time Garrang Wilam had used Minecraft or any other game to assist with student learning and indicated it wouldn’t be the last.

“We’ve definitely opened it up for other aspects (other than geography), it’s now open for us to explore.

We’re always looking for another way to engage our students and try something new.”

Cade Lucas

small number of young people are involved in serious violent crime, and even fewer first-time offenders.

“However we know more work needs to be done – that’s why the budget continues to back early intervention and crime prevention programs to empower communities and support young people away from crime.”

Despite this, Mr Khan is convinced a tougher approach is required.

“The police are doing a great job but it’s not working.“

“Until we try we don’t know.”

New era for Central Park

Central Park Community Centre in Hoppers Crossing is under new management.

Following a tender process, The Wyndham Community and Education Centre Inc (Wyndham CEC) was appointed by Wyndham council to manage the centre and took over on August 1.

Services and programs are set to begin at the centre next month, while Central Park will also act as a hub for the Wyndham Learning Festival.

Wyndham CEC is a well known education and community support provider in Wyndham and mayor, Susdan McIntyre, said their appointment was the latest evolution in a longstanding relationship with council.

“Wyndham CEC has a demonstrated history of supporting new migrants, developing education programs and employment opportunities for our residents,” Cr McIntyre said.

“They are an esteemed pillar of support in our community and are an ideal candidate to bring Central Park Community Centre to life.”

In addition to their existing service offerings, Wyndham CEC will create a micro-business and makers hub to support women to develop small businesses.

Existing community groups using the centre will be allowed to remain and will be supported by council to develop relationships with the new management.

Originally built in 1996, Central Park Community Centre underwent extensive renovations in 2019.

Students’ gardening skills and career prospects flower thanks to AMES

Young people in Wyndham now have the chance to develop their green thumbs while also enhancing their employment prospects thanks to a new horticulture course.

‘Introduction to Horticulture’ is a pre-accredited course that teaches basic horticulture along with workplace health and safety and offers a route to further study at TAFE and eventually, a career.

Run by migrant and refugee settlement agency AMES Australia in conjunction with Wyndham council, the course is open to youngpeopleofallbackgrounds,withthefirst cohort graduating earlier this month.

AMES education manager Mohammed Yassin said the course provides graduates

with skills and opportunities that weren’t previously available to them.

“The aim of the course is to prepare students who otherwise have not been able to find pathways to education, training and

employment for further study and ultimately a job,” he said.

“The students on the course were identified by our colleagues at the City of Wyndham.

“After completing the course, they will go on to further study at Gordon TAFE.”

Among those heading for TAFE is one of ‘Introduction to Horticulture’s inaugural graduates, Jessica.

“It was really good to learn about what working in horticulture would be like,” said Jessica of the course which has helped map out her immediate future.

“I’m really excited to do some further study and make a career in gardening and horticulture.”

The course curriculum covers topics ranging from common horticultural tools, their uses and how to care for them, through to herbicides and pesticides, chemical signage, storage and protective equipment. Propagation, seed collection, plant recognition and planting exercises are also included in the five day course which is held predominantly at AMES Werribee office,withpracticalunitsheldatWerribeePark. Originally established as an English teaching service for migrants, AMES now offers courses in areas such as horticulture, customer service, office administration and early childhood education, while still offering a range of language programs.

Cade Lucas

Students in AMES inaugural horticulture course work on plants. (supplied).

Garrang Wilam Primary School students, Aaron, Ethan, Arham, Sirisha and Gabby using Minecraft Education to help with a geography project. (Damjan Janevski) 352769_01

Tyre dumping demands

By Cade Lucas

The owner of a Laverton North property claimsWyndhamcouncilwronglysanctioned him over a tyre stockpile on the site.

Gabor Fleiszig is demanding council rescind a contravention notice issued to him on July 19 for storing more than a 1000 tyres onthepropertyinPipeRoad,LavertonNorth.

Mr Fleiszig said the tyres, which were considered a fire hazard, were not stored but were dumped by a former tenant at the end of their lease in June.

Hesaidthetyreswereinalreadytheprocess of being removed when the notice was issued.

“After we started removing the tyres and removed two-thirds of them we received a contravention notice from council that we were storing tyres on our site without a permit,” said Mr Fleiszig.

Mr Fleiszig said he had already been in contactwithcouncilaboutthedumpingofthe tyres,whichheclaimsoccurredonJune2and again on June 13, with the latter damaging fencing on the property.

Inastatement,Wyndhamcouncilsaiditwas firstnotifiedoftheissuebytheEnvironmental Protection Authority (EPA) and Fire Rescue Victoria and weren’t aware of Mr Fleiszig reporting the dumping before issuing him with the contravention notice.

“Council did not commence an investigation into the dumping of the tyres ontheunderstandingthatthepropertyowner had directly reported the dumping to other agencies who were investigating the alleged offender.”

In a statement, EPA western metropolitan regionalmanagerStephenLansdellconfirmed the EPA was investigating the matter.

“WeareworkingwithWyndhamcouncilon the investigation, which began with a report

from Fire Rescue Victoria and a call from a member of the public on 28 June, 2023.”

Wyndham council said the stockpile of tyres was especially hazardous given they were stored on a property next to a service station and that the contravention notice was required to ensure their prompt removal.

“Council was satisfied upon re-inspection,

Upgrade for Sexton Pavilion

Sexton Pavilion at Werribee’s Galvin Park is set for a massive expansion with a $5.7 million upgrade to commence this month.

The upgrade includes a second-storey extensionwithasocialroom,committee room, kitchenette, timekeeper area and office. Other improvements include four new change rooms that will be accessible for all abilities, new umpire rooms, first-aid and storage rooms. Improved sustainability will also feature in the upgrade, with more than 60 solar panels to be added to the pavilion and all gas appliances replaced with electric.

These works are part a series of revamps of sporting pavilions across Wyndham and follow recent upgrades atGoddardStreetReserve,ArndellPark Reserve, Saltwater Reserve (tennis) and Tom Roberts Reserve.

Wyndham councillor Peter Maynard said the Sexton Pavilion upgrade marks the 14th and final upgrade in the program.

“As our population continues to grow at a rapid rate, it’s important that our sporting facilities keep pace,” Cr Maynard said.

sixdayslater,thatalltyreshadbeenremoved.”

While the contravention notice doesn’t carry a fine, Mr Fleiszig said he still wanted it removed.

Wyndham council didn’t respond to inquiries about rescinding the contravention notice.

POINT COOK

“The sporting pavilion upgrades program ensure these facilities are friendly for women and girls, meet all accessibility requirements, and provide improved social and kiosk facilities for host clubs. The expansion of the Galvin Park Sexton Pavilion complements upgrades to the Galvin Park soccer and tennis pavilions.”

Homes for sale from $345K

BY RCA VILLAGES

Gabor Fleiszig at his Laverton North property. (Damjan Janevski). 351479_04

Engaging with Wyndham’s frogs

By Cade Lucas

Wyndham is renowned for its waterways and wetlands and the many bird species they attract. However thanks to the dedicated research of some local volunteers, much more is now known about creatures living beneath these waters as well.

Conducted by the Werribee River Association and funded by Wyndham council, the Frog Engagement & Protection Project was a series of surveys on the species and populations of amphibians living in the area.

Project lead Erin Bradley said the aim of the surveys was to fill a knowledge gap.

“There’d previously been a lack of scientific literature available about frogs in Wyndham.” With a lot of waterways to cover and a lack of information to guide them, filling that gap was no easy task.

“We did one hour surveys five times per month for 10 months,” said Ms Bradley who led a team of 61 volunteers on the project which began in August 2022 and finished in May this year.

“We had five set sites that we’d survey each month.

“We had one at Graham’s Wetland in Werribee South, one along Davis Creek in Tarneit, Skeleton Creek in Hoppers Crossing, Cunningham’s Wetland in Point Cook

A warmer winter drive

Hundreds of needy people in Wyndham will be feeling warmer this winter thanks to the Werribee Baptist Church winter coat drive. In excess of 250 coats and jackets were donated during the drive, well above the church’s target number.

“Wearethrilledthatourcoatdonationdrive has been an incredible success,” Werribee Baptist pastor Stan Richey said.

“The generosity of our church members and the wider community has been so encouraging.

“We are grateful for every single coat that was donated and are confident that they will bring hope and warmth to those who need it most.”

Organised by the church community, the coat drive attracted donations from Wyndham locals which were then sorted and

packed by volunteers.

The donated coats will be distributed to local charities such as Uniting Care, the Salvation Army and Off Your Back, who will then provide them to vulnerable individuals and families.

The winter coat drive is just one of church’s charitable initiatives.

Throughitscommunityimpactorganisation

‘The Bridge’, Werribee Baptist offers programs such as mentoring, community meals, mums groups and playgroups.

and then Harpley Estate Cultural Park in Werribee.”

To conduct the survey’s, volunteers would sit and listen to the frogs and then use head torches to try and spot them.

“When we spotted them we’d record information about what species they were, their maturity and how many,” she said of the 561 frogs they recorded across five species.

Living up to it’s name, The Spotted Marsh Frogwasspottedthemost,whiletheCommon Eastern Froglet is the most common frog in Wyndham, but is easier heard than seen.

“They’re hard to spot, they’re brown,” said Ms Bradley.

Providing size and colour doesn’t make

spotting frogs any easier, she pointed to the endangered Growing Grass Frog as the rarest species they recorded.

“They’re big and they’re green.”

Ms Bradley said the surveys showed overall frog numbers and the range of species in Wyndham remained strong, but controlling litter and weeds were the key to maintaining their habitat.

A report based on the surveys can be found at: https://werribeeriver.org.au/frogsurveys/ Survey data can be accessed at: https://werribeeriver.org.au/frogsurveys/

Students ready to say ‘ciao’

COVID-19 caused great disruption to international travel and school exchange programs were among the many activities affected.

But in another sign of things getting back to normal, students and teachers from Hoppers Crossing Secondary College are about to embark on the school’s first overseas trip post-pandemic, with a delegation travelling to Italy next month.

Nine students and two teachers will visit their sister school in the northern Italian city of Forli, as part of a language immersion program from September 10 to 25.

“The purpose is to reconnect with our sister school and re-establish international travel between the two schools,” trip organiser and

Hoppers Crossing Secondary’s year seven co-ordinator, Emily Irwin, said.

“The trip is also designed to develop their Italian language skills and for them to learn about Italian culture and enhance their cultural awareness.”

MsIrwinsaidthestudents,allfromyears11 and 12, will mix education with exploration.

“They’re gonna visit attractions and also attend school for four days, doing classes and teaching the sister school about Hoppers Crossing Secondary college and the area.”

Ms Irwin said the school looked forward to returning the favour soon.

“We hope that in the next two years they will have the opportunity to come out here and be hosted by us as well.”

Hoppers Crossing Secondary College is sending a delegation to Italy. Teachers Emily Irwin and Dean Moss with students: Nancy, Caitlyn, Rhahe, Angelyna, Annabelle, Daniel, Neve, Izzy and Zani. (Damjan Janevski).

Werribee Baptist Church volunteers sorting and packing donations to their winter coat drive. (supplied).

Dance funds allocated

The competition may have happened a year ago, but for the successful applicants, the allocation of the 2022 Werribee Mazda Dance Stars on the Floor Small Grants Program will have been well worth the wait.

After an extended delay, small grants worth $5000 each were last week awarded by the Mental Health Foundation Australia to 10 Wyndham organisations.

The Werribee Football Club, Twentieth Man Fund, Corazon Centre and headspace Werribee were among the successful applicants who will use the financial support for innovative projects and initiatives to promote mental health and prevention of youth suicide.

The funding was raised during the Dance

StarsontheFloorcompetitionwhichtookplace in August last year. The delay between the 2022 competition and the grants being allocated was so long, that the 2023 version was held and fundraising distributed in the meantime.

However, event co-ordinator and Wyndham councillor, Heather Marcus, was still delighted with the eventual outcome.

“It was really fantastic,” Cr Marcus said.

“I would like to thank the dance stars committee, all of our sponsors, mental health foundation, but especially the dance stars and our community for raising this magnificent sumof$50,000distributedtothe10successful applicants.”

Cr Marcus then declared: “the dance stars will be back in early 2024.”

Briefs

Suspicious fire

Police are investigating if a fire at a Hoppers Crossing shop on Friday, August 11, is linked to a series of fires targeting tobacco businesses across Melbourne.

Emergency services were called to a tobacconist on Hogans Road, Hoppers Crossing, about 4am on August 11, after reports the store was on fire. No one was inside the premises at the time and fire crews were able to extinguish the blaze soon after their arrival. The cause has still to be determined, but police are treating it as suspicious. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.

Point Cook stabbing arrest

Police have arrested a man following an alleged fatal stabbing in Point Cook on Sunday. The alleged altercation took place outside accommodation on Point Cook Road at about 2.45pm on August 13. One of the men involved died at the scene. A 28-year-old Diggers Rest man was arrested nearby and is assisting police with their inquiries. It is believed the two men were known to each other and homicide detectives are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or www. crimestoppersvic.com.au.

FOR BREAKING NEWS, VISIT Web: starweekly.com.au

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2022 Werribee Mazda Dance Stars on the Floor organiser Heather Marcus with grant recipients and participants. (Damjan Janevski). 351945_01

West family violence crackdown

By Cade Lucas

A major police operation targeting family violence is under way in the western suburbs. Operation Enforceable is aimed at apprehending family violence perpetrators who have avoided detection, have outstanding warrants or unserved family violence intervention orders.

The statewide operation, which will run over six days in August and October, began on August 9 in Melbourne’s west, before moving tootherareasofthecityandthestate.Frontline police, the family violence taskforce and family violence investigators are leading the operation

whichistargetingmorethan3000perpetrators.

They include:

n A 35-year-old man with six warrants in relation to stalking and ongoing breaches of three family violence IVOs against three separate victims;

n A 57-year-old man with four warrants for ongoing breaches of family violence IVO conditions, technology-facilitated abuse via texts and phone calls and unlawful assault;

n A 26-year-old man with six warrants for aggravated assault of a victim, contravening a family violence IVO, community correction order conditions, as well as unlicensed dangerous driving and failing to attend court;

Bangla bands rock on

Rock music mightn’t be the cultural force it once was, but anyone declaring the genre dead clearly hasn’t been to Bangladesh.

“It is very, very popular in Bangladesh,” said Werribee’s Ashiqur Tishad of rock’s popularity in his homeland.

“Amongst every friend group you’ll find one or two guitarists and if you’re lucky a drummer and keyboardist as well.”

Rather than playing an instrument himself, Mr Tishad is more focussed on promoting those who do as vice-president of the Bangla Band Association Australia. The BBAA is this Saturday holding its second annual showcase event, Legacy Rock Festival 2.0 at Dreambuilders in Hoppers Crossing. The festival features six local Bangladeshi groups on the bill, including headliners, Subclass 573.

“They’re named after the visa category they cametoAustraliaunder,”saidMrTishadofthe

group who started in 2007 and are considered the oldest Bangladeshi rock band in the country. Like the other groups, Subclass 573 play bangla rock, a style not dissimilar to heavy metal but with it’s own sub-continental twist.

“What makes it significantly different from others styles of rock music is the lyrics.

They’ve very soulful because they’re taken from day to day life in Bangladesh, there’s a lot of emotion to it ” said Mr Tishad of what makes bangla rock unique. He hopes the festival will help promote local bangla bands to both the Bangladeshi immigrant community and beyond.

“We just want to keep it alive and give everyone a taste of it.” Legacy Rock Festival 2.0 runs from 5.30pm to 9.30pm at Dreambuilders, Hoppers Crossing, on Saturday, August 19.

Details: https://rb.gy/l0pio

Looking for Residential Aged Care?

n A 50-year-old woman with three warrants for unlawful assault, persistent contravention offamilyviolenceIVOconditionsandcriminal damage; and

n A 34-year-old man with five warrants for persistentcontraventionoffamilyviolenceIVO conditions, intentionally damaging property, contravening a community corrections order and threats to inflict serious injury.

Family violence command Acting Superintendent Holly Dalrymple said the operation was about ensuring the safety of victim-survivors.

“We will be knocking on the doors of these people and will not tolerate their violent

crimes in any form,” Acting Superintendent Dalrymple said.

“Themessagetofamilyviolenceperpetrators is clear: closed doors will not protect you from being targeted and held to account – and this operation shows just how serious we are.

“Wealsowantvictim-survivorstoknowthey cantrust police totake action tomakesure this violence stops.”

Anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or www. crimestoppersvic.com.au

For support contact Safe Steps on 1800 015 188 or safesteps@safesteps.org.au

In an emergency call triple-0 (000).

so much.”

Legacy Rock Festival 2.0 headliners, Subclass 573. From left: Upal Adhikary, guitar and vocals, Shakhawat Hossain, bass guitar, Rana Hossen, guitar and vocals, Tanzim Shahriar, guitar, Mohaimeen Islam, drums. (supplied)

Coming together to fight stroke

The National Stroke Foundation is calling on all Australians to unite by ‘Fighting Stroke Together,’ this National Stroke Week. Jennifer Pittorino spoke to Antonio Iannella about his life as a stroke survivor.

Antonio Iannella wants people to know that they don’t have to be elderly or unhealthy to have a stroke.

TheMeltonresidentsufferedastrokein2009 at 38-years-old while on a family holiday in Vietnam.

“Literally moments before we were about to enter the Cu Chi tunnels, which are underground war tunnels, I just collapsed, there was no pre-warning,” Antonio said.

He was rushed to a medical clinic in Ho Chi Minh City.

“By that stage, I was pretty much completely paralysed and wasn’t able to speak or see, I couldn’t hear and couldn’t swallow.

“I was put in intensive care for about five days, and then from intensive care into a ward, and just ever so slowly, things started really returning to normal.”

After Antonio began to regain movement in hishandsandfeet,hewasputonarescueflight to Melbourne.

“When I landed in Melbourne, I went to Royal Melbourne Hospital and eventually into Sunshine Hospital where I began rehab.

“I started intense therapy rehab, from occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech therapy, which took 10 weeks for me to start walking. Shortly after that I was discharged and began my life as a stroke survivor.”

Stroke Foundation stroke service interim executive director Kelvin Hill describes a stroke as a blockage or bursting of the blood supply in the brain.

“The most common type of stroke which affects about 80 per cent of stroke “The other, which is less common, is a bleed where your blood vessel bursts and bleeding attributed to a weakness in his brain which caused a brain haemorrhage.

Dr Tissa Wijeratne

“I was born with a weak vein in my brain, this is known as an artery vein malformation. “Only one per cent of the global population have this condition and then a lesser amount of that actually suffers from a stroke or bleed.”

Antonio was told that only one in five people survive his condition, and there is a three per cent chance every year that Antonio might encounter a re-bleed.

The Stroke Foundation said there are several common risk factors which might bring on a stroke, but there are also several preventative measures that can be taken.

“The great news is that the things that we can do for stroke are the same things that help prevent heart disease and diabetes often and some forms of cancer,” Kevin said.

“The simple things are if you’re smoking, try to stop, reduce your alcohol intake, get a good routineofregularphysicalactivityandexercise as well as watch your diet.”

A unique point that Kevin said people usually don’t know about is watching your blood pressure.

“Peopleoftendon’tknowtheirbloodpressure, so it’s important to go to the pharmacist or

local nurse or GP to check regularly.

“When people get their blood pressure checked and know what the actual numbers are, they can monitor that over time and are less likely to have a stroke that way.

“It is also important to learn F.A.S.T. (Face, Arms, Speech and Time) the signs of stroke with your family and friends.”

The Stroke Foundation said 25 per cent of people who have a stroke in Australia are under the age of 55, and the rate of stroke in Australian adults aged 18 to 65 is rising.

The foundation said stroke is one of Australia’s biggest killers and a leading cause of disability.

Western Health neurology department chair and stroke professor Tissa Wijeratne has been a stroke specialist for more than 20 years, and workswiththelargeststrokeserviceinwestern Victoria.

Dr Wijeratne highlighted the importance of brain health.

“Our brains are at a crossroads at this point intime,unfortunatelyoneintwoofuswillhave a brain condition whether we like it or not,” he said. “Sometimes we know it, sometimes we don’t know, other times it might be a stroke.

“The World Health Organisation said brain conditions that come from a stroke that make a disabled group of people is the leading contributor of disability.”

Antonio attributes his recovery to a strong mindset.

“With therapy and a healthy mindset, I internally draw on my strengths and find things that are therapeutic for me,” he said.

“For me, going into wellness and studying nutritionandexerciseaswellasfindinghobbies I like has helped the most.”

Following his stroke, Antonio continued his

passion for music, learning music production, song writing and recording which he enjoys at his home studio.

“As well as music, my stroke has given me an opportunity to really sink my teeth into wellness, exercise, meditation, spirituality, nutrition and health.”

Antonio understands stroke recovery is different for everyone, which is why for the last nine years he partnered with the Stroke Foundation to deliver stroke awareness presentations.

“I learnt there is nothing better than to hear a story from someone who’s been through it rather than like a doctor or a nurse.

“Mostly, I tell people to surrender. I stopped trying to get back to who I was, and embraced who I was as this new person.

“Find something that motivates you and find a purpose for yourself.”

‘‘ One in two of us will have a brain condition whether we like it or not. Sometimes we know it, sometimes we don’t know, other times it might be a stroke ’’

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Left: Professor Tissa Wijeratne. (Jacob Pattison) 351873_03 Right: Antonio Iannella attributes his recovery to therapy and a healthy mindset

Aidacare is empowering lives with care and support

Nestled in the heart of Werribee, Aidacare stands as a beacon of hope and empowerment for individuals with disabilities, offering a widearrayofmobilitysolutionsanddisability equipment.

The showroom at 1 Princes Highway, Werribee, provides a fantastic location for clients and therapists to explore an extensive range of life-changing products, including mobilityscooters,lightweightwheelchairs,lift chairs, walking sticks, and more.

The essence of Aidacare lies in its commitment to fostering understanding and empathy between clients and therapists. The showroom serves as a platform for collaborative efforts, allowing hands-on trials of the equipment.

This approach not only ensures that the products meet physical requirements but also resonate with personal preferences and lifestyle choices. It empowers individuals to make informed decisions about the most suitable mobility equipment that caters to their unique needs.

Aidacare’s field staff work closely with therapists to gain valuable insights into each client’s specific circumstances, enabling them to provide tailored solutions. This empathetic teamworkensuresthatthemobilityequipment recommended is the perfect fit, addressing individual challenges and facilitating daily activities with ease.

Aidacare’s commitment to exceptional customer support is further exemplified by the friendly and professional drivers and installers. Going above and beyond, they provide unparalleled assistance during the delivery and installation process. Their personalised care ensures that clients not only receive the equipment they need but also the emotional support to adapt to their new way of life.

Understanding that some clients may require home modifications to create a safer and more accessible environment, Aidacare takes the initiative to coordinate with reputable sub-contractors. This guarantees

that all home modifications are executed to the highest standards, offering peace of mind to clients and their families. However, Aidacare’s impact goes beyond business. Staff are deeply committed to giving

back to the local community they serve. Continuouslystrivingtounderstandandmeet evolving needs, they work tirelessly at a local level to support the well-being of individuals with disabilities.

The Aidacare showroom at 1 Princes Highway, Werribee.

Star Weekly looks back through the pages of our predecessors

40 years ago

August 17, 1983

The new $7 million film “Phar Lap” – the story of a giant red gelding which became the swiftest racehorse in the world – had an unlikely beginning in the sitting room of a weatherboard house in Werribee.

30 years ago

August 18, 1993

The Werribee Mercy Hospital appeal received an unexpected $100,000 boost last week.

20 years

August 13, 2003 Duncan’s Road, Werribee South, is fast becoming synonymous with road horror in Wyndham.

NEW

PRINT AND PRINT AND PRINT AND ONLINE SALES ONLINE SALES ONLINE SALES EXECUTIVE EXECUTIVE EXECUTIVE

10 years ago

August 14, 2013

A toddler had to wait 20 minutes for an ambulance after having a seizure at his Hoppers Crossing house last Wednesday.

The

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

WANT

Wyndham Rotary

Wyndham Rotary welcomes people interested in helping people in need in the community. Interested in finding out more, come to the Italian Sports Club each Wednesday at 6.30pm for a meal, to share ideas and to work for a common cause.

■ Julie, 0406 196 630

CWA Werribee branch

The Country Women’s Association Werribee branch meets on the third Wednesday of every month at the Wyndham Park Community Centre at 1pm. Afternoon tea is provided. The branch also has various social outings and fundraising events. Visitors who would like to learn a little of what the CWA do are welcome. You do not have to be a keen cook or crafty person, just someone looking for friendship.

■ Michelle, 0407 207 801

Friends of Presidents Park

The Friends of Presidents Park meets from 10am to noon on the first Thursday of the month, to undertake Landcare activities along the Werribee River through the park and surrounding areas. Bring your own gloves and water. Morning tea provided. Meeting at the carpark near the Shaws Road Bridge, Heaths Road, near the fenced dog park.

■ admin@werribeeriver.org.au

Seniors House of Fun

The Grange Community Centre would like to invite the seniors of Wyndham to its weekly Seniors House of Fun. This is a free program running every Friday 11am-12.30pm, at The Grange Community Centre, 260-280 Hogans Road, Hoppers Crossing.

■ Vanessa, 8742 8000 or enquires@ grangecommunity.org.au

Seniors club

The Werribee Senior Citizens Club Inc meets at 80 Lonsdale Circuit, Hoppers Crossing. The group is open to all people 55-plus , and it runs on Wednesdays, 10am- noon. Entry: $2, includes morning tea.

■ 0403 041 499

Diabetes Support Group

The Werribee Diabetes support group has been active in our community for over 18 years providing advice, information and support for members of the group. The support group provides an opportunity to hear from experts on how to manage your diabetes, to share information on diabetes and to engage with other diabetics. It meets at the old council shire buildings at 10 am every second Friday of the month.

■ Bob, 0409 252872.

Hoppers

Crossing Ladies Probus

The friendly and vibrant group meet at Hotel 520 on the second Wednesday of each month from 10am. They have a guest speaker each month as well as social lunches, outings and theatre trips.

■ 0408 123 669

Sunrise Social Groups

GenWest Sunrise Social Groups are currently seeking new members for their Melton, Brimbank and Wyndham programs. The free groups are organised by Genwest and provide a social space for women, gender diverse and nonbinary people, who have a disability, chronic health issues and/ or mental health challenges.

■ https://genwest.org.au/what-we-do/ health-wellbeing-programs/

U3A Werribee

The group is a not-for-profit community

organisation for semi-retired and retired Wyndham residents. They hold a variety of classes/activities specifically designed for Seniors, including, light physical and mental wellbeing sessions, arts, games and craft, and general classes such as current affairs, history and lunch groups. Most classes/activities are held at Wyndham Community Centres.

■ Rick, 0402 299 220.

Lions Club

Lions Club of Werribee meets at the RSL Club 2a Synnot Street Werribee on the first and third Wednesday of the month 6.30pm for a 7pm dinner meeting.

■ Jorge, 0433 566 575

Bingo for all

The Werribee RSL hosts Bingo every Monday. Eyes down from 12.30-2.30pm.

■ 9741 5525

Western Budgerigar Club

The Western Suburbs Budgerigar Club meets at 7.30pm on the third Thursday of each month at Masonic Hall, 223 Watton Street, Werribee. Meet other members who are also passionate about breeding Budgerigars.

■ Don, 0414 975 862

Wyndham Ladies Probus

Are you recently retired or semi-retired? Looking for fun, fellowship and to increase your social networks. The Ladies Probus Club of Wyndham meets on the first Wednesday of each month at Hotel520, Sayers Road, Tarneit, and normally has an outing or event on the third Wednesday of each month.

■ Rosa Sanderson, 0410 303 046

Wyn FM

Wyn FM is Wyndham’s community radio station, broadcasting on 88.9 and online from its studios at the Victoria University campus in Werribee. It offers a wide range of programming including music, sport, news and lifestyle shows as well as broadcasts in languages other than English. New broadcasters, volunteers, members and sponsors are always welcome.

■ 9919 8089 wynfm.org.au

Book sale

Friends of Altona Library hold a monthly

book sale on the first Tuesday, Friday and Saturday of each month at the rear of Altona Library 123 Queen Street Altona, access via Coles carpark, from 10am to 1pm.

■ https://libraries.hobsonsbay.

Yarraville Mouth Organ Band

Celebrating 90th anniversary with an open day on Sunday September 24, 1.00pm - 5.00pm, 203 Williamstown Road, Yarraville.

Practice is held on Fridays at 8.10pm in the band hall at 203 Williamstown Road, Yarraville. The band plays a wide range of songs from waltzes to lively tangos or polkas. Beginners or experienced players are welcome.

■ Heather, 9399 2190, or ymob1933@ yahoo.com.au

Altona Girl Guides

Altona Girl Guides currently have vacancies for girls aged 5-plus who would like to learn new skills, gain confidence,and expand their friendship circle while having fun.

■ hobsonsbay@guidesvic.org.au

English lessons

Want to learn English in a fun and relaxed setting? Build your English, digital and employability skills with the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP). AMEP now available in Williamstown. Laverton Community Education Centre now offers free AMEP classes to eligible clients at Joan Kirner House in Williamstown. Classes are on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9.30 am -3.00 pm. Childcare is available for children who are under school age. Laverton Community Education Centre is a Not -for -profit organisation. The Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) is funded by the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs.

■ 93692726.

Computers, crafts, conversation

Whatever your learning interests and needs, Outlets Newport Community Education Centre has hands-on, face-to-face classes for you or a friend.

Contact the centre today to find something for you!

■ 9391 8504, or outlets@outletsco-op. com.au

Carers’ walk and talk

A collaboration between the state government, Interchange Outer East and Brotherhood of St Laurence (BSL), the Pathways for Carers program is launching a monthly walk in Footscray on the third Thursday of each month. The goal of each group is to provide carers with peer-based support, information, services and resources, opportunities to be active and connect with other carers, connect with nature and connect with their local community.

■ lauren.mcalpine@bsl.org.au or www. pathwaysforcarers.com.au

Flower workshops

Want to learn how to do professional flower arrangements in a fun and relaxed program? Flowers, vase and snacks included. Joan Kirner House, 14 Thompson Street, Williamstown.

■ Liza, 0416 268 959

Williamstown book sale

Friends of Williamstown and Newport Libraries hold a book sale every second Saturday of each month 9.30am to 12.30pm. The book sale is held in the Friends’ Room – entrance from deck on Ferguson Street. Cash only sales.

■ libraries.hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au

Walking group

The Altona Meadows and Newport Heart Foundation Walking Group is a local community of men and women committed to walking together, socialising together with a post-walk coffee and chat and enjoying the natural beauty and birdlife that is to be found throughout Hobsons Bay together. Anyone is welcome to join the group on Mondays 10am at Altona Beach, Wednesdays 10am at Altona Meadows (Jolly Miller Cafe) or on Fridays 10am, at Newport Lakes.

■ Ian Watson, 0411 566 862 or www. hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au/Community/ Whats-On/Altona-Meadows-and-NewportHeart-Foundation-Walking-Groups

Palliative volunteers needed Mercy Palliative Care is looking for volunteers to visit palliative care patients in their homes to offer social support.

■ 9313 5700 or MPCVolunteerCoordinators@mercy.com.au

YOUR EVENT LISTED? Community Calendar is made available free of charge to not-for-profit organisations to keep the public informed of special events and activities. Send item details to Star Weekly Community Calendar, Corner Thomsons Road and Keilor Park Drive, Keilor Park, 3042, or email to westeditorial@starweekly.com.au by 9am Wednesday the week prior to publication

This weeks photographers choice picture is of dancers Lily, Liana, Saoirse, Jada, Hannah, Sienna and Fifi preparing for the Exford Primary Charity Gala. (Damjan Janevski) 351231

PUZZLES

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

ACROSS

1 Contract part (6)

4 Thick cable (6)

10 Excel (5)

11 Journeyed (9)

12 Tropical fruit (9)

13 Donor (5)

14 Figure (6)

15 Impoverished (4)

19 Wan (4)

20 Modernise (6)

24 Detached (5)

25 Maritime mercenary (9)

27 Of lower status (9)

28 Finished (5)

29 Lasso (6)

30 Protects (6) DOWN

1 Cutting very short (9)

2 Self-government (8)

3 Retention (7)

5 One who evens the score (7)

6 Drivel (6)

7 Horsemen (6)

8 Straddling (4)

9 Victorian mountain range (7)

16 Had a small piece broken off (7)

17 Plant yielding fragrant oil (8)

18 Archipelago off the coast of Scotland (8)

19 Lucerne (7)

21 Tableland (7)

DECODER WORDFIT

1 14

2 15

3 16

4 17

5 18

6 19

7 20

8 21

9 22

10 23

11 24

12 25

12 345678910111213

481327659

752169843

675813294 346295781

234976518 598731426

963458172

127684935

183276459

742861395

915723648

257194863 526317984

694538217 839645172

easy medium hard

368459721

471982536

3 TIMED TRIPE TROTS TYRES UNITE WANNA WEEDS 6 LETTERS CAMERA DRONED ORDERS TESTER

691432587

387921645

146578329

819542367 764895231

452786193 935214876

873159462 218367954

529643718

N ADORE ALIBI ALOUD AUNTS AWAIT BIPED CARES CASED CLOTS COMBS COVET CRUDE DITTO DOERS DOLES ERROR EVICT EXUDE GOOSE MACHO MATED

M E I O R F MEMOS MESSY MOURN NEWTS OLIVE OUTED REVUE RHINO RILED RIVET ROUGE SCREW SEEDS SENDS SIEGE SLEDS SPACE STEER STIRS SUEDE SUITE

emir, firm, firmer, form, former, forming, frogmen, from, germ, gnome, grim, grime, inform, informer, merino, mien, mine, miner, minor, mire, monger, more, morn, nome, norm, omen, reform, REFORMING, rime

1415 1617181920212223242526 M B U N D J W O R I E S F Q V H L A X C K T Y G P Z Insert the missing letters to make 10 words – five reading across the grid and five reading down. NOTE: more than one solution may be possible

No. 146

7 LETTERS BRITTLE DEPRIVE MURDERS PRECEDE UNNERVE WOWSERS 8 LETTERS CAUTIONS DESERTED DETAINED EXCERPTS

18-08-23 Puzzles and pagination © Pagemasters | pagemasters.com

1 In what year will Halley’s Comet return to the solar system?

2 The comet’s namesake, Edmund Halley, was from which country?

3 The White Cliffs of Dover (pictured) are primarily what kind of rock?

4 On which continent is the pink river dolphin found?

5 What is the mineral predominantly mined in Coober Pedy?

6 Who starred as Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings films?

7 How many European countries are members of the openborders Schengen Area?

8 The River Lagan runs through which European capital?

9 Who was the other co-founder of Apple Inc., apart from Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs?

10 In which California suburb is Apple Park, the headquarters for Apple Inc.?

13 26 GZ ANSWERS: 1. 2061 2. England 3. Chalk 4. South America 5. Opal 6. Ian McKellen 7. 27w 8. Belfast 9. Ronald Wayne 10. Cupertino.

No. 146

No. 146

No. 146

REVISED PROPOSAL TO INSTALL A NEW TELSTRA MOBILE PHONE BASE STATION ON AN EXISTING FACILITY AT 1491 BOUNDARY ROAD, MOUNT COTTRELL VIC 3024, SITE ID: MOUNT COTTRELL, WWW.RFNSA.COM.AU/3024011

1.The revised proposed facility comprises the installation of nine (9) panel antennas (6 x 2680mm L and 3 x 810mm L) onto a new circular headframe at a centreline of 30m on the existing NBN monopole; ancillary equipment including remote radio units, tower mounted amplifiers, mounts, GPS antenna, cabling and feeders; and internal works within a new equipment shelter (3000mm H x 3000mm W x 2380mm D) to be installed within a new fenced compound (6.0m x 4.6m), to improve Telstra’s mobile phone network (including 4G / 5G). Minor variations include headframe design; equipment mounting arrangements; antenna dimensions and bearing changes; and addition of new technologies.

2.Telstra regards the proposed installation as a ‘Low impact’ Facility under the Telecommunications (Low Impact Facilities) Determination 2018, based on the description above. The proposed infrastructure will comply with the ACMA EME regulatory arrangements.

3.In accordance with Section 7 of C564:2020 Mobile Phone Base Station Deployment Code, we invite you to provide feedback about the proposal. Further information and/or comments should be directed to: Planning Consultant on behalf of Telstra, via email to planning.vic@servicestream.com.au, phone: 03 9937 6555, via post to Planning Consultant, Servicestream, PO Box 14570, Melbourne, VIC 8001 by 5pm 31st August 2023.

Service Stream Ltd ABN

VINYL RECORDS WANTED

-Our buyers will travel to most areas of Melbourne for house calls.

-We pay fair cash prices.

-We purchase a wide variety of genres and artists.

-No collection is too big or small

-We are a friendly bunch , and are happy to arrange a time that suits.

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

at;

-The Council website https://www.wyndham.vic.gov.au/advertising

-By Contacting the Assessing Officer on the contact number above

Any person who may be affected by the granting of the permit may object or make other submissions to the Responsible Authority by post or in person or;

- Online: www.wyndham.vic.gov.au/planningobjection

- Email: statplanning@wyndham.vic.gov.au

An objection must be made to the Responsible Authority in writing, include the reasons for the objection and state how the objector would be affected. If you object, the Responsible Authority will tell you of its decision.

DISCRIMINATION IN ADVERTISING IS UNLAWFUL

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.

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First Serve Tuck Shop Hoppers Crossing

Hoppers Indoor Sportz Hoppers Crossing

Pacific Werribee Shopping Centre Hoppers Crossing

Wyndham Library Hoppers Crossing

Werribee Plaza Tavern Hoppers Crossing

Coles Supermarket Hoppers Crossing

APCO Service Station Hoppers Crossing

Hoppers Crossing Shopping Hoppers Crossing

Woodville Park Shopping Centre Hoppers Crossing

IGA Plus Liquor Hoppers Crossing

Aqua Pulse Café Hoppers Crossing

Mecwacare John Atchison Centre Hoppers Crossing

Coles Express Hoppers Crossing

The Grange Community Centre Hoppers Crossing

Hoppers Crossing Sports Club Hoppers Crossing

Super Lotto Newsagency Hoppers Crossing

Woolworths Hogans Corner Hoppers Crossing

Tigers Club House Hoppers Crossing

Popeyes Kebabs Hoppers Crossing

Manor Lakes News & Lotto Manor Lakes

Manor Lakes Shopping Centre Manor Lakes

Featherbrook Shopping Centre Point Cook

Wyndham Library Service Point Cook

Point Cook Pharmacy Point Cook

Jamieson Way Community Centre Point Cook

Direct Chemist Outlet Point Cook

Stockland Point Cook Shopping Centre Point Cook

WynCity Point Cook

Sanctuary Lakes Resort Sanctuary Lakes

Waterstone Café Sanctuary Lakes

Sanctuary Lakes Shopping Centre Sanctuary Lakes

Club House ( Lifestyle) Tarneit

Tarneit Central Shopping Centre Tarneit

NewsXpress - Riverdale Village SC Tarneit

Penrose Promenade Community Centre Tarneit

Wyndham Village Shopping Centre Tarneit

Shell Service Station Tarneit

Community Centre Tarneit

Serranos Cafe Tarneit

Koomail Tardy Community Centre Truganina

Palm Lakes Resort Truganina

Arndell Park Community Centre Truganina

Eagles Stadium Café Werribee

Ison Village Werribee

Casaccio Egg Farm Werribee

IGA Supermarket Werribee

Italian Sports Club Werribee

The Womans Hub - GP Clinic Werribee

St Vincent's Private Hospital Werribee

Wyndham City Council Werribee

Werribee Mercy Hospital (Coffee Shop) Werribee

SIMS IGA Werribee

Tatts Lotto Werribee

Werribee RSL Werribee

Werribee Fersh Market Werribee

Cellarbrations Werribee

Bendigo Bank Werribee

Coles Werribee Werribee

Wyndham Cultural Centre Werribee

Glendale Hostel Werribee

Wyndham Private Medical Centre Werribee

Werribee South General Store Werribee South

Wyndham Cache (LT's Egg Farm) Werribee South

Anglers Anchorage Take Away Werribee South

Williams Landing News, Lotto & Tobacco Williams Landing

Woolworths Williams Landing

BP Service Station Wyndham Vale

Woolworths Wyndham Vale

IGA Wyndham Vale Wyndham Vale

Iramoo Community Centre Wyndham Vale

Manor Lakes Community Learning Centre Wyndham Vale

7 Eleven Wyndham Vale Wyndham Vale

Real Estate Agents Everywhere

Price an electric shock from Kia

By Derek Ogden, Marque Motoring

Not before time, it’s a chance to dip a toe into theexpandingpoolofKiaelectricvehicleswith a stint in the Niro compact sports utility, albeit the top-of-the-range GT-Line.

And there looms the first obstacle: where the EV models open their account at $44,380, plus on-road costs, for the petrol / electric hybrid Niro HEV S, the full electric GT-Line sets back the buyer $72,100. That’s a big pile of dosh to step over.

And what do you receive in return?

The second-generation Niro has landed with a new look, new advanced technology, reworked powertrains, for the first time Kia Connect connected services, and what Kia claims is a 460-kilometre range.

Kia Connect is an intelligent remote-control app with functions including remote engine start, door lock control and remote climate control, as well as innovative in-car services such as destination and vehicle tracking and system status, valet parking mode, local points of interest and emergency call feature.

Kia Connect is covered over the full Kia seven-year unlimited kilometre warranty and is fully transferable.

The Niro EV has extended Kia’s vehicle bidirectional charging ability whereby the vehicle can not only receive power but supply it from its high-voltage battery. In this case the so-called vehicle-to-load (V2L) capability can be used to charge external devices such as laptops.

Damien Meredith, chief operating officer of Kia Australia, said the Niro represented a sizeable improvement over its predecessor, helping to bolster the Korean manufacturer’s local line-up of electrified vehicles.

Styling

There is no mistaking the new-look Niro EV GT-Line with its striking colours. The test car, for example, was Snow White Pearl with contrasting Steel Grey panels on both sides between the C-Pillar and rear.

Underpinning this post-modern patterning were unique jazzy 17-inch alloy wheels.

Up front a compact LED light set-up combines headlamp, daytime running lights and turn indicators, while rear lights include an integrated aerodynamic design that cleans airflow to help improve illumination.

The styling is regular SUV stuff and in GT-Line is topped off with a panoramic sunroof and powered tailgate. Charge points are not easy to find on some EVs. Not so here: access is via an instantly recognisableflapsituatedinthecentreofwhere an ICE radiator would normally live.

Interior

The new SUV platform translates to ample space inside the cabin, capable of taking up to five occupants in relative comfort. Faux leather trim extends to front heated and ventilated seats and two-spoke heated steering wheel.

Bigger than before, with every dimension but height increasing, seat and steering wheel adjustment are adequate for comfortable driving, while the rear bench is flat and can be firmonlongerjourneys.Legandheadroomare good.

The rotary transmission controller and push button motor start / stop switch share the centre console.

Boot space, accessed via a power tailgate, has taken a jump to 475 litres but with the seats down, 1392 litres is thirteen fewer than the old car.

An under-bonnet boot holds 20 litres and is home to the battery charging lead in a dedicated compartment, while the V2L plug is located in the base of the rear seat at hand for running laptops or other small appliances.

Infotainment

Two 10.25-inch screens take pride of place in the GT-Line’s digital dash - to the left speedo and the right a power metre. The other media and entertainment screen is packed with

features including an innovative display showing the power flow and the charge state of the battery.

There’s also a 10-inch colour head-up windscreen display, while an eight-speaker harman / kardon audio delivers quality DAB+ radio and also has USB Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. There’s a wireless phone charging point up front

Powertrain

The Niro EV 150 kW electric motor is carried over from the existing car, Kia stating it now develops 255Nm - 140 Nm shy of the outgoing model without performance being compromised but range being improved. Drive is sent to the front wheels through a single reduction gear transmission, with the 64.8 kWh battery pack enabling a driving range of up to 460 kilometres, five kilometres more than the car it replaces.

Safety

ANCAP is yet to assess and crash-test the Niro so it does not yet have a rating. Eight airbags (dual front, dual side, dual curtain, driver’s knee and centre) feature across the Niro range. Active safety includes anti-lock brakes, stability and traction control, forward collision warning, forward Autonomous emergency braking with junction collision avoidance,

Kia Niro HEV S: $44,380

Kia Niro HEV GT-Line: $50,030

Kia Niro EV S: $65,300

Kia Niro EV GT-Line: $72,100

SPECIFICATIONS

Kia Niro EV GT-Line single electric motor, single speed, FWD SUV

Note: These prices do not include government or dealer delivery charges. Contact your local Kia dealer for drive-away prices.

reverse AEB, blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, reversing camera, forward and reverse cross-traffic alert, exit and rear seat occupant warning.

Driving

First impressions are the quietness of the car – from engine and wind to road surface noise – the result of advanced sound deadening material.

One of three drive modes – Eco, Normal and Sport – can be called up by means of a steering wheel-mounted button. Eco is largely forgettable, Sport is firmer but less economical,

while Normal is relaxed and in keeping with the car’s character.

With a factory claimed 16.3 kWh per 100-kilometre average fuel consumption, the test car recorded an accumulated figure of 14.1 kWh per 100 kilometres average over a week of mixed driving.

A top-up battery charge of around 20 per cent, to 80 pc on a public fast charger, took 40 minutes, pushing the car’s range to 300-plus kilometres. Cost was less than $6.

Kia conducted a full ride and handling tune for the second-generation Niro in Australia, making it the first vehicle from the Korean brand to receive steering map changes since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Steeringwheelpaddlescanbeusedtochoose between three levels of braking regeneration. The strongest is good in traffic and delivers a pretty good one-pedal driving experience.

The turning circle is a solid 10.6 metres and thoughtfully Kia has kicked in with a remote parking feature where the key fob can be used to start the car and roll it forward and back to fit in tight garages or shopping centre spots.

Summary

The Kia Niro EV GT-Line is fine on fuel economy, comfort, range and charging convenience. However, $70K-plus is a lot to step over before getting into the car.

Generational changes inside and out for Kia Niro electric SUV. (Pictures: Supplied)

Giants sign former Australian star as new coach

The Werribee Giants women’s program has received a boost with former Australian player Bronwyn Gell signing on as coach for the upcoming Baseball Victoria summer league season.

The Giants announced the signing of Gell, who represented Australia at five international events and won two World Cup medals, earlier this month with great excitment.

Gell, who lives in Bacchus Marsh and grew up in Sunbury, said she was excited to get involved with the Giants.

“I’m super excited for the season,” she said.

“There were a few things that made me look at the role. The commitment from the club to grow the women’s program is really cool.

“There’sreallygoodsupportfortheprogram and they are investing in long term growth.

“They want to grow women’s sport in the west and I’m passionate about that and it’s

down my alley.”

Gell said she had always had an interest in coaching,butithadbeentoughtotakeonroles while she was still playing.

She said having decided to stop playing it had allowed her to pursue coaching.

“I kind of knew I was coming to an end of my playing career the last couple of years,” she said.

“I’vealwaysdabbledinit,hereandthereover the years. I made the decision to stop playing and when one door closes, another one opens.

“I started coaching the Vic youth winners teaminanassistantrole,takingonsomeofthe grassroots part of the program.

“I’ve taken a few opportunities. Living in Bacchus Marsh, I’ve been coaching the winter program at Bacchus Marsh and really enjoyed it.”

Gell also coached the first Geelong women’s

representative team that played the state championships, which involved some players from Werribee.

She said it was bittersweet no longer playing for Australia, she was enjoying watching the next generation in action.

TheGiantswomen’ssidewillbehopingtogo one better this upcoming season, having made the Baseball Victoria summer league 3 west women’s grand final in their second season.

Gell said there was so much potential in the squad and the area.

“Werribee is a massive growth area and we want to grow the game and the squad,” she said.

“We have already got the foundations and the culture and I want to extend that and build on what they have already established.”

Falcons celebrate seventh title

By Tara Murray

It’s seventh heaven for the City West Falcons with the club winning its seventh Victorian Netball League championship title on Wednesday night.

Having won the last two championships in 2019 and 2022, the Falcons made it a hat-trick of wins with a hard fought win against the Boroondara Express.

The Falcons led by six goals at quarter time, before the Express started to take control of the game and led by two goals at half time.

For much of the third and early in the fourth quarter, it was goal for goal.

The Falcons regained the lead three minutes into the last quarter and they didn’t let it go. A strong defensive finish sealed a 60-54 win for the Falcons.

Falcons coach Marg Lind said they had to put everything out there to come away with the win.

“I think Boroondara really took it to us,” she said. “They obviously had nothing to lose and they had a great finals series.

“We justhadalittlebufferinthelastquarter.”

Lind said Boroondara changed things up in the middle quarters defensively to try and shut down Maggie Lind and Montana Holmes. She said it worked really well, but they were able to adjust and get the game back on their terms.

“I think once we were able to free it up a bit, just let the ball go,” she said.

“We had Maggie coming long which helped and Montana getting a bit of ball deeper, where we were probably sitting in the pocket early in the second quarter that hurt.

“I thought Lucia [Fauonuku] made a really good difference in the last two quarters, pushing them up the court a bit and adding that transverse option and we swung the ball a little bit which put them off guard.”

Lind said defensively they did a really good job with everyone on court making a contribution.

Holmes was awarded the best on court medal.

Jane Cook shot 51 goals for the Falcons in a solid performance at goal shooter.

Sophie Hanrahan was another one of the stars in defence, particularly in the second half when she moved back into goal keeper.

Her performance wasn’t nearly to be though.

“There is a broken finger,” Lind said of Hanrahan.

“It was 50-50 for her to even play, the finger was looking pretty good and splinted pretty well.

“Good on her. It was gutsy and that is what it takes to win finals.”

For the Falcons this is one of their hardest championships to win. While they didn’t lose after round one, there were many nervous moments with making sure they had all bases covered for finals.

Lind said she still doesn’t know how they did it.

“It was tough and there was a lot of pressure thisseason,makingsurewehadenoughplayers qualified,” she said.

“Kids like Molly Kennedy making the drive down from Shepparton to give us that extra midcourt, she didn’t get on tonight bit did a really good job.

“Credit to all the girls, It was hard concentrating on the World Cup, having to come back to the Falcons. It must have felt a bit surreal for some of them.

“Kim [Borger] was actually injured and probably couldn’t have played tonight anyhow,

but her presence and support was fantastic.”

FortheFalconsitwasn’talljoyonWednesday night, with their under-19 side falling short of defending their title losing to Melbourne University, 45-32.

Lind said the side was a bit wasteful and a bit nervous, but with many of them still 15, 16, they have a few years to come before they hit their straps.

Overall, Lind said it had been a successful season for them with all three teams making finals and walking away with one premiership.

“Great club effort for the western suburbs,” she said.

With the competition format changing after

this season, it’s an end of the era for the VNL as it is known.

Lind said that was something that they had reallyfocusedon.Co-captainMaggieLindalso made mention of it in her post game speech.

“We saw this as the last VNL game as is,” Marg Lind said.

“It was important to us and really important to me. I felt like we won the first one and we wantedtowinthelastone,notsomuchworried about back to back, more like the book ends, so we got there.”

“Up until tonight we had more premierships than all the clubs together, so we’re probably about square now which was a big effort.”

Left: Sophie Hanrahan takes an important intercept in the final quarter. Right: Montana Holmes was named best on court. (Pictures: Tara Murray)

The City West Falcons celebrate with their fans.

Tara Murray Bronwyn Gell. (Supplied)

Brent Sheean wants to ‘bow out with a bang’

Brent Sheean will stand down from his post as head coach of Tarneit at the end of the Western Region Football League division 3 season, to spend more time with his young family.

While Sheean’s love and passion for the football club and coaching is still there, he said he recognised something had to give in his busy life.

“I don’t want to leave the Tarneit Titans, I won’t be going anywhere else to coach,” he said.

“Unfortunately, due to work, family commitments and being a head coach is a fair bit to juggle, and I’ve just had to make a decision on something that I’ll have to bow out of.

“I very much enjoyed my time at the club… I’m grateful for the chance that the Tarneit Titans gave to me… it’s been a pretty special experience for me, and I’ve enjoyed it, just loved it.”

However, with three home and away

rounds to play and the Titans only sitting a game out of the top four, finals could be on the cards for the club.

we’ve had a couple of good wins recently, it’s sort of put us back in that frame.

“Whilst I’ll be finishing up at the end it’s all full steam ahead for the rest of the season.

“We’ve all bought into that and hopefully it gives a little bit of an impetus, a little bit extra motivation, if ever we needed it, to take that next step.”

With second placed Albanvale as the last clash of the season, Tarneit would most likely have to win both games should they play in the finals. Sheean knows that will be a big task.

Followingtheweekend’sbyetheTitanswill play the fourth placed side, West Footscray in the penultimate game of the season in what will make or break their season.

“That game’s massive for us,” Sheean said. “That’s the exciting part, the season is very much still alive for us now.

“We’ve had a couple of results go our way,

“The boys obviously know what’s on the line, so they don’t need the motivation, but I suppose every little per cent helps,” he said.

“Ultimately finals is in our hands, it’s in our destiny if we really want it. If we win both games we’re in, it’s as simple as that.

“Let’s go out with a bang, and see how far we can get.”

Harper Sercombe

Women’s results wrap

Werribee Centrals is looking likely to maintain its position in second in the Western Region Football League women’s division 1, with a win over Point Cook Centrals on Saturday.

Werribee was on the back foot early, down by four points at quarter time.

From there they asserted their dominance on the game disallowing the Sharks another goal and winning the game, 6.11 (47)-2.4 (16).

League leading goal kicker Larissa Renaut added a further three to her tally, taking her to 35 goals. Kyleisha Kinces was also amongst the scorers with two.

The Centurions will face fourth positioned Parkside Spurs in their last game of the home and away season where the Sharks will play off against top side Spotswood.

If the Centurions win on Friday night they will lock in a top two spot and face Spotswood in a final to send them into a grand final.

A Centurions win and a Yarraville-Seddon Eagles win, would see the Eagles play finals and the Spurs miss out.

Adam Moscatiello (Ljubica Vrankovic) 333182_10

Suns’ intentions clear

By Harper Sercombe

With two home and away matches to play in the Western Region Football League division 3 season, the goal is clear for the Suns.

After going down by just two points in last year’s grand final, the Suns are determined to complete what they couldn’t last season.

Currently they sit at the top of the ladder, only losing a singular match to Sunshine Heights back in round seven.

Having had a bye on the weekend playing coach Dean Cachia said it is a good time of the year to have a rest as they begin to make their charge.

“Probably the perfect time for us, over the last three games we’ve really played some good, hard footy,” he said.

“We’ve just got to keep the foot on the pedal, keep training, and stay focused.

“We know there is plenty of work ahead of us to achieve what we’ve ultimately set out to achieve.

“Our intentions are clear this year, we want to win the premiership, we want to go up to

division two.”

This week the Suns will face second placed Albanvale. The sides have fought it out in two tight bouts throughout the year with the Suns getting the rub of the green in both occasions, by six and 10 points respectively.

“Both times the game could have gone either way,” Cachia said.

“We’re looking forward to it… it’s a tune up against them to see how we match up, see how we’re going, we think we’re going well and looking at their results they’re obviously going well as well.

“It’s just the team that comes ready to play on the day and executes their game plan as best as they can.”

Cachia is expecting to see the Cobras again inafewweekstime,whenthefirstplayssecond in the first week of finals. A grand final spot will be on the line.

“Ultimately the season starts again in the finals. It’s a completely different game, we got some good experience out of it last year,” he said.

“We hope that little bit of experience holds

us in good stead this year.

“It can go either way there’s no guarantees… we have to be at our best.

“If we’re not on our game and not focused anything can happen on any day.”

TheSunshavebeenanoffensivepowerhouse this season adding prolific goal scorer Daniel Hoovey back into the club in the off season. Hoovey now sits at 96 goals while his forward partner in Cachia has 61 for himself. Cachia kicked more than 100 goals last season.

“He’s been fantastic, bags of goals every game,” Cachia said.

“Now with two key forward goal kickers makes it a bit more difficult for the opposition to match up on us.

“But it’s the way the ball comes in, it’s the midfielders and the half forwards and their movement that allows us forwards to kick goals.

“If they’re not getting the ball in transition moving the ball quickly then the goals you see on the weekends.

“Iftheballdidn’tcomeinthewaythatitdoes we wouldn’t be kicking half of those goals.”

In division 2 it was a round of smashings with two forfeits and two games decided by more than 50 points.

Wyndhamvale got a win due to Spotswood’s forfeit, which has given it the top spot that Spotswood had with only a round to go.

Wyndham will play West Footscray on the weekend where a win will give them the top spot.

The Roosters are coming off a big win against Point Cook on Saturday. The Bulldogs failed to register a goal in the clash, losing 7.12 (54)-0.3 (3). Krystyn Raymundo kicked a season high six goals in the win to give her 24 goals for the season. In finals, the Roosters are likely to face Caroline Springs in an elimination semi final match.

‘‘We’ve had a couple of results go our way, we’ve had a couple of good wins recently, it’s sort of put us back in that frame.

- Brent Sheean

Wyndham women one step closer to grand final

Wyndham has cleared the first hurdle of their BigVfinalschampionshipwomen’scampaign.

On Sunday, Wyndham eased past the McKinnon Cougars in the first of a best-of-three game semi final series.

The undefeated side is on a mission to go back-to-back at the women’s championship level after beating Bulleen in last year’s grand final.

Wyndham were on top early on Sunday takingahandy10pointleadintoquartertime.

The lead grew to 17 points at the main break before Wyndham was too good for the Cougars in the third term, going on a massive 17-0 run, getting them 29 points up and putting the game to rest.

The scores were even in the last quarter with Wyndham winning 97-66.

“It was really pleasing to continue our form for the regular season into finals and get a strong win first up,” coach Gerard Hillier said.

“[Playing McKinnon in the last round of the season] gave us a level of comfort knowing that we had played them only a week earlier.

“So preparation was a little bit easier than that of previous years.”

League leading scorer Amanda Paschal starred in the win putting down 29 points to go with game highs in 13 rebounds, seven assists and five steals.

“Amanda’s stat line speaks for itself, she’s constantly hovering around a triple double every single game and the stats speak for themselves,” Hillier said.

“I think her ability to lead a younger team and get them involved and get them contributing, is probably more important to us than her individual stat line.”

Offthebench,veteranJamileePearceplayed an incredible defensive role with three steals, and 11 rebounds, while also scoring six points in her 12 minutes of game time.

“We actually had Jamilee locked in to be the assistant coach this season,” Hillier said.

“By the end of pre-season she was in competition form, and she just got better and better, and back to her normal contributions as the season’s gone on.

“To have such an experienced player in Jamilee to be able to come off the bench is definitely really helpful for us.”

Wyndham will play McKinnon again on Saturday and potentially Sunday too if game three is needed , where Hillier is hoping for more of what they showed on Saturday and throughout the year.

“For us the game plan has been the same every week,” he said.

“Trying to create an up tempo and high energy game and defensively, pressure the full court for four quarters.”

Men take the hard road

By Tara Murray

Wyndham will have to make the Big V men’s championship grand final the hard way, after losing to the Hume City Broncos on Saturday night.

After a week off in the first week of the finals, Wyndham faced the Broncos for the first spot in the grand final.

The Broncos jumped out of the blocks and led 8-0, before Wyndham took control and led throughout the rest of the rest quarter and the next two quarters.

The Broncos started to take control of the game late in the third quarter and finally hit the lead again with 5.11 left on the clock in the final quarter.

From there it was all the Broncos with a 29-11 final quarter, as they came away with a 93-82 win.

Wyndham coach Lucas Allen was disappointed after the game, knowing they had enough opportunities to come away with the win.

“I think Hume came to play to start with for

sure that is part of their DNA how hard they come out,” he said.

“Ultimately us not shooting the ball well and then hitting some tough shots at the right times, made the biggest difference in the game.”

Allen said after they settled into the game they played a good second quarter especially withKavioneGreeninfoultroubleandhaving to head to the bench.

He said the difference in the game was the third quarter which the Broncos won, 23-19.

“Hume took control of the game and we didn’t recover from that and it went from there,” he said.

“It’s simple to say they made shots and we didn’t, but there’s a bit more than that.

“We need to do a better job of getting more good looks, but we definitely got enough good looks.

“We should have still won the game I feel, not taking anything away from Hume but we got the looks.”

Maurice Howard top scored with 20 points, playing all 40 minutes. Five players scored

double figures for Wyndham.

Having finished top, Wyndham gets the double chance and will face the McKinnon Cougars on Saturday night in the preliminary final. The Cougars ended the Sunbury Jets run on Saturday night.

Allen said they were determined to get into the grand final and kept alive the dream of back-to-back premierships.

“The beauty of finishing top three everyone gets a second chance,” he said. “We’re definitely going to take that and regroup tomorrow [Sunday] or Monday hopefully take care of them [McKinnon] and meet Hume again.”

ItwasatoughnightallroundforWyndham, with its youth league men’s division 1 side losing the grand final to the Broncos.

The Broncos took the lead early in the first halfbeforeWyndhamshowedsomeresistance in the third quarter to reduce the margin to four points at the final break.

The Broncos finished the stronger of the teams to come away with a 91-76 win and the championship.

Sports shorts

AFL

Many of the most promising under-17 boys footballers from Victoria, New South Wales, ACT and Queensland were in action on Sunday in the under-17 futures matches at Avalon Airport Oval. The teams consisted of players who are eligible to be drafted next year. Among those in the teams were Western Jets’ Massimo Raso, Lucca Grego and Daniel Snell.

Australia Cup

Western United entered the Australia Cup with a bang as it seeks to venture deep into the competition.

On Wednesday night, United won in a dominant 4-0 display against New South Wales’, National Premier League side Edgeworth Eagles. United advanced to the round of 16 stage where its next challenger is not yet known, with the match to be played later in August.

GDFL

Werribee Centrals’ tough patch continued with a loss to East Geelong in the Geelong and District Football League on Saturday. East Geelong started well and led by 20 points at the first break. It was able to extend the score the next three quarters to come away with a 22.11 (143)-8.5 (53) win. Patrick Daley and Tyler Crennan were the Centurions best. The loss officially ended the Centurions finals chances as they sit in seven spot two games outside the top five with one round remaining.

WRFL

Point Cook suffered an upset loss to Yarraville Seddon Eagles in the Western Region Football League division 1 on Saturday. It was a low scoring first half with the Bulldogs leading by 10 points at the main break. The Eagles kicked 10 goals to five in the second half to seal a 12.13 (85)-9.8 (62) win. In other matches, Point Cook Centrals lost to Caroline Springs, while Werribee Districts beat Hoppers Crossing.

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Harper Sercombe Amanda Paschal (Ljubica Vrankovic) 344645_35

Daniaell Herbert (Ljubica Vrankovic) 353161_01

WERRIBEE FOOTBALL CLUB

Behind the scenes work pays off for Werribee

By Tara Murray

The hard work on the track is paying off for Werribee, but there’s a lot more than just the playing group stepping up for the Victorian Football League club.

With a club record 14 wins in a row, Werribee is the envy of many clubs in the VFL right now, with a strong fit playing list and the results going its way.

Competing against AFL-aligned clubs is never easy and for Werribee a lot of work has been put in behind the scenes to make the resources are in place to take the club to the next level.

Werribee football manager Mark Micallef said they continue to focus on their high performance team to ensure that they can get the best out of the players.

“Our high performance team is highly regarded for a VFL-standard,” he said. “Gaetano Faranda came at the start of the year having been at Box Hill and Williamstown and has a really good reputation.

“He has been a breath of fresh air and our ability to run out games has improved dramatically.”

Micallef said the number of staff in the high performance team has grown as the professionalism of the program has.

They now have four physios, two full time, headed by Shea Mulkearns joined the club this year.

They also have two doctors, a strength and conditioning team lead by James Welsh, plus trainers, sports scientists and analysts.

Micallef said much of the work done by the team is revolved around when the players aren’t at the club.

“Our analytics are a step ahead of other VFL clubs,” he said. “Week in, week out and there’s a good balance of analytics of local players too.

“We’ve put in a lot of resources and it’s held us in good stead. We’ve always been a resource heavy club.

“Mick [Barlow] and team have had other areas that we need to improve on and we’ve seen a massive growth in the strength and conditioning to push to that next level.”

Micallef said one of the biggest challenges of the club was knowing they were going up against teams that consist of full time athletes.

He said they were continuing to try and find ways to level the playing field.

“We have to think what we can do to catch the full time athletes,” he said.

“Our high performance team is doing a good job and doing program recovery.

We have decent software so when they’re not here we can monitor them. The high performance team does a good job, not just when they are face to face. They train three items a week away from the club.”

Faranda has always watched Werribee from afar, so when the opportunity to join the club as its high performance manager, it was an opportunity he jumped at.

He’s no stranger to the VFL scene, having been at Box Hill and Williamstown.

“I’ve grown up in Werribee and been

here my whole life,” he said. “They are the local team I followed as a boy.

“I’ve known people who have gone through the system and the program in the day and they’ve spoken a lot of good things.

“The opportunity came up and it was a no brainer to apply. I love footy and the AFL-VFL environment, I can’t get away from.”

Faranda said the biggest thing for him at Werribee had been the people and said he had been keen to be part of something that allowed the growth of the players and staff.

He said the state of the art facilities were something that also made the role easier.

Having come in late in the pre-season, Faranda said that he had only made small changes so far.

“The old manager in the role had been there for a while and the standards were quite set,” he said.

“Day one I started with a friend of mine the head physio in pure coincidence. He messaged me one day and was going for an interview at Werribee and so was I.

“It made it easier for us knowing each other and what needs to change straight away and what can wait.

“We looked at how the season was going to look for 2023 and in 2024 we will have bigger system changes off field for the players and staff.”

Faranda said he and Mulkearns like to

push the barriers a little bit with getting players back from injuries.

He said the challenge to match the AFL-aligned sides was something they continue to work on.

“It’s only two nights a week you get to see them. They get to training and we implement a program to get the best out of every individual and that is showing in performance.”

As the team prepares for the final round of the season and finals, Micallef said the work won’t only ramp up for the players, but also the people behind the scenes.

“The commitment of the staff we have, can not ever be measured,” he said.

“They do the work week in week out and most only see the players.”

Werribee’s team off field is working just as hard. (Belinda Vitacca Photography)