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Page 4 The Moorabool News – 7 December, 2021
‘Cowabunga’ stops traffic By Lachlan Ellis It was ‘udder’ chaos on the Western Freeway last week, as a group of cows blocked the road two days in a row. Both incidents may have been ‘amoosing’ to some, but less so to those stuck in the traffic, with social media flooded with messages warning Marshians not to use the Western Freeway. Bacchus Marsh Police don’t yet know how the cows managed to get out of the truck they were in, but are investigating to find out if negligence or faulty equipment were to Cows on the freeway last week. Photo – Sue Stewart blame. “A number of cows seemingly mysteriously appeared on the freeway between Condons Lane and nearly down as far as where the Avenue of Honour meets the freeway,” a member from the police station told the Moorabool News. “We don’t know how they got out of the truck, but the driver has been identified, he’s made himself known. The cows were basically minded overnight from Wednesday to Thursday, they got a few of the cows back on the truck, but two of them weren’t very happy to go back in. “One of them got back onto the freeway on Thursday, but that was taken care of…hopefully that’s the end of it.” VICSES Bacchus Marsh volunteers were also called to the scene, assisting police with traffic management near the intersection of the Western Freeway with Gisborne Road. Delays were between 40 mins to three hours. The police member could not confirm whether any of the Hereford type cows were injured.
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By Lachlan Ellis
A decision from the Commonwealth Government, following the Royal Commission into Aged Care, has “forced Council’s hand” on potentially ceasing aged and disability services. In a closed session of the 1 December Ordinary Meeting, Council made an in-principle decision to transition out of delivering services currently funded by the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP), Home and Community Care Program for Younger People (HACC-PYP), and Regional Assessment Services (RAS). Under the change, the Commonwealth Government will be responsible for choosing a new provider of aged care and disability services. However, Council has affirmed that it will continue to advocate for the needs of vulnerable Moorabool residents, and continue investing in age-friendly programs such as the Age Well Live Well Strategy. Council CEO Derek Madden said Council would work hard to help find the best successor, that provided the closest level of service to what clients were used to. “There will be a change in how the Commonwealth will fund Council, which will mean Council is not able to fund the full suite of services. However, Council will enter the EOI (Expression of Interest) process, we’ll take a proactive role,” Mr Madden said. “This change is happening in many Councils, if not the majority. Hepburn Shire made a similar decision in November.” Moorabool Shire Mayor Cr Tom Sullivan said the decision “was not taken lightly”, but the Commonwealth Government’s changes made it an unfortunate necessity. “Council has had a number of briefings from consultants and come to an understanding on why
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this needs to be done. The changes from the Royal Commission have forced our hand, but we’ll work actively in the transition process to get the best outcome for our community,” he said. “We want to assure our clients that service continuity is a priority, and we will not be leaving clients without the services they require during any transition phase that may arise in the future. Council has deliberated on this for a considerable amount of time and weighed up options.” Manager of Active Ageing and Diversity, Belinda Stewart, said Victoria is the only state in Australia with a model for aged care and disability services where councils are involved. Following the Royal Commission’s recommendations, Ms Stewart said the Commonwealth was looking for “national uniformity” in aged care and disability services. “In Victoria we have around 200 providers receiving CHSP funding – other states might only have 10 to 15. Quality of care was a big factor that came out of the Royal Commission…we’ve had significant waiting lists during the pandemic, podiatry is up to 18 months in some places,” she said. “Unfortunately, we can’t prop up the Commonwealth’s model financially. To some of our clients, this may come as a surprise. But we want to make sure they are supported as they need to be and as they have been,” she said. Council will receive a further report in March 2022, and may choose to confirm the in-principle decision then. A non-confidential version of this report will be included in that meeting’s minutes, to ensure transparency in the decision-making process. Overall, 38 aged care employees (23 full time equivalent) will be affected by the change.
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