Page 4 The Moorabool News – 22 February, 2022
News
Email - news@themooraboolnews.com.au
Protesters plan ahead By Lachlan Ellis Their fight against overhead power lines will continue throughout 2022, and community group Stop AusNet’s Towers is getting its campaign into gear, with community meetings and a tractor rally. A series of community meetings are planned from February 28 to March 6, with three of those meetings in Moorabool. At 7 pm on Monday, February 28, the group plans to hold a meeting at Bacchus Marsh Public Hall. At 7 pm on Tuesday, March 1, they plan to meet at the Ballan Lawn Bowls Club, and on Wednesday, March 2 they will meet at the Springbank Football Club at 7 pm. At the latter two meetings, free barbeques will be on offer alongside information about the Stop AusNet’s Towers campaign, legal challenge, the EES process, and land access. On Tuesday, March 8, Stop AusNet’s Towers members will head to Spring Street for a tractor rally, with hundreds of farmers, residents, and landowners expected to take to the steps of the Victorian Parliament. With their tractors and striking signs, they will demand the State Government reject AusNet’s plans for the Western Victoria Transmission Network Project (WVTNP). Stop AusNet’s Towers spokeswoman, Emma Muir, said the group would continue fighting against the “unsafe, inefficient” plans. “Too many of our politicians, including the Ministers in charge of this project, have so far refused to come and meet us, so we’re taking our fight to them so we can deliver a simple message: Stop AusNet’s Towers – save our communities and farms,” she told the Moorabool News. “If AusNet gets its way, this project will devastate our communities. Bushfire risk will skyrocket, high-value agricultural land that feeds Victoria will be destroyed and land values will plummet.”
Ms Muir said the group did not oppose renewable energy, but did oppose the way in which the WVTNP would go about transmitting it. “Stop AusNet’s Towers supports renewable energy, supports action on climate change and supports the environment. A green generation solution requires a green transmission solution. Using outdated, inferior, and destructive overhead electricity transmission technology is not in Australia’s strategic national interest, nor cost-effective,” she said. "Above ground transmission infrastructure is not a future proof solution and AusNet, AEMO and the government are green washing this project.” For more information about Stop AusNet’s Towers, visit www.stopausnetstowers.com.au.
Closter sits in eighth By Kendall Jennings
Photo – Marc Jones
Bacchus Marsh’s Max Closter headed to Swan Hill for the second round of the Australian Arenacross Series on Saturday, February 12. With the track in perfect condition, the wind and afternoon sun led to highly competitive racing, where a mistake could set a rider back in many positions, making the ideal lap a dominating one. “I did enjoy Swan Hill because it was more technical, and it was a lot more challenging. I loved the track because it was tricky and technical, and it helps me to become a better rider,” the 21-year-old Max Closter and former Ninja Warrior semi-finalist said, who is constantly driven to be better in whatever he does. “I felt pretty good out on the track since it was like 32 degrees out there making it a lot more challenging. The track conditions got very rough. I was struggling with the heat halfway through the races,” he said. “I felt I was racing so much better; I just made some mistakes in the last round. All out through the day, I was proud of how I raced and finished eighth overall. I am keen for the next round and motivated to get in the top five.”
Australian Arenacross director Jessica Proctor said the perfect racing conditions at Swan Hill meant thousands of spectators who converged on the race circuit were treated to high-quality racing across all the classes. “We’re delighted with the response we’ve received from both the racers and fans so far in this nationally-recognised, MA-sanctioned series,” Proctor explained. “Until now, there’s been a big void in Australian events between grassroots racing and the elite-level national championships, and the aim of the Australian Arenacross Series is to bridge that gap and foster the level wave of racers who might one day want to become professional racers.” However, the completion of the series has been thrown into turmoil as Ms Proctor suffered a medical emergency after the event, which requires further treatment. Unfortunately, due to the incident, Protraxx has postponed the next two rounds of the Australian Arenacross Series. Future dates given from Motorcycling Australia are September, 10 and November, 5. Venue locations may change that will cater better to the event and crowds and create a better experience for all involved. Protraxx have apologised for the inconvenience and hope to build up to a great event for the last two rounds.
Cop a coffee when shopping By Lachlan Ellis
Bacchus Marsh Police members and a local resident enjoying a coffee at the 1 February Coffee with a Cop day. Photo - supplied
An initiative to further connect police with the community has had its first session for the year, with a free coffee and a chat on offer for locals every month. The ‘Coffee with a Cop’ initiative has seen interruptions during COVID, but this year Bacchus Marsh Police plan to hold the sessions on the first Tuesday of every month. The first session for 2022 was held at the Bacchus Marsh Village Shopping Centre on Tuesday 1 February from 9.30 – 10.30 am, and the next will be held on Tuesday 1 March, same time and place. Senior Sergeant Jen Horgan became Station Commander at Bacchus Marsh Police Station last November, and said connecting with the community was one of her top priorities. “The last two years we’ve spent a lot of time interacting the community, talking about Chief Health Officer directions: masks, curfews, that kind of thing. I want to get back to ‘back to basics’ policing, and just speak to people – see
what they want from us, what they’re seeing, and what we can do to support them,” she told the Moorabool News. “It’s really nice speaking to people not on the end of a Triple Zero call. It’s nice to meet with the community on more neutral terms, and be more available as well. If people know the session’s on, they can come along, or if they pass by and see us there, there might be something in the back of their minds they want to know, that they haven’t wanted to bother the police about. “The day we did it last month was just before kinder went back, so we had quite a few kids we could give colouring books and pencils too, so that was nice.” Though police interacted with the community online during the height of the pandemic, including on the Moorabool Eyewatch Facebook page, Senior Sergeant Horgan said it was “fantastic to be able to get back to face-to-face”. If you want to have a chat with a local police officer over a free cup of coffee, pop down to the Bacchus Marsh Village Shopping Centre at 9.30 am on Tuesday 1 March.