Celebrating 120 Years
TUESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2011
$1.20
Crash carnage • Up to 30 cattle die • Driver recovering
POLICE are still investigating the cause of a truck crash at Boorool last Thursday that transformed a serene paddock into a devastating sight. Up to 30 cattle were killed when the truck ran off the Strzelecki Highway and came to rest on its side in the property of farmer, Eric Dowling. The driver, a man from Loch, was seriously injured but is now at home after spending two days in Royal Melbourne Hospital. Police have not ruled out the highway – windy at the point of the crash – as contributing to the crash. Emergency crews are pictured attending the scene, while dead cattle lay in the paddock (far right). Report, page 3.
Price hike to hit
By Chris Brown
STRUGGLING South Gippslanders are expected to place greater demand on charities, with grocery prices likely to rise as a result of floods across Australia. The availability of fruit and vegetables could be hindered by floods in Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales – food bowls of the country. But with floodwaters still receding, the full effect of the natural disasters on food supplies will not be known for some time. St Vincent de Paul Society’s Leongatha Conference president Josie Bleeser said when fruit and vegetable prices increased, South Gippsland’s
most disadvantaged would be affected. “Everything they need is going to go up and they’ve got a limited amount of money coming in,” she said. “There’s no way they can increase that amount of money; they can’t work overtime or anything like that. “They will have to use their money on the cheaper less nutritious food such as pasta and donuts.” St Vincent de Paul would be helping long-term in the flood recovery. “I think people will realise Queensland is more than just a holiday destination, it provides a lot of our food,” Ms Bleeser said. Salvation Army Leongatha community support
services, co-ordinator Geoff Clarkson, said people needed fresh food the most. “It’s really a bit hard to gauge how it will affect people until we get them coming in,” he said. At Michael’s IGA supermarket in Leongatha, customers have been advised to expect availability problems with mangoes, beans, seedless watermelon, continental cucumber, sweet potato, zucchini, avocado, lettuce, ginger and capsicum. Transportation issues will also affect availability. Fresh food supervisor Domenic D’Agostino believed the number of unavailable foods will increase. “You play it day by day. The fruit and vegetable industry is day by day; it’s not week by week,”
he said. Rain in Queensland over the past few weeks was already causing food supply problems before last week’s floods. “Availability is going to be the biggest problem, as effectively local markets in Victoria are trying to feed New South Wales and Queensland with stock,” Mr D’Agostino said. “It means they’re trying to split the atom too many ways and that is affecting local pricing.” Banana supplies will also tighten up as ripening and storage rooms in Victoria are empty. “The transportation issue is not just in fruit and vegetables,” Mr D’Agostino said. Continued on page 8.