Tag Archives: Victoria

Hats go in the ring for the Warrandyte Byelection

By SUSAN FOREMAN NAMES ARE beginning to emerge for inclusion on the ballot paper in the August 26 Warrandyte Byelection.
Last month, member for Warrandyte, Ryan Smith MP, announced he would be retiring from Parliament.
His successor for the Liberal candidacy, Nicole Ta-Ei Werner, was announced following a preselection battle.
Since then, other parties have been weighing up their options.
A source from within the Labor party told Warrandyte Diary that the party has yet to decide on their intentions for the seat.
Victorian Greens have announced that the current Deputy Mayor of Manningham, Cr Tomas Lightbody, would be contesting the seat for the Greens.
Minor parties and independents are beginning to emerge, the Freedom Party’s Greg Cheesman has confirmed he is looking to contest the seat, a group calling themselves the Warrandyte Movement are putting up an independent candidate in Vern Hughes, and Raymond “The Snake Man” Hoser announced he would run as an independent.
There are also a host of other whispers about minor parties, Teal and other independents making plans to run.
Keep an eye on the Warrandyte Diary and Manningham & Nillumbik Bulletin over the coming weeks for the full card of starters.

Passing the Liberal baton

The Liberal Party have already preselected their new candidate, which itself was contested by nine hopefuls, among them Manningham Councillor Andrew Conlon, the former Institute of Public Affairs executive director John Roskam, former Eltham candidate Jason McClintock and KPMG director Sarah Overton.
A 22-year-old law student and champion rower, Antonietta di Cosmo also contested the Liberal ticket alongside former political staffer Jemma Townson.
The victorious contender is Nicole Ta-Ei Werner, a 32-year-old former food relief worker for Empower Australia, the charitable arm of Pentecostal church Planetshakers.

Liberal leader John Pessuto announces Nicole Werner at the Warrandyte Candidate.She was also the Liberal candidate for the seat of Box Hill in last year’s State Election and, since then, has been working in the office of Senator Jane Hume.

She said she was “humbled and honoured” that the members chose her as the Warrandyte candidate.
The election is said to be a test of the Liberal party leader John Pesutto, who has overseen infighting and internal divisions, most notably over the expulsion from the party room of Moira Deeming after she attended an anti-trans rally also attended by neo-Nazis.
Ryan Smith was one of those who opposed the expulsion motion. Nicole and Ryan sat down with the Diary as they passed the baton.
Ryan said he was pleased they chose a local person as the new candidate.
“I think she’s the right person,” he said. “There were nine people who put their hand up, five weren’t locals, and I would have been disappointed if the party had selected a non-local.
“So, I’m happy that we got one of the four, and I’ve seen Nicole campaign very enthusiastically and really connect, particularly with many of the younger people.
“I think that party had seen what work she had put in over the last election.
“So, I’m hoping to see that again,” he said.
Nicole had an 8.9 per cent swing against her in Box Hill at the 2022 State Election, but she remains optimistic about a different result in Warrandyte.
“It was my first run as a candidate, and I’ve learnt from that.
“There are setbacks in everybody’s career and life, but I’m a fighter, so I’m back to fight — I want to fight for the people of Warrandyte,” she said.
Nicole said her passion for politics goes back to her family’s story.
“My parents moved from Malaysia for a better life for the family — with quite a backstory as well.
“My maternal grandmother is illiterate; she can’t read or write, she was born into poverty in Malaysia, and her family was too poor to send her to school.”
She said her grandmother was an amazing woman.
“She survived WWII by hiding in the jungle as a child, and as the eldest daughter, the family sent all her siblings to school, but not her; she stayed home to do the housework.
“She tells stories of dropping all her younger siblings at school, and she would peer through the window and try to catch bits of learning where she could.
“She worked as hard as possible to send my mum and her other children to school.
“My mum grew up in that environment, with a degree of poverty, and decided at age 22 to move out here.
“And this is so many migrant stories; you move here for a better life, you make a fresh start for your family.
“Mum recently told me the story where she’s a new migrant, first-time mother, she’s been working two jobs just to get ahead and they have just bought a house, and she is pregnant with me the first child, and she put a hand on her belly, and she said that she would say to me, ‘I want you to be a leader and I want you to change the world’.
“I think that’s always been ingrained in me that there is this hunger and desire to make a difference to the community.
“Politics for me is about that more than anything else,” she said.
She said she is from a multicultural, multi-faith family; her father is Buddhist, her mother is agnostic, her brother is atheist, she has Islamic family members, and she and her husband are Pentecostal Christians.
That is what makes Victoria great, it’s a multicultural multi-faith society, and I will always defend the right for people to have the freedom to worship if they choose to or not, and the religion they choose to practise or not,” she said.
Nicole paid tribute to the job that Ryan has done for the electorate over the last 16 years.
She said people told her she had some big shoes to fill.
“Ryan told me they’re not big shoes, we all do things differently, so they’re just different shoes.
“But he leaves an amazing legacy and has been a beloved local member, and so it does for me mean that they are huge shoes to fill because everyone you speak to just adores Ryan.”
Ryan said he had the same issue when he took over from Phil Honeywood in 2006.
“That was 18 years [that Phil had been in office], but you don’t do it the same; you just do it how you think you need to do it.”
Nicole said she would do a lot the same as Ryan in terms of helping the individual constituent.
“The gold standard is ‘Have I helped this person, have I advocated this issue, have I helped this family?’.
“And that is what I want to do, be someone that helps people and fights for people,” she said.
Ryan said the times sometimes force you to act a certain way.
“When Black Saturday happened, bushfire became the overarching focus of the community for several years, we would have meetings at the community church with over 600 people just to get information on what to do, and so bushfire prep became sort of my thing for a while because I knew the community cared about it, I knew how fragile our situation was in regards to fire.
“But then, when I started, the health of the Yarra River was a big deal — there were E.coli levels through the roof, and the runoff from people’s septic tanks was horrible.
“And so, with those different focuses of the community, drives you to act in a certain way which is different to what my predecessor did, in a different way to what my successor will do as well, the times call for a certain type of person, a certain type of action and a certain way of approaching something,” he said.
Nicole said that living in nearby Blackburn and studying in Donvale, she understood the electorate’s needs.
“This is an incredibly diverse electorate in its population demographics and landscape so that I will campaign on local issues pertinent to each area.
“In Doncaster East and Donvale, there are issues like over-development that people are worried about, and then in areas like North Warrandyte, Warrandyte, Park Orchards there is the Green Wedge as far out as Chirnside Park, and that is an important issue to the locals there,” she said.
But she said some issues transcend geography and demographics, such as the cost of living, noting a conversation she has had with a resident in Park Orchards who has to sell their house due to mortgage stress.
“And when I was working in food relief, we saw a rise during the pandemic, and where we were feeding 3,000 people and in 11 months, we gave away a million meals.
“And that for me was such a wake-up call in the sense of how government decisions impact individuals’ lives,” she said.

Greens: Tomas Lightbody

As a young person, Tomas Lightbody says he is keenly aware of the impacts of climate change and the need to phase out fossil fuels like coal and gas.
He said he has also seen how the current housing crisis has left countless Victorians forced to choose between food and rent as renters across the state grapple with mounting rent rises.
If elected, he says he would fight to stop new fossil fuel projects like the disastrous “coal-to-hydrogen” project currently being considered by Labor and push for solutions to the housing crisis, including a big build of public and affordable housing and rent controls.
“Having grown up a Donvale local, I understand the preciousness of our local communities and environments in this seat and feel the urgency with which we need to protect them,” he said.
He says he also understands the importance of supporting those doing it tough amidst the rising cost-of-living.
He said he was inspired to put his hand up for Council in 2020 to be a voice for the young, diverse, and queer communities in his electorate.
And now, he’s ready to be that voice in the Victorian Parliament.
“If elected, I’ll push the Victorian Labor Government to go further and faster on climate change and housing affordability so that we can protect our precious environment and look after people doing it tough,” he said.
During his time on Council, Tomas has secured a local community net-zero target of 2035, increased funding for tree planting, and greater protection for trees on public lands.
He has also fought tirelessly for better public transport, including increased bus links between local activity centres, given there are currently no buses between areas like Wonga Park and Park Orchards, and Warrandyte.
In the Victorian Parliament, Tomas plans to fight for proper funding for maintenance and bushfire mitigation efforts in the Warrandyte state forests and increase infrastructure safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists.
The Victorian State Election last year saw the Greens experience their strongest election results ever, with voters electing Aiv Puglielli as their Upper House MLC for the North-Eastern Metropolitan region, which takes in the seat of Warrandyte.
“Support for the Victorian Liberals is currently in freefall, and with Labor potentially not even standing a candidate at all, this byelection will be incredibly unpredictable.
“Every vote for the Greens this byelection sends a message that people want progressive action and that Labor and the Liberals can’t keep going with business as usual and just expect to keep their seats,” Tomas said.

The Warrandyte Movement

A group of local people in Warrandyte is fielding an independent candidate.
The group is called The Warrandyte Movement, and their candidate is Vern Hughes.
The movement describes itself as a group of Warrandyte people, active in local community, arts groups, and small businesses, who want to start somewhere in getting a different kind of politics.
Vern has been described as a community leader and social entrepreneur.
He was the founder of the Social Entrepreneurs Network (Australia and New Zealand) and is a former Director of the Co-operative Federation of Victoria.
He has worked in community health, disability, church, and co-operative and social enterprise organisations for 40 years.
He is also a historian who has written extensively on the history of social movements and community organisations in Victoria.
“I have accepted the invitation to stand as a candidate for The Warrandyte Movement because we all need to do what we can to change politics in Victoria.
“In approaching me, the group wants someone who could play a leadership role, if elected, in spreading the movement across Victoria,” he said.
Vern went on to say he was delighted to accept the challenge.
“We don’t need Left or Right — they have created deep division and cynicism in the community.
“We need a new politics that is about local communities, empowerment of people, and deep integrity.”
Vern says Warrandyte has been traditionally held by the Liberal Party, describing the electorate as a diverse bunch of “small c conservatives”.
“That is, they want to conserve their community, their environment, their jobs, and businesses, in financially sustainable ways.
“They want to conserve families as the bedrock social unit and support everyone to find belonging and stability.
“As conservative-minded people, they are wary of Big Business and Big Government.
“They want bureaucracy kept to a minimum, and they want creativity and initiative to flourish.
“In this sense, I will be a Conservative Independent in Warrandyte.
“The Warrandyte Movement is a movement for the renovation of democracy and government for the 21st century,” said Vern.

Snake Man stands

Raymond “The Snake Man” Hoser has announced he will be running for election in the upcoming byelection as an independent.
He said he would be running on a centrist platform of ethics, economics, law and order, and environment.
Having written books on wildlife, wildlife smuggling, government corruption, and police corruption, and is the self-proclaimed “world’s foremost snake expert”.
He said most people in Warrandyte know The Snake Man as the 24/7 snake catcher “who rocks up at all hours to relocate deadly snakes”.
Raymond has been a Melbourne snake catcher for over 30 years and says he has trained dozens of others across Melbourne and Australia.
Raymond says that only with a strong independent elected to the seat will the local area be properly represented.
“We need representation from a person with a proven track record of running a successful business, honesty, ethics, and an environmental protection record that is the best in Australia”.
At the State level, he says he will seek to cut the excessive size of the bloated public service and the culture of cronyism.
Raymond warns of major party stooges nominating as “independents” or what he called “fake independents”, with Liberal or Labor preference flows, with the sole purpose of disrupting the independent vote to ensure a Liberal win.
Raymond says: “I am needed to deal with the snakes in the Victorian parliament”.

Byelection date announced

Mr Smith’s resignation took effect on July 7.
The Victorian Electoral Commission has announced the byelection will be held on Saturday, August 26, with a two-week early voting period expected to kick off Monday, August 14.
Nominations will officially open in the coming week.
The electoral roll will close shortly after, so make sure your enrolment details are up to date.

Flu jabs free for all during June

AS WE LEARN to live with COVID-19, another challenging virus lurks in the wings.
During lockdowns, with our general improved hand-washing and sterilisation routines, and mask-wearing, confirmed Influenza cases took a dramatic nose dive.
Data on recorded cases provided by Immunisation Coalition shows national Influenza cases in 2019 hit 313,085 and month-on-month data had the virus tracking hight into early 2020 until March/April when there were 6,043 cases in March, this fell to 321 cases in April, as lockdown measures began to kick in.
With numbers in the hundreds, then mere dozens month-on-month for the last two years, the current strain of influenza has now seen a dramatic uptick, with Australia-wide Influenza cases as of May 30, 2022, reported to be 35,317. Victoria is reporting an increase of 50 per cent in the last week of May, rising from 10,000 to 15,000 cases.
Flu vaccines are available from GPs and pharmacies, such as Terry White Chemmart or Warrandyte Medical Centre and would normally cost between $25 and $70 depending on what type of vaccine you are eligible for.
To combat a sudden rise in Influenza cases, Victoria has joined other States and Territories in the push to get the population vaccinated against Influenza.
As part of a $33 million package, more than 3,000 GPs and community pharmacies are offering free flu vaccination to all Victorians during June.
Until now it has only been free for vulnerable groups, including children under five years, people over 65 years, pregnant women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and people with increased risk medical conditions.
The Government has said it will also reimburse GPs and community pharmacies for flu vaccines administered to any Victorians that are not usually eligible for free flu shots — so that immunisation providers can continue to use vaccines that they have already purchased.
This will mean all Victorians aged six months and over will be eligible for the free flu shot in June to help boost vaccination coverage as much as possible and avoid more hospitalisations throughout winter. Victorian Minister for Health Martin Foley encouraged all Victorians to get vaccinated against Influenza.

“This will be the first time in two years that we will face a real flu season — we need all Victorians to roll up their sleeves and help protect their loved ones and our health system by getting vaccinated.
“Victorians really took up the call to arms when it came to COVID-19 vaccinations, and we know they can do it again — so we’re removing as many barriers as possible to help boost vaccine coverage,” he said.

The Government is also suggesting vulnerable groups get a fourth “Winter Booster” against COVID-19; also noting that it is possible to have your Influenza and COVID-19 vaccination at the same time.
Winter COVID-19 boosters are recommended for people who are:
65 years or older a resident of an aged care or disability care facility severely immunocompromised Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander aged 50 years and older.
Those aged 16-64 and with a medical condition that increases the risk of severe COVID-19 illness those aged 16 to 64 with disability with significant or complex health needs or multiple comorbidities that have an increased risk of a poor outcome.
Presently, the Winter Booster is not recommended for those aged 16 – 64 who are not considered part of a vulnerable group.
Anyone with cold and flu symptoms should get tested for COVID-19 and remain at home until their symptoms have resolved — regardless of whether it turns out to be COVID-19 or flu.
People who test positive for COVID-19 must isolate for seven days from the date of their result.

Light at the end of lockdown: Back to school

REMOTE LEARNING has been a major component of schooling for students at all levels during the past 18 months.
For Year 12 students it has been especially stressful as not only do they have to deal with the stress of exams, but they have had to do it, via computer, in the isolation of their own home.
But with vaccination ramping up and the agreed National Plan now in effect, our students at the most critical part of their education journey can finally get back to the classroom.
With 70 per cent of the eligible adult population at least single dosed, our society has already begun to open up.
Note, these changes are in addition to children of authorised workers and vulnerable children who are already still participating in on-site learning. On October 5, Students sitting the GAT (General Achievement Test) will be able to do so in the classroom. This will be followed by on-site learning for VCE Unit 3/4, and final year VCAL and IB students on October 6.
From October 18, Prep, Grade 1 and Grade 2 students will return to part-time on-site learning, with Prep on-site Monday — Wednesday, and Grade 1 and 2 students on-site Thursdays and Fridays.
When the eligible adult population reaches 70 per cent double vaccinated, which is expected to be around October 26, on-site learning will open up for all Primary and Secondary aged children — to some extent.
Phase B of the National Plan sees a continuation of existing arrangements plus:

Grades 3 and 4: on-site Tuesdays and Wednesdays
Grades 5 and 6: on-site Thursdays and Fridays
Year 7 students will be full time Monday to Friday
Year 8 and 9: on-site Tuesdays and Wednesdays
Year 10 students on-site Thursdays and Fridays
Year 11 students full time Monday to Friday

On around November 5, it is expected the eligible adult population will reach and pass its 80 per cent fully vaccinated target and all schooling will return to normal.

The three Vs of the education sector

In addition to the roadmap, Minister for Education, James Merlino announced the State Government’s three Vs for a safe return to school. The three Vs; ventilation, vaccination, and vital CovidSafe steps is part of a $190M+ initiative to provide schools with equipment needed to reduce the chances of Coronavirus spreading in our schools.
Mr Merlino said the introduction of air purification devices will help keep kids safe once they are back in the classroom.

“I know Victorian families can’t wait to see their kids back in the classroom — but we need to keep them safe once they’re there, and we’re delivering ventilation devices to prevent as much transmission on school sites as possible.
“With a roadmap in place to get all students back to school safely, we’ll make sure every single Victorian child is supported when they’re back in the classroom — whether that’s with their schoolwork or their wellbeing,” he said.

Term 4 will see 51,000 air purification devices rolled out to all government and low-fee non-government schools and installed in “high risk” areas such as staff rooms, hallways, music rooms, and “sick bays”.
Additionally, these schools will be entitled to a grant of up to $25,000 as part of the School Shade Grants Program, to create outdoor learning spaces.
In addition, State Government has mandated that all staff in schools and early childhood services will be required to have had their first dose of coronavirus vaccine by October 18, or have a booking within one-week of that date, and to be fully vaccinated by November 29.

Earthquake update

A MAGINTUDE 6.0 Earthquake was felt across Victoria at 9:15am today, Wednesday September 22.
Geoscience Australia is reporting the epicentre was in Mansfield at a depth of 10 kilometres.
So far, there are minimal reports of damage or injury.

The Diary will continue to monitor Geoscience Australia and other information sources and update this story as necessary.

New support package for businesses announced

THE VICTORIAN Government has announced a $250.7 million business support package which includes finances for small to medium-sized businesses and sole traders.
The aptly named Circuit Breaker Business Support Package aims to help up to 90,000 businesses affected by the current lockdown.
The package is divided into three initiatives:

Business Costs Assistance Program
Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund
Support for events operators

Of the package, $190M will be funnelled into a second round of the Business Costs Assistance Program, offering grants of $2,500 for eligible businesses directly affected by the lockdown’s industry restrictions; this includes restaurants and cafes, event suppliers, accommodation providers, and non-essential retail.
A new round of the Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund will see $40.7M provided to businesses with a liquor license and food certificate distributed in grants of $3,500 per premises.
For operators in the events industry who have been impacted finically by the lockdown, they will have access to a share of a $20M support scheme.
At the announcement, Acting Premier James Merlino said this new package will help businesses stay open in the long term.

“The circuit-breaker action will keep Victorians safe and protect businesses and jobs – but we know it’s not easy shutting your doors and putting your plans on hold.
“This support will help businesses pay the bills and maintain their workforce as best they can, as we work together to get through this challenge,” he said.

Minister for Small Business, Jaala Pulford added “Small businesses are crucial to our economy and beyond dollar and cents, important contributors to local communities — we’re proud to stand with them and their workers.”

Businesses can visit https://business.vic.gov.au/grants-and-programs/circuit-breaker-business-support-package for further information and to register for some of the package — at this stage, most grants will be open for application from Wednesday, June 2.

On the campaign trail

CAMPAIGNING for the 2020 Local Elections has begun and, as we go to print, we are approaching the end of the candidate nomination period.

Those wishing to nominate will need to complete the registration process by 12pm on Tuesday, September 22.

Ballot packs will be mailed out between October 6 and October 8, and registered voters will have until 6pm on October 23 to return their ballot paper.

The Victorian Government has published a detailed breakdown of what campaign activities are permitted under the various steps of their roadmap to COVID Normal.

For candidates in metro-Melbourne, unless there is a further, dramatic and significant drop in active cases and the 14-day average drops below five — the threshold for Step 3 which would bring metro-Melbourne in line with regional Victoria — campaigning for the 2020 local elections is going to play out in our mail boxes, in our newspapers and on social media.

Under Step 1 and Step 2, candidates and their campaign team are permitted to conduct letterbox drops, and bill poster activities within the ward they are campaigning for.

Door knocking, public meetings and face-to-face campaigning is not permitted.

History shows that a public figure’s ability to effectively harness the power of a new communication tool can make or break their campaign.

From the first televised presidential debates in the United States of America in 1960 which historically dubbed John F. Kennedy as “the first television president” for his effective use of the “new” medium of television to speak directly to public, to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign which was significantly bolstered by his use of Twitter, a platform that to this day still plays a big role in commentary and analysis of his time in the White House.

The effective, and ineffective, use of social media platforms have become part of the fabric of national politics both here and around the world and COVID-19 may mean the October 26 local elections may be won and lost on the succinctness of a candidates words and the savviness of their social media.

In October’s Warrandyte Diary and WD Bulletin, we will give candidates in Manningham and Nillumbik the opportunity to present their campaign, ahead of the voting deadline.

In the meantime, now is a good opportunity for voters to get to know their wards.

A combination of the Victorian Electoral Commission’s Representation Review in 2019 and the change to ward structure as part of the newly implemented Local Government Act 2020 means the ward you have previously voted in may not be the ward you vote in this time.

The first of many tentative steps

VICTORIAN PREMIER Daniel Andrews today announced some restrictions would be eased as of 11:59pm on Tuesday, May 12.
Following a National Cabinet meeting on Friday and a COVID-19 testing blitz which recorded 160,000 COVID-19 tests in two weeks, the Premier outlined the beginning of the road to a state of “COVID normal”.

“Today – thanks to the efforts of Victorians – I can announce our cautious next steps,” said Mr Andrews.

The Premier went on to say: “from 11:59pm this Tuesday night, there’s now a fifth reason to leave home: visiting friends and family — with a maximum gathering of up to 10 outdoors and having up to five visitors in your home.

“I know this will come as a welcome relief, but I need to be clear — although these are our first steps back towards normalcy — they are not an invitation to host a dinner party every night of the week.
“It’s not about having a rotating roster of acquaintances and associates — or your third best friend from primary school — over for a visit.
“This is about seeing those you need to — if you need to.”

These modified restrictions will be in effect until at least Sunday, May 31, with the State of Emergency being extended until that time.
Under the new restrictions, the following can occur:

Outdoor gathers of up to 10 people.
Indoor gatherings at home are permitted, with up to five people allowed to visit another household.
The ability to leave the house for exercise will be expanded to include outdoor recreational activities.
These activities can occur in groups of up to 10 people outside, but the requirements on physical distancing remain.
10 guests, plus the couple and the celebrant can now attend weddings.
For funerals, 20 people will be allowed at an indoor ceremony and 30 people at an outside ceremony.
This is in addition to the minimum people required to conduct the funeral.
Religious gatherings and ceremonies will be permitted with up to 10 people, plus those required to perform the ceremony

There is also light at the end of the tunnel for grassroots sport.
The measures allow training to take place, with groups of no more than 10 — as long as physical distancing measures and “common sense” are adhered to.
Many clubs will now be waiting for an update from their respective governing bodies before announcing a restart of some sort of training regime.

However, the Premier made it very clear that competition was still off the table.
For many, the way of life in which they have adapted to in the past two months will continue to be the normal for the time being.
With fresh outbreaks in South Korea and Germany, and news from overseas showing huge opposition to the easing of restrictions and change of messaging in the United Kingdom, this pandemic is far from over.
With restrictions easing, it is even more important to be vigilant and practice good hygiene and physical distancing, a sentiment summarised by the Premier in this morning’s statement to the press.

“With more freedom comes more responsibility.
“I’m asking Victorians to use common sense — you should only spend time together if it’s safe.
“And you should only be undertaking these activities if you really need to.
“If it’s integral to your health and wellbeing.
“Use your judgement and think about the health of your fellow Victorians, because right now, staying apart is what’s keeping us together.
“And none of us want to squander everything we’ve achieved, none of us want to have to take a backwards step,” he said.

The State Government reiterated its message that if you can stay home, you should and if you have any symptoms, if you feel unwell in any way, go and get tested.
Drive thru testing clinics will continue to operate at major metropolitan shopping centres which include Eastland in Ringwood and Doncaster Shopping Town.
The Diary will continue to monitor the situation and provide an update in its mid-month bulletin, which will be published on Monday, May 18.

Back to school by June

On Tuesday, May 12, the Premier. Daniel Andrews outlined the plan to move away from remote learning, with Preps, Grades 1 and 2 and Years 11 and 12 scheduled to return to the classroom on May 26.
My Andrews recognised the challenges families had faced and thanked them for following the rules.

“As a father of three kids who have been learning from home, I know this has been a really challenging time for many families but thanks to everyone’s efforts in sticking to the rules and getting tested, we’re now able to start getting our kids back into the classroom.
“Having most of our kids learning from home has made a big contribution to limiting the number of people moving around the community and reduced the spread of the virus,” he said.

Following a pupil free day on Monday, May 25, the shift back to school grounds will begin
Students through Years 3 to 10 will continue to learn remotely until June 9, giving the government and health officials time to evaluate the return to school and to make decisions on how to proceed.
Starting today, all Victorian school staff will be prioritised for voluntary Coronavirus testing for a two-week period from both mobile and fixed testing sites.
This will enable school staff to seek testing during the preparation period before the return to on-site schooling.
Schools will be encouraged to implement a staggered drop-off system to reduce the number of adults congregating outside the school at any one time, as well as staggered break times to manage the number of students mixing across year levels.
Schools will also implement social distancing measures for all adults.
The strict health protocols that are already in place will be followed if a member of the school community tests positive for Coronavirus.
To keep the spread of the virus at bay, the Government is also investing $45m in enhanced, daily cleaning routines that will occur “every day, at every school across the state for all of Term 2 and Term 3”.

Wild about our animals

THE towering Black Saturday bushfires in 2009 killed 173 people and led to an outpouring of grief among Australians.

But for Wonga Park firefighter Adrian Trigt, they had special meaning that added to the tragedy.

“I visited Kinglake after Black Saturday and the place looked like a warzone,” Mr Trigt said. “I opened an email from Wildlife Victoria and I saw that they needed more wildlife rescuers and so I jumped on board because saving wildlife is important: it does make a difference.”

Mr Trigt has since devoted his time to rescuing and transporting injured kangaroos to wildlife shelters for rehabilitation.

His work is highly specialised, with few people trained in how to rescue kangaroos.

It’s difficult to find volunteers who are willing to regularly spend several hours attempting to save an injured kangaroo, let alone buy the expensive equipment needed to rescue such large and speedy animals.

Car accidents are one of the leading causes of death for native animals such as kangaroos and much of Adrian’s work involves removing dead roos from roads and marking them with a white “X” so passersby know a rescuer has already attended.

“Unfortunately, most animals don’t usually survive car accidents,” Mr Trigt said. “If a kangaroo is lying there with two broken legs and it’s dying, I want to help put the animal out of its misery. You can’t just leave an animal there to suffer.”

Unfortunately, that’s how the overwhelming majority of wildlife injuries end.

Wildlife Victoria, a non-profit emergency response service for wildlife, sent volunteers to help injured animals on about 40,000 call outs last year.

The organisation’s relationship manager, Amy Amato, estimates 80 to 90 per cent of cases resulted in the animal being put down or dying before volunteers arrived at the scene.

“It’s pretty hard on our volunteers and sometimes they go weeks without being able to rescue a single animal,” Ms Amato says. “That’s when our job becomes about ending the animal’s suffering. Nearly every wildlife death or injury is directly or indirectly human-related, whether it’s a road accident, a kangaroo caught on a fence, a pet attack or a bird that has ingested plastic and needs surgery.”

Those animals with a chance of survival end up in the care of one of the organisation’s 500 active wildlife carers, such as Wonga Park’s Adriana Simmonds, who is a biologist and environmental educator from Columbia.

She has nursed around 2000 native Australian animals back to health and released them into the wild over the past 15 years.

Her immense love for Australia’s wildlife is evident to those around her, who haven’t seen her take a proper holiday in 15 years because her shelter always has animals needing her care.

Hello possum: Adriana Simmonds is passionate about her animal rescue work.

Running her wildlife shelter from her home is a 24-hour job, with baby animals requiring feeding throughout the night. It can also be heartbreaking work – sometimes all she can do is ease their suffering as they die from horrific injuries.

Yet Mrs Simmonds says she wouldn’t have her life any other way.

“You sacrifice yourself and at the end of the day you let them go and it’s like you’re letting go of your own child. It’s pure love,” she said.

“When they’re babies I’m a mum to them – I’m affectionate, I kiss them and hug them but as they start growing up I start the process of detachment. When I release them into the wild they are completely dehumanised so they don’t remember me. They need to be completely wild to survive on their own.”

During spring and summer, carers face an influx of orphaned babies, whose mothers have often been hit by cars as they migrate or they’re often attacked by cats whose owners don’t keep them indoors at night.

Mrs Simmonds says global warming is also making natural events such as bushfires more extreme and deadly for wildlife. But she says cutting down forests to make way for developments such as roads and houses have the greatest impact on wildlife, affecting the entire ecosystem.

“You’re limiting their source of food and shelter and the rate at which we destroy is never the same as the rate at which we restore habitat,” Mrs Simmonds said.

“Then animals can die trying to find other shelter. People often view possums in their roofs as pests and yet those possums are there because the trees they would usually live in have been cut down, but people don’t often make the connection.”

Wildlife advocates say many wildlife deaths could be prevented if the Victorian government established more wildlife corridors so native animals could migrate safely through Melbourne’s outer-suburbs such as Warrandyte and Wonga Park.

Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning spokesman Ewan Cook says a guide for wildlife corridors is being developed, which will be followed by a plan.

Meanwhile, Mrs Simmonds is busy looking after the animals in her care and visiting schools and community groups with her business Human Seeds, which educates people on wildlife issues while helping her fund the costs of running her shelter.

“I truly believe education is the only hope we have for the future and I teach people how to incorporate simple changes into their daily lives, which make a big difference to our wildlife,” she said.

“Probably the best thing people can do is plant native vegetation in their backyards – that way people are creating their own wildlife corridors.”

To report injured wildlife, call Wildlife Victoria on 1300 094 535 or visit www.wildlifevictoria.org.au

EPA called in to investigate

VICTORIA’S Environment Protection Authority (EPA) followed up a request from local CFA officers to investigate the cause of spontaneous fire eruptions in Park Orchards recently.

CFA crews were called to Stintons Reserve twice in six weeks to attend to fire incidents that appear to have been ignited by “self-combusting material”.

“We asked the EPA to inspect the site to determine the cause of the eruptions, as our fire investigation team were satisfied they were not deliberately lit,” South Warrandyte CFA captain Greg Kennedy told the Diary.

The fires ignited at the reserve’s fenced-off greyhound slipping track. The reserve is above the original site of the Park Orchards tip, which closed in the early 1990s.

The track has been free of fire incidents since its inception about 12 years ago.

Mr Kennedy stressed it was purely a precautionary measure.

“I felt a bit uneasy given the history of the reserve and the fact that it happened twice in a matter of six weeks,” he said.

An EPA spokesperson said they had attended the site along with Manningham council officers and determined the cause of the outbreaks to be naturally occurring decomposition. He advised that they eliminated “the possibility of a sub-surface fire”.

“The fire was caused by a mixture of decomposing organic matter (sawdust in this case), generating enough heat to ignite the sawdust,” he said.

The fires caused concern about methane leaks among Park Orchards residents, as reported on 3AW’s Rumour File program.

That was understandable given what happened at a Cranbourne landfill several years ago.

A methane issue resulted in a class action against the City of Casey and the EPA that saw residents awarded $23.5 million in compensation.

Many such domestic waste dumps (including Stintons Reserve) were closed over before the introduction of more stringent regulations in 2004, requiring all landfills to be lined to provide leak protection.

The EPA subsequently reviewed metropolitan landfills, putting councils on notice to clean up sites where pollution of land or groundwater posed a potential risk to human health.

In 2013, the environmental watch- dog issued a pollution abatement notice to Manningham council.

The EPA issued the warning after con- ducting a compliance inspection at Stintons Reserve to assess management of contaminants leaking from the closed landfill.

The notice, which was later amend- ed to allow additional time for the works to be completed, stated: “Water sampling results and an assessment of the pipe integrity shows leachate from the landfill is contaminating the surface water piped beneath the landfill and the surrounding ground.”

It also stipulated: “… that this non-compliance, or likely non-compliance, must be remedied.”

Manningham council’s director of assets and engineering Leigh Harrison said the landfill had been rehabilitated in accordance with applicable standards at that time.

He confirmed that council had been “progressively upgrading” management of the site over the past 12 months “to accord with current standards”.

Mr Harrison said: “The present situation offers no threat to the health of those persons using the oval, BMX facility or the slipping track. The works will simply result in a renewed, and improved, leachate management system.”

With regard to recent fire activity at the site, Mr Harrison was adamant there was “no evidence of any issue with methane generation from the landfill contributing to these issues”.

The EPA pollution abatement notice stipulates that all relevant works must be completed by May 31 2015.

The arrival of warmer weather has also triggered community fears of recurring spontaneous fire activity at the slipping track.

Manningham council advised: “Council has spoken to the club and suggested that the track surface, which becomes compacted, be ‘turned over’ on a semi regular basis throughout the year and especially the summer months.”

Spooky cute

Halloween hit the streets of Warrandyte again this year as all sorts of creepy crawlies, witches, monsters, vampires, black cats and even female teenage mutant ninja turtles converged on homes for a trick or a treat.

Sarah and Rosie set about giving everyone a fright before bewitching one and all with those wickedly delicious hypnotic big browns … and demanding some treats!

Diary shines at awards

WARRANDYTE Diary was a proud finalist in six out of nine independently judged categories at the annual Community Newspaper Association of Victoria awards recently.

Living up to its motto of “for the community, by the community”, the Diary received a notable thumbs-up, winning the award for Best Community Content among others.

Seven newspapers were short-listed for this award, with three finalists selected against strict criteria: ownership; whether there was an invitation for community people to write; writers being named; variety of writers; type of content about community; whether the writing style seemed community or corporate based.

The Diary was also recognised for: Best Layout & Design (winner); Best Photo (finalist); Best Sports Coverage (finalist); Best News Feature (finalist), and the jewel in the crown – Best Newspaper (winner).

In choosing Warrandyte Diary as the winner in this category, the judge said:

“I was won over by this newspaper’s excellent understanding of its local community. It has a superb lay out with headings and sub-heads that perfectly fill the space, lots of good quality photographs and there is an abundance of life and colour in this 40-page paper.

“There’s a good mix of hard and soft news plus stacks of wonderful feature stories – everything from Australia’s most remarkable school through to a Warrandyte doctor talking about a birth drug breakthrough on the world stage and a well written and photographed feature by Bill McAuley about a local living treasure, Hugh McSpedden.

“It’s also great to see a newspaper that is not afraid to have some fun with a humorous ‘Over The Hills’ column on page 2 and the use of cartoons on several other pages. Throw in plenty of excellent opinion pieces, five pages of sport and an eight-page lift-out on the Great Warrandyte Cook Up (with the cutest mini-chefs you ever did see!) and it all makes Warrandyte Diary a worthy winner of this year’s Best Newspaper Award.”

Diary editor Scott Podmore described the win in last month’s edition as “a fantastic result, not only for our great little team, but all our contributors and the Warrandyte community that we serve”.

“It’s a really lovely way to cap my first year as editor of this newspaper, the communication hub of Warrandyte,” he said. “But I was obviously given an enormous head start and advantage on all the others, and that’s called the Cliff Green factor – the best part of 40 or so years of Cliff building the foundations and growing the best community newspaper in the world, let alone Victoria, and I’m merely steering the ship.”

Warrandyte Diary is one of more than 200 community newspapers regularly published in Victoria.

CNAV, the peak body that represents them, actively works with its members to enhance the capacity and standing of community newspapers in Victoria, and also seeks to raise their profile with all levels of government.

To advance its aim of fostering communication between the papers, the organisation hosts an annual conference, which administers the CNAV awards.

Financed solely through advertising, Warrandyte Diary at 44 years old is the longest continuously running community newspaper in Victoria.

Long may it serve…

(page 7, Warrandyte Diary, November 2014)

Is it time to bunker down?

RESIDENTS of Warrandyte and the surrounding suburbs know only too well the danger that the warmer months of the year start to bring. The hot, breezy days have long been threatening the community, as Warrandyte remains one of Australia’s most dangerous bushfire locations.

Fortunately there is an option, which, in combination with a solid fireplan, should give some relief to the nerves of some this summer.

Wildfire Safety Bunkers, managed and owned by Anthony Tratt, are producing the first private use bushfire shelters to have been fully accredited by CFA Australia.

Commencing his work on the project in October 2007, Anthony took on a lead role in the installation and testing of the units, and saw the shelters receive their official accreditation in 2010.

“We did two years with the Victorian Building Commission and the CFA, we did an enormous amount of testing, and we’ve been proved to be fit for purpose in a bushfire attack level flame zone,” Anthony states.

The bunkers come in a various range of designs, varying from smaller family units to larger options with the capacity to facilitate dozens, as Anthony explains.

“We’ve got a six person unit for domestic use, a 12 person unit that can also be multiplied, and we’ve even got a big 250 person community shelter. However, before a community shelter is built, there are a lot of factors such as access and location of the shelter that need to be addressed.”

Despite having their shelters proven to be fire proof, Wildfire Safety Bunkers urges residents in fire danger areas that the bunkers are a last resort defense mechanism. Complementing this, the company emphatically reminds citizens as to the importance of the community’s fireplan.

“Obviously in Warrandyte they have one heck of a fireplan, and we absolutely promote evacuation. Evacuation is the number one priority for people living in a bushfire area. Our shelters come into the equation when people do happen to get trapped or unaware. Then they have a place of refuge for that situation,” says Anthony.

Many people in the Warrandyte area have already pulled the trigger on purchasing and installing a private bunker in preparation for the sweltering days ahead. Due to the influx of customers in the region, Wildfire Safety Bunkers recently sponsored the fireball, providing valuable support to the community.

“We’ve met a lot of people in the Warrandyte area through installation, we have a lot of units in the area and a fair few people are starting to know about us so we want keep that going and provide an option,” says Anthony.

Full installation of a bunker, including excavation and placement, can be wrapped up in as little as six hours, so for those on the fence about installation, it certainly isn’t too late. Truly now, with the development of these shelters, there is somewhere to go when there’s nowhere to go.

(page 6, Warrandyte Diary, November 2014)