Report cards highlight cod season potential: VFA
Victoria’s Murray cod fisheries are in strong shape ahead of the annual season opening, according to a monitoring program funded in part by recreational fishing licence fees ... "Cod season opens Monday, December 1, and there’s good news for anglers planning summer trips to the Goulburn, Ovens and Lindsay rivers and Gunbower Creek."
The latest on Op Shop and Ukraine appeal
...There are now 18 volunteers contributing to the work of running the Op Shop, each person has unique skills and creative talents to contribute ... Overseas donations have been sent to Indonesia, supporting a child who has been able to attend school and receive helpful items, and to Ukraine and Niger with boxes of jumpers, beanies, scarves, bandages.
Fashions fight windy weather – Gallopers not the only winners
Quill. On Sunday, November 16, Donald and District Racing Club hosted its annual Cup Day celebrations in challenging four-seasons-in-one-day conditions ... Despite the wind and rain later on in the day, a supportive crowd arrived dressed in their finest in cup day fashion, or otherwise comfortably cosy for the conditions.
Need for speed as airstrip sizzles – Charlton hosts “Drag and Drive”
Jenny Pollard. The engines roared, tyres smoked and the volume soared as the first North Central Victorian Drag Racing event sped across the Charlton airstrip for three days last week ... die-hard drivers with classic machines showed that responsible drag racing can be a fun, controlled and family orientated sport – far removed from the concept of hoons doing burnouts on city streets.
Reaction to unexpected REZ’s expansion: Council’s deep disappointment
Buloke Shire Council has expressed deep disappointment with the State Government's handling of a major expansion to Victoria's REZs, which now push significantly into Buloke communities. The major extension of the Grampians-Wimmera REZ now extends into Buloke's west near Curyo and Wilkur and the NW REZ has shifted closer to the north-east of Charlton.
WestWind Energy welcomes Victorian Transmission Plan
Victoria's premier wind farm developer, WestWind Energy, welcomes the Victorian State Government's commitment to the renewable energy transition with the release of the Victorian Transmission Plan. WestWind's Managing Director, Tobi Geiger, says "Today's announcement by VicGrid follows months, if not years, of meaningful engagement and considering feedback from many stakeholders.
Transmission meetings disappoint Council
Buloke Shire Council ... Council accepted the invitation in good faith, based on TCV’s indication that an important update on the project would be shared. However, during the meeting, Council was advised that no announcement would, in fact, be made. Instead, the meeting was re-framed by TCV as an opportunity to strengthen its relationship with Council and improve consultation processes. Council expressed its disappointment ... Council was not informed of this amendment during Minister D’Ambrosio’s visit, despite its relevance and impact on affected landowners, some of which were present and engaged in the discussion held.
“Nothing in town other than us” – Rural pharmacists’ role in oral health
Pharmacists are stepping in as frontline providers of oral healthcare advice in rural Victorian towns without dental practitioners, offering oral hygiene advice, managing dental pain inquiries and promoting preventative care, according to a new study by La Trobe University. Eleven rural pharmacists shouldering health responsibilities far beyond traditional dispensing roles participated in the study...
Merger will not restore deleted emergency capability
Victorian Fisheries Media Centre. On May 20, 2025, the fisheries authority (VFA) finalised an organisational restructure, under which it has since shed 30 (44 per cent) of the state's 69 Fisheries Officers; leaving just 39 officers to patrol Victoria's 2,512 km coastline, 10,000 square km of ocean waters and 170,000 km of inland water frontage along 85,000 km of rivers and creeks. Then in a separate decision, on Friday, June 13, 2025, the VFA stripped the remaining officers of their duties to "respond to any emergency" by deleting these duties from their Position Descriptions ...
Approval for mineral sands project
The Victorian Government has approved the Donald Rare Earth and Mineral Sands Project work plan. The work plan approval is the final major regulatory milestone permitting Donald Project Pty Ltd, trading as Donald Mineral Sands (DMS), a joint venture between Astron Corporation Ltd and US critical minerals company Energy Fuels Inc, to develop the resource.
