The Great Southern Star

By Brad Lester

THE lack of a bypass in Leongatha is forcing truck drivers to cross over a traf c island at one of the major intersections in town.

An earthmoving contractor with a big load was recently left with no alternative but to drive over an island at the intersec-tion of Ogilvy, Long and Bair streets.

A concerned Leongatha resident, who wished to remain anonymous, believes a round-about at the intersection would draw trucks away from Bair Street and improve safety.

The resident said with a bypass of Le-ongatha unlikely for many years, the round-about would enable extra large vehicles to use Long Street as an alternative route to Bair Street, thereby improving pedestrian

safety in the commercial strip. A former dairy alongside the intersec-

tion has been demolished, paving the way for future works.

The intersection is one of the busiest in Le-ongatha, being en route to two primary schools and Leongatha Secondary College, and on the main road to Nerrena and Dumbalk.

But locals fear it will take a death be-fore authorities start to make any moves on a bypass.

VicRoads does not have any plans to up-grade the intersection but regional director Patricia Liew said VicRoads would investi-gate the possibility of roundabouts and traf- c lights, as part of planning for an alternate truck route through Leongatha.

Last year South Gippsland Shire com-missioned a traf c study in regards to a Leongatha alternate truck route. The study

recommended a preferred option for an al-ternate truck route along Hughes Street and Long Street, she said.

VicRoads will consider this route in fu-ture planning. Priority for a planning study must be considered on a statewide basis.

Council spokesperson Jeannie Hicks said the intersection would be addressed as part of the Leongatha Heavy Vehicle By-pass. Council is working with VicRoads to progress that project.

Sergeant Scott Bodycomb of Leongatha Police supported a bypass to improve traf c safety in Leongatha.

Its something thats been on the cards for many years but nothing seems to be happening. Its not ideal for heavy vehicles to come through the roundabout at Bair Street, he said.

Continued on page 13.

Wrong wayCall for bypass as trucks cause havoc

Pulled out: a road sign awaits replacing on a traf c island at the intersection, removed to allow a truck passage.

Log jam

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2009 - 68 PAGES - $1.20

CAROLS INTHE DROMELeongatha Velodrome - This Saturday - Details page 24

A TRUCK rolled on the South Gippsland Highway near Koonwarra yesterday morning, leaving the road strewn with large logs.The accident occurred at around 6.30am, with the driver losing con-trol between the winding section of the Black Spur and Minns Road.The driver miraculously escaped injury.See details page 13.

THE STAR, Tuesday, December 15, 2009

YOUR PHONE MAY NOW BE USED TO DELIVER EMERGENCY WARNINGS.During times of emergencies such as bush res and extreme weather events, your landline or mobile phone may now be used to deliver a critical warning. This Emergency Alert phone or text message is another way

for authorities to inform you on what you may need to do. If you dontunderstand the message, ask a family member, friend or neighbour for assistance. Learn more about this system at emergencyalert.gov.au

Do not call 000 (TTY 106) unless you are in critical need of emergency services (police, re or ambulance). Do not rely on a telephone warning to act.DJ011/G

Alls well in Mirboo NorthMIRBOO Norths Well-being Expo attracted plenty of people to the town on Saturday.

It included the Christmas market, Epicure gourmet food event, and wellness and health expo.

Wellbeing Expo co-or-dinator Cliff Hammond said the event went well despite ordinary weather early in the morning.

Due to the weather the expo was moved into the old shire hall from Baromi Park.

It included information on dealing with heatwaves and rst aid as well as displays from organisations such as Beyond Blue and Lifeline.

The event was part of the bush re recovery program and a joint venture between the Victorian Bush re Re-construction and Recovery Authority and the local com-munity recovery committee.

Authority chair Christine Nixon opened the expo.

She said research showed that communities that support each other can recover faster and more effectively.

Its been quite an amaz-ing experience for me to be part of working with so many communities affected by the bush res, she said.

Were talking about hun-dreds of thousands of people affected.

Ms Nixon said there were a lot more homes being re-built in Gippsland than other places affected by re.

Looking at chooks: Royden, Travis and Adelle Carter (Mirboo North) at theChristmas market.

Homemade treats: Anne James (centre) of Mirboo North with grandchildren Jennifer and Matthew Moss (Dumbalk).

Lions tradition: Carol Phelps and Michael Bris-tow from the Mirboo North Lions Club with their famous Christmas cakes.

Ambulance service: community of cer Jason Phillips (Mirboo North) and paramedic Warren Kenney (Mt Eccles) were on hand to offer advice at the expo.

Bush re recovery: South Gippsland Shire Councils Ned Dennis and LewWilson welcomed Victorian Bush re Reconstruction and Recovery Authority chair Christine Nixon to Mirboo North on Saturday.

THE STAR, Tuesday, December 15, 2009 - PAGE 3

By Brad Lester

THE community should not be overly en-thusiastic Leongatha will receive a new hospital in next years state budget.

The Leongatha Progress Association is con-cerned the State Government may again let the community down by not funding a hospital redevel-opment in May.

Victorian Health Minister Daniel Andrews last Thursday told a deputation from South Gippsland he would not announce funding for a new hospital until the budget.

That left progress association president Mick Flynn less than con dent, particularly after the hospital was expected to be funded in this years budget.

Weve been built up and left laying at before and the reason why we are concerned now is that we dont want to be left at again, he said.

We hope the Minister keeps his word and so does his department.

While it is now uncertain whether a public meet-ing proposed before the deputation would still be held, Gippsland Southern Health Service CEO Gary Templeton said Leongathas case would be kept on Mr Andrews radar.

The budget submissions are occurring now so this is the time of the year we need to make sure our case is well within the Ministers understanding, Mr Templeton said.

The budget projects need to be in to the Min-ister early in the new year and the budget will be

largely put to bed in February.The health service will now work with the De-

partment of Health to nalise the cost of building a new hospital at Leongatha. That sum has been esti-mated at between $30 to $40 million.

Other hospitals, such as Warragul and Box Hill, have also needed rebuilding for many years, but be-ing larger hospitals, they are classi ed in a different band to Leongatha and so will not compete in the same pool of funding.

Box Hill Hospital was last week given $400mil-lion for a major upgrade.

Mr Templeton was pleased to leave the meeting with a commitment from Mr Andrews the hospital would remain in Leongatha and that existing ser-vices would remain.

That allays concerns by the progress association and Leongatha Chamber of Commerce and Industry the hospital could close after the building and infra-structure failed accreditation.

Im hopeful there would be money for the be-ginning of the redevelopment in the next budget,

but it would not surprise me if money came through over several budgets, Mr Templeton said.

The hospital would take two to three years to build, so we would not need all of the funding in the one year.

The deputation comprised Mr Templeton, health service president Tracey Gibson, South Gippsland Shire Council Mayor Cr Jim Fawcett, and Gippsland South MLA, Peter Ryan.

Mr Ryan said the Ministers response was pleas-ing, despite no commitment being made.

The Minister has con rmed that the delivery of hospital based services at Leongatha is secured, he said.

He has also removed any lingering worry re-garding the downgrading of existing service levels by committing to government support for the cur-rent service pro le.

Mr Ryan said the Minister recognised the many faults with the buildings and the need for those is-sues to be addressed.

There are a number of options for any new fa-cilities. The costing of those alternatives needs to be checked and that work will be done by the depart-ment in conjunction with the board, Mr Ryan said.

For its part, the board has indicated its pre-paredness to contribute funds from its reserves to help offset the cost.

The Minister has asked the board to detail to him the extent of its proposed contribution and that will be done as soon as possible.

A clear path for further discussion has been es-tablished. Speci c tasks have been identi ed and will be addressed.

Earlier in Parliament, Mr Ryan presented a com-munity petition with 3326 signatures, calling for a new hospital to be funded.

He released the petition in early Novem-ber, which was circulated at various Leongatha businesses.

The residents of Leongatha and South Gippsland have sent a clear message to the Premier and his Health Minister that enough is enough and a commitment to funding the development of a new hospital must be made, Mr Ryan said.

Nothing less than a full commitment from the Labor Government to fund a rebuild of this hospital will be acceptable after years of neglect that have left this hospital well below what the community expects of such a facility.

Leongatha Chamber of Commerce president Darryl McGannon seemed disappointed that noth-ing had been set in stone during the ministerial meeting.

While it sounds positive, there is nothing in concrete, we still have not got any money allocat-ed, he said.

Weve made a slight step forward but that is as much as we have done - we have had plenty of elec-tion promises broken, like the railway.

Mr McGannon said a public meeting originally proposed for November will still go ahead in the new year.

My feeling is that we still have a public meet-ing, he said.

Were not going to drop the ball on this one, I would expect to have a meeting between now and May, probably late January or early February.

Campaign wont stop

Song of joy

ST Laurences Primary School students wowed Leongatha shoppers last week with the sweet sounds of Christmas carols. The festive youngsters were pitch perfect, drawing in delighted people from far and wide. The school prides itself on its musical prowess, and the children were continuing a time honoured tradition of entertaining townspeople in the lead-up to Christmas.


Melbournes water storages are at their second lowest level ever with the arrival of summer, despite recent rains. With warmer weather expected to drive higher water consumption, we are reminded of the need to secure a rainfall independent source of water for our future.

The Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) is continuing to ensure the successful delivery of the Victorian Desalination Project and the recent release of contracts for the project has shown that the Public Private Partnership (PPP)with AquaSure provides value for money for Victorians.

Landowner compensation continuesDSE is responsible for managing the acquisition of land for the project and compensation off ers have now been delivered to most landowners in the pipeline and power supply easement. These off ers will continue to be made over coming weeks.

The off ers are based on valuations carried out by the Valuer-General and take into account the use of the land acquired. They also include compensation for the temporary use of land on either side of the permanent easement during construction.

Payment is usually made within 30 - 60 days after the amount of compensation is agreed, however landowners can request an advance equivalent to the initial off er without prejudicing the fi nal compensation payable. DSE will meet the reasonable costs of obtaining independent legal and valuation advice.

Documents releasedThe Victorian Desalination Project is being delivered as a PPP.

The Victorian Government has committed to providing public information about PPPs to ensure that projects delivered in partnership with the private sector have the confi dence of the community and meet public expectations.

The following documents were released on 26 November 2009:

Victorian Desalination Project Summary at www.partnerships.vic.gov.au

Contract at www.contracts.vic.gov.au AquaSures Environmental Management Plan at

www.aquasure.com.au.

The project summary provides an overview of the project and the key features of the partnership with AquaSure. Further details are provided in the contract documents.

The release of the documents was announced to the Community Liaison Group meeting held the same day with an explanation of the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) and environmental auditing provided to council and community representatives.

Environmental reportingAll major projects are required to have an Environmental Management System (EMS) and EMP. The EMP for the Victorian Desalination Project has been made public at the request of the Minister for Planning and in line with our commitment to environmental protection.

The EMS and EMP outline how AquaSure will manage environmental outcomes in accordance with legislation and performance requirements as outlined in the contract following the Environment Eff ects Statement process.

The range of issues addressed by the EMP include air quality, dust, vibration, cultural heritage, erosion, fl ora and fauna, landscape, lighting, traffi c, noise, training, rehabilitation, water quality, weed and pest management, stormwater control and waste management, amongst others.

An Independent Reviewer and Environmental Auditor (IR&EA) will carry out audits on the project activities and verify that the design and construction of the project complies with the EMP.

The IR&EA will report to DSE and AquaSure, and the community will be kept informed via regular updatesat www.ourwater.vic.gov.au.

For more information:

DSE Customer Service Centre - 136 186DSE Victorian Desalination Project - (03) 9948 2800

Email: [email protected]: www.ourwater.vic.gov.au

Address: Desalination Project, Department of Sustainability and Environment, PO Box 500, East Melbourne 3002

mitc

h341

08

Victorian Desalination Project Update

By Matt Dunn

LARRY Hills is a man who knows the power of song.

The Wonthaggi resident and director of the South Gippsland Singers is renowned for his ability to communicate the most poignant messages through music.

Larrys latest project is a requiem commemorating the 1937 Wonthaggi State Coal Mine disaster, where 13 men died in Shaft 20 during a period of industrial action.

As the words in the requiem go:

Twenty Shaft, like a cannon stood

The gas and coal dust blew

Ignited by a naked ame

And all the warnings had rung true

On the morning of February 15, 1937, the miners gathered on the steps of the Union Theatre for a stop work meeting to protest the continuing lack of safety in the mines.

The meeting, which was expected to see the men vote to go back to work, was about to begin when a violent explosion rocked the town.

That morning 13 maintenance men had descended the shaft and tragically all lives were lost. It was a day etched forever in the towns memory.

The tragedy resulted in a successful national

campaign to improve conditions for all Australian miners.

The piece will be performed as part of the town centenary celebrations in June next year.

Larry has been in the town since 2005 and was at once entranced by its tragic and glorious history.

I did a lot of research and decided I would write a requiem for the Shaft 20 mining disaster. Im about 80 per cent through that, he said.

The requiem will last for about 45 minutes and will feature many voices from that terrible day, including miners, their wives and politicians.

A choir, soloists and an orchestra will give the days events full voice.

The requiem is based on the Catholic Latin mass, but a lot of its telling the narrative of the mining disaster, Larry said.

Ive read just about everything there is to read about it. Ive talked to a lot of locals about it and everyone has volunteered information to me. Its a very interesting story.

The place was blown to smithereens. There was three-quarters of a mile of boulders in the shaft they had to clear to get to the people trapped underneath.

Larry said the requiem was fairly dramatic.

Its more dramatic than it is solemn, he said.

Miner key

Tragedys song: South Gippsland Singers director Larry Hills has written a requiem for the 13 miners killed in the 1937 Wonthaggi State Coal Mine disas-ter. Joan Harris (pictured) will lend her talents on cello.

PLANNING Panel reports on two sig-ni cant Phillip Island planning amendments have been released to the community.

The amendments (C87 and C88) relate to a proposal for a waste transfer station in Gap Road and the Cowes Silverleaves Ventnor Wimbledon Heights Structure Plan.

Bass Coast Shire Councils Planning and Environment Director, Hannah Duncan-Jones, said the reports were being made available in a variety of ways, as there was strong community interest in both issues.

These reports contain recommendations from the Independent Planning Panel which take into consideration all the submissions that were originally received from the community, explained Ms Duncan-Jones.

The full reports will be available on our website (www.basscoast.vic.gov.au) and there will be hard copies available for people to view at our Customer Service Centres.

Reportsreleased


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Would you like to be a part of the Inverloch Community Hub Committee? The Committee will provide an opportunity for regular consultation between community members, stakeholders and Council about promotion and improvement of the services offered as part of the Inverloch Community Hub.

If you are interested in being part of this Committee, nomination forms and the draft Terms of Reference are available on our website or by contacting the Community Hub Facilitator, Cathy Giliam, on the number below.

Nominations close on Friday, 18 December 2009 and should be sent to the Inverloch Community Hub Facilitator at the address below or emailed to [email protected] Coast Shire Council, 76 McBride Avenue, Wonthaggi VIC 3995 | DX 34903 Wonthaggi | PO Box 118, Wonthaggi VIC 3995 | 1300 BCOAST (226 278) for standard call cost | [email protected] | www.basscoast.vic.gov.au

By Danny Buttler

FOR the rst time in almost 80 years, Leongatha may be without a cub group.

The 2nd Leongatha Scout Group is looking for cub leaders to look after its junior members.

Korumburra is in a similar situation.With the current leaders set to stand

down by June next year, organisers fear the cub groups could close down if replacements cannot be found.

Leongatha Group leader Barry Ferguson said he was saddened to think he would have to turn away the committed group of youngsters who turn up at the Allison St scout hall each Thursday night.

If we dont get more leaders we might have to look at the situation where we might have to look at closing the section until we can get two more leaders, he said.

At the moment we have 16 cubs and we would hate to turn them away.

Children travel from all around the district to attend cubs. Smaller town groups have slowly closed over recent years, leaving Leongatha as the epicentre of cub activity.

It would be a shame if we had to shut it down, we are just starting to grow and we want to keep it going but we need people to get involved in it.

Mr Ferguson said the appeal of being a cub or scout leader was in watching children grow into con dent and proud young men and women.

I started as a cub leader in 2000, and I have seen kids come along, and when they rst arrive they are a little bugger, but by the time they leave the section, they have earned all their badges, their yellow cords and end up getting a scout medallion. They then go on to Venturers and end up being a Queens Scout.

Some kids get put in cottonwool at home, but when they come to cubs they get to let loose a little and just shine.

Just to see the bene t of training the kids and seeing them develop under your control is fantastic.

Any adult can volunteer as a cub leader, with the organisation paying for all costs associated with training.

Any parent or anyone over the age of 21. They have to be police cleared and have a working with children certi cate, Mr Ferguson said.

Despite attracting children from around the area, Mr Ferguson said numbers at Leongatha cubs are still disappointing.

For a town this size, we should have a lot more cubs and scouts, but there are a lot more sports around, he said.

Parents can probably only afford to do a certain amount of activities.

The two leaders who are involved at the moment have said that they will

stay on to help the new leaders out, but after being in the movement for over ve years now and with their children having moved on, now is the time for them to start doing other things with their families.

Shirley Reeves is a district Joeys Scout leader and accredited trainer who has not seen things as tough as now during her 40 years involved with scouting.

Its right across the region, its probably across the scouts as a whole. We are in desperate need of good leaders and we just cant nd them, she said.

We are in the same boat (in Korumburra), we need nine leaders to keep running.

From last weeks Christmas party we have no trained leaders.

Ms Reeves said there was no problem nding children, it was just the adults who were reluctant to get involved.

We are only asking for one afternoon a week and one or two meetings a month, she said.

We have no problem with kids, we have them coming out of our ears, but we dont have any parents or leaders.

Anyone interested in helping out can contact Barry Ferguson on 0428 996 503 for Leongatha cubs or Shirley Reeves on 5655 2273 for Korumburra.

Be prepared to close

Slippery slope: cubs will be without leaders unless adults put theirhands up.

A MOTHER with a passion for sports is looking forward to her new life by the sea and as the only fe-male police of cer at Inverloch.

Senior Constable Liza Burrows returned to work

last Monday week, taking on a new job and boosting the ranks of Inverloch po-lice to a sergeant and four.

She has swapped the tough rounds of Melbourne in anticipation of fresh chal-lenges and community po-licing around the coast.

I like the idea of my boy growing up by the

Mum relishes new beatcoast, S/C Burrows said.

Having worked as a de-tective with the major drug division, served as acting sergeant at Collingwood Po-lice Station and been a part of the transit safety division,

S/C Burrows is not fazed by being the lone woman in blue at Inverloch.

Im just of one the troops and they just appre-ciate having another person here to help, she said.

MICHAEL Delaney, principal of Mary MacKillop Catholic Re-gional College in Leongatha is anxiously awaiting the canoni-sation of Mary MacKillop into worldwide sainthood.

The move would most likely see the school change its name to St Marys College, or something similar.

An announcement is expected be-fore Christmas, perhaps even this week, which would make Mary the rst Aus-tralian to achieve the Catholic honour of becoming a saint in the world.

Mary was beauti ed by the late Pope John Paul II in 1995, following accep-tance of a miracle when a woman was healed of terminal leukaemia, which made her a saint in Australia.

Now a second miracle is being con-sidered. Sister Maria Casey, who has been leading the campaign for Marys global sainthood, said the Vatican is set to decree a miracle had happened when a woman who apparently suffered from cancer was cured after prayers to Mary during the mid-1990s.

This is a big thing for Australian

Catholics. If the second miracle is ac-cepted, the church will recognise an Australian as an inspirational role model for the community, students and Catho-lics in Australia, Mr Delaney said.

Mary showed an exemplary life in answering Gods call. She was inspira-tional in taking Catholic education to ru-ral Australia. At age 27, already 42 nuns decided to follow her way of life.

Mary MacKillop was born in 1852. She co-founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart in 1866 and died in 1909, aged 67.

When Mary died in 1909 she had made a remarkable contribution to the life of Australia. She had founded the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart, their main work being to educate the poor.

During her lifetime poverty was rife, especially in country areas, reli-gious discrimination was widespread, the plight of the aboriginal people was deplorable and unemployment was commonplace according to biographi-cal notes on Mary by Sister Casey.

The road to sainthood so far has been a much travelled journey.

St Mary soon


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Rain on climate paradeABOUT 70 people took part in a rally calling for more action on climate change in Wonthaggi on Saturday.

It rained as speeches were delivered after the Walking Against Warming from Wishart Reserve to Apex Park.

Organiser Jessica Harrison said the num-bers were a good representation of growing concern about the affects of climate change

in the area.Of course we have the local issue of

Waratah Bay, which concerns local people on the restrictions on development due to expected sea level rises, she said.

It might seem a long way away in Co-penhagen, but its relevant to us here.

We have to look at reducing our energy consumption, developing renewable energy and local food production,

Above: Passion in dress:Stella Hitchens (Wont-haggi) was appropriatelydressed for the march.

Home grown food: Carolyn Rowson (Kongwak) gave Nicky Miller (Glen Forbes) a strawberry from one of her 1000 plants.

Change through song: John Coldebella (Wont-haggi) sang for the 70 strong crowd in Wonthaggi on Saturday.


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By Bert van Bedaf

THE Welshpool and District Advisory Group received a fa-vourable response from South Gippsland shire councillors re-garding its proposal to build an Underwater Observatory at the Port Welshpool Long Jetty.

The group presented its eco-tour-ism proposal to councillors during a brie ng session on December 9. Pres-ent were Linda Lucas and Glen Fraser, Port Welshpool Working Group; Paul MacPhail, president of the Welshpool and District Advisory Group; Bob Mc-Donald, consultant of Natural History Network, working on behalf of the advisory group; and Kerry Pinzone, a committee member of the advisory group.

Mr McPhail said the business plan would be completed in 2010. This is a great opportunity for the community. It will provide jobs and stimulate the economy.

Ward Councillor Mohya Davies was particularly enthusiastic, expect-ing much-needed stimulus coming to-wards the depressed Corner Inlet area.

The project is modelled on the highly successful jetty and underwa-ter observatory in Busselton, Western Australia, which adds millions of dol-lars to the local community.

It was built by WA-based marine contractors Marine and Civil, who are now also interested in building at Port Welshpool. The logistics are a lot sim-pler and the costs are also much less.

Busselton was built for $27 mil-lion. The observatory opened in 2003. It attracts 60-90,000 paying customers annually.

Port Welshpools would cost up to $10 million in its entirety. The initial

outlay is $2.2 million to renovate the timber jetty.

The observatory would cost around $3 million. To restore the jetty for in-dustrial use would cost another $4.5 million.

The $2.2 million is subject to a tim-ber-related grant, between $2-5 mil-lion, by FitzPatrick Woods Consulting on behalf of the ForestWorks Learning and Skills Development, which is asso-ciated with the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) in funding timber using projects.

The grant is part of The Federal Governments $650 million Jobs Fund to support and create jobs and skill de-velopment through projects that build community infrastructure and social capital in local communities.

The proposal is that Marine and Civil will nance and build the un-derwater observatory and the advisory group will run it and use the income from the observatory to pay off the contractor in ve to seven years.

Mayor Jim Fawcett asked Mr Mc-Donald what the group needed from council.

Mr McDonald said the group would ask council to include land in any future (commercial rezoning) option.

The plan is to allow more tourism, retail and hospitality businesses to complement the observatory, creating more employment.

Also, the group will ask council to approach the Department of Sustain-ability and Infrastructure for other ex-pressions of interest in the project.

Well need to go through council to do this, Mr McDonald said.

The summary of the proposal not-ed that the key to the success of an un-derwater observatory was how many visitors it can cater for per day, 800 or

more, the visibility, diversity and na-ture of marine life, accessibility of the observatory on site, with coaches able to drive to its doors and its proximity to major population centres and tour-ist routes.

The observatory will be about 14 metres tall, circular and nine metres in diameter, so that it can cater for 40 people going through a 45-minute to one hour guided tour.

Because Port Welshpool has reli-able clear water supplied by two 2.5m tidal changes a day, the observatory can be open at night as well, giving it 12 or more operating hours per day.

The observatory will have at least three levels of viewing windows, in-cluding a window featuring a specially placed jetty pylon with decades of growth.

The top level contains the tidal windows, while the middle and lower levels capture the range of creatures that reside at and travel through the different depths.

The closure of the Port Welshpool Long Jetty in 2003 was a major social and economic blow to Port Welshpool and the district. As part of the town since 1939 it had provided access to the deep clear waters of Lewis Chan-nel for industry, locals from the town and many holiday makers.

Through the efforts of the Port Welshpool Working Group, especially Margaret Campbell and Cr Jeanette Harding, the Long Jetty was suc-cessfully nominated under the State Heritage Act in 2004, preventing its removal.

News of the Busselton Jetty re-sulted in a campaign to have the Port Welshpool jetty restored, hopefully culminating in the installation of an underwater observatory.

Long Jetty odds shorten

Jetty observation: from left, Paul MacPhail, president of the Welshpool and District Advisory Group; Bob McDonald, on behalf of the advisory group; and South Gippsland shire councils tourism co-ordinator Christian Stefani briefed councillors on the future prospects of the Long Jetty in Port Welshpool last Wednesday.

UNIFORMS were swapped for boardshorts to raise mon-ey for surf life saving at In-verloch Primary School recently.

Kids donned colourful shorts and

beach gear in return for a gold coin donation, to be passed on to the Inver-loch Surf Life Saving Club. The school raised $234.

Boardies Day is an annual fundrais-ing initiative of the Surf Life Saving Foundation.

Casual for a cause

Going casual: Inverloch Primary School students Sinead, Caleb, Max, So-phia, Chloe and Shania supported the surf life saving fundraiser.


SOUTH Gippsland theatre groups won 13 awards at the Gippsland Associated Theatres award night, held at the Foster Arts Centre last Saturday night.

Leongatha Lyric The-atre and Wonthaggi Theatri-cal Group won four awards each, while Foster Amateur Music and Drama Associa-tion won ve gongs.

The theme was mas-querade, but winners and performers were there to be seen and certainly showed off their star qualities.

The prestigious Alby Fisher Memorial Award for creativity went to Sacha La-mont for her work on the set dcor of Leongatha Lyric Theatres production of A Little Hotel On The Side.

Leongathas rising tal-ent, Xavier Pellin, shared Most Outstanding Male Youth Performance for his performance in Seussi-cal with Warragul Theatre Company, with rising star Josh Gardiner, while Car-mel Slater again proved her class, sharing Most Outstanding Musical Di-rector with her co-director Kirk Skinner for West Side Story, Wonthaggi Theatrical Group.

Other local winners were in the Musical Theatre awards for Most Outstand-ing Lead Actor, Female, Fiona Watts, Into The Woods, FAMDA. Most Out-standing Choreographer, Leasal Lidddle-Pirouet, for West Side Story, Wonthaggi Theatrical Group.

In drama/comedy, Most Outstanding Lead Ac-tor, Male, went to Bruce Grainger, and Most Out-

standing Support Actor, Female, to Christine Skicko for A Little Hotel on the Side, Leongatha Lyric Theatre.

Other awards were Gippsland Theatre, Most Outstanding Youth Perfor-mance, Male, Josh Gardiner, Into The Woods, FAMDA; Most Outstanding Youth Performance, Female, Lou-ise Dower, Into The Woods,FAMDA; Most Outstand-ing Ensemble, The Jets, West Side Story, Wonthaggi Theatrical Group; Most Outstanding Lighting De-sign, Andrew Oldroyd, Into The Woods, FAMDA; Most Outstanding Program, Kere-na McLaren, The Witches of Eastwick, Leongatha Lyric Theatre.

Additional awards were the Judges Awards for Rob Ellis, John Laurie and Jules Schmidt for original music written and performed for FAMDAs production of Dinner At Hugos.

South Gippslands theatre companies also garnered numerous State awards. Louise Dower re-ceived a Judges Award at the prestigious Music The-atre Guild of Victoria held recently at the Frankston Arts Centre.

Louise won the award for her sensitive and intel-ligent performance as the cow, Milky White, in FAM-DAs production of the Into the Woods, staged in Foster in October.

Louise attended the awards with her father, Ray, and an extra surprise was having her grandmother in the audience, because she had gone to see her grand-son perform with Carey Musical Theatre Company.

Louise also received congratulations from Le-

ongatha Lyric friends with whom she performed in A Little Hotel on the Sideand Wonthaggi friends who worked with her last year in Les Misrables.

It turned out to be an exciting night for South Gippsland theatre compa-nies, with four Bruce Bricks going to Leongatha Lyric Theatre for its production of The Witches of Eastwick.

Three of these were awarded to Colin Mitchell in the categories of settings, wardrobe and design. The design award was described as being for Colins work on the ying scene, welding scene and moon scene.

Leongatha Lyric also received the Technical Achievement Award for The Witches of Eastwick.

The Choreography Award was won by Leasal Liddle-Pirouet for her work on West Side Story for Won-thaggi Theatrical Group.

Another award going to Wonthaggi was a Judges Award to Chris Beasley for his performance as Tony, in West Side Story.

In the Victorian Drama League awards for plays, FAMDA scored a Judges Award for the original mu-sic created for Dinner atHugos by Rob Ellis with assistance from John Laurie and Jules Schmidt.

Leongatha Lyric The-atre had entered its comedy A Little Hotel on the Sideand was delighted to re-ceive nominations for Most Outstanding Comedy, Di-rector (Raymond Dunstan), Costumes (Heather Drury), Lead Male (Bruce Grainger) and Support Female (Chris-tine Skicko), as well as a Judges Award for hairstyl-ing by Maria Arestia.

Take a bow

Most outstanding: Kirk Skinner shared Most Outstanding Musical Director with Carmel Slater, while Josh Gardiner won Most Outstanding Male Youth Performance.

Top awards: from left, Carmel Slater shared Most Outstanding Musical Director, while Sacha Lamont took out the Alby Fisher Memorial award for cre-ativity in the GAT prizes.

A SOUTH Dudley man said he saw an Aqua-Sure car outside his home on two separate oc-casions last month.

Paul and Celia Bickerstaff have been active in the anti-desalination movement and have four protest signs out the front of their home.

Mr Bickerstaff saw the rst car when he was paint-ing his house.

A car came down the road at a very slow walking pace, he said.

I looked at it then walked out into the yard and he looked across and saw me and was off like a ash.

Mr Bickerstaff was in the loungeroom when he saw the second car.

It was quite obvious he was making notes about something, he said.

I opened the door to go out in the yard and he was off like a rocket.

Mr Bickerstaff said it was the same car with an AquaSure logo on the side both times. He said he was not unduly worried about the incidents.

These kinds of things just make me want to ght more, he said.

An AquaSure spokesman said that in regard to the allegation AquaSure vehicles have been tracking com-munity members, that was absolutely not the case.

I think that someone is jumping at shadows here, he said.

We have a relationship with Watershed.We under-stand what their concerns are.

We meet with them from time to time. Theyre a peaceful group. We really have no desire, need or time to undertake actions like that.

The spokesman said AquaSure had not sought or received any private or personal data from the police.Our issues are all about getting on with the construc-tion of the plant and making sure that we nish that on time so that we can deliver water to Victoria as we are committed to do, he said.

Under water watch


CLAIRE Toole is an early riser.

The rest of her family was still sleeping when she turned on her com-puter yesterday morning to access her VCE results.

When she saw her ENTER score, she was so shocked she went into a frenzy, waking the Glen Alvie household.

Her parents Julieanne and Peter quickly joined in the excitement.

Claire, who is the regions top Year 12 achiever, gained an ENTER of 99.7.

Speaking to The Star later in the morning, the Newhaven College stu-dent could still hardly believe it.

It was a total surprise, she said.Claires subjects were English,

maths methods, international studies, psychology, history revolutions which she did last year and French, which she studied by correspondence.

She has deferred for a year and is undecided about whether to pursue a degree in architecture or arts.

Claire was one of three Newhaven College students to have ENTER scores above 99.

Principal Michael Brewin, said 29 per cent of the class of 66 students gained ENTERs above 90.

Its a fabulous result, said Mr Brewin. Its among the best results weve ever had.

Were very proud, its been an ex-cellent year.

Eighty-six per cent of Newhavens Year 12s were above the top 50 per cent around the State and 62 per cent were in the top 30 per cent.

Mr Brewin said he was equally proud of those students who struggled but did their very best. Some have al-

The fi nal score

ready secured places in the workforce and with apprenticeships.

Whilst the years students had been a very focused education group, the school had played its part by putting a lot of energy and resources into im-proving student performance.

Leongatha Secondary CollegeFour students received ENTERs

in the 90s at Leongatha Secondary College.

Among them were Carla Fletcher (98.7) of Ruby and Euan Cumming (97.15) of Leongatha.

Carla received a score of 49 in Le-gal Studies.

The 18-year-old wants to study vet-erinary science in either Queensland or Western Australia next year.

Euan was waiting at his phone at one minute to 7am to receive his results.

Well done: Leongatha Secondary College students Carla Fletcher and Euan Cumming celebrate their VCE scores on Monday.

I got my ENTER score and I was like, wow, he said.

Euan scored 50 in music subject, solo performance, after receiving 50 in group performance last year as a Year 11 student.

He will be studying music at the Queensland Conservatorium in Bris-bane next year.

Leongatha Secondary College as-sistant principal, Tracey Summer-ton said the college was enormously pleased with the positive results this year.

Those very high scoring students are young people who have had goals for a long time and have been very determined to set high standards, she said.

They are kids who arent fright-ened about aiming high and really go-ing for it.

Mary MacKillop CollegeAidan Delaney, whose father Mi-

chael is principal of Mary MacKillop College, is dux of the school with an ENTER score of 97.3.

Michael and his wife Shana are thrilled.

We are very proud of the effort that he has made during his schooling years and in particular the focus that he brought to his studies in Year 12, said his father.

Aidan, one of 10 VCE students who are the children of staff members, gained outstanding study scores in fur-ther mathematics (43), French (42) and English (41).

He is one of seven students at the college to have achieved an ENTER above 90. The others are Christian Paul (97.1), Katherine Beggs (96.3), Navin Raveendran (93.65), Emily Shea (93), Anna Synan (92.8) and Annemieke

Enter (91.45).Other outstanding study scores

were achieved by Anna Synan - visual communication and design (45), stu-dio arts (42), health and human devel-opment (41); Emily Shea - physical education (43), health and human de-velopment (45), English (40); Kath-erine Beggs - literature (45), health and human development (43), Eng-lish (42); Annemieke Enter - French (41), health and human development (43); Christian Paul - further math-ematics (47), French (43); Ben Tilley - physical education (43), Chris Buc-cello - physical education (40), Esther Giliam - further mathematics (40), Madeleine Babos - further mathemat-ics (41), Navin Raveendranm - math-ematical methods (40).

Mr Delaney said the Year 12s had applied themselves to their studies and had been a fantastic group to work with.

South Coast Christian CollegeSouth Coast Christian College prin-

cipal Peter Russell, said the school is pleased with the overall achievements of its Year 12 students.

We have had some students achieve excellent results, with the ma-jority achieving at or above their an-ticipated level.

Mr Russell said whilst ENTER re-sults provide some measure of a stu-dents capacity they are by no means a true measure of the person some-thing that we believe is of far more value.

Whilst not all students gained the scores they hoped for, there is always a pathway towards their chosen career or area of study.

Continued on page 57.


front of a group of people and sing. The residents were a wonderful audi-ence and very encourag-ing. The residents were keen to hear about the reunion of Woorayl Re-gion Guides to be held on February 21 next year to celebrate 100 years of Guiding. All past Guides and interested members of the public are invited to Coal Creek to join in the fun. Anyone inter-ested in joining or vol-unteering should contact Chris Oliver 0428 644 397.

SCULPTURE in the Gar-den next year will feature 14 artists so far, but oth-ers are welcome to join in. Held at the property of artist Angela Newberry in Berrys Creek, the sculp-ture show will be held from January 30 to Febru-ary 28. The 14 artists are Robert Barron, Pat Dale, Margaret McPherson, John Abery, John Mutsaers, Anthea Williams, Nicola Hoyle, Helen Bristol, Ger-aldine Phelan, Bob Hick-man, Sian Adnam, Trish Hill, Andrew Kasper as well as Angela. There will be works in wood, welded metal, bronze, ceramic, mosaic, glass, ferro-ce-ment, resin and textiles. For inquiries, call Angela on 5668 8213.

A MOVEMBER fund-raiser at the Esplanade Hotel on November 28, was a huge success. It was a sell out event and raised over $4500 during the month, with the AMP Foundation donating an additional 50 per cent of funds raised, which will increase the total to just over $6750.

A BLUE Moon party will be held at the Meeniyan

Hall on New Years Eve, December 31, 8pm. Popu-lar dance band Soul Pur-pose will entertain revel-lers. Booking are invited to arrange for adequate seating. Cost is $10. Bring your own drinks, nibbles and glasses. For bookings. Call Eric on 5664 7376.

WITH Christmas fast approaching, Lions Traditional Christmas Cakes are available all over Leongatha for pur-chase. The 1.5kg cake is half fruit and reason-ably priced at $13. Some people rate them as the best Christmas cakes around. Pick one up at Retravision, Leongatha Rural Supplies, Mitre 10, Treacy Dairy Supplies, Landmark, the Gatha Hardware, Jackson & Lawry optomertrists, The Star of ce, Gard-ner Electronics, Mc-Cartin St Optometrists, Stewarts Tyres, Woorayl Lodge, Murray Goul-burn (Dumbalk), L & A IT Computers and Rod Spokes butcher.

ANYONE interested in a hit and giggle tennis game on Monday mornings at Leongatha North is wel-come to come along. Kids are no problem just bring them along. Phone Judy on 5662 3872.

PARENTS Without Partners will be hold-ing a get-together for the South Gippsland branch at Wonthaggi Guide Park at noon on Febru-ary 14. BYO food, drinks and chairs.

MARDAN will be hold-ing a family dance at the hall on New Years Eve. A great night is apparently assured. Bring a plate of supper.

AFTER three or more years, the three geese at the Johnson St pond in Leongatha have three gos-lings to take under their wings. Council separated two geese from what was a family of ve at one

stage, because of resident complaints, but the trio have stuck together and over the last couple of months have hatched tiny offspring. The three ponds off Johnson St are teeming with birdlife. The spot is

regrettably underused. The timber Rotunda is mainly used for graf ti, which is a pity. The area is ideal for a family barbecue and a quiet place to observe feathered wildlife.

THE Leongatha and District Historical Society brie y opened its doors for the rst time in a long time last Friday to raise much needed funds after renovations were completed. The society building in McCartin St, Leongatha closed in June for a painting and carpeting job and will enjoy its of cial opening on Australia Day, Jan-uary 26, 2010. Johanna Haasjes (pictured) was selling a variety of delicious homemade goods, including Anzac biscuits, jams, marmalades, conserves, and plum sauce. Also on sale were a couple of vintage suitcases, greeting cards and local history books. The renovations were part of the Federal Governments national building program, economic stimulus package.

MEENIYAN CFA celebrated the looming end of the year with a Sunday lunch cel-ebration. The family day saw a banquet on offer, with brigade members and their partners doing an outstanding job with the tucker. Denise Poletti was announced as Meeniyan CFA volunteer of the year, while Billy Jones was named the best junior. The days highlight was undoubtedly the arrival of Santa, who distributed presents, lollies, and icy poles to the grateful children.

THE girls of Yandiah Wonthaggi Guides vis-ited Rose Lodge to sing carols for the residents. The girls practised their carols at Guides and

made some mini plum puddings to give out to the residents as well. It was a great learning ex-perience for the girls as it is not easy to stand in


DESPITE the global nancial crisis, Jetset Leongatha can still look back on 2009 as a good year for travel-ling, owner/manager Jill Carmody said.

2009 was still a good year for clients after all the dire predictions. We were busier than what was an-ticipated, Jill said.

With the strength of the Australian dollar making travel cheaper and now that the world economy is on the mend, bookings for 2010 are increasing.

Weve made several tour bookings for 2010 al-ready and more inquiries are coming in, Jill said.

Destinations for 2010 are similar to this year. De-spite its political upheav-als, Fiji remains a popular destination.

The travel demand for Fiji has remained strong, Jill said.

Bali has also bounced back in recent years and demand is as good as ever.

South-East Asia is an-other sought-after destina-tion, especially Vietnam and Thailand.

In Europe, Russia has started to attract a lot of interest, as well as Scandi-navia. For rst-time travel-lers the UK and Continent are the main attractions, visiting London, Amster-dam, Paris and Rome, but also Madrid and Berlin as

the top cities. Cruises are popular.

Theres nothing more ro-mantic than sailing the seas and visiting exotic places in the Paci c or cir-cumnavigating Australia or New Zealand on a lux-ury liner. Departures are from Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Fremantle.

Jill said the recent Sale Australia campaign, offer-ing discounted trips around the country, had been a great success, proving that although Australians like to travel overseas, they en-joy local travel as well.

One of the advantages of dealing with Jetset Le-ongatha is that it is a full service agency. Staff can organise complete, trou-ble-free packages, from airport transport and ac-commodation bookings to arranging sight-seeing tickets and other entertain-ment bookings.

Jill and her staff work by appointment to ensure customers are given a ded-icated service to discuss their travel requirements.

Jill started at Great Southern Travel 17 years ago and became a Jetset franchise seven years ago. The agency has won many awards for its outstanding travel services, including several awards this year.

Staff members include Fiona Rabl, Renee Cook, Lisa OBrien and Sabine Aeschlimann, who are well-versed in all travel

Well travelled year

Seasoned travellers: Jetset Leongatha owner/man-ager Jill Carmody (pictured) and staff are seasoned travellers to ensure they can give expert advice on the destinations customers wish to travel.

requirements, travelling regularly to gain rst-hand knowledge of the many destinations Jetset offers.

Jill said she would like to thank the custom-ers who supported Jetset throughout the year. We receive positive feedback

from our clients, which is greatly appreciated, Jill said.

We wish them a safe and enjoyable Christmas and a successful 2010.

For inquiries, call Jetset Leongatha on 5662 3601.

By Matt Dunn

THE State Government has la-belled as scaremongering a peti-tion demanding emergency hous-ing for mentally ill Wonthaggi residents.

Presented to the Legislative Assembly in State Parliament by Member for Bass Ken Smith on Thursday, December 10, the petition - which calls on the govern-ment to provide long-term housing for single people with a chronic mental ill-ness- now has close to 900 signatures.

Its an issue right across Bass Coast. Weve got a shortage in public housing, particularly in Wonthaggi, he said.

I handed a letter to Richard Wynne, the Housing Minister, inviting him to meet with a delegation set up from a re-cent housing forum and see what we can do.

From what I understand, the Bass Coast Council is also trying to set up a meeting too.

Mr Smith said the issue had been ig-nored by the State Government for too long.

Thats pretty disappointing, be-cause theres a problem there and they should be doing something about it. All we get from the minister is how much has come from the Federal Govern-ment, how much the State Government has put into public housing, he said. It all seems to be happening in Labor held seats or just in the city area. Its just not fair to the people down here. Theres not enough public housing and theres not enough rental accommodation through the private sector, because its all full.

He said there was emergency ac-commodation in Moe, but none closer to Wonthaggi.

People who have a physical or mental disability may not be able to move them-selves. They really have to be looked af-ter and there needs to be accommodation available, he said.

Mr Smith said the problem has been

exacerbated by the rising cost of the rental market ahead of an in ux of desalination workers.

But Minister for Mental Health and Community Services Lisa Neville, has rejected Mr Smiths complaints on the housing crisis.

This petition is typical of Ted Baillieus Liberal and National Opposition, who would rather mislead and scare-monger than come up with a policy of its own to house vulnerable Victorians, including those in the Bass Coast community, she told The Star. In contrast, the Brumby Labor Government is making a record investment in public and social housing across the state. The Of ce of Housing supports people who have mental illnesses to access public housing, just as it supports all vulnerable Victorians. In Gippsland, the Of ce of Housing has an arrangement with a local mental health agency (SNAP) to provide extra, personalised supports to tenants who have a mental illness.

She said there are 320 public and social housing properties, and the area will receive at least 55 new homes as part of the Brumby Labor Governments $1.16 billion partnership with the Federal Government under the Nation Building Social Housing Initiative. According to the June 2009 quarter Rental Report, 73 per cent of properties were described as affordable. In recognition of continued and future pressure on the housing market, the National Rental Affordability Scheme is delivering 19 packages to the Bass Coast area, she said.

A recent housing forum report found: The Bass Coast Shire has 928 people

(up from 234 in 2000) on the public hous-ing waiting list, and 322 are waiting for early housing (up from nine).

There are no Of ce of Housing single bedroom units in Bass Coast Shire for people under 55 years of age with a mental illness who are living on a single pension payment.

There is only one respite care house in the Bass Coast region.

Petition rejected


Address:36 McCartin StLeongatha, 3953 Ph: (03) 5662 2294Fax: (03) 5662 4350Editor: Danny ButtlerEmail:[email protected]

Advertising Manager: Joy MorganEmail:[email protected] 006507580ABN 61 318 952 541Print Post 336735 10006

The Great Southern Star

Letters guidelinesALL letters should be kept to 400 words or less.The Star reserves the right to edit all letters for length and style. Writers details, including full name, address and phone number (not for publication), must be included.

VOXVOXPOP!

THE Brumby Labor Govern-ment has introduced new risk-based fees for liquor licences, so for the rst time licensed venues will pay the full cost of regulating and policing the in-dustry.

The new fees will go to-wards making venues safer and more enjoyable and reducing the negative impact irrespon-sible alcohol consumption has on the broader community.

Back in August, the govern-ment said that small businesses employing less than ve staff and not-for-pro t organisa-tions such as sporting and com-munity clubs would be able to apply to the director of liquor

LAST week, worried researchers warned the community of the loss of the most important honey bee in the leather wood forest of Tasma-nia. The cause, of course, was the logging of the forest that provides their food source.

This week, on the radio, we are in-formed that a serious reduction in the number of birds in the Ovens forest is oc-curring. As much as 65 per cent of some species have vanished. Once again the re-moval and interference of the forest habi-tat was indicated.

This week we also learn of the plum-meting stocks of tuna sh in the Paci c. Not due to logging, rather due to over sh-ing.

I think we can say there is a common theme being played. Does that situation worry you?

Last Thursday, Mr Tomlin, the new South Gippsland CEO visited the Turtons Creek.

He was not only gathering information essential for him to do his job properly, he was hopefully setting a new trend by con-sulting with the ordinary ratepayer. This practice historically has been signi cant by its absence.

Mr Tomlin thought the river valley was beautiful, the tree planting by private indi-viduals impressive and the regrowth forest at the top of Central Road, a treasure.

It certainly is a treasure, being not only a magni cent reminder of what used to be, it is also full of animal life.

The lyrebird scurrying across the road, wombats, wallabies and koalas in abun-dance, wedge-tailed eagles drifting over-head and even the powerful owl zooming

amongst the trees.I pointed out the cleared area of forest

now visible and close by the consequent brown soil, stark against the greenery alongside.

True to their word, Hancocks, the log-ging for woodchip company, is poised to enter the Central Road location to remove this most splendid, limited stand of mature forest. With that removal once again will be lost a rich gathering of biodiversity.

The CEO was immediately sensitive to the importance of the impending de-struction. There will be limited habitat for wildlife in the replacement mono culture of trees.

I advised him that he should talk to the company and that I had already written of my concern to head of ce.

It is my belief that the length of Central Road, from top to bottom from the Grand

Ridge to Turtons Creek, should be a wild-life corridor. This remnant regrowth from the 1939 bush res would be an important contribution to such a corridor.

It would also indicate the industrys recognition of their special environment responsibility.

The world natural resources are more than a nancial play thing for multi-na-tional corporations to exploit and for self-ish and foolish politicians to give away. They are the very formation of a healthy environment in which we, the people, sur-vive.

Worry yourself over this increasingly important question, then contact the re-sponsible authorities. It may soon be too late.

Ron Brown,Turtons Creek.

THE culture of corruption in-side the Victorian Labor Party exposed by the Ombudsmans report into Brimbank Council marks a new low in Victorian public life.

I WONDER if you would be kind enough to publish the fol-lowing query in your newspa-per, please.

I live in Double View, Perth WA, but I intend to visit north-east Victoria later this year in search of information on my late fathers family, who lived in the Jamieson/Leongatha areas.

Your forest, your future

Risky business licensing to have their fees re-duced or waived if paying the full amount would cause them nancial hardship.

Licensees wanting to ap-ply for the hardship provision should contact Responsible Alcohol Victoria on 1300 650 367 or email [email protected]

Tony Robinson MP,Minister for Consumer

Affairs.

Out of touch

Yet John Brumby has re-fused to take action against the senior operatives in Labors ranks who have been involved in bullying, intimidation, im-proper conduct and misuse of public money.

Labor is more interested in covering up its culture of cor-ruption and protecting Labor mates than securing the future of Victorian families.

Planning Minister Justin Madden covered up the corrup-tion in his of ce, Health Min-ister Daniel Andrews covered up falsi cation of hospital wait-ing lists and Transport Min-ister Lynne Kosky accepts no responsibility for her failure to run a proper transport system.

Yet John Brumby wont take action and sack these ministers.John Brumby just doesnt get it.

Victorians deserve better from their government than a Premier who wont lead and ministers who wont take re-sponsibility for incompetence and cover-ups.

Interested Victorians can nd out more by looking up There is something wrong in Victoria on YouTube.

David DavisShadow Minister respon-

sible for Scrutiny of Government

Family ties

I am seeking information on or contact with descendants of John Andrew Farrell, a miner, and Elizabeth Day. Both were born in England in the mid-1830s. They had the following children 1866-1876: Elizabeth, Andrew, Kate, Charles Samuel and Mary Josephine. They were living at Jamieson, Victoria in the 1870s.

The above Charles Samuel Farrell was my grandfather. He married Mary Jane Burness (a Scot) who was born at Enochs Point, Vic.

My father, Horace Baden Farrell was born at Outtrim in 1906. Some of his siblings were Daisy, Beatrice, George and Mary.

The family moved to WA when my father was young.

Patricia Campbell Ballarat

Is test crickets future threatened by limited overs cricket?

No, there will always be a place for the ve day game, that is cricket, the other one is just a hit and giggle.

Steve SheerinWonthaggi

No, theres a place in the game for both forms.

Koby BrannWonthaggi

Yes, because limited overs cricket is more popular. I like test cricket, but limited overs cricket is good entertainment.

Mitchell ThomasWonthaggi

I dont think so. Its a bit of a different game.

Rob TempletonLeongatha

Nothing changesIT seems the only thing that changes with the Leongatha hospi-tal is a little more mortar crumbles from the walls.

The dilapidated buildings are in desperate need of a wrecking ball. But waiting for funding to replace the hospital requires the patience of Job.

A public meeting which was to be held last month was postponed after a delegation was organised to see Victorian Health Minister Daniel Andrews.

The delegation returned with nothing but high hopes certainly with no promise of when the hospital will be saved.

Many people are rightly questioning whether our local elected leaders have the in uence to get anything done about the hospital and whether the state government gives two hoots about its future. Its a terrible combination.

The public meeting that was postponed is now expected to be held in late January or February.

After it was publically announced, it should never have been scrapped. What momentum the public campaign to save the hospital had, was lost.

The politicians have been given one last chance to come up with answers and they have been found wanting.

It is now up to the Leongatha community to show that it will not allow its precious hospital to be ruined through the careless neglect of our elected leaders.

Bypass bluesThe bypass issue is always a thorny one.

Does re-routing vehicles leave a country town cut-off from vital through traf c or does it create a quieter, safer CBD that will attract more shoppers.

The Star does not have the solution, but is adamant that we must start planning the future of our towns traf c ows.

More and more vehicles will be passing through Leongatha and Korumburra both will almost certainly be bypassed at some stage. The situation at the corner of Ogilvy and Long streets and Koonwarra Road in Leongatha needs urgent attention and offers a chance to divert some heavy traf c out of town.

This really is a case of getting the job done before somebody is killed.

DECEMBER has arrived so sud-denly, hasnt it? Christmas trees and lights are going up, kids are getting excited and families are coming together.

Christmas is the time of year when the world looks a little brighter and ones fellow man seems a little friendlier.

In Australia, with our multi-culturalism, there are now so many different customs and tra-ditions which are becoming part of our Christmas traditions.

For many, Christmas is a new tradition which has been grasped, not only for its Chris-tian sentiment, but also because of the atmosphere of friendliness it produces in the community as a whole.

And with 2010 just around the corner, now more than ever these principles apply.

Cyrus BrooksDundas

Christmas spirit


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Continued from page 1.Transport operator Trevor Riseley also

believes a bypass would improve traf c ow in town but is not expecting action any time soon.

His father Phil was told by authorities more than 40 years ago a bypass would be built along Hughes Street, but nothing has eventuated since.

If theyve been working on a bypass for 40 years I dont think we will see any-thing for another 40 years, he said.

Mr Riseley, of Riseleys Transport in Leongatha, said the Ogilvy, Long and Bair streets junction was navigable by trucks as large as B-doubles.

He said vehicles carrying wide loads would encounter problems at intersec-tions in most towns, not just the Ogilvy junction, but said the intersection could be improved.

Now the dairy is gone, there is scope for something to be done. What they are actually going to do to make it better, I dont know, Mr Riseley said.

Being a truckie, I dont think a round-about is a good idea. With a full load, we

would have to slow down and accelerate up again.

The Ogilvy, Long and Bair streets intersection is regularly used by trucks with wide loads that are too big to ne-gotiate the tight bends of Roughead and Bair streets.

Transport companies can obtain per-mits from VicRoads to temporarily re-move signs from the intersection and travel over the traf c island.

Most recently, the gutter trap and kerb and channeling was damaged. The com-pany concerned will replace the signs and repair the damage, in line with the permit conditions.

Sgt Bodycomb said the Ogilvy, Long and Bair streets intersection was not of high concern to police, but he would wel-come improvements.

It does not have a high collision rate but its certainly not the best intersection. There is the potential for a lot of issues to occur there, he said.

The more that can be done to make any intersection safer, the better off we are going to be.

Wrong way

POLICE BRIEFSPOLICE BRIEFS

A Foster man escaped with his life after crawling from his up-turned rig on the South Gippsland Highway between Koonwarra and Meeniyan on Monday morning.

The truck was carrying a load of logs when it came to grief with both the truck and its load sprawled across the highway for several hours while the mess was cleared.

Leongatha police told The Star the truck, a trailer and dog combination, lost tracking on the road which set off a series of events resulting in the truck overturn-ing as it was approaching the dangerous Koonwarra bends.

Police said neither alcohol nor driver fatigue were a factor in the crash. They

were investigating any mechanical aspects of the crash.

There was a fair element of luck in-volved in this accident as no Foster-bound vehicle was in the vicinity at the time but cars arrived within seconds.

Police said that log trucks use this road regularly and drivers should always be vigilant when it comes to trucks on the road.

Firecracker fury A LEONGATHA man in his 40s was as-saulted after remonstrating with a group of men who were letting off recrackers in his street.

The incident occurred in McDonald Street, Leongatha, on Friday night.

One of the residents stuck his head out and told the men to put a lid on it, and

he ended up copping a few for his trouble, unfortunately, Leongatha Polices Lead-ing Senior Constable Andy Bolidston said.

McCartins punch-up A 20-YEAR-OLD Leongatha man crashedthrough a glass partition in the early hours of Sunday morning, after being attacked at McCartins Hotel.

It is the third reported brawl at the pub in as many weeks.

He was involved in an altercation with another man. Unfortunately, as a result of that, he was pushed backwards into a window at the smoking room of the pub, Leongatha Polices Leading Senior Constable Andy Boldiston said.

A 22-year-old suspect from Leongatha will be interviewed by police.

Trucks roll blocks highway

LEONGATHA has again suf-fered the consequences of drunk-en vandals rampaging through the town after late night week-end drinking sessions.

One incident led to a police of cer being attacked.

Fences were torn down, plants were uprooted and windows broken as boozed-up hoons took to the streets.

We had a lot of mindless vandalism and damage during the weekend. I just spoke to Westaway Ford, and theyve had a couple of their back windows bro-ken after someone threw rocks through them, Leongatha Polices Leading Se-nior Constable Andy Boldiston said.

Another vandalism attack on Sat-urday night saw a womans fence torn down, near the Stadium 4 Cinema.

Half of her fence was physically ripped down. They ripped down two whole sections. If anyones got any in-formation on that one, wed be really happy to hear from them, Leading Se-nior Constable Boldiston said.

In addition to that, we had nu-merous plants pulled out of the me-dian strip in Bair Street and Ogilvy Street and a number of pickets pulled up opposite Mobil on Bair Street. He said two suspects from Ogilvy Street had been spoken to in relation to the-damage in Bair and Ogilvy streets. They were in their late teens and early 20s.

Unfortunately one of them wasnt happy about being spoken to and swung a punch at one of our of cers, he said.

The man was subdued with capsi-cum spray.

Vandalism spree


New Fire Danger Ratings. Look for them, act on them.Victoria has adopted the new national Fire Danger Rating scale to help individuals and communities understand the level of re danger on any given day.

The new ratings recognise the signi cant increase in severe bush re conditions over the past decade and the greater level of danger to the community, as experienced on Saturday 7 February 2009.

Its important for all Victorians to be aware of the ratings, which will feature on weather forecasts, in newspapers, websites, radio and TV.

The new ratings provide a clear prediction of likely re behaviour, including how dif cult it would be to put a re out once it has started. They provide information on:

The sort of bush re behaviour that could be experienced on that day.

The type of threat a bush re may pose to life and property on that day.

Be aware of the Fire Danger Rating every day during the re season, and be prepared to take the appropriate actions. For more information go to www.cfa.vic.gov.au

The safest option is to leave early in the day if you live in a bush re prone area and your Bush re Survival Plan is to leave. Only stay if your home is well prepared, well constructed and you can actively defend it.

The safest option is to leave early in the day if you live in a bush re prone area and your Bush re Survival Plan is to leave. Only stay if your home is well prepared and you can actively defend it.

If you live in a bush re prone area and your Bush re Survival Plan is to leave, the safest option is to leave at the beginning of the day.

Check your Bush re Survival Plan.

Check your Bush re Survival Plan.

If you live in a bush re prone area the safest option is to leave the night before, or early in the morning.

Making Victoria FireReady:

For more information visit www.cfa.vic.gov.au

The new-look Leongatha RSL was of cially opened by the State president of the RSL, Ma-jor General David McLachlan last Friday.

It is always a pleasure to come to Leongatha and it is particularly pleasing to of cially open renovations, Major-General McLachlan said.

Referring to the Bofors Gun on the roof of the building, he said anyone who seeks to attack the Leongatha RSL should look out, much to amusement of the 150 guests in attendance.

It is great to see the work undertaken by local builders Considine and Johnston and the project was also on budget.

You have much to be proud of here in Leongatha. The Leongatha RSL works quietly behind the scenes but does won-derful things for the community, he said.

The of cial start of the renovations

and extensions was in February, 2007 but it has been well worth the wait according to Leongatha sub-branch president, Rod Cameron.

Mr Cameron thanked everyone in-volved in the project including his loyal staff who worked through the often noisy and messy building project.

Included in the renovations are a new kitchen and dining room expansion, an al-fresco area, the Jock Dowling Bar, front entry with ramps, bistro rest rooms, li-brary, and upstairs meeting and adminis-tration rooms.

A special guest at the opening was World War II veteran Jim Harvey of Mir-boo North.

Mr Harvey, a member of the 13th pla-toon of the 57/60th infantry battalion, do-nated a captured Japanese ag, a priceless heirloom now displayed on a wall in the new dining room. It is signed by all 24 soldiers in the platoon.

RSL extensions opened

Well done: Major General David McLachlan (left) and RSL sub-branchpresident, Rod Cameron after the unveiling of the plaque to open the refurbishments.

Enjoying the moment: Jacko Miles catches up with some ladies at the morning tea, from left, Muriel Christenson and Wilma McLennan who are on the RSL ladies auxiliary, and Legacy members Elaine Olle and Zel Fawcett.

Cuppa time: enjoying morning tea after the opening are, from left, af liate member Faye Coghlan and Legacy members, June Marshman, Irene Wisdom, and Molly Hilet.

THE STAR, Tuesday, December 15, 2009W

1724

62_E

P_T

S_R

1

New look servo. Same friendly service.

BP Fish Creek 2 Falls Rd Fish Creek, 3959

BP Foster 94 Main St Foster, 3960

BP Inverloch 25 William StInverloch, 3996

BP Korumburra 2 Commercial St Korumburra, 3950

BP Leongatha 95 Bair St Leongatha, 3953

BP Toora 26 Foster Rd Toora, 3962

BP Leongatha 7 Anderson St Leongatha, 3953

BP Mirboo North 106 RidgwayMirboo North, 3871

BP Wonthaggi 105 McKenzie St Wonthaggi, 3995

BP Yarram 325 Commercial RdYarram, 3971

Youll nd us at:

Youll notice a few changes the next time you drive around town.

Evans Petroleum have been a part of this community for 39 years

and we have now switched. From now on, our service stations are

branded BP. So while we look different, what hasnt changed are the

people behind the counter. Youll still nd the same friendly locals

you know and trust.

Come on in and say hello, today.

By Matt Dunn

ANDREW Joyce didnt think twice about hopping on his bike and riding from Inverloch to Lakes Entrance.

It was early morning, it was cool, and once he began there seemed little reason to stop. Never mind the 250-odd kilometres of road that stretched out before him.

It took 17 straight hours on the road on my motorised bicycle. Ive been riding it for many years, he told The Star after returning from his epic journey.

I cant drive a car due to my disabilities.

Its cheap transport too, because not every pensioner can afford to run a car. He rode through the Foster hills, to Yarram, to Sale and beyond.

Why did he do it? Lets face it. You only get a break

once in a blue moon. Youre relying on Daylight Savings and the weathers cool. Due to my Crohns Disease you dont get much help from outsiders, he said.

I didnt have much money for accommodation either.

Financial restrictions meant sleeping rough.

I had to make do with lying outside Maccas (McDonalds, Lakes Entrance) there under the stars, he said.

But the situation led to problems. The police told him to move on.

Im afraid the locals arent really known for helping you out there, he said.

But now hes back in Inverloch, where friendly people know him.

The big question now is, where will he ride to next?

, y, ,

B M tt D Wh did h d it?

On the road again

Ready to roll: Andrew Joyce loves riding his motorised bicycle and thinks nothing of hitting the road in the early morning and travelling vast distances.

By Matt Dunn

A WONTHAGGI real estate principal be-lieves landlords had been unfairly tainted by a Star story about low-income tenants being evicted in readiness for cashed-up desalina-tion workers.

The Wonthaggi boss of Stockdale and Leggo, Pat-rick Barry, said any suggestions that some Wonthaggi landlords were unscrupulous were insulting.

Theyre just normal people trying to create a bit of wealth, he said.

Weve got no properties that I know of that are being held for the desal workers, aside from those that have been sourced speci cally for that. Weve got new homes that have been built and well be renting them out.

Member for Bass, Ken Smith and Bass Coast Council CEO Alan Bawden, both said they had heard of low-income tenants being evicted to make way for desalination workers.

Mr Barry believes the problem lies elsewhere. Most tenants are great, but there is a small percent-

age of people who are used to manipulating the system and I suppose the agencies that help place them really need to get some funds from the State Government to help manage them, Mr Barry said.

Its one thing to place a tenant, but they need the resources to be able to manage them as well.

He said if properties were damaged or a tenant did not pay rent, real estate agents were forced to go to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, which was often an unsuccessful outing.

Normally we apply to VCAT to have the tenant vacate. The tenant normally doesnt turn up. This hap-pens not once or twice, but many times, he said.

The notice is given to them to vacate. They then contact VCAT to say they couldnt get there, because their car broke down. When the real estate agent applies for a second VCAT hearing thats when an agency will turn up and act as an advocate for the tenant and plead that they be given another chance.

That same agency has advised them not to turn up the rst time, allegedly, as an attempt to delay the eviction. Im not naming any agency, I wouldnt do that. But this is how its done, he said.

In effect, as we see it, these tenants should have support on the other side to help manage them before the problem gets to the stage where everybodys had enough of them and is trying to get them out.

Thats it in a nutshell. Its a government problem. Theres probably a shortage of funds. Its one thing to place a tenant into a private rental, but its another thing to support them. Mr Barry said it was unfair on landlords, who often went unpaid for 12 to 16 weeks while continual ap-peals were made to VCAT.

Its got to the stage where we cant recommend people referred by agencies as renters, he said.

The Miners Rest Motor Inn has closed its door for emergency accommodation, after rooms were contin-ually trashed. The caravan park is hard to get into.

He said that while Wonthaggi rents had continued to rise, the State Government had failed to bridge the gap between what low-income tenants could afford and what places cost to rent. He said, too, that more public housing was needed in the town.

Landlordsinsulted


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THE Woorayl Lodge Ladies Aux-iliary has donated $50,000 to the Committee of Woorayl Lodge to help pay for the kerbing and chan-neling of Dewar Lane.

Fetes, functions, resident afternoons and raf es helped raise the impressive to-tal over 10 years.

The proposal to x Dewar Lane was oated 10 years ago. Work was completed in January.

The lodges total contribution to the road work was $60,000.

Over the last 10 years the ladies auxil-iary have continued to buy much needed furniture and equipment for Woorayl Lodge residents even as they amassed the $50,000.

But without the cost of the road im-provements they would have been able to buy more $2500 electric beds for the lodge.

Meanwhile Woorayl Lodge has re-

ceived accreditation for three years.The Federal Governments Aged Care

Standards and Accreditation Agency ac-credited the lodge until November 28, 2012.

Woorayl Lodge manager Wendy Roughead said the lodge was standard outcome compliant in 44 areas.

It was an excellent outcome, which shows the dedication and commitment of all staff, volunteers, ladies auxiliary and committee members, she said.

The overview included health and per-sonal care, resident lifestyle, physical en-vironment and safe systems, and manage-ment systems staf ng and organisational development.

Auxiliary funds roadworks

Big gift: Woorayl Lodge auxiliary members Marie Rundell, Jenny Haw and group president Margaret Curley hand over a cheque to Woorayl Lodge manager Wendy Roughead.

AFTER res comes renewal.Nature has its own way of restoration and inter-

estingly re plays an important role in shaping Aus-tralias biodiversity.

As forests and the landscape recover from re, some plant species will regenerate quickly, while others may not regrow until many years later. Many of Australias native plants have developed mecha-nisms that enable them to survive res, for example the black re-orchid Pyrorchis Nigricans owers well after bush re.

Highlighted by its red owers and large green leaves, this orchid rarely owers without the in u-ence of a bush re. Flowering time is from August to early November.

Hundreds of the tiny plants have sprouted at Wil-sons Promontory and Leongatha artist Sacha Lamont has captured their bright red and green on a large and arresting canvas.

It is presently on display at the Leongatha Gal-lery as part of the annual end-of-year exhibition by the painters group of the resident Leongatha Art and Crafts Society.

More than 20 paintings are for sale by Pauline Johns, Naomi Zaghet, Peggy Elliott, Theresa Bate-man, Florence Stone, Heather McFee, Anne Todd-Foulds, Elizabeth Dunlop, Vera Derrick, Robyn Henn as well as Sacha.

The paintings make novel and excellent Christ-mas presents, together with the variety of craft items that are also on display.

This may be one of the last full exhibitions at the gallery, which will become more of an arts and crafts retail outlet in coming months.

The changeover will be gradual and offer more artists the opportunity of displaying their work and offer it for sale.

As always, the gallery is in need of more volun-teers to keep it open for visitors and with the holiday period approaching fast, the need for volunteers is even more pressing. For inquiries, call the gallery on 5662 5174 or call the president on 5662 2029.

Firing up for sale

Painte

The Great Southern Star

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Transcript of The Great Southern Star