Tuesday June 4
A DRIVER was trapped in their overturned utility after a collision with another vehicle in Swan Hill.
The accident occurred at the Sea Lake-Swan Hill Road, Memorial Drive and Dead Horse Lane intersection about 10am.
Police, SES and paramedics helped remove the driver, and sole occupant, of the overturned Triton ute.
Swan Hill highway patrol Senior Constable Toby Gilmour said there were no life-threatening Injuries. The driver of the utility and the driver of the other vehicle, also a sole occupant, were taken to Swan Hill District Health.
THE Shane Warne Legacy Heart Screen team rolled into Swan Hill, setting up camp at Swan Hill Aquatic & Recreation Centre for two days.
The team, consisting of two pharmacists and a co-ordinator, are spending four weeks in the Mallee screening people who might have undiagnosed heart conditions.
Set up in the wake of the early death of cricketing legend Shane Warne due to a heart attack and an upsurge in Interest in heart attacks and heart dis ease, the brief assessments led to a 45 per cent referral rate to GPs for further assessment.
If there are signs that a participant exhibits arty of the symptoms of heart disease they are referred to a specialist for further investigations.
Friday June 7
SWAN Hill Council remains divided over environmental issues in the municipality after Cr Jacquie Kelly moved a motion to establish a council environmental committee.
The motion, tabled just after Cr Kelly’s motion to conduct an audit of council in addressing climate change, was defeated.
The motion for an environmental committee was lost after three councillors voted against it.
Cr. Kelly emphasised the importance of council prioritising the environment in the municipality, saying the Mallee region was prone to extreme heat and flooding.
“There’s a huge amount of work to be done in this area, Cr Kelly said “We don’t have heaps of money and we have some really big challenges so we need to be clever about it.”
Ce Kelly said that having a commit tee for environment and sustainability would be economically beneficial for councillors and staff to inform them via collaboration with local environmental groups like Sustainable Living in the Mallee.
POOR regional network coverage and reliability is under review and community feedback could make a difference.
The Regional Telecommunications Review is setting out to gather data on network capacity and reliability in regional, remote and rural areas, and discover how underperforming data connectivity affects communities.
The review’s issues paper identified that Australia’s telecommunications sector underpinned economic activity, education, entertainment, health care and personal communication, and that consumers needed reliable, high-quality and accessible services.
Quambatook farmer Brett Hosking and his family increasingly depend on ready access to the internet. He said the farm operated in an agile business environment.
“Grain and livestock prices are constantly moving and it’s not enough to say that the price I saw this morning is the same at four in the afternoon,” Mr Hosking said.
“You must be able to access the price when it’s released to say yes or no on the spot.
Tuesday June 11
THOUSANDS flocked to Swan Hill Racecourse for three days of racing fashions and festivities over the King’s Birthday long weekend.
The town was busy, with not one bed available in the motels and caravan parks, and cafes and restaurants performing a brisk trade.
Sunday was the main race day and fascinators comingled with beanies as the weather took a colder turn but didn’t deter, as the atmosphere got the blood running at the track, with locals and visitors alike in great spirits.
Swan Hill Mayor Stuart King said Swan Hill was definitely the winner with a huge weekend of both football and the races.
“I think you can see from the amount of people who are around town that people love coming here, Cr King said.
POLICE have arrested four people as part of an ongoing operation targeting high-risk family violence perpetrators and outstanding warrants in the Swan Hill area.
Among those arrested were people who had been trying to avoid police detection and those in breach of family violence intervention orders.
Those arrested for family violence offences included a Swan Hill man and woman, both aged 30, charged with contravening family violence orders.
Both were bailed to appear at Swan Hill Magistrates’ Court at a later date,
Police also arrested two people for non-family violence offences; a 40-year-old Swan Hill man who was charged with failing to appear at court and a 30-year-old Swan Hill man who was charged with theft.
THE Victorian Government has doubled down on its opposition to water buybacks to fulfil the Murray-Darling Basin Plan agreement as it released its own proposals.
Water Minister Harriet Shing recently published Planning Our Basin Future Together: A prospectus to safeguard Victoria’s environments and communities across the Murray- Darling Basin.
It details the next steps the state will take following the Federal Government’s decision to buy back up to 450 gigalitres of additional water from willing sellers, including famers.
The government said following the release of the prospectus, com munity engagement will continue across basin towns, with industries and stakeholders, to identify innovative new alternatives to open tender water purchases projects and out- comes that deliver healthy waterways and resilient environments without causing harm to communities.
The government has put forward the idea of rationalising irrigation infrastructure-reducing the total area under irrigation as an alternative to open-tender water buybacks.
Friday June 14
LUCKY people may never come face to face with first responders on the job.
But Wednesday was Thank a First Responder Day, when Swan Hill residents expressed their gratitude to workers and volunteers who leap into action in times of need.
Fortem Australia, the not-for- profit organisation delivering support to first responders and their families, encourages a simple show of gratitude to people who are in volved in responding to emergencies, whether that be part of their job or a volunteer organisation.
Swan Hill Leading Senior Constable Tania Peters said the day was “a great opportunity for the community to appreciate the work first responders do within our community, especially volunteers.
KOONDROOK’S Arbuthnot Sawmills is the latest native logging operation in the Victorian Government’s Forestry Transition Program, despite community concerns.
The government will invest $500,000 for the Koondrook Development Committee to undertake community consultation and identify Koondrook’s opportunities as part of the $1.5 billion transition from native forestry.
“It’s all about what the future opportunities are for Koondrook and the plan will provide the platform for future funding options,” KDC chair Tom Chick said.
The government is transitioning the industry in the absence of regulatory reform options, which left the industry vulnerable to legal injunctions that continued to disrupt harvesting operations.
Tuesday June 18
BALRANALD residents are navigating how to handle their health concerns two weeks after being left without a doctor.
While temporary arrangements to access medical care in the township of 1063 people have been put in place, locals and health staff in surrounding towns are concerned about the impact.
Some residents are travelling to Swan Hill and Robinvale for health care, both about one hour’s drive, and putting pressure on those towns’ services.
It comes after long-time doctor Dr Slava Zotov left the town on May 31, effectively closing Balranald Medical Centre after attempts to sell the clinic were unsuccessful.
Resident Lyn Flanagan said she and her husband now travel to Swan Hill to see a doctor.
“We were lucky enough to get an appointment in a month because it’s not easy to get an appointment in Swan Hill,” she said.
“But in our catchment area, there’s basically no way to go see a doctor.”
MEN’S health in Swan Hill was highlighted on Friday morning, with Bunnings holding a free men’s breakfast organised by Community Health.
Part of Men’s Health Week, it attracted a strong turnout despite the cold and rain. Swan Hill District Health’s Tarra Higgins said it was important to acknowledge men’s health week within the community.
“It’s not just physical health but mental health and social as well, so we thought we would have a brekky and get men chatting about health,” Ms Higgins said.
“We had some free blood pressure checks, some early detection, and if something was found they can get referred to a GP.
“Bunnings have been very helpful, the Rotary Club of Swan Hill were making their delicious egg and bacon rolls, Bowser Bean provided free coffees and Ambulance Victoria carried out health checks.”
MDAS’s drug and alcohol counsellor Aaron Best said events like the men’s breakfast are really positive in building more awareness for men’s health.
Friday June 21
CATS will no longer be free to roam Swan Hill Rural City streets and land from next year.
Swan Hill Rural City Council has adopted a 24-hour cat containment order that will be implemented from January 1 next year.
The decision was made at Tuesday’s council meeting following com- munity consultation.
More than 350 responses were received in a survey between December and February, the council’s largest community engagement response to date.
STAFF, students and parents of St Mary’s Primary School were on hand this week to officially open the new junior hub building.
Housing junior students, the new junior hub will be used to accommodate Grade 1-3 students.
The project was designed by local architect Jim Gleeson and construction was completed in nine months by homegrown builder Condely Construction, helping to keep the nearly $3 million budget within the community.
Nathan Condely, of Condely Constructions, is a former pupil of St Mary’s and has had three children attend the school.
Mr Condely said it was great to be back on the school campus and to have it finished.
School principal Kate Quin said the school had been “really blessed with the amazing building that we were able to build with assistance from the government as well as our own school’s contributions”
Tuesday June 25
MEMBER for Mallee Anne Webster says the VNI West power interconnector project will not need to proceed after the Federal Coalition announced it would develop a policy for nuclear power in Australia’s mainland states.
The Coalition has said it would cap the renewable energy rollout if it regained power at the next federal election. Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton announced his plan, with seven sites earmarked for a 30-month community consultation.
Dr Webster said she had advocated a “mature conversation around nuclear energy” since she was elected in 2019.
“It should be part of our baseload power mix for the sake of industry, for the sake of manufacturing if we really want Made in Australia to happen we need reliable affordable power,” she said. Dr Webster said she was pleased that Australia was talking about real policy that would make a real difference.
The Coalition has not yet released costings or a timeline for the plan, promising more detail soon.
SKYE Stewart has won the HESTA Midwife of the Year award at the prestigious HESTA Australian Nursing & Midwifery Awards.
Ms Stewart was one of 200 nominees nationally following her work on developing Star Baby, a culturally responsive booklet to support Aboriginal families after a stillbirth.
Now available in all maternity units across Australia, the innovative approach is the first of its type tackling bereavement for Indigenous families.
The mother-of-six has strong Indigenous connections having grown up in Manangatang.
She decided to become a midwife after the birth of her first child.
Friday June 28
THE principal of a Swan Hill school targeted in a break-in this week has labelled the theft of the school’s car, keys and electronics “a low act”
Thieves gained access to Swan Hill Specialist School in the early hours of Wednesday morning, stealing multiple sets of car keys, school mobile phones, tablets and laptops.
The school vehicle was discovered on Wednesday at an abandoned address in Swan Hill and forensically school tested and fingerprinted.
Principal Jodi Walters said she discovered the school had been targeted that morning.
MEDICAL students are undertaking years of placements in the Mallee to address the region’s doctor shortage.
Charles Sturt University and Monash University have partnered with Swan Hill District Health for a specialised rural health program that aims to create more local doctors.
The Mallee Clinical School in Swan Hill is one of the nine schools that students can undertake placements with. Among the CSU students is Swan Hill local Zoe Steicke, who was born in Swan Hill District Health’s maternity ward and delivered by Dr Manzoor Elahi.
Ms Steicke has recently begun her rural health placement at the Mallee Clinical School in Swan Hill and will also be training in Kerang and Deniliquin for the next five years.
“I really love the opportunity because I already have links to the community, and it’s really fulfilling being able to help the community where you grew up,” Ms Steicke said.
