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FEATURE ARTICLES 

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Federal Election 2022
​Meet your Monash candidates​
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​The times they are a-changing
May 7, 2022 - ​ Mat Morgan says something has changed when more people are having a go at their Liberal MP than at the guy in a Greens T shirt.

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One of us
May 7, 2022 - ​ One Nation’s Allan Hicken says he’s just a blue collar worker who wants the best for his kids.

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All at sea
“May 7, 2022 - ​ I’m just a normal guy,” David Welsh (Australian Federation Party) told the candidates forum. Everything he said after that went to prove the opposite.

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The paper candidate
May 7, 2022 - The United Australia Party’s Christine McShane lives in Oakleigh but she has visited the Monash electorate!

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The numbers game
May 6, 2022 - We all know the game, writes Bass Coast CEO Ali Wastie. It doesn’t matter whether you vote left or right but whether you vote marginal. 

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Take him or leave him
May 7, 2022 - ​ Liberal Russell Broadbent marches to his own beat, often annoying his own party as much as he does his opponents.

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Actions speak louder
May 7, 2022 - ​ Independent Deb Leonard decided to stop complaining about politicians and have a go herself. 

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The true believer
May 7, 2022 - ​Labor’s Jessica O’Donnell found her party at the age of 10 and has never wavered. 

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The contest of ideas
You can credit the socialist democratic paradise of Sweden for making Meg Edwards a Liberal Democrat.

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Shock on mine expansion
May 7, 2022 - Mayor says serious community and environmental concerns have been ignored. 

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Welcome aboard!
May 4, 2022 - Cr Rochelle Halstead welcomes a new fellowship program that plans to get more women to stand for Bass Coast Council. 

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Harmers swamp 'under threat'
May 4, 2022 - Attempts to subdivide the swamp have been rebuffed for 70 years. John Old hopes the latest attempt will be treated the same way.  

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​What we’re learning from the woodlands 
May 5, 2022 - The woodlands campaign is a living example of active hope, writes Laura Brearley. 

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Country Life
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May 7, 2022 - Dick Wettenhall has won the annual Wonthaggi-Jeetho West-Gurdies Pumpkin Growing Cup for the second year in a row.

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Solidarity forever
May 4, 2022 - Geoff Ellis celebrates the annual gathering of the comrades under the Wonthaggi mine whistle. 

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Seven line up against veteran MP
April 21, 2022 - There is just enough happening to suggest the Monash election could be more interesting than it looks on paper.
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How to talk to children about climate change
April 21, 2022 - Meg Humphry hopes her new book offers a gentle way into a very tough subject.

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Why we do the work
April 22, 2022 - Most of the signs were soon stolen or smashed but the message lives on. Images and photostory by Laura Brearley and Terry Melvin

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The space between
April 21, 2022 - Watching a great modern film in her mother tongue, Etsuko Yasunaga revels in the familiar words – and the silence. 

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In search of Bridget
April 21, 2022 – All Jenny Osler had were a few family stories and three family photos, taken on her great-grandmother’s 80th birthday when she went to live with The Little Sisters of the Poor. 

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A year through the lens
April 22, 2022 - One student turned up for Geoff Ellis’s first photography class. Since then it’s grown into a group with a focus on friendship as much as learning. 

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Full strings ahead
April 22, 2022 - If you’ve never heard a mandolin orchestra, Marion Blaze can tell you it’s a unique and thrilling experience

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Back to earth
April 22, 2022 - We all have a part to play in regenerating the planet we share, writes Christine Grayden, and Earth Month seems a good time to start. 

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The ‘climate first’ election
April 21, 2022 -There was an overwhelming message at last weekend’s climate rally, reports Jessica Harrison 

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Let’s join the dots
April 20, 2022 - Treating Western Port and the region as an entity is the best way to resolve the issues that plague it, writes Neil Daly. 

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​Never mind the devastation; look at the vista
March 9, 2022 - There is nothing in the Distinctive Areas and Landscapes about how to protect our woodlands. There is, however, plenty about how  to protect sand mining. Catherine Watson reports

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​Blue carbon skies ahead  
March 8, 2022 – Restoring mangrove, seagrass and saltmarsh ecosystems in Western Port could play a major part in reducing carbon emissions.

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​The kiosk on the hill
March 8, 2022 - Running the Cape Paterson kiosk was no easy task without electricity, a phone line or toilet, but for newlyweds Janice and Wazza Coldebella it was all part of the adventure.  

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Covid hits home
March 7, 2022 - Bass Coast Health board director Mim Kershaw knew all the statistics about COVID 19 – but she really didn’t understand the impact until she caught it herself.

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Tutus not required
March 7, 2022 - Liane Arno puts her best food forward at Wendy Crellin’s ballet class for seniors. 

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The non-talking cure
March 7, 2022 - Making art has allowed Maggie Bell to work through the trauma of domestic violence without having to talk about it. 

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A Day in the Life of the Wonthaggi Wetlands
March 7, 2022 - Photostory by Gayle Marien
 

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What’s in a nickname?
March 8, 2022 – A mate by any other nickname wouldn’t be quite the same. John Coldebella delves into the art of taking the piss. 

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Crunch time for Inverloch
March 25, 2022 - The mapping is done and now it’s time to make some hard decisions on Inverloch’s eroding coastline. Catherine Watson reports 

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Ring the changes
March 23, 2022 - Sexual harassment derailed Ali Wastie’s first career. Bass Coast Council’s CEO is determined it won’t happen to anyone else on her watch.

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Brown Junior steps up
March 26, 2022 - Local Liberal powerbroker Alan Brown’s dream of establishing a political dynasty came a step closer when his son Aaron Brown was selected as the Liberal Party candidate for Bass. 

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Back to nature
March 25, 2022 - Residents of our coastal hamlets value their connection to nature, writes Emily Clarke, so don’t try to turn them into suburbia. 

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Your election form guide
March 25, 2022 - Neil Daly grades the parties on their election policies for Western Port and environs.    

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Push and pull
March 25, 2022 - Donna Wright’s exhibition explores the way the natural world refuses to be subjugated by humans. Review by Ellen Hubble. 

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Family secrets
March 26, 2022 - Lauren Burns talks about her new book: part memoir, part detective novel, and part warning on the global assisted reproduction industry. 

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Gamble responsibly
March 24, 2022 - Harry Freeman’s cautionary tale about a backgammon game with a Kurdish carpet seller that nearly ended his marriage

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​Short and sweet
March 25, 2022 - Marny Javornik prepares to hunker down and enjoy Bass Coast’s inaugural film festival.

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Where are the women?
March 25, 2022 - It can be hard to find the women in Bass Coast’s local history. To mark Women’s History Month, Christine Grayden points to some online resources. 

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Summer of strangeness
March 23, 2022 - Feral tomatoes, transgender nuts and ravenous birds … summer was full of surprises for local gardeners, reports John Coldebella 

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Cooking with Pip
March 25, 2022 - Blackberries and blood plums make this crumble a feast for the eyes as well as the stomach. 

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Bass Coast’s 50-year plan
March 10, 2022 - Township boundaries revised; disappointment for woodlands group.

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Turning points
March 9, 2022 - Three women with very different stories … Rebecca Slavin, Emma Grabham and Sally Conning each recall a moment when their life changed. ​
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The good life reimagined
March 10, 2022 - In the midst of a climate emergency and housing crisis, Zoe Geyer imagines a sustainable tomorrow for her daughter. 

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Too close to home
​March 10, 2022 - Local people are being forced to leave Bass Coast because they cannot find a place to rent. Helen Searle wants action. 

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​A taste of paradise
March 9, 2022 - Desperate to escape the COVID misery of Phillip Island, Rory Marshall packed up the van and headed north to a new life.

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Sign of the times
March 9, 2022 - Clearing vegetation for the new Inverloch pathway reveals a sign erected by the council warning against the clearing of vegetation.

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Crunch time
March 9, 2022 - The old Mazda has served Michael Nugent well but he’s ready for the EV revolution. He invites us to join him on the journey. 

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Any which way
March 7, 2022 - John Coldebella reckons you can pick a Wonthaggi local by the distinctive sense of direction.

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A different kind of summer visitor
March 7, 2022 - Gayle Marien is lucky enough to observes a leaf-curling spider at work.  

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The next small thing
March 9, 2022 - Ed Thexton reports on the latest in nest box technology, including new methods to deter Indian mynas and other raiders.

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Treasures in the woodlands
March 9, 2022 - Tim Herring's  close encounter with a mighty monitor lizard in the Western Port Woodlands.

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Deliver us our daily bread
​March 9, 2022 - Wonthaggi’s Country Style bread was delivered by generations of locals and horses who knew every customer. 

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Detours ahead
Feb 23, 2022 - Dave Sutton calls for some fine tuning of the proposed inland pathway route between Inverloch and Wonthaggi to retain mature bushland, while Dave Drummond explains why a coastal route isn’t feasible. 

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A recipe for fun
Feb 23, 2022 - Bass Valley Primary School students will be watching with interest to see how “their mangroves” perform over the coming years. Neil Daly was there to watch the muddy adventure. 

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Summer bliss with a twist        
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Feb 25, 2022 - A close encounter reminds Linda Cuttriss that humans aren’t the only ones enjoying the great ocean. Cartoon by Natasha Williams-Novak.

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Jonathon Livingston Seagull: the final chapter
Feb 25, 2022 - If you see a seagull at Cape Paterson, say hello from Harry Freeman.

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Island of plenty
Feb 25, 2022 - Crayfish, whiting, mutton birds, rabbits ... there was full and plenty on Phillip Island if you knew where to look for it., wrote Norm Jenner

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Rescue at the Bridge
Feb 23, 2022 - In the 2021 Bass Coast Prize for Non-Fiction, Garfield writer Roman Kulkewycz was commended for Rescue at the Bridge, his vivid account of a bad flood and a brave rescue

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Time and motion
Feb 25, 2022 - Outdoor adventures bring Etsuko Yasunaga exhilarating new perspectives and welcome encounters with friends and strangers.

A tale of two cooks
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Feb 23, 2022 - As Jan Cheshire hangs up the cooking apron after nine years with the Post, we welcome Pip (Philippa) Sibley, one of Melbourne’s most acclaimed chefs. 
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Cooking with Pip
Feb 25, 2022 - Choose the best and ripest tomatoes you can find for this sensational seasonal focaccia, a favourite of Pip Sibley.

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A feast of good gardening
Feb 25, 2022 - The inaugural Bass Coast Edible Gardens Festival hit the spot, writes Maddy Harford.

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​Independent spices up Monash election
Feb 11, 2022 - An independent candidate adds an element of uncertainty in the very safe Liberal seat of Monash.
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Same old story
Feb 11, 2022 - When Frank Coldebella saw the front page headlines about a bike path in the Sentinel Times, he had a sense of deja vu.

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Where we belong
Feb 11, 2022 - Walking on the Corinella foreshore, Alison Normanton vows to do her bit to preserve it for future generations. 

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Big cat sighting adds to mystery
Feb 11, 2022 - The Grantville area has long been a hot spot for big cat sightings. Meryl Tobin reports

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Jonathon Livingston Seagull: a diary
Feb 11, 2022 - When Harry Freeman rescued a seagull, he had no idea the bird was taking notes. 

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​Saved by Martha, Two sticks of Wood and a Woolly Sheep
Feb 11, 2022 - Leongatha writer Leonie Margetts was highly commended in the 2022 Bass Coast Prize for Non-Fiction for her memoir of a devastating grief and the surprising way she survived it. 

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Cowes reimagined
Feb 11, 2022 - Another summer, another year of traffic chaos in Cowes. It doesn’t have to be this way, writes Christine Grayden.

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Kings of the road
Feb 11, 2022 - This weekend’s Tour of Gippsland is a welcome return of elite cycling to a shire with a proud cycling history going back over a century. 

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A star turn
Feb 11, 2022 - John Coldebella finds himself mesmerised by the evening primrose show.

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Making peace
Jan 28, 2022 - Australia Day, 2022 … In the shade of a casuarina tree, overlooking a glittering Andersons Bay, two women are undoing some of the wrongs of the past. Catherine Watson reports

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It’s time we set the agenda
Jan 28, 2022 - If Western Port is to be saved, ‘the people’ have to set the agenda for the politicians to follow, writes Neil Daly.

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‘We’re ready.’
Jan 28, 2022 - Josh Latham has plenty of reasons to get out of bed early these days. Now he’s inviting business leaders to join him for breakfast. Geoff Ellis reports

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‘We shouldn’t have to live like this’
Jan 28, 2022 - This week Jan Fleming did something she never thought she would do: she called a real estate agent to come and give an estimate on her house.

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​Arsonist strikes again
Jan 28, 2022 - Four fires in the past fortnight revive memories of the infamous arsonist who terrorised Wonthaggi in 2015.

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23 signs you have it
Jan 28, 2022 - Unfortunately there’s no vaccine against pandemic craziness, writes Christine Grayden.

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Wallace Avenue Community Park, Inverloch
Jan 28, 2022 - Inverloch writer Judy Vradenburg won third prize in the 2021 Bass Coast Prize for Non-Fiction with this absorbing insider’s account of the realities of community activism. 

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Nothing to hide
Jan 28, 2022 - Francesca Curtis was buried n the beautiful Phillip Island cemetery in the midst of a spectacular electrical storm that seemed apt to mark the life of a freedom fighter. 

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A feast of garden ideas
Jan 28, 2022 - Bass Coast gardeners will show and tell all in the inaugural Edible Gardens Open Weekend.

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Stories of us
Jan 28, 2022 - Interviews with farmers, hoteliers, an artist and a newspaper editor provide a fascinating insight into Phillip Island’s rich history, writes Andrea Cleland.

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Rally Round the dunes
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Jan 12, 2022 - More than 250 people braved strong easterly winds on the Inverloch surf beach on Wednesday to call for urgent action to save the disappearing sand dunes.