Point of view from Bass Coast

The green, green hills of home

11/11/2020

Sharon Willcox was ahead of the COVID curve in embracing
slow, local travel.

By Sharon Willcox

I HAVE a confession to make ...

Over forty years ago, I left the small Gippsland town of Trafalgar, where I grew up, for university and the bright lights of Melbourne. In the intervening years, I’ve lived in Melbourne, Sydney, Boston and Washington DC, with regular international holidays and several years of interstate commuting within Australia. I saw myself as a city girl and, perhaps, even a global citizen.

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A reflection on depression (and COVID)

30/10/2020

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Author Tim O'Brien and Bob

By Tim O’Brien

MY DAD suffered with depression. It had its teeth into him for the greater part of his adult years (until lost in a settling fog of dementia).

We were aware of it as children, me, and my six brothers and sisters, but not by name. Born a sheep farmer, but eventually turning his back on the family farm, we knew he took tablets “for his nerves” – large blue ones – and we learned ‘invisibility’ during his long brooding silences.

He would sit, TV on, but his gaze above it, fixed on some distant point of regret and discontent outside.

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All aboard for Wonthaggi

15/10/2020

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The first passenger train arrives at Wonthaggi Station, 1912

By Peter Cliff

I WONDER if the people of Bass Coast ever look at the remnants of their rail line and imagine what a wonderful thing it would be if it were brought to life again. After all, the people own the alignment and it didn’t take long to make in the first place. Ten weeks only to construct the Nyora to Wonthaggi component, using horses and hand labour.

Victoria’s visionaries of the early 1900s knew that extending the rail service to all corners of the state would enable towns to prosper. From about 1950, however, the value of a rail service was forgotten and replaced by the new obsession: building roads and cars.

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If you go down to the woods today …

1/10/2020

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The creative kindness of strangers brightens a lockdown walk in the Wonthaggi Westlands.
Words and photos by Morgan Blackthorne.

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End of the line

15/9/2020

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David Sipress, New Yorker

By Sophie Cuttriss

The editor of the Bass Coast Post asked me if I had ever seen a residential aged care facility that I would like to live in.

Although I will continue to fight for good quality aged care, I don’t want it for myself. Like the majority of Australians surveyed for a Productivity Commission report (Caring for Older Australian, 2011) I want to remain at home for as long as possible.

I am seriously considering my options for when/if I struggle to live independently.

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Aged care: a checklist

4/9/2020

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DutchCare’s Victorian homes provide a model of aged care, writes Sophie Cuttriss, in her guide to what you should look for.

By Sophie Cuttriss

WHEN I was teaching aged care, I took my students to visit an aged care facility operated by Dutchcare. The facility's manager was very happy for us to visit because they were proud of their facility and their staff and the wellbeing of all their residents.

My students were fascinated to see the comfortable practical rooms that felt like home, not a luxury hotel or hospital, and person-centred care based on the Eden Alternative Principles which acknowledge and address the three plagues of residential aged care: loneliness, boredom and helplessness.

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My time has come

3/9/2020

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Retirement for Frank Flynn means having the time to turn down the side roads.

By Frank Flynn

MY FIRST teaching position was up the bush. I was 23 and I got a phone call from the Education Department which ran along these lines.

Them: We have a job for you
Me: Great! Where?
Them: Cohuna
Me: Where the hell is that!!!

Well, I went. I took all my worldly possessions – a suitcase, a ghetto blaster and a fern – threw them into my EJ Holden station wagon and took off.

I kid you not, it was like driving into the film ‘Wake in Fright’. The road north of Bendigo is dead straight, punctuated by a few towns identifiable by large wheat silos gradually appearing on the horizon.

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Back to the quiet life

3/9/2020

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Developers have scrapped plans for a 192-bed hotel development at Coronet Bay. Illustration: Bruce Henderson Architects

By Angela Christa

THE BIG bright news is that the developers of the enormous hotel complex on Norsemens Road, Coronet Bay, have withdrawn their planning application.

What a wonderful way to see out the last few days of winter in the gloomy pandemic lockdown and finally have something to brighten up the future as we move towards a safer warmer spring.

We have no details on why they have withdrawn but can only speculate that global circumstances plus the weight of local objection were enough to make them decide not to proceed.

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The life of a COVID campaigner

21/8/2020

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The requests for food are constant and a phone call is usually interrupted by the cries of a small child.

By Leticia Laing

THE upcoming council election in October poses unique challenges for new candidates, especially women.

This is my first foray into local government as a political candidate and, in the midst of a global pandemic, I am faced with hurdles my male counterparts are less likely to face.

Essentially, I’m in the midst of a global crisis trying to run a council campaign and parent all at the same time, irrespective of having a supportive partner.

I’m the primary carer for my three young children: two who are in primary school and one who is three. I care about their future; I care about the community they grow up in and that's part of why I'm running.

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‘Well, get on with it!’

20/8/2020

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From left, Anwyn Martin, Jordan Crugnale, Kay Setches and Eric Kent at an ALP pre-selection meeting in the Kilcunda Hall in 2018. Photo: Geoff Ellis

By Clare Le Serve

LONG-time Corinella resident Anwyn Martin will be missed by her family, her friends and her community. She was certainly admired by many and what a legacy she has left to her community.

Anwyn, who died in Cowes last month, aged 86, was a respected scientist. She also ran a few head of cattle and was a long-time member of Bass Coast Landcare.

When I first meet Anwyn, I asked her to help out as president of a committee of management. Her response –“I’m a scientist. What am I going to do with these people?”

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The burden of care

14/8/2020

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Despite the rosy ads for residential care, invariably depicting smiling faces, something has gone amiss in Australia’s aged care system. Inverloch’s Sophie Cuttriss, who has worked in the sector for many years, explains what went wrong.

Bass Post Post: Are you surprised at the rapid spread of COVID through aged care homes?

Sophie Cuttriss: Not at all. This vulnerable and highly flawed sector was already a disaster waiting to happen.

Take poorly trained staff who are overwhelmed by their workload and not supervised by nurses, poor or inadequate infection control training, limited personal protective equipment.

Add a large number of frail older people with various co-morbidities. What could possibly go wrong?

Advertisement for Aveo residential care

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A curator's view

17/7/2020

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With the sale of the Holden Proving Ground, we have a golden opportunity to establish a unique museum of motor design, writes Christine Grayden. Photo: Moving away: one of Holden’s classic People Trust Holden series of advertisements.

By Christine Grayden

DID YOU know that in a normal year millions of people visit museums in Victoria? After environmental experiences, cultural experiences such as museums, galleries and arts performances have consistently been the second biggest tourism-related market for the state. In addition, museums frequently have substantial online content for digital visitors to explore, and large numbers visit museum websites. Even the website of the Phillip Island & District Historical Society – which operates the small Cowes community museum– had 1940 hits from hundreds of people (not robots) from July 1 to 9 this year.

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Black lives matter here too

17/7/2020

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Each numbered gum leaf at Solidarity in Surf represented one of the 437 Aboriginal people who have died in police custody since 1991. Photo: Geoff Ellis

By Marg Lynn

“The most profound and powerful experience I have had in 30 years” is how Bunurong/Boon Wurrung traditional owner Sonia Weston described the Bass Coast Solidarity in Surf Black Lives Matter rally at Eagles Nest beach on June 7.

Traditional owners and their allies gathered at sunrise at the beach, between Cape Paterson and Inverloch, to remember Aboriginal deaths in custody and support the Indigenous cause. Sonia’s own life has been affected through her extended family. “Distant cousins are as close to us as immediate family, so we feel the pain deeply,” she said.

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Phillip Island's missing link

2/7/2020

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Cycling at the Oswin Roberts Reserve is a pleasure but what about the rest of Phillip Island?. Photo: Visit Victoria

By Anne Paul

PHILLIP Islanders are prepared to tolerate the mad school holiday weeks and big crowds, alongside the convoys of buses taking pilgrims to see the penguins, because we know we live in such a wonderful part of the world.

We’ve seen significant change and improvements over the years such as the visionary move by the Cain/Kirner Government in the 1980s to buy back the Summerlands and construct the Nobbies Boardwalk at Point Grant. More recently we’ve got the Phillip Island Community Hospital and work has started on the Woolamai and Back Beach Roads roundabouts.

Which leads me to the missing link on the Island – an integrated bike-walking trail network on Phillip Island.

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Gaslighting Gippsland

2/7/2020

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Lauren Burns signs up for a public workshop on the
Victorian Gas Program and learns that Gippsland
is in the firing line.

By Lauren Burns

IN THE midst of the coronavirus pandemic you’d be forgiven if you missed the Victorian government’s announcement that it was lifting the three-year moratorium on onshore gas production, which expired on June 30. This paves the way for conventional gas wells in Victoria.

Spooked by this summer’s bushfires and smoke haze – unwelcome signs of a new way of life as we continue to burn fossil fuels like gas – I signed up for an online public consultation workshop on the Victorian Gas Program (VGP). Living in Inverloch, I was interested to find out what the government was planning for the Gippsland Basin gas field, a vast area stretching from Phillip Island to Lakes Entrance.

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Dream on, PM

30/6/2020

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When Scott Morrison claimed there were never slaves in Australia, Robyn Smith’s memory flashed back to a childhood visit to a Queensland sugar town.

Pacific Island labourers were 'recruited' by dubious means
to work on Queensland's sugarcane plantations.
Photo: State Library Of Queensland

By Robyn Smith

A VERY distinguished tall dark-skinned man walked into sight. I asked my uncle George who he was. Oh, that’s a descendant of the Kanaks. Who? They came out from the Islands to help in the sugar cane fields. He’s one of the richest farmers in the district now.

I could hear the resentment in his voice. Uncle George still cut his cane fields by hand, hated Queensland’s then premier Joh Bjelke Petersen and the gerrymander and found life very hard. It hadn’t rained for five years.

The year is 1968. I am visiting an aunt and uncle who were cane farmers just south of Mackay. My paternal grandfather moved into the area in the 1920s, and my father was born in Mackay.

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The inside story

19/6/2020

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Matt Dunn. Photos: Mark Drury Photography

By Matt Dunn

LAST month, News Corp Australia announced it was moving almost all of its community and regional newspaper titles to a digital-only format.

A small number of regional titles ceased publication altogether – snuffed out by a seismic shift in the way advertisements are run and news is consumed. Who hasn’t noticed the way traditional papers have continued to shrink?

It’s heart wrenching to say, but the obituary for print has already been written.

When we - the core group behind The Paper - lost our jobs at the Leongatha Star, we were bereft. It had been a tough time recently, and we knew that the closure during the Covid-19 lockdown was likely to end up being permanent. It was a sad and inauspicious end to 130 years of local history. The same, of course, applies to the Star’s sister paper, the Yarram Standard, which had been around for 145 years.

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Money, going cheap

19/6/2020

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It'’s a good time to borrow money and build the infrastructure we need for Bass Coast.

Frank Schooneveldt

I’VE read Bass Coast's draft budget papers and am extremely impressed by the comprehensive detail provided by the staff of our Bass Coast Shire. Congratulations to everyone concerned.

The Bass Coast Shire financials are in extremely good shape. But are the budget and forward estimates adequate to fund infrastructure needs?

The budget and forward estimates are very conservatively framed, e.g. budgeted average equity over the next five years is $730 million, budgeted average debt over the next five years is $28 million, and the average annual interest bill in servicing the debt is $640,000.

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'Absolute disgrace' in 2020

19/6/2020

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Disgraced minister Adem Somyurek. Photo:Victorian Parliament

By Brett Tessari
Mayor of Bass Coast Shire

BASS Coast Shire Council is saddened and offended at the appalling conduct of the ex Minister for Local Government towards the Minister for Women. His behaviour was misogynistic, threatening and totally at odds with the outstanding progress made by Bass Coast Council towards building gender equity and creating a more welcoming and respectful Victoria.

Bass Coast Shire Council is an organisation that has zero tolerance of violence or bigotry of any kind. We pride ourselves on developing a culture of inclusivity and respect. We have a longstanding and strong commitment to preventing men’s violence against women and supporting our LGBTIQ community.

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We’re in this together

28/5/2020

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National Reconciliation Week, smoking ceremony, Cowes cultural centre, 2018. This year’s gatherings are all virtual, but there’s still plenty happening

By Marg Lynn

HOW amazing that the theme for National Reconciliation Week is In This Together, the same term that has been bouncing around the COVID narrative as an expression of our shared humanity.

“In this together” is a hopeful message that sings with the positivity of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, declared three years ago to define a pathway for Black and White Australians to walk together towards a better future. They asked for constitutional recognition, enabling a Voice to Parliament to provide an Aboriginal perspective, but not a vote, on legislation that impacts on their communities.

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A work in progress

28/5/2020

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CompNow founder and director Pamela Rothfield in her home office at Rhyll, where she has worked remotely for many years.

By Pamela Rothfield

THE news bulletin sent shockwaves through my body. Our nation was waking up on the edge of a global financial collapse to rival that of the 1920s. We were facing an economic shutdown that included the cessation of international travel and the resulting decimation of the tertiary education sector. I’d never felt such a wave of panic before.

Could my business, which is heavily invested in the supply of IT goods and services to enterprise and tertiary sectors in all states of Australia, survive this shutdown?

The sense of responsibility for my 250-plus full time staff and their families was almost overwhelming. COVID-19 had certainly thrown us a curveball. How would my life change if my business collapsed?

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The new world of work

28/5/2020

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By Ajanta Judd

AS WE readjust to the easing of Victoria’s COVID-19 restrictions, we are being prompted to step tentatively out from our social isolation into a very changed working environment.

Within the comfort zone of our own homes, we’ve had the opportunity, if we were inclined, to pause and reflect upon our personal circumstances – to get in touch with what we really want, what matters the most to us – and perhaps restructure our way of being in the world. Hopefully, that’s been the most commonplace experience: an externally imposed ‘recalibration’ (thanks, Coronavirus, for the opportunity!). But for some, especially many parents home-schooling, or those who have not been well supported, it has been a struggle and one fraught with anxiety.

Coming out of this lockdown, many people will be trepidatious whilst others might embrace their new found liberty as though they’ve just been released from prison. (I see this in supermarkets where I’ve observed a distinct lack of social distancing, as though we are scot-free of coronavirus).

Ajanta Judd is an experienced tutor and mentor in community development, counselling & therapy plus small business operations. She runs Island Small Business Services and the free online Women Connect Tech Club at PICAL every Tuesday from 10am to 1pm, assisting and problem solving with a diverse range of device and computer issues.

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Grebe $m defeats community 0

14/5/2020

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Grebe Investments development site off Reed Crescent

By Peter McKenzie

AFTER several years of fighting the development of 83 new house blocks next to a wetland reserve in Reed Crescent, Wonthaggi, we finally have a result. The developers have won.

The thousands of hours and dollars put in by numerous objectors – individuals and the South Gippsland Conservation Society – came to nought. Not a total surprise because we were fighting in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), the jurisdiction orchestrated from the start by the developer Grebe Investments Pty Litd.

The reason we were there was that the developer lodged a claim that Bass Coast Shire Council had taken longer than the prescribed 60 days to decide on the development application. Damn the council, you might think.

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Brave new world

13/5/2020

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Stargazer, by Frank Schooneveldt

By Frank Schooneveldt

THE Big Bang occurred around 13.8 billion years ago.

Homo sapiens (wise man) evolved only 200,000 years ago.

There are now around 7.8 billion members of Homo sapiens living on planet earth (2020). Is this sustainable?

There is not much of planet earth that Homo sapiens has not touched, altered, changed or destroyed.

Homo sapiens is still evolving and like all the other Homo species will die out and be replaced by a new species, either of the Homo genus or something entirely different.

Some people think Homo sapiens are special. Some people think Homo sapiens are the rulers of the earth.

Some people think Homo sapiens are immortal.

Some people have a view that they do not fear death because they were created by a god. And therefore they will go to a god. They believe they are immortal.

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Too close to home

2/5/2020

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“THESE are angry little morsels.,” Jennifer wrote when she sent this piece in response to a request from the Post to keep a diary of her week of working at home and home schooling. "I thought about prettying them up, but why? If you can’t be honest in a diary format, then what is the point of writing?”

While some of us are thriving in these crazy times, Jennifer’s brutally honest account reminds us that, others are buckling under the increased demands and loss of personal space.

* Jennifer asked that the diary be anonymous so names have been changed.

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