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Too close to home

16/11/2021

5 Comments

 
Picture
Wonthaggi's housing crisis has only worsened since the closure of the Miners Rest Caravan Park.
By Helen Searle

Over the years many individuals and families stayed in the Wonthaggi Miners Rest Caravan Park because they had nowhere else to go. The local housing agency also relied on it when emergency houses were full.
​
For many years there were rumours about the park closing and eventually in 2019 it was really happening.  The Wonthaggi Branch of the Australian Unemployed Workers Union took an active role in the lead up to the closure advocating for the residents who were to be evicted from the caravan park. Some members of the union lived in the caravan park and were faced with the challenge of where to find a home. Although officially everyone was rehoused we understand that not all the options were sustainable.

In February 2020 a public meeting drew 50 community members to hear speakers from Melbourne-based Defend and Extend Public Housing advocacy group and to discuss the housing issues in the Bass Coast Shire brought to a head by the caravan park closure.

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The Bass Coast Afghans: the next steps

22/10/2021

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PictureThe local community has rallied to the cause of two
Afghan men, including Zamin, who want to settle in
Bass Coast and bring their families.
By Harry Freeman
​

A few weeks ago, just after the Taliban had once again overrun Afghnistan, I reported on the situation of four Afghans who have built up a connection with this area through their participation in English language training classes at the Bass Coast Adult Learning Centre (BCAL) in Wonthaggi. (Our Afghan connection, Bass Coast Post, August 26, 2021).

So strong is this connection, in fact, that two of them, Zamin and Reza, want to move to live and work here themselves, as well as bring their families to join them from overseas.

​As a result of that article and other publicity there was a heartwarming response from the local community; over $10 000 was quickly raised by two groups supporting the Afghan students. 


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Get on board!

22/10/2021

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By Robert Hayward
 
WE ARE seeking a weekend bus service from Cape Paterson to Wonthaggi and an extension of the service to the Cape eco village.
 
Curently Cape Paterson’s young people are isolated from Wonthaggi at the weekends and Wonthaggi’s young people are isolated from the beach at Cape Paterson.
 
But a weekend bus service is not just for young people. There are more retired folk at Cape Paterson not driving any more who are also isolated from friends and services in Wonthaggi.

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‘I’m no ratbag’

8/10/2021

38 Comments

 
PictureIn a video broadcast entitled Overcoming Fear, Russell Broadbent explains why he won’t be getting the COVID vaccine any time soon.
By Russell Broadbent
 
IT SEEMS of late that if you question the status quo around vaccines you are deemed to be part of the radical fringe of society. Australians DO question things, especially authority. Always have, always will.
 
You know of my questions regarding vaccines, vaccine passports and mandatory vaccinations. If you don’t, this is where I stand.
 
1. I’m uncomfortable with mass vaccination of the population with a vaccine that is, according to Minister Hunt, being trialled across the world. We have no knowledge of the side effects until they present themselves and of course no idea about the long-term ramifications.
 
The producers of the vaccines obviously share my discomfort because they are indemnified, that is no one can sue them for unforeseen outcomes.


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On Bass Coast's COVID front line

7/10/2021

1 Comment

 
Picture
By Jan Child
 
I WENT for a walk after work on Friday and saw the changes to Anderson’s Inlet where almost overnight a river had been carved out in the local landscape. It was so refreshing to be part of that beauty, and I was aware of the parallels of our COVID journey.
 
In such a short amount of time, the world’s landscape has changed. Three years ago, most of us wouldn't have dreamed that the last two years were possible. And yet we have experienced such dramatic changes.
 
In the past weeks, we are seeing Victoria’s health system really struggle as a result of rising COVID cases, with stories from our Melbourne and Sydney colleagues about demand like never before, wards overflowing with COVID and other cases, intensive care units full of mostly unvaccinated patients and nurses holding the hands of people who are dying alone.


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Co-operate or perish!

24/9/2021

2 Comments

 
PictureCartoon: Natasha Williams-Novak
By David Arnault
 
IF THERE is one thing we have learned from the pandemic, it’s that mankind and planet earth can accomplish wonders through co-operation. At the same time we’ve witnessed great harm when we’re parochial and greedy.
 
Two issues, which have arisen in the same week and were generated from within our federal government, seem to steer us away from reason and co-operation: one is the decision to abandon a $90 million submarine contract with the French and commit to an alliance with the US and UK to build nine nuclear-powered subs at a cost of … no one knows.


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Life after diagnosis

23/9/2021

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PictureLearning she had autism was the start of a better life
for Kate Harmon. Photo: Geoff Ellis
By Kate Harmon
 
AS A nurse in the Maryborough (Queensland) Hospital Rehabilitation ward, I looked after people recovering from strokes. One sunny day I was attending a patient when another nurse pulled me aside and asked if I had autism.

​Looking at her with a strange, bewildered look on my face I replied NO and then asked her why she thought that. She said that some of my behaviour seemed to represent symptoms of autism.

 
At home that afternoon after work I had a chat with Mum. The next day I started looking for a psychologist and found one who had experience with autism/Asperger’s. Chatting with her on several occasions felt like chatting with an old friend. 


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A road to the future

9/9/2021

9 Comments

 
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A group of South Gippsland citizens are seeking a better way to live, for all in their community.
By David Arnault
 
AT THE beginning of August, a group of concerned residents of South Gippsland completed a draft roadmap for the transition required for a changing climate.
 
These residents have chosen “to address these problems head-on, bring about change, and champion a different way to participate and engage that ensures all voices in the community – even the softest ones – are heard, respected, and acted upon.”
 
Just Transition is the work of members of South Gippsland’s Prom Area Climate Action group (PACA), a body of citizens not unlike the Bass Coast Climate Action Group. I was part of the Just Transitions group for its first year but I stepped back a year ago, before the preparation of the Roadmap began, due to ill health. ​

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Our Afghan connection

26/8/2021

4 Comments

 
PictureReza was the first Afghan student to study at Bass Coast
Adult Learning. Others soon followed.
By Harry Freeman
 
IT BEGAN one Monday morning three years ago when staff at the Bass Coast Adult Learning Centre (BCAL) in Wonthaggi arrived to find  an unexpected visitor from Dandenong.
 
Reza, who originally came from Afghanistan, was eager to talk to the staff about joining the English Language class the centre offers. He wanted to improve his language skills and had also discovered that if he attended the class here, the closest regional language centre to his present place of residence, it would give him a better chance of extending his Safe Haven visa when it expired in five years’ time.

​BCAL, being a friendly and welcoming place, was more than happy to accommodate Reza’s request. And so began an association which continues to the present day.


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How we see it

13/8/2021

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PictureForty people on a mission to nail a vision of Bass Coast in 2041. Here’s what they came up with. Photo: Linda Cuttriss
​By Harry Freeman
 
IT’S JUST over 10 years now since my wife and I bought a property in the area. At the time one of the main reasons we chose Bass Coast to live was its proximity to Melbourne. We imagined we would spend most of the time we were down here getting our property into shape and then be going back up to the city regularly to spend time with our friends and getting a cultural fix.
 
And then we started meeting and interacting with the locals. It didn’t take long to realise we’d (rather unwittingly) struck gold and we haven’t looked back since. We’ve been blown away by the welcome we’ve received from the amazing and talented local community. So when we decided to downsize recently there was no thought of moving any further than the nearest town to see out the rest of our days here. (I’ve even picked out the spot where I’d like my ashes to be scattered.)


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The ghost of Christmas past

28/7/2021

7 Comments

 
PictureJoy Button recalls the highlights of Coronet Bay’s
Christmas lunch tradition – and explains why
organisers have decided to call it a day.
By Joy Button
 
CHRISTMAS Day is meant to be a joyous occasion but for some people it’s the loneliest and saddest day of the year. That’s why Rona and Laurie Black created the first Christmas lunch in Coronet Bay in 2007. 
 
Some of us were fortunate to be a part of those early lunches and to help out on the day itself. Volunteers sat down and enjoyed the Christmas meal together with those attending, creating a sense of family and community over the years.
 
Seeing the fabulous goodwill that existed at this worthy event inspired the current team of Coronet Bay Christmas Lunch Inc. to take over in 2014 when Rona and Laurie moved to Wonthaggi.
 
We welcomed anyone who was on their own, be they young or old, a single person or a couple seeking companionship on Christmas Day.


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Will your feet be the end of me?

16/7/2021

7 Comments

 
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When it comes to walking tracks, it's not all about humans, writes Julie Thomas. We’ve taken more than our share already.
By Julie Thomas
 
THE push and pull of nature versus development is a recurring theme in our region. As Leticia Laing shows in her article on the proposed Yallock-Bulluk trail, Parks are for Everyone, the escalating impact by people is a continuing source of distress in the community.
 
A walk is good. The designers dream of an iconic walk like Cape to Cape and those at Wilsons Prom. But these are through huge tracts of bushland.

​Bass Coast is not the Prom. If we are going to have thousands more walkers, it has to be done differently here. A look at the map in Leticia's article shows the desperately thin strip of land which remains for wildlife in this area. If they are disturbed here, where can they go? Nowhere.

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Here to share

16/7/2021

1 Comment

 
PictureCorinella food pantry volunteers Kylie Hakim, left, and
Janice Orchard. The service has just started stocking
dairy items again so the fridge looks a bit bare!
By Kerri Richie
 
BEING able to put food on the table for yourself and your family is a basic human right. It should not be a privilege or a challenge. 
 
Corinella and District Community Centre (CDCC) has operated a food pantry/emergency food relief/foodbank service for over 10 years.  This has helped hundreds of people over the years to meet this basic right and to relieve just a bit of the pressure in stressful times.
 
In 2019 our pantry assisted more than 355 people. During the lockdown year of 2020, when we only operated one day per week for most of the year, we still assisted over 225 local people.
 
Who uses our food pantry? Well, that changes from time to time.


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Parks are for everyone

2/7/2021

7 Comments

 
PictureVictoria’s newest park, the Yallock-Bulluk Marine and Coastal Park, was officially launched on Sunday at the Mouth of the Powlett.
From left, Bunurong Land Council chairman Uncle Mik Edwards,
Bass MP Jordan Crugnale, Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio and
Parks Victoria chairman John Pandazopoulos.
By Leticia Laing
 
LAST Sunday Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio officially launched the Yallock-Bulluk Marine and Coastal Park at the Mouth of the Powlett.
 
The goal of connecting 40km of walking and cycling trails from San Remo to Inverloch is a lofty one and in some ways unrealistic when viewed in the context of the fragility of the environment and the many hazardous elements to this coast.


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Yes, I’m a Nimby

17/6/2021

21 Comments

 
PictureNotre Dame Cathdral. Photo: Kriti Shankar
By David Arnault
 
WHEN my daughters were seven and nine, I took them to Paris and along the way visited Notre Dame. I remembered the cathedral from my youth as a place of worship, and a place which held free organ recitals every Sunday, a magnificent place of beauty and, for me, wonder. Of course, I loved the architecture and the rose windows and the grandeur of the pipe organ, but more than anything else I loved the reverence of those who took themselves to this sacred space, and I loved it that the centuries of that respect seemed to have been absorbed by the stones.

​Two decades later, when I re-visited Notre Dame, this time with my children, the sacred place was packed with tourists, American, Japanese, and others less identifiable, and the atmosphere was competitive, with most trying to capture the altar or the rose windows with their cameras. I say it was competitive because grown-ups were pushing and shoving each other and even the children. 


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When words fail

20/5/2021

5 Comments

 
PictureAs a mural takes shape, Jeannie Haughton is reminded that
the arts can make a difference.
By Jeannie Haughton
 
IN DROUIN, a town in neighbouring Baw Baw Shire, a large wall mural of birds surrounded by ficifolia blossom has just been completed by Dan Wenn of 90 Degrees Art. It is a stunningly lovely insertion into a dreary, tatty, congested shopping area.

​The public response has been extraordinarily positive. People have stopped by to watch the progress – chatted with each other and with Friends of Drouin’s Trees volunteers who have been distributing all sorts of materials and information. Tradies have bipped and thrust an upturned thumb at Dan as he has worked; selfie-lovers and serious photographers have propped close to, and far from, the mural to capture great shots. Facebook is full of positive comments. Believe it or not, new acquaintanceships and connections have formed in the last ten days.
  


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Try again on trail: planning expert

5/5/2021

2 Comments

 
PictureIs a track on the inland side of Bunurong Coast Road feasible?
Image: Google Earth
​By Nicholas Low
 
AT LAST month’s public consultation in Inverloch for the Yallock-Bulluk walking and cycling trail, it appeared that Parks Victoria had already decided that a section of the trail between Cape Paterson and Inverloch had been ruled out.
 
This annoyed many residents of Cape Paterson and Inverloch who believed they were being consulted about options for this section of the trail.
 
I advocate an off-road section of bike-walking path following the line of the road but on the inland side, mostly using small slices of land now in private ownership.


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Our day of days

4/5/2021

4 Comments

 
Picture
Tim O’Brien’s relative, Sgt Willam O'Brien, closest to camera, finds something to grin about, despite
the grim smoke of battle in the background. This photo was taken on August 8, 1918, the day before William was killed in the battle for Vauvillers, one of the last battles of WWI.

​​By Tim O’Brien

 
THE celebration of Anzac Day has changed. When I was growing up, while the giving of a minute’s silence and a brief period of reflection on bravery and loss was part of the school year – and was a welcome day off – many questioned what “this day of days” was all about.

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United we stand

20/4/2021

10 Comments

 
PictureCouncillors and special guests at the opening of the new
Waterline Library in Grantville.
By Joy Button
 
The formal opening of the new Waterline library in Grantville early this month was a very exclusive event, attended only by Bass Coast councillors and library service bureaucrats, with no community participation or even prior awareness of the event. 
 
Strangely enough, it wasn’t even held in the library but outside the Grantville Transaction Centre.
 
Cynics might say this was because the library was too small to accommodate even the dignitaries who attended that day, let alone members of the community.


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Caution – slow ahead

8/4/2021

5 Comments

 
PictureMichael Wright: We need more than a speed sign swap
to untangle Phillip Island’s traffic.
By Michael Wright
 
BEING a local business operator with 50 commercial passenger vehicles moving safely and efficiently around the area, roads matter to me. But I recognise the importance of our local environment and its link to our lifestyle and our ability to attract visitors. I am generally supportive of a speed limit review for Phillip Island and appreciate Bass Coast Shire Council’s influence in getting Regional Roads Victoria to consider such a project.
 
The review was born out of the Phillip Island Integrated Transport Study (PIITS) recommendation and long-term action RN9 to “improve main carriageway layouts along the arterial road network to generally be consistent with and achieve 80m/h speed limits throughout Phillip Island”.


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​It’s taken me years

8/4/2021

7 Comments

 
PictureCartoon: Natasha Williams-Novak
By Christine Grayden
 
I WAS extremely disturbed to read about the gay man at Wimbledon Heights who was verbally attacked and threatened by his neighbour simply for wanting to paint his house in rainbow colours. 
​
In this day and age there would not be too many people who do not know of a member of the LGBQTI community and understand or at least are aware of the huge barriers they face.

​My lyric reflects on the amount of wasted time and energy LGBQTI people have to spend in order to become themselves and be accepted for themselves.



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Mining onslaught affects us all

26/3/2021

11 Comments

 
PictureSand mining occurs out of sight of the community, often just off the highway behind a thin strip of vegetation. Holcim sand mine adjacent to Adams Creek Nature Conservation Reserve, near Lang Lang, March 2021. Photo: Woodrow Wilson.
​By Tim O’Brien
 
GRANTVILLE residents will be appalled at the scale of the open cut sand mine that is at risk of being approved right on their doorsteps.
 
Dandy Premix’s application to expand its Grantville mine drew 73 objections from local residents and others before it was called in by the Planning Minister, Richard Wynne. The Planning Panel hearing of the application, which will provide advice to the Minister, began last Monday and will continue into next week.

​The maps we’ve seen as part of this panel process show the immensity of this pit, more than 1.2 kilometres across. Its potential impact on the amenity of this quiet coastal community is truly horrifying.



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When Whitney replaced Julie

25/3/2021

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PictureNecessity forced Pamela Jacka to give up her car; she hasn't looked back – except to make a right hand turn.
By Pamela Jacka
 
IN 1998, to celebrate attaining my half century, I bought myself a brand new Honda CRV. The engine plate said she came off the assembly line in July, so she was henceforth known as "Julie".
 
On Monday, February 24, 2020, I received a letter from Honda saying that my 22-year-old car was in need of airbag replacement. However, because of her age, the parts were no longer available for that model airbag, so she was being recalled, never to return. I was offered market value, which coincided roughly with the insurance value, of $2700. I would not have been able to re-register the car in its current state and to have the airbag replaced would not have been economical. Julie left, with a full tank of petrol (rats!) the following Tuesday.


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From Burma to Wonthaggi

25/3/2021

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PictureMue Hsay, front centre, with husband Ah Klay, left, and her friend Mu Ha, right; back: her son April Htoo and the family’s sponsor, Sylvia Davey, at the Wonthaggi Library where Mue Hsay gave a talk for Harmony Week.
By Mue Hsay
 
I AM a Karen woman. I was born in Burma (Myanmar). My mum passed away when I was eight years old. After that, I worked for people. I was a babysitter, I grew rice and I looked after cows. I did whatever I could do to get things like clothes. I never went to school.
 
I married my husband, Ah Klay, in 1993. Our baby died after falling ill. We found it very hard to get medicine.
 
It was not safe in Burma. Our family lived in a small village, we had to keep leaving where we were living. The army would raid village after village. When the army came to a village, they would take food. Sometimes kill the animals. Sometimes, they took people with them to carry their things as they went on their way. We would run, and the army would come again. They burn down our hut. We had to keep moving.


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The winds of change

25/3/2021

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PicturePhoto: Catherine Watson
By Robyn Arianrhod
 
LIKE many Bass Coast residents I floated out of Gill Heal’s Looking for Wonthaggi feeling uplifted and a little teary, still humming “There’s a part of my heart in Wonthaggi”. What a history our town has! Gill and her cast and crew did it proud. And what natural treasures we have in Bass Coast – treasures brought lovingly to stage and screen in another recent showcase of local talent, the Coastal Connections concert.
 
Yet underneath the euphoria, the delight of publicly sharing in this feast of theatre and film about our precious part of the world, I felt uneasy. Another song was running amok in my mind: Joni Mitchell’s Big Yellow Taxi, with its haunting warning: “Don’t it always seem to go / That you don’t know what you’ve got / Till it’s gone / They paved paradise / And put up a parking lot.” I couldn’t help wondering: do enough of us realise what we’ve got here?


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