HEPBURN Shire Council is actively looking for new planners, CEO Bradley Thomas says.
The statement comes after a number of people contacted The Local to say the planning department was either understaffed or had no staff remaining after a number of resignations.
But Mr Thomas said staff movements were common in any organisation.
“We have staff, including planners, who have moved on or moved to other areas, while new staff are joining the organisation filling vacancies.

“With regards to land use planners, there has been a well-documented shortage of qualified and experienced planners across the state for some time. Planners are also moving around and taking up opportunities to expand their exposure to different types of planning issues and challenges in different settings across the state.
“This has been made more possible with working from home arrangements since the beginning of Covid. The movement of planners at Hepburn Shire has occurred for similar reasons.
Mr Thomas said the council was “actively recruiting” for new planners and other positions within the organisation.
“When any vacancy occurs in the organisation we often second staff from other areas of the organisation, or contractors into the roles during the recruitment process to ensure continuity of services – we can confirm that this has occurred in relation to planning staff.
“We acknowledge that there are delays in a number of service areas of council at the moment, including planning, however, I can assure you that we are looking at all solutions to combat the national shortage of employees and significant growth within the Hepburn Shire area.”
On February 17, the council posted on its Facebook page asking: “Do you need to speak with a Planner?”
“Going through the planning process can be complicated. If you would like to discuss a planning matter you are welcome to make an appointment to meet with one of our Planners.
“You can make an appointment to meet with a Planner or drop in during the following times: 8:30am to 12noon on Mondays, 9:30am to 12noon on Wednesdays, 8:30am to 12noon on Fridays. To make an appointment call council on 5348 2306.
“Catch ups can be over the phone or in person. If a Planner is not available when you call we will give you a customer service request number for reference.
“We’ve found that most people like to catch up early in the day, but the team can accommodate appointments outside of these times, as required.”
Earlier last week, on April 5, a new Facebook post went up.
“The Hepburn Shire planning team is committed to providing the community and applicants with timely and accurate planning advice to facilitate a smooth and efficient planning application process. We want your interaction with Council and our planning team to be a positive and productive experience.
“As part of this commitment, we have initiated an online booking appointment system to provide comprehensive and quality pre-application advice.
“This means from Monday 11 April 2022, for all pre-application advice you are required to book an appointment online by clicking the Planning button on the Council website and following the link to ‘Pre-application Service’ or send an email to shire@hepburn.vic.gov.au.
“For all other planning enquiries, you can call to speak with a planner from 1pm to 4pm, Monday to Friday (except public holidays) on (03) 5348 2306.”
The Local submitted a further query on whether planning permits which have not been started, needed to be reapplied for after changes to the council’s planning scheme.
The council replied: “Planning permits have an expiry date for any permitted development which includes a date by which to start and complete works.
“If these dates are not complied with the application will expire. Applicants can apply to extend the start date before the permit expires or within six months of the expiry.
“Similarly, they can apply to extend the completion date before the expiry or within 12 months of the expiry of the completion date.”

Words: Donna Kelly

IT’S that time of year – Easter and the Good Friday Appeal for the Royal Children’s Hospital.
In Daylesford, Natalie Kirby is leading the charge backed by plenty of friends, ready to sell raffle tickets, rattle tins, place QR codes and keep an eye on electronic donations. There’s also the added convenience of Shout portable electronic terminals for those who no longer carry cash.

Natalie said last year locals donated $17,000 “so we are hoping to beat that and maybe raise $18,000”.
There is a huge raffle happening with four main prizes to which many businesses have generously donated. Tickets are on sale most days outside Coles Daylesford right up until Good Friday. Raffle tickets are also on sale from the Biggin & Scott real estate office in Vincent Street.
Natalie said Biggin & Scott were generous every year but “Mike (DeVincentis) and Tom (Shaw) have been incredibly supportive this year and really gone above and beyond.”
And on the day itself, Natalie and friends from as far away as Melbourne and Bendigo will be rattling tins in Vincent Street with their “station” set up outside the Daylesford Town Hall. They start at 9am and usually stay until 2pm. The Daylesford CFA will also be heading to the two caravan parks looking for donations.

Natalie said she started helping former coordinator Tania Henderson many years ago and took over a few years back. Her reasons for helping out are many.
“I had to attend the Children’s a lot as a kid and I have friends and family whose children had to go as well. My cousin and a friend were nurses there and it is just such a great cause. As a teacher, our children are our future, so if we can do everything to give them the best opportunities then we are doing amazing things for the world.”
Donate at www.virtualtinshake.com.au/…/virtual-tin-shake
Pictured, Michael DeVincentis with Natalie and her sons Xavier and Paddy, below, Natalie and Penelope Ellis shake their tins

Christ Church Anglican Daylesford

Maundy Thursday – April 14, 7pm – Holy Communion
Good Friday – April 15, 7pm – Liturgy for Good Friday
Easter Sunday – April 17, 10am – Holy Communion

Anglican Parish of Springmount

Holy Eucharist, St John’s Creswick, April 12, 10am
Maundy Thursday, All Saints Learmonth, April 14, 7pm – The Lord’s Supper
Good Friday, St Pauls Clunes, April 15, 12pm – Solemn Liturgy of The Passion and Death of The Lord
Easter Vigil, St John’s Creswick, April 16, 7pm – The Great Vigil of Easter
Easter Sunday, all parish churches except Creswick, April 17, 9am – Holy Eucharist

Roman Catholic Parishes of Creswick and Daylesford

St Augustine’s Creswick
Holy Thursday, April 14, 5.30pm
Good Friday, April 15, 3pm (lay led)
Easter Sunday, April 17, 9am

St Peter’s Daylesford
Holy Thursday, April 14th, 7pm
Good Friday, April 15, 3pm
Easter Sunday, April 17, 10.30 am

Creswick-Clunes Uniting Church in Australia

Maundy Thursday, St Andrew Creswick, April 14, 6.30pm – Tenebrae: Service of Shadows
Good Friday, St Andrews Clunes, April 15, 9am – Reflection on The Way of the Cross followed by 10am with Ecumenical Stations of the Cross Walk
Easter Dawn Service, St Georges Lake, April 17, 6.30am – Loaves and Fish
Easter Sunday, St Andrews Creswick, April 17, 9.30am – Flowering of the Cross

I WON’T say every Easter because that would be a lie. But when I talk to people like Natalie Kirby, I think about my stint in the Royal Children’s Hospital. If you don’t know the connection with Easter and the hospital and Nat, head back to page 11.
Anyway, I think about the hospital because I was there as a child, maybe seven. I am not sure what time of the year it was but I do know when I got out after a week I was allowed to sit in the garden and I remember seeing butterflies, so spring perhaps. Maybe summer. But not school holidays because it was at school I had an asthma attack.
I managed to pick up asthma when I was two years old. I was, apparently, seeing my nan off on one of her many overseas trips and we were there to wave the ship goodbye. No, not just me, at two. The entire family. And, apparently, it was cold, and then I suddenly had asthma.
I remember as a kid lots of trips to the doctor in the middle of the night and being put on oxygen combined with something like Ventolin. As I got older, they could actually give you a Ventolin inhaler but we were seeing a doctor who specialised in asthma and he didn’t believe in patients having their own Ventolin. I kid you not. Like a doctor who doesn’t believe in penicillin.
Anyway, I was at school and having trouble breathing. So the teacher asked if I would like them to call my mum to take me home. No, I said, I want to stay at school. I liked school. And so I stayed. Just like that. And got worse. And eventually, after another hour or so, they decided I really did need to go home. And mum took me to the doctor and they said she could either drive me to the Royal Children’s or they could call an ambulance. So pretty bad I guess. There were whispers for some weeks later of “she could have died”, which ceased when I entered the room.
Being in the hospital was interesting. They popped me on a drip and I joined another five children in a big ward. Parents could visit for an hour a day, that was all, the rest of the time it was just us kids and the nurses. I was offered “googie eggs” for breakfast, which I refused, and we all got in trouble for playing in the wheelchairs along the corridor.
I don’t remember being sad but I do remember the boy over the way crying. He was from the country and never had any visitors. I remember my dad spending most of his allocated one hour with that kid and being pretty pissed off about that. Dad was from Ararat so I guess he spotted a country kid a mile off. Still, it was meant to be about me. A week later, I was allowed to go home where I was treated quite specially for about a day and then that wore off.
So, I think about the hospital and how they got a sick kid better with not much fuss and lots of care. I realise it is all different now, and parents can stay, and I bet the food is better and the wheelchairs are kept locked up for health and safety. But it is a great resource and if you can spare a little you could do a lot worse with a donation.
If you are keen go back to page 11 and read up on where Nat’s volunteers will be shaking tins, how you can maybe win a raffle prize in exchange for a few dollars, or just donate online.
When we drive past the hospital on our now infrequent trips to Melbourne, I often see parents outside and I think they must be having the worst days of their lives. But I am sure they are helped by the thought their children are getting the best care possible and will hopefully come home to some butterflies. Just sayin’…

A PUBLIC meeting held by organisation Rethink The Rex, has resulted in a call for Hepburn Shire Council to “rescind the motion to sell The Rex and release the Crowe Haworth auditor’s report”.
Macedon MP and Minister for Regional Development Mary-Anne Thomas and Minister for Local Government Shaun Leane have been asked to release the Local Government Inspectorate report on the building’s recent history.

Mayor Cr Tim Drylie told The Local last Thursday that, in accordance with the Local Government Act, the motion to cease the Hepburn Hub project and sell The Rex building could not be rescinded “as officers have commenced actioning it”.
Group spokesperson Jules McDonald said the meeting, held on April 5, saw 120 people at the Daylesford Town Hall with another 126 watching via streaming.

“The meeting focused on providing information to give people an understanding of the story behind the long and sad saga of The Rex, the difficulties experienced in finding the information and the emerging picture of the appalling mismanagement of the project dating from the purchase in 2016 and finally resulted in an abrupt decision to sell the building in November 2021,” Ms McDonald said.
“Whilst not providing solutions, the meeting presented many positive ideas about alternatives to continuing with the plan to accommodate council staff in the currently uninhabitable, water-compromised concrete base within the basement of the building. It was suggested that a cheaper alternative would be to utilise this space as a two-level car park which could then be built above either as a library or accommodation or even a boutique hotel with entry from Duke Street. This would leave options for community use such as the cinema, social enterprise café and hospitality training space and a Made In Daylesford shop.

“Many positive ideas were introduced. Tammi Jonas, a local regenerative and agroecological farmer and key organiser for the Hepburn Food Hub, was excited about the possibility of a physical food hub in Daylesford offering producers much- needed facilities for processing and distribution, and a collectively managed resource to improve locals’ access to local food.
“(And) local artist Kristeena Saville encouraged us to imagine young and old coming together in a central space, where artisans and artists are encouraged to express and share. A connective space with a theatre and a food hub for youth training with locally produced and made goods, served on locally made ceramics – where workshops are held, ideas shared, and skills exchanged. Just think …visitors could experience a vast amount of local talent that is normally hidden away due to the prohibitive costs associated with exposure in one of the most prominent buildings in the area.”

Ms McDonald said Mary Crooks, executive director of the Victorian Women’s Trust gave an inspirational talk emphasising the importance of retaining the history and culture of the town which often resides in iconic buildings such as The Rex. Ms Crooks outlined ways of developing community projects using social capital such as community owned or social enterprise models.
Meanwhile Daylesford Community Theatre president Gina Lyons described The Rex as an iconic building in the heart of the town. Ms Lyons told the meeting while the Hepburn Hub at The Rex project may have been costly to complete, the finished result would have provided an asset for the next 50-60 years and beyond. She said if the council walked away and sold the building now, they were “simply locking in a cash loss in the vicinity of $5 million with nothing to show for it”.

Ms McDonald said the meeting called on those attending to get involved and express their views by phone or email to local councillors, newspapers and social media. It also called on the council to conduct a comprehensive community engagement process and “not to engage in a tokenistic tick-a-box process”.
“The Rethink The Rex group plans to arrange community meetings to explore some of the ideas expressed further, especially the use of social capital in community-owned or social enterprise projects.”
Cr Drylie said in November 2021, the council voted to not proceed with final construction works of the Hepburn Hub at The Rex project, and instead sell the historic building.
“Council purchased the building in 2016 and the project has had a difficult history. The project is subject to a Local Government Inspectorate (LGI) investigation after council self-reported and we are awaiting the final report. The LGI report is independent of council, and we are as frustrated as the community with the delay of its release.
“Council initiated its own independent audit of the project prior to the LGI investigation, and these findings are not able to be made public due to it being a key report being considered by the LGI as part of their review.
“We are required to undertake community consultation for the sale of any council building, and we are committed to the community engagement process on The Rex sale which will commence shortly. We will consider all feedback received from the community and council will make a final determination at a future council meeting.”
Local Government Inspectorate chief municipal inspector Michael Stefanovic said the inspectorate was finalising its report into Hepburn Shire Council.
“We won’t make any further comment at this time.”
Asked for any comment on the meeting and its outcomes, Macedon MP Mary-Anne Thomas told The Local that the Local Government Inspectorate was an independent integrity body responsible for examining and investigating potential breaches of the Local Government Act 2020.
Words & images: Donna Kelly

THE Bullarto Public Hall Committee reports that the 2022 Tractor Pull and Classic Car Show at Trentham was a great success, with over 700 people attending.

Spokesperson Mary Harvey said there were about 150 classic cars and a good number of tractors. The event was held at Trentham because of dangerous trees still on the Bullarto track after last year’s storm.
Ms Harvey said the money raised would help maintain and improve the Bullarto Hall which, at over 100 years old, needs a lot of work.
“We owe a great debt of gratitude to our sponsors and supporters and to the Trentham Car Club for their assistance. Many people from Bullarto and Trentham helped on the day, others made cakes and biscuits to sell.

“The 2022 Bullarto Tractor Pull attracted a very large crowd and provided great entertainment for locals and visitors alike. In these post-Covid times it is heart-warming to see such large crowds, especially families, enjoying the great outdoors, our natural environment and the range of activities and entertainment on display.”
The event is sponsored by the Trentham & Districts Community Bank.
Pictured, clockwise from top left, a tractor tries for the “full pull”, Ballarat federal MP Catherine King judges the classic cars with Graeme Orr, Trentham Car Club members staff the coffee machine and Macedon state MP Mary-Anne Thomas with Bullarto Public Hall Committee president Trevor Brown
Images: Contributed

MOST people take long service leave to get away from work. Not so Vicki Sundblom.
The 60-year-old, a nurse from Little Hampton who can usually be found working at any of Springs Medical Clinic’s three campuses, was on a camping holiday up north with her husband Owen, 57.

“We were on the Cape (York), up the top end and were out fishing on the beach when we ran into a couple of women. I asked them if they were catching anything and it turned out they were nurses and were part of a team doing vaccinations up the top end.
“They said their team had started out with about 30 nurses but with some of the graduates finding jobs, it had dwindled to about 15. We had been doing vaccinations before I left and I thought ‘I’ll have go at that’, rang the number and off I went.

Five months
“I started on August 16 and finished about a week before Christmas. Pretty near five months. It was pretty full on and I was pooped by the time I finished. Everyone else on the teams lived in Queensland so they could take a week off and go home, but if I went home I wouldn’t be able to come back up, so I just kept working.”

Along with working on the Cape at communities including Bamaga and Seisia, Vicki also spent a lot of time on the Torres Strait Islands including Mabuiag, Badu, Yam and Coconut islands. She also went “south” to Weipa and Cooktown. “In Weipa we vaccinated out of the storm surge shelter and in Cooktown we tried many places to try to get the rates up – we vaccinated out of the local school, sports centre and also out of the local pub, with mixed results, until the announcement was made that you had to be vaccinated to go to the pub or work, then we were inundated.”

Banana farms
The team also found themselves at Lakelands Downs (aka Lakeland) where they headed to a number of banana farms. “At one farm we vaccinated 180 workers most of whom were from the islands of Samoa and Tonga and very keen to get their vaccinations so they could go home as most had been stuck there for two years and unable to see their families.”
Vicki said days varied. Island work often meant hopping on small planes every couple of days, pretty much living on two-minute noodles or very plain food that “didn’t matter if it got squashed”.
But for one two-week period they were ferried around on a yacht and sent on tenders to each island each day. Best of all the yacht came with a chef. “That was really wonderful, the food was amazing and it was lovely to get back on that yacht at the end of the day.”
But like anywhere in the world, there were people who were not keen to roll up their sleeves. Vicki blames social media but also the fact that the communities were yet to see Covid in real life.

It’s not a real thing
“There was a lot of disbelief that it was a real thing, or that it had a microchip in the vaccine, social media really destroyed it (getting the vaccine) for so many people. In one community we had a minister come to the clinic and tell people that if they got the vaccine they would go to hell and that God would protect them. We had such a big job telling people that was rubbish and God was protecting them by giving us brains so we could make the vaccine. Others thought the government would close the Cape again to protect them, like they did at the start of Covid. We had to explain that was not going to happen again. It was really challenging in some places.
“But, in one Aboriginal community, Prompuraaw, which was really isolated, we got 100 per cent double doses done. That was because one of our team leaders had been a health nurse there for 11 years, so they knew her and trusted her. There was a lot of work done by the community health centres, they would often go out and bring people to us or take us to people’s home. A lot of work went into the program.”

Time to go home
Vicki said as the wet season loomed, even though they were thankfully not having to wear PPE gear, and the heat became unbearable, she decided she was done but left pleased she had put her hand up.
“It was a real eye-opener in how spoilt we are down here in so many ways. Just with the supermarkets – they have great fruit and veg, but then the tourists go through and buy everything up and the locals are left with the crap. And while the food options were better than what I thought they would be, they are nothing like we expect here. But they were all wonderful people, very gentle and very appreciative.”
So Vicki returned to Little Hampton and Owen, a Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning staffer, who had decided not to stay up north and headed back home with their camper trailer to “winter and lockdowns and storm clean-up”.
“We left before the storm and our kids sent us photos and we just thought ‘that can’t be right’ and for DELWP staff it was terrible. The Wombat (Forest) is their bush and it was just awful for them all.”

A nursing career
Vicki is also back at Springs, where she continues into her 15th year of nursing. “I came to nursing when I was 45. My dad had a debilitating illness and was high care for the last 10 years and I saw how good our district nurses were during that time. They were fantastic and I saw the difference it made having someone who knew what they were doing, and I thought, ‘I can give that a crack’.
“Before that I had worked in areas as diverse as shearing sheds and banks in Melbourne and Queensland, but I really enjoy being a nurse and helping people.”
Words: Donna Kelly | Images: Contributed

FORMER Kyneton Football Netball Club president Karen O’Sullivan and club legend Hayden Walsh have joined forces to publish If I can, you can.

Hayden Walsh, who is also well known around the Bendigo Football Netball League as “H”, has been Kyneton’s senior timekeeper since 2014.
If I can, you can, tells the story of the 31-year old’s life, and living with cerebral palsy.
Hayden was born with his disability but has refused to be defined by it. “I was told as a young boy that I was given the body I have, and the life I have and it’s up to me to make the most of it. That’s what I am doing; living my life to the best of my ability.”
The one-eyed Collingwood supporter has a unique bond with the AFL club’s former player and coach Nathan Buckley, who has provided a moving foreword for the book. “A triumph of will, a celebration of determination and an inspiring example of thinking without limits are the chords of Hayden’s tune.”
When Hayden was 11 years old, he became the first Auskicker with a disability to be involved in a game during the half-time break in an AFL match. He was photographed leaving Princes Park with his walking sticks above his head, showing appreciation to the applauding football crowd; the photo made page three of the Herald Sun newspaper the next day.
Hayden was instrumental in the Kyneton Football Netball Club fielding its first ever all-abilities team in 2021, with a Kyneton team competing in the FIDA competition.
Hayden lives in Kyneton with his partner Yessah, who he met through an online dating app in 2018, they have a three-year-old daughter Shanaya. Hayden has worked at Woolworths in Kyneton for over 12 years and is also employed by the John Holland construction group in Melbourne.
Karen O’Sullivan is a former radio and TV journalist who became the Kyneton Football Netball Club’s first female president in 2018.
She lives in Barfold, near Kyneton on a sheep farm with her husband Martin, they have four sons who have all played for Kyneton in the Bendigo Football Netball League. Max and Tommy O’Sullivan went on to play VFL football, Ned won last year’s seniors’ best and fairest for the Kyneton Football Netball Club seniors and youngest son Jack plays NAB cup level for the Oakleigh Chargers while he attends boarding school in Melbourne.
“I have always loved telling stories, and luckily when I asked Hayden if I could write his biography he said ‘yes’,” says Karen. “I’ve always wanted to write a book, and I hope this is the first of many.”
If I can, you can was launched at the Kyneton Football Netball Club during the Club’s 2022 season launch and at the Kyneton Hotel.
If I can, you can can be purchased at Aesop’s Attic Bookstore, Kyneton or online at https://www.icoe.com.au/
Hayden will receive profits from all book sales.

Above, from left, Nathan Buckley, Hayden Walsh and Karen O’Sullivan
Image: Courtesy Herald Sun

The state government is transforming parcels of private land – that combined cover an area five times the size of the City of Melbourne – into new habitats helping Victorian wildlife thrive and capturing carbon.
Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio today called for expressions of interest to partner in the landmark BushBank program, restoring 20,000 hectares of private land and creating more than 100 jobs across Victoria.
The almost $31 million investment will revegetate and restore our precious biodiversity with millions of trees and shrubs, delivering unique habitats for Victorian wildlife and storing more than 4.5 million tonnes of carbon thanks to the program – integral to Victoria reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.
This will generate new opportunities for regional communities and income streams for landowners, driving investment from emerging carbon markets, supporting biodiversity and creating jobs.
BushBank will also include an initial $7 million in grants available to Traditional Owner Corporations to lead restoration on Country.
The program supports Aboriginal self-determination with opportunities for Traditional Owners to identify priority values and locations for restoration, pursue training and capacity building opportunities, investigate new emissions reduction methodologies for cultural practices, and seek out natural-resource related economic opportunities.

The state government is giving community groups across Victoria the chance to receive grants of up to $30,000 to address local road safety issues.
Minister for Roads and Road Safety Ben Carroll encouraged community groups to apply for the funding, as part of the TAC Community Road Safety Grant Program.
The program gives not-for-profit groups the opportunity to work closely with locals to identify road safety issues in their area and implement solutions, by coming up with a project to overcome it.
The program covers a wide range of road safety issues – including speed limit, drink driving and education, as well as pedestrian, motorcyclist and cyclist safety.
Previous projects funded under the program included lower speed limit trials, council road safety strategies, community education programs, safe cycling routes at schools and improved pedestrian crossing safety.
The projects will be aligned with the Victorian Road Safety Strategy (2021 – 2030), which sets ambitious targets to halve road deaths and significantly reduce serious injuries by 2030 and sets the state on a path to zero road deaths by 2050.
Projects that focus on protecting vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists will be prioritised.
Applications for the 2022 TAC Community Road Safety Grant Program are now open and close on 2 May.
More information about the program and how to apply can be found online at: http://www.tac.vic.gov.au/about-thetac/community/grants/community-road-safety-grant-program

Nominations are now open for the 16th annual Victorian Learn Local Awards, recognising excellence in the adult and community education sector.
Minister for Training and Skills Gayle Tierney invited Victorians to nominate people whose stories illustrate
the life-changing impact of the sector.
Categories at this year’s event celebrate trainers, leaders and learners as well as learn local programs – including the Ro Allen Award for Pre-accredited Learner (Skills for study and life).
The prize pool totals $84,000, while organisation award category winners each receive $10,000, individual category winners $5,000 and category finalists $1,000.
Among last year’s winners was Omer Ntunzwenimana who received the Ro Allen Award for his participation in the Sunraysia Mallee Ethnic Communities Council’s conversational English and reading program. He has since begun studying a Bachelor of Arts at LaTrobe University.
Starting Work in Australia – Karen Engineering Studies, run by Loddon Campaspe Multicultural Services, won four categories including the Pre-accredited Program Award (for small providers) and awards for innovation and partnership. Its founder Robyn Matthews was also recognised with the Pre-accredited Trainer Award.
The awards are presented by the Adult, Community and Further Education Board.
Learn Local providers offer a unique, community-based learning option, with a focus on the individual needs of learners. They are particularly suited to adult learners of all ages looking to develop their digital, literacy, numeracy and employability skills for study, work and life.
There are more than 240 not-for-profit community organisations registered as Learn Locals across Victoria, which deliver pre-accredited training and other programs to nearly 30,000 people each year.
To explore the categories and make a nomination visit www.vic.gov.au/learn-local-awards

Premier Daniel Andrews and Minister for Mental Health James Merlino have opened the newest Youth Prevention and Recovery Care (YPARC) service in Parkville, delivered with a $12.9 million Labor Government investment.
Providing care for around 200 extra young Victorians every year, the new 20-bed facility isthe state’s fourth YPARC, delivering a step-up, step-down model of residential care to young Victorians in Melbourne’s north-western suburbs and the inner city.
As a key recommendation from the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System, YPARCs provide flexible, around-the clock clinical care for young people aged 16-25 – reducing pressure on hospital beds by providing early intervention care to prevent admission, or a step down after hospital treatment before going home.
The facility has been designed with a welcoming and home-like environment with private bedrooms complete with ensuites. Communal kitchen, dining and living areas, breakout spaces and a garden are designed to encourage recovery, support family visits and encourage young people to continue things like socialising and education.
The new YPARC service is located alongside Orygen, the National Centre for Excellence in Youth Mental Health, and is also close to the Royal Melbourne Hospital, ensuring young people have easy access to other support services – and are close to transport links for visiting friends and family.
The government has also opened a Victorian-first Hospital Outreach Post-suicidal Engagement (HOPE)
dedicated to children and young people. Operating from Orygen’s Parkville facility, it provides outreach support to people who have attempted suicide or presented to an emergency department once they leave hospital.
The Parkville service is the first of four youth-specific HOPE outreach programs the Labor Government will open across the state in the coming months – delivering a 12-week program of clinical and social support tailored to each young person, supporting them to recover and return to as much of their normal life as possible.
The government is also building a further five YPARC services in Greater Ballarat, Greater Geelong, Greater Shepparton, Heidelberg and Traralgon and refurbishing the three existing YPARC facilities in Bendigo, Dandenong and Frankston.

Federal Police have a new weapon in the fight on organised crime – with the federal government funding new elite Strike Teams to target the criminals who bring drugs, weapons and violence into Australian communities.

Senator for Victoria Sarah Henderson said community safety was a big issue for local residents.

Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said the Strike Teams will use world-leading new powers provided by the government to put high-risk mafia, triad, and other gang leaders behind bars.

“New research has revealed that serious and organised crime costs hardworking taxpayers up to $60 billion a year,” Minister Andrews said.

“These Strike Teams will smash the criminal networks who import and manufacture illicit drugs, chemicals and firearms, and who launder their ill-gotten gains though law abiding communities.

“The Strike Teams will work hand-in-glove with the AFP’s Criminal Asset Confiscation Taskforce. Together, these initiatives will supercharge our ability to seize criminal assets, liquidate them, and invest the proceeds of crime back into local communities.”

Senator Henderson said the new funding builds on the Morrison Government’s strong track record of supporting Australia’s police and law enforcement agencies and cracking down on drugs.

“We know what a devastating impact drug use can have on families and on individuals. And how violent criminals are a threat to our communities. That’s why we prioritise national security.”

As part of Victoria’s continued response to the coronavirus pandemic, Premier Daniel Andrews has extended the pandemic declaration to apply to the state of Victoria from 11.59pm Tuesday 12 April for three months.
The declaration was made undersection 165AE of the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 after consultation with and consideration of advice from the Minister for Health and Acting Chief Health Officer.
In making the declaration the Premier was satisfied on reasonable grounds there remains a serious risk to public health throughout Victoria due to the coronavirus disease, including recent increases in case numbers and the anticipated BA.2 wave.
This risk requires continued public health and other protective measures to reduce the risk of transmission and hospitalisation.
Over 94 per cent of Victorians over 12 years have received two vaccine doses against coronavirus and over 66 per cent of Victorians over 18 years who have recieved a third dose.
Continuing to provide access to drive up the rate of third dose vaccinations remains a public health priority – a third dose significantly reduces your chances of getting COVID-19, passing it on to others or going to hospital.
The new extension will expire at 11.59pm, 12 July 2022 and subsequent extensions can last for up to three months.
A pandemic declaration gives the Minister for Health the authority to make pandemic orders he considers
reasonably necessary to protect public health after considering the Chief Health Officer’s advice and other relevant factors, including social and economic factors.
Afterthe first extension to the pandemic declaration the Independent Pandemic Management Advisory Committee of experts and community representatives was formed to advise on pandemic response and management.
The Statement of Reasons, and the advice of the CHO and the Minister for Health will be tabled in Parliament.

Macedon Ranges Shire Council is holding free information sessions for older people, their families and carers about Commonwealth Home Support Programme services across the shire during April and May. The Commonwealth Home Support Program is provided by many organisations across the shire, and the information sessions will be general in nature.
Most people want to stay in their homes for as long as possible as they get older and Commonwealth Home Support Programme services can provide the extra support needed to stay independent and connected to the community.
Some examples of the types of support services available through the program are:
 Support to attend appointments and activities
 Domestic assistance
 Personal care
 Home maintenance to keep your home safe to live in
 Home modifications to keep your home safe to live in
 Aids & equipment
 Meals
 Nursing
 Allied health
 Social support
 Respite
The information sessions will explain more about the program and who can benefit from it, as well as what services are available locally, how supports can be accessed and approximate costs.
Council’s Director Community, Maria Weiss said Commonwealth Home Support Programme services play a pivotal role in helping the shire’s older population to remain active members of the local community.
“We encourage older residents and their families to come along to an information session to find out what support is available in the shire to help them stay independent and living safely in their own home,” she said.
The sessions will run from 10am to 12noon at the following locations:
 Kyneton Mechanics Institute – 26 April 2022
 Riddells Creek Community Centre – 3 May 2022
 Woodend Community Centre – 12 May 2022
 Romsey Mechanics Institute – 17 May 2022
 Macedon Community Centre – 23 May 2022
 Online – 30 May 2022.
COVID-safety measures will be in place at the sessions. An online session is also available for those who are unable or prefer not to attend in-person.
To register for the information sessions contact Stephanie Harper by phone 5422 0258 or email sharper@mrsc.vic.gov.au
For information regarding the program visit mrsc.vic.gov.au/home-support