Macedon Ranges Shire Council says it’s delighted its advocacy for a two-room kinder and maternal and child health centre in Lancefield has paid off following a $1.8 million state government funding announcement.
State Member for Macedon, Mary-Anne Thomas MP, made the announcement at the site of the new
modular kindergarten and MCH centre located next to Lancefield Primary School on Sunday 30
October, confirming that Council had been successful in receiving a grant under the Victorian
Government’s Building Blocks capacity building stream.
In 2021, Council identified that early years services in Lancefield were likely to be strained in the future
due to higher levels of demand for services. Community feedback gathered in the development of the
Municipal Early Years plan CREATE 2021-2025, also strongly emphasised the need for additional
contemporary early years infrastructure in the area to accommodate the growing community.
It was identified that the current Lancefield kindergarten would not be able to meet the increased
demand due to population growth, the roll-out of funded kindergarten for three-year-olds, and the
increase in hours of pre-prep for four-year-olds. In addition, without a dedicated MCH centre in
Lancefield, residents currently travel to Romsey for services, which are also experiencing high demand
due to growth in the area.

Kyneton Museum will close temporarily on December 12 to prepare for restoration works set to
begin mid-January 2023.

The 1856-built museum is in the former Bank of New South Wales building in Piper Street, Kyneton.

It houses exhibitions in the original banking chamber downstairs, whilst upstairs the
bank manager’s residence is preserved in time, with antique furniture, ornaments and art throughout
the old time bedrooms and living areas.
Outdoor exhibits include original bluestone stables, servant’s kitchen, laundry and Theaden Cottage.
The museum is also home to a wide variety of carriages and historical agricultural equipment.
Restoration works will be undertaken on the roof of the building in line with heritage specifications, as
well as including internal floor maintenance.
During the closure period, museum staff will review and care for items in various collections held by
the Macedon Ranges Shire Council including the Heritage collection, Art collection and Public Art collection.

Macedon Ranges Mayor, Cr Jennifer Anderson says it’s great to see the museum getting the attention it needs.

New Surgical Facilities Set to Reduce Waiting Times for Victorian Skin Cancer Patients

Victorians living with skin cancer are set to benefit from the launch of new dedicated surgical facilities capable of treating thousands of patients around the state each year.

The first of the new skin cancer surgical centres will open in November in Melbourne, with more planned for other areas across Victoria over the coming year.

The move is expected to increase specialised skin cancer surgical capacity within the Victorian healthcare sector as well as reducing the time between diagnosis and treatment for newly diagnosed patients – including those in rural areas.

Australia has the world’s highest rates of melanoma with 16,878 new cases and over 1,300 Australians dying from this form of cancer every year – including around 270 in Victoria. The national cost of treating skin cancer is over $272 million annually.

Australasia’s largest skin cancer detection service, MoleMap, will launch new surgical facilities in their national network of clinics to address this gap, which will see thousands of patients with cancerous skin lesions provided with immediate surgical treatment, following their diagnosis.

Dr Franz Strydom from MoleMap, says melanoma can be cured in 98% of cases if diagnosed early. 

He says when diagnosed at a later stage, melanoma becomes more difficult and expensive to treat with a greater chance of treatment failure. 

Victoria looks set to cement its status as Australia’s sporting capital with a ground-breaking new partnership between Netball Australia and the state government.

In a $15 million partnership with Visit Victoria which will run until June 2027, Premier Daniel Andrews has announced the Australian Diamonds will showcase the nation’s sporting capital with branding on their team kit for home and away tests, while players and coaches will be involved in campaigns to promote Victoria as a fantastic tourism destination.

The world’s top-ranked netball team will also play five test matches and hold their high-performance training camps in Victoria between 2023 and 2026.

The 2023 Suncorp Super Netball Grand Final will be played in Victoria as part of the deal.

Premier Daniel Andrews: “Victoria is our nation’s sporting capital and its best tourist destination – it’s only right we launch this new partnership to back elite netball in Australia and promote our state to the world.”

A program aimed at providing subsidised nutritious and affordable lunches to half of the schools in the Hepburn Shire has just received a healthy booster itself.

Health Futures Australia Ltd has received $10,125 through the state government’s Living Local
Fund towards running the SHIFT Healthy Lunch Kitchen program.

The SHIFT Healthy Lunch Kitchen is a social enterprise providing subsidised nutritious and affordable
lunches to 50% of schools in the Hepburn Shire, using local produce in a circular economy
approach.

The state’s minister for regional development Harriet Shing and the Member for Macedon, Mary-Anne Thomas have announced $275,706 funding for nine local projects through the Labor Government’s Living Local Fund.

The Health Futures Australia Ltd project is among them.

Victorian students have achieved some of the highest NAPLAN results in the country, the state’s education minister says.

“These results are a tribute to the amazing efforts of Victorian students and their teachers, principals, parents and carers,” the state’s education minister Natalie Hutchins said.

“Victoria is again one of the top performing jurisdictions in NAPLAN this year – I’m so proud our Year 3 students achieved the best Reading results ever and ranked first in the country for both Reading and Numeracy.”

The 2022 national NAPLAN data released in recent days shows Victoria performed strongly at the primary level, ranked first or second in eight out of 10 domains -including all five domains at the important foundational Year 3 level.

Victoria’s Year 3 students were ranked either first or second in Australia across all five domains. Compared to 2014, the number of Victorian Year 3 students reaching the top two bands of Reading has lifted from 51 per cent to 60 per cent – and Victoria’s mean scores have improved in seven out of 10 domains in primary schools.

In 2022, Year 3 students scored their best ever mean Reading results, again proving themselves the strongest readers in the country. That means there are around 6,800 more Year 3 students now reaching the top two bands for Reading than in 2014.

This year’s NAPLAN also had the highest proportion of Victorian Year 5 students in the top two bands for Spelling. Compared to 2014, around 3,100 more students are now in the top two bands.

Victorian students are all-round achievers – leading every jurisdiction apart from the ACT on the number of subjects where our students ranked first or second in the highest percentage of students above the national minimum standard.

Do you know a person or a group who has made a real difference in the community this year? 

The Hepburn shire Council thinks there have been some particularly outstanding efforts in recent times and is now urging residents to nominate someone they think fits the bill.
The council is calling for nominations for: 

·         Citizen of the Year 

·         Young Citizen of the Year 

·         Community Event of the Year. 

Those keen to nominate a worthy recipient are being urged to visit the council’s website to find out how to go about it.

Nominations close at 5pm on Thursday 24 November.

More people in Macedon will be protected from the sun’s harmful UV rays, with hundreds of extra
sunshades to be installed in public areas, sports clubs, school playgrounds and outdoor areas.
The state’s Member for Macedon, Mary-Anne Thomas has recently announced that some local groups have received funding in the latest round of the $2.5 million Shade Grants Program.
These include the Kyneton Football Netball Club which has received $636 for sun protection items, and the Macedon Ranges Shire Council $43,587 to finance sail structures for Woodend Kindergarten and the Swinburne Avenue Children’s Centre.
The grants will help these Macedon community groups build new shade structures, purchase
portable shade, create natural shade by planting trees or repair their existing shade structures.
Funding is also provided to purchase items to protect us from the sun, including hats and sunscreen.
Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world, with two in three people diagnosed with
skin cancer by the age of 70.
In 2020, melanoma was the fifth-most-common cancer in Victoria, with 2,582 new cases and 271
deaths.

Hepburn Shire is urging residents to report  damage to roads and community assets by completing an online service request.

Many roads have been damaged during recent rain events and the council is urging motorists to please drive with caution and follow signs. 

“Our Works Teams and contractors are out fixing high-risk locations, with officers also assessing and prioritising the repair of the remainder of the road network, infrastructure and public areas,” a shire spokesperson said.

‘We encourage you to help us out by reporting damage to roads or community assets by completing an online service request.

“It’s easy to do and you can track the progress. A force majeure is currently in place which means we are unable to meet the response times in our Road Management Plan. 
“We are continuing to support recovery efforts and our Secondary Impact Assessment team, together with the Red Cross, have been out-and-about conducting assessments of storm-affected properties.

“If your home or property was damaged please get in touch with our Storm Recovery Team on (03) 4373 7373 to register damage.”

The team can arrange a Secondary Impact Assessment on private property and also advise on available social, emotional and financial assistance.

A recovery centre has been opened in Creswick for residents to attend and report storm damage, with council help also available for storm-impacted Clunes locals at The Warehouse.

Those with damage to report are being encouraged to pop into the storm recovery office at 67 Albert Street on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 10:00am to 12:00noon and 1:30pm to 4:00pm.

The Hepburn Shire says it is continuing to support recovery efforts and its Secondary Impact Assessment team, together with the Red Cross, have been out-and-about conducting assessments of storm-affected properties.

Those whose home or property was damaged are able to get in touch with the council’s storm recovery team on (03) 4373 7373 to register damage.

The team can arrange a secondary impact assessment on private property and also advise on available social, emotional and financial assistance.
The council will also continue to have a presence in Clunes, at The Warehouse,  to work with the community and individuals through the recovery.

From Wednesday 2 November the hours of operation will be Monday and Wednesday from 10am to 12 noon and 1.30pm to 4pm at The Warehouse – Clunes, on Fraser Street.

The Macedon & Mount Macedon Community House has received $161, 809 through the state government’s Living Local Fund.
The design and construction of open space precincts at MMMCH will be undertaken to help run
programs, events and activities in ‘fit for purpose’ precincts.

These will include a permaculture kitchen garden, food forest, sensory garden, ‘meet & greet’ gathering space as well as equipment, furnishings, storage and minor building modifications required to meet user group needs.

The state government says it is continuing to support Macedon with the infrastructure and
services it needs to grow and thrive.
Minister for Regional Development Harriet Shing and the Member for Macedon, Mary-Anne Thomas
recently announced $275,706 funding for nine local projects through the Labor Government’s Living Local
Fund and the Macedon & Mount Macedon Community House was one of them.

The state government is expanding the Adolescent Family Violence in the Home program in an effort to prevent family violence before it starts.

Minister for Prevention of Family Violence Ros Spence has announced six organisations will share in more than $17 million to deliver integrated early intervention responses for adolescents who use violence.

The successful providers are Anglicare, Australian Childhood Foundation, Berry Street, Melbourne City Mission, Uniting and Quantum Support Services.

The providers will deliver trauma informed, evidence-based services to young people – providing a coordinated response that supports a young person’s developmental and therapeutic needs and safety for the entire family.

The new model of care draws on evidence-based interventions and was developed following a review and analysis of national and international programs, approaches and research.

The Royal Commission into Family Violence highlighted family violence that is perpetrated by an adolescent requires a targeted and distinct response.

Young people who use violence against a family member are often victim survivors themselves and the care and welfare of the young person using violence is a primary consideration in this new program.

An additional $5.7 million has also been allocated to Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations to continue to deliver Aboriginal led and community designed approaches to adolescent family violence in the home.

Minister for Prevention of Family Violence Ros Spence: “This funding supports the statewide expansion of adolescent family violence programs, ensuring young people can access the counselling and care they need, when they need it.”

New research suggests nose picking could increase risk for Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Griffith University researchers have demonstrated that a bacteria can travel through the olfactory nerve in
the nose and into the brain in mice, where it creates markers that are a tell-tale sign of Alzheimer’s disease.
The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, showed that Chlamydia pneumoniae used the nerve
extending between the nasal cavity and the brain as an invasion path to invade the central nervous system.
The cells in the brain then responded by depositing amyloid beta protein which is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.
Professor James St John, Head of the Clem Jones Centre for Neurobiology and Stem Cell Research, is a
co-author of the world first research.
“We’re the first to show that Chlamydia pneumoniae can go directly up the nose and into the brain where
it can set off pathologies that look like Alzheimer’s disease,” Professor St John said. “We saw this happen
in a mouse model, and the evidence is potentially scary for humans as well.”
The team at the Centre is already planning the next phase of research and aim to prove the same pathway exists in humans.
“We need to do this study in humans and confirm whether the same pathway operates in the same way.”

There are some simple steps to look after the lining of your nose that Professor St John suggests people
can take now if they want to lower their risk of potentially developing late-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
“Picking your nose and plucking the hairs from your nose are not a good idea”,” he said.