News

The Housing Industry Association has joined organisations across Australia in recognising the World Day for Safety and Health at Work, highlighting the critical importance of both physical and psychological safety in the workplace.

Support the Goldfields community through The Salvation Army’s Red Shield Appeal this year

Motorcyclists can now permanently use selected bus lanes along three key routes in central Melbourne. 

Most producers would agree that 2025 was a challenging year for feeding livestock. With limited pasture availability, many animals were grazed in unusual locations and on unconventional forage sources.

The Victorian Budget 2026/27 invests a record $1.04 billion to rebuild, repair and resurface roads across Victoria.

The state government is securing the raw materials needed to build more homes, schools and hospitals.

RSPCA Victoria has introduced a new look utility vest to further improve the safety of its Inspectors as they continue to investigate animal cruelty across the state.

Compost as soil’s natural amendment and nutrient enhancer will again be in focus during International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW), to be held from May 3-9 in Australia, supported by  ICAW Ambassador Costa Georgiadis. 

Gippslanders will be at the forefront of training opportunities for Australia’s renewable energy future, with the establishment of a $50 million centre in Morwell to support workers into renewable industry jobs.

With calm autumn conditions across much of the state, communities can expect to see smoke in the air in coming weeks due to a mix of planned burns, private burns under CFA’s permit system, agricultural burns and smoke from wood heaters.

Victoria is one of the most fire-prone areas in the world, with disasters becoming more frequent and severe.

The Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association (ALRTA) has appeared before the Parliamentary Select Committee on Productivity in Canberra and proposed major reforms aimed at bolstering economic productivity by strengthening and building resilience across the rural freight sector.

Palliative Care Australia (PCA) welcomes the Federal Government’s NDIS reform agenda but says the changes must deliver coordinated support for people with disability linked to a terminal (life-limiting) illness or risk worsening “bed block” in hospitals. 

A court outcome imposing a record $54,000 fine under the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 has highlighted the serious criminal and financial consequences linked to Victoria’s illegal exotic pet trade. 

One of two houses from The Block in Daylesford which remain unsold has had a price drop.

Ballarat federal MP Catherine King has announced $14,800 for the Clunes Neighbourhood House for its Safe and Connected Rural Women program.

Hepburn Shire Council is reporting a 30 per cent reduction in the number of active planning permit applications in the past six months.

Autumn in Daylesford is visually stunning. Where I live, the view is not the brilliant hues of the autumn leaves, but a bush scene with a magnificent manna gum, strikingly white after the natural shedding of the outer bark layer over summer. The yellow box and grey box are looking refreshed after the recent rains and young wattles are producing vibrant new shoots in different shades of green.

Macedon MP Mary-Anne Thomas will quit politics at the forthcoming 2026 state election.

Lest We Forget - Anzac Day 2026

When Luke Torpy and Travis Offer started their Ambulance Victoria (AV) careers 10 years ago, they never would have pictured celebrating the decade milestone working a shift together as Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance (MICA) paramedics.

Ballarat MP Catherine King has announced that Hepburn Shire Council is receiving $1,064,700 from the Federal Government’s Black Spot program to realign the Albert Street and Howe Street (Midland Highway) intersection.

Volunteers from Breaze and Hepburn Energy who have electrified their home are offering consultations free from cost or obligation.

A Trentham Cemetery Walk will be held on Sunday, May 3 at noon and 2pm.