News

Council is accepting nominations for people, events and activities that have made significant impacts on the lives of others in Hepburn Shire

Business Victoria are pleased to share details of the Business Skills Mentoring program that supports small businesses across Victoria. 

Our primary role at GWMT is clear. We want to see people returning to every part of the region again as soon as it is safe to do so. Everything we do is focused on driving visitation and helping our communities recover quickly and stronger than before. If you are searching for any of the latest Fire Recovery support or Crisis Planning resources please visit our corporate website.

In response to the bushfires and ongoing drought, a new round of applications for the Look Over the Farm Gate community events program opens. The Look Over the Farm Gate program offers grants of up to $5,000 for events and activities that support mental health and wellbeing of farmers and farming communities. Since June 2025, funding has been provided to over 160 events, with more than 130 Look Over the Farm Gate-supported events held.

This year, our focus is on helping you adapt to change, embrace innovation, promote learning opportunities and drive sustainable growth for a stronger community.

Almost $82 million has been announced to restore and repair state roads and public transport infrastructure damaged by the January 2026 Victorian bushfires, ensuring critical transport links are restored for regional communities.

Griffith University researchers may have unlocked the secret to treating sepsis, with a Phase II clinical trial in China successfully concluding with promising results.

This week, resheeting of Jubilee Road in Sulky will finish up, marking the end of our annual resheet program for this financial year.

People blocking a culvert at Dollys Creek Road crossing on the Moorabool River have contributed to severe flow stress in the lower reaches of the river around Batesford and Meredith.  

Please see below our latest commentary from Compare the Market Economic Director David Koch about why so many Aussie households continue to pay more for power bills.  If you'd like an interview or any further information let me know - I'm happy to help. 

The most prestigious night for our state’s sport and active recreation community, the VSAs recognises and celebrates those who made an outstanding contribution to Victorian sport during 2025. Grassroots heroes who excelled at a community level will be honoured alongside high-performance athletes who shone at a national and international level as well as everyone in between.

Council is preparing a Hepburn Mineral Springs Reserve Masterplan to guide future improvements, remediation and new works within the reserve.

A huge thank you to all the emergency services personnel for all you have done and are still doing as we go to press on Sunday. We just went into Daylesford and watched as about eight tankers drove off towards Harcourt. Most local, one from Miners Rest, all doing the same thing, leaving their homes and families to do their best for other people's homes and families. You are all heroes. All amazing.

Hi, I am Jaya, a three-year-old bundle of energy and laughter. I love to take part in spirited games, and am quite goofy and quirky. My idea of fun includes a bit of rough play, making me a perfect companion for active play sessions - although it means I am best suited to a home with no small children. Microchip No. 956000016306643 Come and meet me at MAAWs in Castlemaine or call 5472 5277.

Local Lines features poetry by locals about local and any other matters. Please submit poems to Bill Wootton at cottlesbreedge@gmail.com

Happy New Year to all, and it is fantastic that as we turn the corner into 2026 we have taken the Auld Lang Syne song seriously, which asks if old acquaintances should be forgotten, answering with a call to remember and share a "cup o' kindness". But a sneak peek into the year reveals it’s still everyone for themselves in the broader world and the dirge might as well not have been trotted out for the NYE celebrations.

Giving advice on preparing and planting a perennial (or herbaceous) border in your garden.

Hold on to your hats, the Glenlyon Talent Showcase is coming! There is no shortage of talent in the Glenlyon District, and now is the time to show it off

Single mum Emily Burke has been thrown into an arena no parent ever wants to even contemplate. Her daughter Phoebe, who turns three in March, was born with congenital heart disease along with a rare condition that meant she couldn't swallow because her oesophagus wasn't connected to her stomach.

Many residents have complained on social media about overfilled rubbish bins around Hepburn Shire over the holiday period.

A group of CFA firefighters is ready to fight fires in remote areas across the state following seven weeks of intensive training to become arduous firefighters.