News

The state government is helping emergency services brigades and groups across Victoria to boost volunteer numbers and provide them the tools and skills they need to keep Victorians safe.

The state government is supporting Melbourne researchers who have discovered a groundbreaking RNA treatment targeting rare childhood diseases, including bone marrow failure syndrome.

Australians for Mental Health is urging the federal government to appoint a dedicated Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, after new research revealed younger Australians are more likely to report suicidal thoughts, self harm and suicide attempts than older generations.

Thousands of passengers were among the first to travel on the Metro Tunnel in a historic day for Victoria.

The future of agriculture is moving ahead with a new Plant Protein Hub and glasshouse at Agriculture Victoria’s Horsham SmartFarm.

Kyneton Town Hall is gearing up for a huge year of live performance in 2026, with an exciting program featuring major names, international acts and a vibrant mix of music, comedy and contemporary performance.

Ageing DisGracefully members, including Max Primmer, get together at the Daylesford Mill Markets cafe on Thursdays at 11am. All welcome.

Local Lines

I swear if one more kid asks me to say "sixes and sevens" one more time I will punch them in the head. If you don’t know what the phrase “sixes and sevens” means, please Google it and get back to me with the answer.

The Local sent out invites to local charities and not-for-profit organisations asking for their Christmas activities. Here they are, in no particular order.

As a child, Rosa Fedele was avidly in love with books and devoured anything with beautiful and spellbinding words and imagery that would allow her to escape into other worlds. By the age of 10 she had already decided she wanted to be an artist and a writer. Rosa chatted with Donna Kelly.

The United Nations International Mountain Day is celebrated each year on December 11. Its goal is to raise awareness about the role that mountains play in the lives of people and their importance to the planet.

The invention and continued use of barbed wire is a casual cruelty that people continue to inflict on the animal kingdom. The use of barbed wire in suburban and urban areas is restricted so that it cannot cause harm or injury to people and animals, but this restriction does not apply to rural areas.

Well here I am again penning another column for you, the reader, to enjoy...

Child and Family Services Ballarat (Cafs) stands with communities across Ballarat, Victoria and the world for the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, running from November 25 to December 10.

The Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association has welcomed the federal government’s decision to abandon the proposal to reduce default speed limits on unsigned rural roads, following overwhelming public feedback.

Linda Gallus's Calico Ceilings – Women of the Goldfields exhibition is on display now until February 8 at the Central Goldfields Art Gallery, Maryborough.

Bookings have opened for the Aquatics and Recreation Victoria-run VICSWIM Summer Kidz swim classes at Daylesford Outdoor Pool.

People can share their views on Hepburn Shire Council's draft Domestic Animal Management Plan, which will guide how cats and dogs are cared for and managed in the shire over the next four years.

On Monday, December 1, World Aids Day, people gather to remember friends, lovers, family members and patients who have been lost to HIV/AIDS.

Daylesford's Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens have been given a $500,000 upgrade.

Daylesford's Rea-Lands Park will remain a public park.

Hepburn Shire Council has voted against helping out the new Phoenix@TheRex Cinema, deciding a grant of $50,000 is not warranted.

Creswick's Magic Pudding Playground came alive last Friday with new artworks admired by officials, school kids from Creswick, Creswick North, Newlyn and St Augustine's primary schools and their families, and even The Buninyong Bard Players.