The state government has announced the opening of the Stronger Fishing Clubs Grant Program, welcoming angling clubs and associations in Macedon to apply for grants of up to $10,000.
Member for Macedon, Mary-Anne Thomas said the grants are available under the $1.2 million
program to help strengthen and increase club membership, and to promote participation in recreational fishing. Applications for round one of the program close on 6 December 2023.
This program delivers on the state overnment’s election commitment to help fishing clubs attract new members, encouraging more families to take up fishing, and is part of the government’s record $96 million package to improve fishing, boating, piers and aquaculture.
Projects eligible for funding include events that provide recreational fishing tuition for
women, multicultural groups, First Nations peoples and all-abilities, alongside open days,
training and events, and guest speaker nights.
Projects involving IT upgrades, website development, clubroom improvements, and
equipment that will benefit all members are also eligible for funding.
Those who are interested are being encouraged to apply online or learn more by visiting vfa.vic.gov.au/strongerfishingclubs
Member for Macedon, Mary-Anne Thomas: “We want to help our local fishing clubs grow because they support newcomers to the pastime of fishing and share generations of knowledge amongst members.”
Minister for Outdoor Recreation Sonya Kilkenny: “Our Stronger Fishing Clubs Grant Program will ensure clubs can attract local members and support them to enjoy all the benefits that come with spending time on the water with family and friends.

The state government says it’s helping more casual and contract workers access sick and carer’s pay, increasing the number of jobs covered by the Victorian Sick Pay Guarantee and extending the pilot until March 2025.
More than 400 new jobs are now eligible for the nation-leading Sick Pay Guarantee – giving thousands more workers in casual and contract jobs the opportunity to access up to 38 hours a year of sick and carer’s pay.
Casual, contract and self-employed workers including community support workers, taxi and
rideshare drivers, arts workers, childcare and early childhood workers, fitness instructors,
tourism and outdoor recreation workers, factory workers, fruit pickers and hairdressers can
check their eligibility and sign up to the scheme today.
Member for Macedon, Mary-Anne Thomas encouraged local workers to apply for the scheme.
Newly eligible workers can apply for sick and carer’s pay from the day they sign up, and
workers who were eligible in the first phase of the pilot will benefit from an additional year
of the pilot.
The $245.7 million Australian-first initiative aims to reduce workplace illnesses and injuries
and keep businesses safer and more productive.
Since the pilot launched in March 2022, more than 76,000 casual and contract workers have
signed up. In that time, the Sick Pay Guarantee has covered more than 1.8 million hours of
sick and carer’s pay, giving workers the financial security to stay home when they’re sick or
need to care for loved ones. Workers can check their eligibility and sign up online at
vic.gov.au/sickpayguarantee or in the Service Victoria app. Neighbourhood Houses can also
help people to sign up and access the scheme – visit www.nhvic.org.au to find a participating
Neighbourhood House.
Information is available in 19 languages on the Sick Pay Guarantee website. To speak to an
interpreter, call the Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450 and ask for the Victorian
Sick Pay Guarantee hotline.
Member for Macedon, Mary-Anne Thomas: “People shouldn’t be forced to choose between going to work sick or putting food on the table – we’re proud to be expanding the Sick Pay Guarantee, because we know how important it is to support locals in Macedon.”
“Insecure work has terrible consequences, and we know how important it is for people to have the support and certainly they need to stay home and recover if they are sick or caring for a loved one.”

Words and Images: Eve Lamb

A diagnosis of dementia can be incredibly upsetting, and unfortunately the incidence of this lethal disease is rising across Macedon Ranges and Hepburn Shires.

However, some good news is that last week saw the local launch of a new federally-funded, free, three-day retreat offering people with dementia and their carers a valuable new source of respite and support.

Last Monday’s launch of the new three day (two night) Treehouse4Two retreat program follows Central Highlands Rural Health’s successfully securing $1.3 million in federal funding to make it happen.

They will now begin offering the new retreats in both the Hepburn and Macedon Ranges shires.

Launched at the Macedon Ranges Hotel and Spa, the retreats are designed to provide essential support, education and resources to navigate the difficult journey through dementia.

The specialised retreats are funded as an ongoing series through to mid 2026, and will take place in quality scenic local accommodation venues – with plenty of good food on the menu and an enjoyable “holiday vibe” as key aspects.

The first of the retreats are happening from this week with an initial intake of five couples attending.

Beyond this week’s, the retreats are then expected to accommodate six couples per retreat with all costs covered for participants.

“Sadly, there is quite an increase in dementia in both Hepburn and Macedon Ranges shires,” CHRH executive director Phil Catterson said.

According to a 2022 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report, 517 people were living with dementia in the Macedon Ranges Shire, of which 204 were males, and 314 were female. In Hepburn Shire, there were 389 people living with dementia, with 240 females and 149 males diagnosed.

The Treehouse4Two retreat program builds on CHRH’s existing Treehouse program which, for the past five years, has been supporting people living at home with dementia.

“We have had Treehouse for over five years now and it has been a great thing for us to understand how important respite is for people who have dementia,” Mr Catterson said.

“If you are given a diagnosis and it’s happening to you, it scares the heebie jeebies out of you and you don’t know how to react.”

CHRH Treehouse and Social Support manager Dora Mansbridge has an extensive nursing background, including in palliative care, and will be a leader for the new retreats that are based on a similar successful program run by Sydney’s Hammond Care.

“There’s a stigma that comes with having a dementia diagnosis,” Dora says.

“But dementia is not the end of the conversation. It’s the start.”

Knowing where to turn and how to begin managing and coping following a new diagnosis can be challenging and the new retreat program will especially aim to help those contending with a recent diagnosis.

Dora says couples who attend the retreats will enjoy time out to relax in a beautiful safe location.

But while it will feel like “a holiday” a skilled team of health and support care professionals will use the time to meaningfully engage with those who have the diagnosis and to provide their carers with skills and knowledge needed.

“Our aim is to provide essential support, education and resources to help people navigate this journey. It’s a tough gig – 24/7,” Dora said.

Sharing the load is a main aim and friendships and other valuable support contacts are expected to result.

“It’s going to feel a little like an extended family,” said Treehouse4Two Retreat Coordinator Paula Weekley.

Paula says the retreats’ outcomes will be closely watched with the hope of seeing them gain funding to continue beyond the initial four years.

Following this week’s very first Treehouse4Two retreat, three more will be held this year – in September, October and November, with ten then scheduled for each of 2024 and 2025, and six scheduled for 2026.

Among those keenly looking forward to attending one coming up soon is Hepburn Shire same-sex couple Chris Ling and Lewis Short, and Chris attended Monday’s launch.

“Lewis was diagnosed in 2016 and we have already been using the Treehouse program in Trentham,” Chris said.

The (pre-existing) Treehouse program is also offered at Kyneton and is now being launched at Daylesford with plans to make it available at Clunes into the future.

“With the retreat, I am looking forward to being with other carers and I’d like Lewis to be comfortable in a different place other than at home,” Chris says.

“For him it’s a chance to be with other people besides me and that will hopefully be a break for us from our normal routine.”

Dora says that additional suitable safe and scenic accommodation venues across Hepburn and Macedon Ranges shires are being sought as potential sites to hold the retreats.

More information about the Treehouse4Two retreat program is available through Central Highlands Rural Health.

The work of RoadSafe Central Highlands is about to be bolstered with the local road safety body among those set to enjoy a funding boost the Member for Macedon Mary-Anne Thomas says.

It, along with more than 90 Victorian schools, councils and not-for-profit organisations across the state is receiving a funding boost to deliver programs that reduce road trauma and save lives.

Minister for Roads and Road Safety Melissa Horne said 251 initiatives funded as part of the $1.5
million Community Road Safety Grants Program will deliver targeted education programs and
provide local solutions to local road safety concerns.

This program aims to help all road users, including drivers, motorcyclists and bike rider and our
most vulnerable road users in the Hepburn Shire.

This year’s grants program supports the Victorian Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030, which aims to
halve road deaths and reduce serious injuries by 2030 and eliminate road deaths by 2050.

The government has invested $6.4 million in the Community Road Safety Grants Program across
Victoria in the past five years to help local government, schools and not-for-profit organisations
develop and deliver road safety initiatives. For more information on the programs, please visit the
VicRoads website.

Mary-Anne Thomas MP: “Locals know the road safety issues facing their communities every day – these grants empower them to deliver vital road safety education and really make a difference.”

A key funding recipient is RoadSafe Central Highlands Inc who will roll out the following Programs:

• Bike Ed Instructor Training
• Looking After Our Mates
• Safer Drivers and Passengers Innovation (Road Safety Behaviours)
• Safer Drivers and Passengers Innovation (Distraction Fatigue and Older Drivers)