⏱️ This Wednesday edition of our newsletter is a six-minute read.

👋 Hello Gippslanders, it’s Jacob here.

We’ve compiled a slightly shorter newsletter today due to the public holiday yesterday, but there’s still plenty of events and local stories to talk about.

👀 Looking ahead. In this week’s newsletter we’re talking about:

  • 🎤 A meet the candidates event forum in Wonthaggi;

  • ⚡️ Victoria One Nation’s plan to keep ageing coal-fired power plants running;

  • 💽 Victoria’s council association’s demand for a data centre moratorium;

  • 🦷 Labor’s free Latrobe dental clinic promise, and;

  • 🚢 The Australian billionaire who wants to rebuild the Titanic.

🎊 WHAT’S ON THIS WEEK 🎟️

🧺 FARMERS MARKETS 🥧

⁉️ Here are the answers to round 13 of the Gippsland Monitor Quiz

Feel free to email questions you think may stump our readers to [email protected].

✍️ GIPPSLAND QUIZ ANSWERS ✅

  1. How many pools does South Gippsland Shire operate?

    Six.

  2. Which Gippsland LGA voted to deny a McDonald’s development last week?

    Bass Coast Shire.

  3. What’s the name of the Peter Brock car currently on display at the Trafalgar Holden Museum?

    Blue Meanie.

  4. What is the name of the famous coastal rock formation on the south side of Phillip Island?

    Pyramid Rock.

  5. Who has just been cast as Erin Patterson in a tv series?

    Melanie Lynskey.

🚀 Alright, let’s jump into the Monitor’s latest yarns!

🔍 HEARD THIS WEEK👂

🎤 Bass candidates clash on Treaty and abortion as three-way race takes shape

Wonthaggi locals packed the pews of the St George’s Anglican Church on Thursday night to listen to Bass candidates make their pitch to represent the seat.

The setting: The event covered a wide range of local and state issues, from protecting the Western Port Woodlands and improving the livability of Bass, to disagreements around Treaty and abortion policy.

  • Bass has been won by the Labor Party at the last two state elections, but with increasing support for One Nation, a Redbridge polling analyst told the Monitor it is looking like a three way race between the Liberals, Labor and One Nation.

The players: Not all the candidates were in attendance at the event. Rochelle Halstead (Liberal), Sophie Thorn (Greens) and Antoinette Pitt (Independent) said they could not attend.

The Greens upper house candidate for Eastern Victoria Mat Morgan took Thorn’s place at the forum.

The speakers in order of who spoke first were:

  • Chris Buckingham (Labor);

  • Chris Jobe (Victorian Socialists);

  • Mat Morgan (Greens), and;

  • Nikole Schellekens (One Nation).

The local issues: Candidates debated a wide range of local, state and federal issues, from more action on gambling reform as well as better protection of domestic violence victims and care for the Western Port Woodlands.

Three major talking points took up much of the night: Poker machine reform, abortion rights and policy around Victorian Treaty with First Nations People.

Read the full story here.

💽 Victoria's council association demands statewide halt to data centres until rules are set

The Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) has demanded the state government impose a moratorium on new data centres, with plans to go “pretty hard” on whichever party is elected to government this November.

The announcement comes after Latrobe City Council endorsed a submission to the federal government pitching the shire as a prime location for data centre developments last month.

What happened? The peak body represents all 79 councils across Victoria and, during its October state council meeting, MAV called for a suspension on new data centres until a planning and environmental framework is established. 

  • Eight local councils raised the issue at the meeting.

  • A secondary motion also called for improved social, economic and environmental regulation to address water and land use concerns. 

Read the full story here.

🦷 Labor promises Latrobe Valley a free dental clinic. How would it operate?

A free dental clinic in Latrobe would be open for 76 hours a week, under a state Labor promise made on Sunday.

Labor leader Ben Carroll upsized his pledge for 10 dental clinics to 20, with Latrobe one of six regional locations. The others are Geelong, Mildura, Shepparton, Ballarat and Bendigo.  

He said the walk-up clinics would open in July 2027, and that the government would invest $460 million in the scheme. The clinics would open from 9am to 9pm on weekdays and 9am to 5pm on weekends.

People would be able to have free check-ups, fillings, root canals and extractions. Cases would be prioritised on the basis of urgency.

In an attempt to lure workers at the clinics, the state would offer regional dentists a sign-on bonus of $30,000.

The Australian Dental Association Victoria Branch (ADAVB) said the Labor proposal was a "significant and untested model” and must not increase "publicly eligible and underserved populations paying fees while others receive care for free”.

Read the full story here.

LOOKING NATIONALLY 👀

Have you heard the one about the Australian billionaire rebuilding the Titanic?

In 2011, Australian billionaire Clive Palmer bought a Queensland resort and filled it with animatronic dinosaurs, then announced plans for a modern Titanic replica, a ship that is yet to be built.

My colleague Archie Milligan from the National Account made a video about these bold endeavours. Take a look at it below.

🎥 Watch: How much will One Nation spend to keep Latrobe’s ageing coal-fired plants operating?

Speaking at a Narracan election forum last week, Victoria One Nation candidate Ben Lucas told the Monitor the party would force energy companies to keep their ageing coal plants open and build a new site entirely if elected to government.

However neither the party, nor its candidate, can say how much this will cost.

Read the full story here or watch a short video explainer on it below.

Thanks for catching up with the Monitor today. I hope you enjoyed your day off yesterday and if you were working I hope you get some relaxation time soon.

Cheers,
Jacob & the Gippsland Monitor team

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