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

👋 Hello Gippslanders, it’s Jacob here.

📸 Before we dive into some local news stories, here’s a picture I took of a blue fairy wren over the weekend.

❓ In our lead up to the Victorian election in November, we want to know how engaged our readership is in politics. We have a few short questions below that you can click yes or no to - please be honest.

Do you know the name of the Victorian premier?

Login or Subscribe to participate

Do you know the name of the Victorian opposition leader?

Login or Subscribe to participate

Do you know the name of your state MP?

Login or Subscribe to participate

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

  • 💾 Everything you need to know about Gippsland’s data centre development;

  • 🚑 How Gippsland emergency response times compare to the rest of the state;

  • 🏰 Nine Gippsland buildings with fascinating histories to check out, and;

  • 🔍 Where all these AI election ads are coming from.

🎊 WHAT’S ON THIS WEEK 🎟️

🧺 FARMERS MARKETS 🥧

⁉️ Here are the answers to the sixth Gippsland Monitor Quiz questions I sent out on Wednesday.

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

✍️ GIPPSLAND QUIZ ANSWERS ✅

  1. What kind of mollusk is Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation trialling growing in Gippsland Lakes?

    Oysters.

  2. What type of whale typically migrates along the Gippsland coast during the cooler months?

    Humpback whale.

  3. What’s in a Port Welshpool burger?

    Fried chicken, beef patty and a cheese croquette.

  4. Which occasional visitor to Gippsland’s coast has the scientific name Neophoca cinerea?

    Australian sea lion.

  5. In which Gippsland lake will you find Grebe Bay?

    Grebe Bay.

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

🔍 HEARD THIS WEEK👂

🚨 Three Gippsland shires miss emergency ambulance targets as paramedics get stuck in hospital queues

Gippsland paramedics are being stretched thin as emergency response times in three of the region's shires sit above state requirements.

What’s happening: The secretary for the Victorian Ambulance Union, Danny Hill, told the Monitor that East Gippsland, Wellington, and South Gippsland are well behind other parts of the state in their code one ambulance response times.

  • Code one cases are high-priority, time-critical or life threatening emergency incidents that require an immediate response.

By the numbers: For regional areas, the Victorian government target is that ambulances reach 85 percent of code one cases within 15 minutes.

The latest Ambulance Victoria response data from January to March this year show how three Gippsland shires are behind this goal.

  • The average response time in Wellington Shire is 19 minutes and ambulances only arrive within 15 minutes 50 percent of the time.

  • In East Gippsland, the average is over 19 minutes, and ambulances only hit the required benchmark 55.6 percent of the time.

  • Then in South Gippsland, the average is also over 19 minutes, and ambulances only get to the patients within 15 minutes 45 percent of the time.

Ambulance Victoria Executive Director Regional Operations, Michael Georgiou, said in a statement they are always looking to improve response times – and that the statewide average had gone down 12 seconds in January to March compared to the previous quarter.

⚡️ Everything you need to know about Gippsland's new data centre

In January, a Singaporean company secured the rights to a 123-hectare site on the outskirts of Morwell, near the former Hazelwood Power Station, to build and operate a data centre. Construction is expected to begin in the next couple of years.

The project is predicted to suck up 720MW of electricity, making it one of the largest data centres in the country.

Take a look at a video explainer of the development below.

🏰 Here are nine old buildings in Gippsland with fascinating stories to check out

From 149-year-old hotels to dilapidated milk factories and art deco pubs, Gippsland is home to many buildings with long and intricate histories that tell the story of this region.

The Monitor has written and made videos about a bunch of these sites and we’ve compiled our favourite ones here.

If you have any suggestions for buildings that we should check out, feel free to email us at [email protected]. 

Check out the full list here.

LOOKING NATIONALLY 👀

Who is behind all these AI generated ads?

My colleague Archie Milligan from the National Account looked into who is funding an organisation called Fixed Victoria, which is running an AI ad campaign into the lead up to the state election in November.

Take a look at his investigation below.

☎️ Call out. Next week, I’m looking to write a story on housing stress and homelessness in Gippsland. If you’re someone experiencing homelessness or know someone who is and you’re happy to chat to me, feel free to reach out at [email protected].

Thanks for catching up with us this week at the Monitor, I’ll be back in your inbox on Wednesday with more local news, events and videos.

Cheers,
Jacob & the Gippsland Monitor team

Keep Reading