Warragul candidates from across the political spectrum gathered at the Downtowner Bar & Bistro on Tuesday night, making their pitch to voters for the November state election.

From bold commitments to tirades about the state’s fire service levy, the room of about 70 attendees listened attentively to what each candidate was selling, including a promise from current Narracan MP Wayne Farnham to resign if the long-awaited Warragul hospital wasn’t being built by the 2030 election.

The setting: Narracan is widely tipped as a race between the Liberals and One Nation, yet candidates from Labor, the Greens, Victorian Socialists and Family First made it to the stage.

The local issues: Candidates debated a range of topics over the course of the night, from political donations and education to healthcare and homelessness.

In probably the night’s most enthusiastic commitment, Farnham said he’d resign if the new Warragul hospital wasn’t being built by the 2030 election.

Labor candidate Janette Langley’s promise to complete the hospital caused a crowd member to yell: “You’ve had 12 years.”

Read the full story here.

One Nation wants to keep the Latrobe Valley’s coal plants open and build a new site entirely. However the party, nor its candidate in Narracan, Ben Lucas, can say how much it will cost.

What happened: With an increasing amount of unplanned power outages and high maintenance costs, the future of Gippsland’s coal-fired power plants is a major question for local candidates heading into the state election.

Operators say many of the plants are no longer commercially viable, as rising costs combine with the global energy market’s shift to renewables. In Victoria, renewable energy delivered 44.6 percent of the state’s electricity generation in 2025.

During a candidate forum in Narracan this week, One Nation candidate Ben Lucas refused to rule out using taxpayer money to extend the life of coal plants in the Latrobe Valley, but could not give a figure of how much something like that would cost.

Quick recap: The Latrobe Valley is home to three coal-fired power plants, two at Loy Yang and one at Yallourn.

The companies that operate them, AGL, Alinta Energy and Energy Australia, have all confirmed the stations will be decommissioned with Yallourn the first in mid-2028.

Energy Australia chief executive Mark Collette told the Australian Financial Review that its Yallourn coal generator was struggling to remain reliable and profitable amid the rise of cheaper renewables, and this meant extending its life was not on the agenda.

Read the full story here.

With water, power and plenty of space, Latrobe City Council has pitched the valley to the federal government as a prime location for data centre developments.

What happened: In a submission to the federal government endorsed by councillors last week, the council argued the region has access to everything required for new data centres development.

What they said: Latrobe City Mayor Sharon Gibson told the Monitor the council’s submission also advocated for federal regulations covering environmental, water and community impacts.

Once that’s in play, the sky’s the limit.

The council’s submission included seven recommendations, like more protection for adjoining landowners and avoiding state or federal-level fast-tracking of developments.

An eighth recommendation was added in the meeting last week, calling for early and ongoing community engagement for data centre proposals.

Read the full story here.

How effective will opt-out gambling ad reforms be at combating problem gambling?

In 2023, a parliamentary inquiry recommended a phased total ban on all online gambling advertising over three years. Instead the Albanese is seeking to let users opt-out of gambling ads on social media and streaming services.

My colleague Archie Milligan from the National Account looked into whether this method was as effective at stopping problem gambling.

Take a look at his video for more.