Early on the morning of Monday February 15, 1937, a team of 14 maintenance workers descended into the No. 20 shaft at the Wonthaggi state coal mine to undergo safety checks.

Shortly after 10am, a manager called one of the workers back to the surface. Moments later, the manager felt rumbling beneath his feet and the shaft cage used to descend into the mine rocketed up to the top with a cloud of coal dust behind it.

The explosion killed all 13 of the miners below and became known as the Wonthaggi coal mine disaster.

Take a look at a short video below on the disaster.

Wonthaggi locals packed the pews of the St George’s Anglican Church last week 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.

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 or watch a short video on the event below.

Voters will head to the polls on Saturday November 28, 2026 to elect the next Parliament of Victoria.

To keep you up to date we’ve created a go-to-guide, collating everything you need to know about candidates running for lower house seats across Gippsland.

We’ll keep updating this page as new candidates announce their campaigns or provide new policy details.

Check it out here.

Victoria’s political leaders have finally agreed to a public debate.

After a lot of back and forth between Victorian Labor Premier Ben Carroll and Opposition leader Jess Wilson about whether to include One Nation leader Warren Pickering in a debate, a compromise has finally been reached.

A debate date has been set for November 17.

Take a look at a video my colleague Archie Milligan from the National Account made on the debate below.