Newsletter: Gippsland farmers step up

Plus: Phillip Island's Moto GP at risk.

Author

Jacob Wallace
January 16, 2026

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

👋 Hello Gippslanders, it’s Jacob here.

I’d like to say a warm welcome to the 136 new subscribers who signed up to our newsletter in the last week. It’s always nice to say hello to new Gippslanders, I hope you enjoy this newsletter and find some stories that inform and/or entertain.

📸 Before we dive into some stories, take a look at this orange Gippsland sunset picture our reader Karen Yann sent us. What a stunning view!

👀 Here’s a quick rundown: In this week’s newsletter we’re talking about;

  • How you can help Traralgon Lions Club and Aussie Hay Runners in donating to fire-impacted farmers in Victoria;

  • The risks posed by onshore gas exploration at Ninety Mile Beach in Gippsland;

  • A petition to keep the MotoGP on Phillip Island; and;

  • A new state government wind farm development in Delburn.

🎤 This week I talked to Ray Akers from Traralgon Lions Club about organising hay bale donations for farmers who had their properties burnt by the catastrophic bushfires that swept Victoria over the weekend.

Akers is working alongside the charity Aussie Hay Runners to help out those in need.

He told me that this Saturday they’ve organised over 70 utes and trailers to take hay up to farmers around Alexandra who were impacted by the Longwood bushfires.

If you’d like to help out with hay, transport or a donation, please contact Aussie Hay Runners on 0421 972 332.

❝

We don't have to emphasise the importance. They just do it.

Ray Akers on getting Gippsland farmers to donate hay bales

🎥 Take a look at a video I made about the hay donations below.

🎊 WHAT’S ON THIS WEEK 🎟️

🧺 FARMERS MARKETS 🥧

🚀 Alright, let’s jump into the Monitor’s latest yarns, local interviews and silly videos!

🔍 HEARD THIS WEEK👂

Environmental groups say new gas exploration licenses for Gippsland’s Ninety Mile Beach could put national parks and groundwater at risk – and wouldn’t be necessary if Australia kept more gas for the domestic market instead of exporting it.

  • The licenses, put out by the Victorian government, were announced in December: one is onshore in Gippsland and another is offshore in the Otway Basin. 

  • These licences will allow private companies to search for gas reserves and look at the viability of drilling to extract petroleum.

Plenty of gas, just not for us: Environmental groups like Environment Victoria and Friends of the Earth, as well as industry experts say claims the state is running out of gas can largely be blamed on the industry’s practice of exporting more than it uses, resulting in less gas being available for the Australian public.

What is being proposed? In Gippsland, the area that will be looked at covers 199 square kilometres between Woodside and Seaspray along the coast and near the Ninety Mile Beach Marine National Park.

Water your concerns: Climate Campaign manager at Environment Victoria, Joy Toose, told the Monitor: “The key issue for Gippsland is that it puts the local groundwater at risk and much of the permit area is unsuitable for gas.”

In its submission to the government on the proposal, Environment Victoria cited a 2020 state government report that found even low levels of gas extraction would cause groundwater levels to decline.

  • Toose pointed out that since that report was finished Gippsland’s waterways have come under increased pressure from a drying climate. She also pointed out the large quantities of water sought by mine companies to rehabilitate open-cut mines in the Latrobe Valley.

🏍️ Phillip Island’s Moto GP future at risk

Phillip Island locals and Bass Coast councillors are concerned they could lose the iconic MotoGP race with a contract to host the event expiring this year. Take a look at a video I made on the story below.

LOOKING NATIONALLY 👀

This week the head of Australia’s consumer watchdog (ACCC), Gina Cass-Gottlieb, said it’s likely they will end up in a courtroom battle with Coles and Woolworths over the supermarket giant’s profits.

In late 2025, the federal government introduced new laws to prevent very large retailers like Coles and Woolworths from charging prices that were excessive when compared to the cost of supply.

The ban will come into effect on July 1, but the ACCC is expecting the supermarket giants to change their prices beforehand.

Cass-Gottlieb said in an interview with the Australian Financial Review that it’s likely that court action will be taken by the ACCC against the supermarket giants at some point in the future.

Take a look at the National Account’s video below for the full story.

🎥 Watch: The history of the SEC and Australia’s first publicly-owned wind farm

Last week I wrote a story on the history of Victoria’s State Electricity Commission (SEC) and the commission’s recent purchase of a wind farm in Delburn, Gippsland. Take a look at a video I made about the story below.

🙌 Thanks for catching up with us this week at the Monitor. I hope you enjoyed this issue of our newsletter and I’d love to hear from you.

If you have something you’d like to share with us, whether it’s a local story you think needs more attention, an odd bit of Gippsland history you’d like others to know about or a scenic photograph you’ve taken of the region then feel free to send us an email at [email protected]

I’ll be back in your inbox next week with more local yarns, informative videos and event guides, so stay tuned.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Cheers,
Jacob & the Gippsland Monitor team

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