🍖 Gippsland’s best Sunday roasts

🎊 WHAT’S ON THIS WEEK 🎟️

• FRI. 19/06 - SUN. 12/07 | The Great Alpine Scarecrow Competition

• FRI. 19/06 - SUN. 19/07 | East Gippsland Winter Festival

• FRI. 03/07 - SAT. 04/07 | Paul Dempsey in Meeniyan

• FRI. 03/07 - SUN. 05/07 | Island Whale Festival

• FRI. 03/07 - SUN. 05/07 | Wonthaggi Acoustic Music Festival

• SATURDAY, 04/07/26 | Candlelight Concert on Churchill Island

• SATURDAY, 04/07/26 | Disco in the Bistro

• SUNDAY, 05/07/26 | Runway Stories - Fashion Parade

• EVERY WED, SAT & SUN. | Walhalla train rides

🧺 FARMERS MARKETS 🥧

• SATURDAY, 04/07/26 | Trafalgar Market

• SATURDAY, 04/07/26 | Koonwarra Farmers Market

• SATURDAY, 04/07/26 | Farmers' Market Bairnsdale

• SATURDAY, 04/07/26 | Heyfield Market

• SUNDAY, 05/07/26 | Maffra Rotary Community Market

• SUNDAY, 05/07/26 | Kongwak Market

🔍 HEARD THIS WEEK👂

🥩 Ultimate guide to Gippsland’s best Sunday roasts

Winter is well and truly here so the Monitor recommends getting rugged up, making the trip down to your local pub, cosying up by a fire and digging into a hearty Sunday roast.

We’ve compiled a list of the best roasts we’ve seen around Gippsland, but if you know of one that is worthy of our guide then feel free to email your suggestion to [email protected]. 

Check out the full list here.

🏍️ Phillip Island loses second major motorcycle race in blow to tourist economy

Two weeks ago, WorldSBK announced the FIM Superbike World Championships would be moving from Phillip Island’s Ventnor track to the Tailem Bend track in South Australia from 2028.

• This is the second major racing event to leave Phillip Island after the MotoGP decided not to renew its contract with Victoria in February.

🏁 Last races. The last international motorcycle races to be held on the island will be the MotoGP in October this year and a superbike event in February 2027.

The two motorbike organisations brought up Phillip Island’s aging infrastructure and facilities as reasons for the moves.

Take a look at a video explainer below.

💰 Free online tool helps Gippslanders find trusted installers and discounts for solar and battery setup

With so many different systems and government discounts available, deciding on a new solar panel or battery can be confusing. A new online tool created by the State Electricity Commission of Victoria (SEC) aims to help people find the tech, rebates and local businesses to electrify.

What happened: Released in May, Easy Electric SEC is a free website that lets users explore rebates and discounts for electric upgrades to their home, get obligation-free quotes and find local SEC-endorsed installers to complete their upgrades.

Close to home: Five years ago, Heather Buntine and her husband Lindsay Linnell moved to Ellinbank. They told the Monitor finding a trusted electrician to help upgrade their home with a solar and battery system was a daunting task.

“Finding a good provider was a bit of a stab in the dark,” Buntine told the Monitor.

Buntine said the installation of 24 rooftop solar panels and a home battery three years ago went well – but there were a few minor issues that needed to be fixed after the initial works.

It’s cases like this that led the SEC to create the Easy Electric directory.

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

🏛️ Gippsland councils join national push to make fossil fuel companies pay for severe weather damage

From Phillip Island to Lakes Entrance along Gippsland's coast, local councils are having to spend an increasing amount of ratepayer money on repairing the damages that severe weather events are causing.

Bass Coast Shire councilor Mat Morgan told the Monitor the council is juggling multiple problems as a result of floods and water inundation.

“We've had to move our surf life-saving club. We've got properties in Silverleaves that are being held up by a rock bag wall, but these are not long-term solutions. We don't know how much land we're going to lose.”

But this problem isn’t unique to Gippsland - local governments around the country are feeling the pinch, and last week they voted to demand fossil fuel companies help foot the bill.

What happened: The Australian Local Government Association (ALGA), which represents the country’s 537 councils, voted to request the federal government establish a Climate Compensation Fund to help pay for the growing cost of climate change damage.

• ALGA requested a parliamentary inquiry be set up to investigate levies and taxes on the coal, oil and gas corporations to finance the fund.

Read the full story here.

🥁 July gig guide: The best live music in Gippsland this month

💃 There's plenty of live music across Gippsland this July, so time to dust off your dancing shoes, remove that winter jacket and hit the dance floor.

📧 If you know of any shows you think we should add, don’t be afraid to email your suggestions to [email protected].

Check out the full list here.

LOOKING NATIONALLY 👀

ANZ said it would consider loaning a pub in Melbourne’s East $6 million, but only if it added eight more pokies.

My colleagues Matthew Sims from the Eastern Melburnian and Archie Milligan from the National Account had a chat last week about some reporting Matthew did on the Dorset Gardens Hotel in Melbourne's East.

The pub makes around $20 million a year from poker machines, the most of any venue in its local area. But to be considered for a bank loan for a renovation, it's been told to install eight more.

Check out the full chat below.