Newsletter: $250 million to fill a hole

Plus: Gun laws and train stations.

Author

Jacob Wallace
January 23, 2026

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

👋 Hello Gippslanders, it’s Jacob here.

🏝️ It’s been another busy week at the Monitor. I hope you’re all ready for the long weekend. I’m not sure exactly what I’m going to get up to yet, but I’ll most likely be heading to one of Gippsland’s many picturesque beaches to soak up some rays.

📸 Before we dive into any stories, take a look at this picture I snapped of part of the Nyora railway station. I filmed a video history of the train station this week that you can see later in this newsletter.

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

  • 🏛️ Australia’s new gun laws and whether they’ll impact farmers;

  • 💧 The Gippsland hole that’s going to cost $250 million to fill with water;

  • 🚂 The history of the Nyora railway station, and;

  • 🎤 The National Account’s new podcast.

🎊 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👂

Image credit: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas.

The Australian federal government passed new gun laws this week in response to the terror attack at Bondi Beach on December 14.

The new laws, along with Victoria’s review of its own firearm legislation, will tighten background checks and fund a national gun buyback scheme.

One of the laws being considered by the state government is to limit the number of firearms that may be held by an individual.

This proposal has raised concerns from farmers and gun club members who say they are being unfairly targeted in the aftermath of the Bondi terror attack.

What is Victoria doing in response?

The state government also announced a review of its gun laws on December 21, to be led by former Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Ken Lay.

The review will consider restricting the types of firearms and gun modifications that are legal, introducing Australian citizenship as a condition for holding a firearms licence and limiting the number of firearms that can be owned by an individual.

Public consultation for the review closes on February 3.

What impact could the new laws have on farmers?

Neerim South dairy farmer Dave Johnson told the Monitor he’s concerned the new laws will restrict the amount of guns he’s able to own - making it harder for him to control pests.

  • 🗣️ “Every pest requires a different [gun] - a rabbit you'll shoot with a 22 [calibre] but for deer and foxes you need bigger calibre guns for that.”

He also allows hunters on his property to help drive pest numbers down.

“There are so many feral animals around at the moment,” Johnson said. “I've got foxes and rabbits everywhere.”

  • 🗣️“You need a lot of firepower to control pests, and the state and federal governments are not controlling them.”

Johnson said the only other time he uses a gun is to euthanise a cow, “every now and again”.

💰 This hole in Gippsland is going to cost $250 million to fill

In December last year, the Victorian government decided how much it is going to charge energy company AGL to fill its open cut mine at Loy Yang with water.

AGL is set to retire the mine in 2035 as the company sees it as less commercially viable with renewables now the cheapest way to generate power.

So what will they do with the giant hole in the ground? Take a look at the video below to find out.

LOOKING NATIONALLY 👀

My colleague Archie Milligan from the National Account has launched a new podcast, where he interviews Gazette News reporters from around Australia.

The first two podcasts are out, so if you’re interested in what’s happening in Western Victoria and on the Mid North Coast of NSW then have a listen below.

The National Account

Podcast · The National Account · We'll look into it.

🎥 Watch: The history of Nyora train station 🚂

If you’ve ever driven through Nyora you’ve probably spotted the bright yellow railway station next to the main park. The station opened in 1890 and ran passenger services for 103 years before the line closed.

Take a look at a history video I filmed about the station below.

Thanks for catching up with us this week at the Monitor. I hope you enjoyed this Friday issue. As always, if you have any local stories that you think are being underreported in the news then send us an email at [email protected] and we’ll check it out.

I’ll be back in your inbox next week with more Gippsland history, informative news and local perspectives, so stay tuned.

Have a great (long) weekend everyone.

Cheers,
Jacob & the Gippsland Monitor team

🤳 If you’re not already subscribed, you can keep up to date with everything we’re reporting on at the Gippsland Monitor on these platforms:
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
TikTok
or our website