🥔 Pies, Potatoes & Paddle Pops

🔍 HEARD THIS WEEK👂

🏥 "We're fed up": Thousands of Victorian healthcare workers just staged their first-ever 24-hour strike

Thousands of healthcare workers from around Victoria began a 24-hour strike last night over a pay dispute with the government.

What happened: The strike action involved several branches of the Health Services Union, which voted to begin industrial action after what it says was an "insulting and disrespectful" wage offer from the Victorian government.

• The union is asking for a 36.18 percent wage increase for more than 13,000 allied health professionals over three years.

Thousands rally: Assistant Secretary for Victoria Allied Health Professional Association, Andrew Hewat, spoke to the Monitor while he was protesting on the steps of Victoria’s parliament. He said over 3,000 healthcare workers were attending the strike in Melbourne and more in towns around the state.

• “We've never taken 24 hour stoppages before,” Hewat said. “Pretty much all of the allied health services in public hospitals are being impacted to some degree today.”

The healthcare staff that walked off the job included radiographers, physiotherapists, podiatrists, hospital pharmacists, psychologists, occupational therapists, medical scientists, social workers, dietitians, and sonographers.

• The union clarified that urgent care staff would remain on the job during the strike action.

Doctor Helen Jeges, who has worked in the healthcare sector in Gippsland since 2018, told the Monitor “healthcare workers are fed up with being underpaid and undervalued and we’re calling out for a fair deal”.

Read the full story here.

🌡️ El Niño event declared with modelling suggesting it could bring hotter and drier conditions to much of Gippsland

The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has declared an El Niño weather event with modelling suggesting it could be the strongest on record. It’s rough news for Gippsland farmers who have already experienced an extreme dry season last year.

What is El Niño? El Niño is a climate phenomenon where surface waters in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean become significantly warmer than usual. This disrupts weather patterns and usually brings drier conditions to parts of Australia.

Rainfall and temperature impacts from one El Niño event to another can vary.

Impacts on Australia: The BOM’s three month forecast predicts that rainfall is likely to be below average across parts of southern and eastern Australia. Temperatures are likely to be above average in most areas, except parts of the north.

Read the full story here.

🥔 How a Thorpdale spud farmer is trialling smart new tech to save on cost and keep his potatoes healthy

Stuart Jennings owns and operates a 600 acre sheep and potato farm in the hilly Strzelecki Ranges of Thorpdale. But the uneven land his farm is located on can make watering his spuds difficult.

Jennings is trialling an automated pump system for his paddocks that reduces power and water use, stopping patches getting too wet or too dry.

What happened: A grant from Agriculture Victoria and the West Gippsland Catchment Authority (WGCMA) is giving six farmers across Gippsland the opportunity to test new water irrigation systems that could help them save time, water and money.

• Anthony Goode, who looks after sustainable irrigation programs for WGCMA, told the Monitor the grants are a chance for Gippsland farmers to trial and implement new technology and practices on their farms before sharing what they learn with the whole region.

🗣️“They’re essentially acting as guinea pigs to help us understand how technology like AI, GPS guidance and solar powered automation can work best on irrigation systems,” Goode said.

Read the full story here.

LOOKING NATIONALLY 👀

Did you ever win a Paddle Pop Lick-a-Prize?

My colleague Archie Milligan from the National Account looked into the classic Paddle Pop promotion and tried to find someone who won the coveted overseas holiday.

Check out his video on the subject below and let us know if you ever won the holiday.