Ian Hitchings’ family has farmed the land around the mouth of the Powlett River for almost a century, but given the chance he would see the 240 hectares returned to the swamp it once was.

Driving through the low-lying farmland of the Kugerungmome Estuary west of Wonthaggi in his dusty Toyota HiLux, Hitchings pointed out the yearly problem with one of his family’s properties.

“There's about 130 acres on that block that gets inundated with water and is basically useless for six months of the year,” Hitchings said.

“It would have been better off to be left for the environment, because it's not very profitable farming land. I have a saying: ‘If you can't drive a tractor on the farm, it's not worth having’.”

What’s happening: The water of the Powlett River/Kugerungmome Estuary spans roughly 50,800 hectares as it runs from the Strzelecki Ranges around Korumburra through to its exit point on Williamson’s Beach where it flows into the Bass Strait.

Clearing of the estuary for agricultural use began in the late 19th century, when settlers started chopping down bushland and draining marshy areas of water by carving out streams.

But despite this work, the low-lying farmland around Wonthaggi remains flooded with water for much of the year.

“It's only six months of the year you get anything out of those 130 hectares,” Hitchings said. “However, it's still rated rural, we've still got to pay rates to keep it, but it's very unproductive land.”

Read the full story here or watch a video about it below.

Since opening in 2023, two urgent care clinics in Gippsland have treated approximately 27,000 patients each year, diverting many away from an emergency department (ED) visit and/or a journey in the back of an ambulance.

Urgent care clinics are designed to treat people with illness, chronic conditions or non-life threatening injuries who do not need to be treated at an emergency department (ED).

What happened: In a report released in June, Gippsland Primary Health Network (GPHN) looked at the degree to which Gippsland’s healthcare system was preventing unnecessary hospitalisations.

In the latest statistics, for the 2024-25 financial year, 43,462 patients presented at Gippsland EDs with a “low-urgency issue”, which was 33 percent of all ED presentations for that year.

The data in the report covers how effectively Gippsland’s two standalone urgent care clinics in Warragul and Moe are relieving emergency wait times at hospitals. 

There are various hospitals around the region that offer urgent care services but providing them can still put a strain on staff and emergency wait times.

Read the full story here.

The warmer months are finally here and there’s so many great events on this month to celebrate. To help you plan ahead, the Monitor has compiled a list.

Check out the list here.

It’s time to dust off your dancing shoes, remove that winter jacket and show off your best moves.

Check out the list here.

The Monitor has compiled a collection of family-friendly events across Gippsland this month.

Check out the list here.

How are people able to advertise cigarette businesses on Facebook marketplace when it’s illegal?

My colleague Archie Milligan from the National Account looked into how the big tech company Meta has failed to stick to Australian advertising rules.

Take a look at his video below.