News

Australia confirmed its first mainland detection of H5N1 on 20 June, when a Brown Skua found in Western Australia tested positive. The arrival of the highly pathogenic avian influenza on Australian soil is a sobering moment for the local community.

A Victorian parliamentary inquiry has recommended that end-of-life offshore oil and gas infrastructure in Bass Strait should be fully removed unless leaving it in place can be demonstrated to deliver better environmental outcomes.

South Gippsland Shire Council will conclude its Community Sharps Program on 30 June 2026 and remove several needle disposal bins across the region, though sharps disposal units located inside public toilet wall safes will remain in place.

South Gippsland Shire Council has adopted its 2026-27 annual budget, delivering a 2.75 per cent rate rise and a $24.26 million capital works program after a spirited debate at last Wednesday’s council meeting that saw one councillor vote against.

A wish list of parking and access improvements for Fish Creek has been left unfunded in South Gippsland Shire Council's 2026/27 budget, despite a detailed community submission outlining a string of practical concerns about how visitors, locals and service vehicles move through the town.

South Gippsland Shire Council's 2026/27 budget confirms a significant pullback in funding for public toilets across the shire, both in terms of new infrastructure and the ongoing cleaning of some existing non-Council-owned facilities.

A petition carrying more than 2,000 signatures calling for a three-year rates freeze failed to sway the majority of South Gippsland Shire councillors at Wednesday 17 June's budget meeting, but it did generate the meeting's most pointed debate.