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A NEW ERA BEGINS FOR LUCKNOW FOOTBALL NETBALL CLUB
Demolition will soon start on the old clubrooms at the Lucknow Recreation Reserve to make way for a new $1.86 million facility for players and spectators. Members of the Lucknow Football and Netball Club have cleared the rooms of furniture and equipment and packed...
HEAVY VEHICLE SAFETY FUNDING BOOST FOR GIPPSLAND
A project aimed at saving lives and reducing road trauma in Gippsland has been granted a share of funding under round five of the Australian Government’s Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative (HVSI). Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester said the funding would...
WELCOME HELP FOR YARRAM’S MEN’S SHED
Yarram Men’s Shed is among four local men’s sheds in Gippsland to receive a welcome funding boost through the National Shed Development Program. Local MP Darren Chester has announced the Yarram shed would receive $2575 to buy tools and equipment. “I’ve been able to...
IRRIGATION UPGRADES FOR EAST GIPPSLAND UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB
Players, coaches, officials and families will have something extra to look forward to when East Gippsland United Football Club resumes competition next season. The club has installed a new irrigation system to improve the playing conditions at Bairnsdale’s Howitt...
HELP EXTENDED FOR FIRE-AFFECTED PRIMARY PRODUCERS & SMALL BUSINESSES
Changes have been made to grant programs for primary producers and small businesses so more Gippslanders affected by the summer bushfires can receive government support. Primary producers and small businesses in East Gippsland and Wellington shires will benefit from...
FIRST LOOK AT PLANS FOR SALE MAIN OVAL UPGRADE
Conceptual drawings have been finalised for new female-friendly changerooms at Sale Main Oval. Both the changerooms under the grandstand and under the ‘Sporties’ clubrooms will be upgraded by the next football-netball season. There will also be a new unisex toilet...
EAST GIPPSLAND NEEDS 10 YEAR RECOVERY PLAN: CHESTER
Member for Gippsland Darren Chester says East Gippsland needs more than $180 million in government funding over the next 10 years to achieve its full potential. Releasing a draft ‘East Gippsland Recovery 2030 Plan’, Mr Chester said all levels of government needed to...
MORE MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT DUE TO CORONAVIRUS RESTRICTIONS
Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester is urging locals to reach out for help if their mental health suffers due to the second coronavirus lockdown. Mr Chester said the Federal Government would provide 10 additional Medicare subsidised psychological therapy...
WORLD WAR TWO VETERANS TO RECEIVE 75TH ANNIVERSARY MEDALLION
Reg Selwyn was an 18-year-old living at Cowwarr when he joined the Australian Army in 1942. Reg did his training in Queensland before he was stationed at Buna in Papua New Guinea as a driver-mechanic during World War Two and was responsible for carting freight from...
WORLD WAR TWO VETERANS TO RECEIVE 75TH ANNIVERSARY MEDALLION
Keith Grandy joined the Armoured Division during World War Two in 1941 and was ready to deploy to Libya when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour in December that year. Instead, Mr Grandy served in the Northern Territory ensuring supplies of food, fuel and munitions to...
WORLD WAR TWO VETERANS TO RECEIVE 75TH ANNIVERSARY MEDALLION
Two years ago, Bairnsdale RSL Sub-branch had 37 members who served during World War Two. There are now just 19. Among them are 96-year-old Tom Smith from Wiseleigh, Margaret ‘Peggy’ Thorne, also 96, who lives at Nicholson, and Eagle Point’s John ‘Jack’ Macartney,...
WORLD WAR TWO VETERANS TO RECEIVE 75TH ANNIVERSARY MEDALLION
Ask 98-year-old Rose Jackson what she remembers about the end of the Second World War and she’ll tell you about the bells ringing, car horns honking, people hanging out of windows and streets crammed with happy revellers. Mrs Jackson, who grew up in Seaspray and lives...
DANGEROUS INTERSECTION TO BE REDESIGNED
A dangerous intersection just outside of Glengarry will be redesigned with a roundabout to improve road user safety. The Federal Government is committing $3 million to replace the T-intersection at the Traralgon-Maffra Road and Glengarry West Road with a roundabout....
A HELPING HAND FOR TWIN RIVERS MEN’S SHED
One of Gippsland’s newest men’s sheds has just moved into its new home – and has received a double grant bonus of more than $10,000 to start fitting it out with essential equipment. The Twins Rivers Men’s Shed has been operating for around 18 months, but until earlier...
RESTORATION OF BAIRNSDALE’S CENOTAPH MOVES AHEAD
A major restoration of Bairnsdale’s heritage-listed cenotaph moved another step forward today with a de-consecration ceremony held ahead of the beginning of site work. Local MP Darren Chester, who is also the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, attended the ceremony held...
HELP TO REPAIR AND REPLACE COMMUNITY FACILITIES LOST IN THE BUSHFIRES
Community groups in bushfire-affected areas of Gippsland can now apply for grants of up to $50,000 to help rebuild and repair their facilities destroyed or damaged in the summer bushfires. Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester is urging eligible volunteer and...
FINAL STAGES OF WORK TO START ON THE ESPLANADE SOON
The multi-million dollar project to transform the Esplanade in Lakes Entrance into a safer and more welcoming and attractive precinct is about to enter its final stages. Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester said work on one of the last major components of the...
CHESTER WELCOMES PROGRESS ON GENOA FOOTBRIDGE REPLACEMENT
Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester has welcomed progress on the replacement of a historic piece of infrastructure destroyed in the summer bushfires in far East Gippsland. Mr Chester said the destruction of the 93-year-old footbridge in Genoa had greatly...
SEALED RAIL TRAIL NEARLY FINISHED BETWEEN TRARALGON AND GLENGARRY
Work to seal a seven-kilometre section of the Gippsland Plains Rail Trail between Traralgon and Glengarry is nearing completion. It will be the second of two federally-funded projects along the rail trail to be finished in the past few months. Federal Member for...
BUSHFIRE RECOVERY FOR AFFECTED NATIVE WILDLIFE IN GIPPSLAND
Six projects in Gippsland have been selected to help native wildlife and habitat recover from the recent bushfires as part of the Federal Government’s $12 million Wildlife and Habitat Bushfire Recovery Program. Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester said the...
SUPPORT EXTENDED TO GIPPSLAND HOUSEHOLDS AND BUSINESSES
The JobKeeper program and Coronavirus Supplement have been extended for Gippslanders under the next phase of the Federal Government’s support for affected businesses and households. Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester said the economic support was vital in...
ALBERTON TIMBER’S NEW POST PEELING FACILITY NEARLY READY
The Alberton Timber and Treatment Plant is nearing the end of a two-year $1.25 million dollar expansion to install a post peeling facility to increase efficiency and create local jobs. The new post peeling facility, built at the plant on the South Gippsland Highway in...
FIRST LOOK AT DESIGNS FOR ACCESSIBLE CIRCUIT IN LAKES ENTRANCE
Lakes Entrance residents have been given the first view of concept plans to develop an all-abilities accessible circuit which links Main Beach and Eastern Beach with a raised boardwalk. The project, which has received $50,000 in Federal Government funding to develop...
NEW CAFÉ FOR BAIRNSDALE GOLF CLUB
Bairnsdale Golf Club, located on Paynesville Road, Eagle Point, is also among the local recipients of a $10,000 grant through the #lovegippsland Stronger Community Program. The funding will go toward building a café for golfers and visitors to the club. The project,...
FIRST SNEAK PEAK AT EAST GIPPSLAND’S NEWEST LANDMARK
Passers-by can now get a good idea of how the new viewing platform at the western gateway into Lakes Entrance will look when it is complete. Wooden batons have been fixed to the curved steel frame that extends out from the hilltop as the modern, fully-accessible...
LET’S GET THE HIGHWAY DUPLICATION DONE, URGES CHESTER
Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester wants work to begin as soon as possible to complete the duplication of the Princes Highway between Traralgon and Sale to help create local jobs. News that $253.2 million in funding for the final two stages at Flynn and...
NEW PRINCES HIGHWAY OVERTAKING LANES FINISHED EAST OF GENOA
Motorists are now enjoying a new overtaking lane on the Princes Highway east of Genoa. The new west-bound lane is an important component of the $50 million package of major upgrades along the Princes Highway from Bairnsdale to the New South Wales border. Federal...
$2 BILLION SKILLS PACKAGE TO HELP JOB SEEKERS IN GIPPSLAND
Local MP Darren Chester has welcomed a $2 billion Federal Government skills funding package to train and up-skill hundreds of thousands of Australians for jobs in growth industries. The new funding package will also guarantee support for tens of thousands of...
TWIN RIVERS LIONS CLUB’S SHED SHOP PREPARES FOR SPRING OPENING
A band of volunteers is hard at work in a big shed just off the Princes Highway at Swan Reach where they are busy setting up the Twin Rivers Lions Club's shed shop and community book exchange. Led by President Desma Payne and Vice President Lynn Kohler (known to many...
BUSY TRARALGON INTERSECTION TO RECEIVE $1 MILLION SAFETY MAKEOVER
A busy intersection in a growth area of Traralgon will undergo a $1 million re-build to improve safety for pedestrians and motorists. The Federal Government is contributing $800,000 to improve the intersection of Tyers Road, Scrubby Lane and Cross’s Road. The...
APPLICATIONS OPEN FOR LOCAL SPORTING CHAMPIONS GRANTS
Applications are now open to talented young people involved in sport looking for help with some of the costs of competing at a state, national or international level. Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester is encouraging juniors, coaches and officials aged...
BOOST FOR FARMERS EXPORTING PRODUCE INTO INDONESIA
Beef, dairy and vegetable farmers in Gippsland will benefit from increased export opportunities to Indonesia as the free trade agreement struck between Australia and one of our closest northern neighbours takes effect this week. Under the Indonesia-Australia...
ENJOY YOUR OWN GIPPSLAND ‘STAYCATION’, URGES CHESTER
Gippslanders can still explore their region and support local jobs despite the coronavirus travel restrictions imposed on Melbourne, according to local MP Darren Chester. Fresh from a ‘staycation’ of his own during the school holidays, Mr Chester said it was...
CHESTER BACKS ONE SITE FOR SALE COLLEGE
Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester has welcomed local efforts to consolidate Sale College on one site with a new school. Mr Chester, a former student of the college, is supporting Wellington Shire Council and Gippsland South MP Danny O’Brien in their campaign...
A NEW CHAPTER BEGINS FOR TRARALGON’S HISTORIC COURTHOUSE
The Traralgon courthouse has embarked on a new chapter in its colourful history, but this time there are no solicitors, prosecutors, magistrates or defendants to be seen anywhere. The 134-year-old building is gradually being re-purposed to become a welcoming, modern...
NEW STUDY OPPORTUNITIES FOR GIPPSLANDERS
Gippslanders have the opportunity to use their social distancing time to upskill and retrain during the coronavirus pandemic with a number of short courses on offer as part of the Federal Government’s Higher Education Relief Package. Federal Member for Gippsland...
LONG FIGHT FOR HIGHWAY FUNDING PAYS OFF
Gipplsanders have had a $200 million win in the long fight to secure funding for the Princes Highway duplication. Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester today said the Federal Government was providing $202.6 million to complete the duplication of the Princes...
NOWA NOWA REMEMBERS ITS SON LOST DURING WORLD WAR TWO
Nowa Nowa Community Development Group is among the groups from across Australia to share more than $2.2 million through the Saluting Their Service commemorative grants program. Federal Member for Gippsland and Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Darren Chester has...
SUBSIDISED TELEHEALTH SERVICES SHOULD STAY, SAYS CHESTER
Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester says subsidised telehealth services introduced during the coronavirus pandemic should continue to be funded through Medicare. The Federal Government expanded Medicare-subsidised telehealth services for all Australians in...
VETERAN CHOOSES CHESTER AS HIS ARCHIBALD PRIZE SUBJECT
It’s not every day an artist approaches you to be the subject of his entry for the Archibald Prize. But that’s how local MP Darren Chester this week found himself having his portrait sketched by Robert Milton, an artist and a veteran from Bendigo. Mr Chester worked at...
TAPESTRIES FIND NEW HOME IN OMEO
When Bairnsdale’s Nell Jubb heard the shearing stands were to be replaced at the Omeo Recreation Reserve, she knew she had just the thing to finish off the renovation. Two things, actually. You see, 86-year-old Nell is rather gifted when it comes to creating...
BUNNINGS’ DECISION TO STOP SOURCING TIMBER FROM VICFORESTS SLAMMED
Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester has slammed today’s decision by Bunnings to stop sourcing timber from VicForests. “It is extraordinary that Bunnings would make this premature decision without any genuine consultation with its local suppliers and jeopardise...
HEADSPACE TO BEGIN SERVING YOUNG PEOPLE IN SALE THIS MONTH
Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester has welcomed the start of a new youth mental health service for Sale and the surrounding areas. Mr Chester said services were due to be available online three days a week through headspace Sale later this month. “The...
$1.8 MILLION FOR A MICROGRID STUDY IN HEYFIELD
Heyfield is on track to become a model town for communities across Australia interested in setting up their own mini electricity grid. The town is the location for the MyTown Microgrid: a Community and Data-driven Feasibility Project which has secured $1.78 million in...
WIN FOR LATROBE RIVER IRRIGATORS
Member for Gippsland Darren Chester says funding to study further irrigation opportunities in the heart of Gippsland is a great win for local farmers. “I met with Latrobe River irrigators this week and agree there is enormous potential for future growth in the...
RELIEF FOR GIPPSLAND’S TIMBER INDUSTRY
Gippsland’s timber industry will benefit from additional support as it recovers from the 2019-20 bushfires, Member for Gippsland Darren Chester said today. Mr Chester said the industry had been one of the hardest hit over summer and the measures would provide critical...
ALMOST DONE: MALLACOOTA’S COMMUNITY CLUBROOMS NEARLY FINISHED
Mallacoota’s community clubrooms will be finished within the next two months. Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester this week visited the clubrooms which have been built on land adjacent to the tennis courts in Greer Street. “There will be many people in...
EAST GIPPSLAND REGIONAL CANCER CENTRE COULD BE JUST 12 MONTHS AWAY
A regional cancer centre could open its doors to patients in East Gippsland in little more than a year. East Gippsland was named in last year’s Federal Budget as the location for one of ten regional cancer centres to be established around Australia. Federal Member for...
NEW KALIMNA LOOKOUT TAKING SHAPE
The new lookout over Lakes Entrance and the Gippsland Lakes is taking shape alongside the Princes Highway at Kalimna. Major steel components for the modern, fully-accessible viewing platform are assembled, giving passers-by a good idea of the scale and form of the new...
Sale RSL honours service personnel with digital honour roll
Sale RSL and Community Club is among the groups from across Australia to share more than $2.2 million through the Saluting Their Service commemorative grants program. Federal Member for Gippsland and Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Darren Chester has announced the Sale...