LEONGATHA Primary School could be millions of dollars better off if the State Government signs up to the National Plan for School Improvement, principal Rob Higgins believes. The funding plan comes in light of the 2010 Gonski education review, which advocated for higher school funding. Prime Minister Julia Gillard has given the states until June [...]
POLICE have smashed a local drug ring after raids on two Leongatha premises last Thursday, May 2. The raids, which involved local members and police from Morwell, were the culmination of a three month investigation. Police believe those offenders – one from one premises and two from the other – were actively dealing from the [...]
NEW South Gippsland Shire councillors Don Hill and Andrew McEwen don’t want the proposed 7.5 per cent rate rise. They say there hasn’t been time to find a solution but they’re hoping to put in an amendment “at the last minute”. They have set up a survey on The Star’s website and invite people to [...]
LEONGATHA’s growth is speeding up with the second major development announcement in two weeks. Holden will roar back into Leongatha with a fully fledged Holden dealership ready by mid-September. The news comes on top of last week’s announcement Aldi supermarket will be in Leongatha before the year’s end. Managing Director of Colin Watson Holden in [...]
SOUTH Gippsland residents are facing a 7.5 per cent rate increase for the next financial year. The increase is to cover a $4.61m superannuation funding call and reduced grant allocation from the Victorian Grants Commission. Ratepayers are outraged by the hike. President of the Leongatha Chamber of Commerce and Industry Darryl McGannon said it will [...]
THE South Gippsland roads petition with more than 4000 signatures has finally been presented to local MP Peter Ryan. Mr Ryan was in Leongatha last Friday and made time to meet Marg Denbrok and Lisa Burge who gave him more than 200 sheets with the signatures on them. Mr Ryan, whose roles as Deputy Premier [...]
DEPUTY Premier Peter Ryan and Minister for Education Martin Dixon were welcomed back into schools last week, after the lifting of a long time Australian Education Union ban. The lifting of the ban comes with promises from new Premier Dennis Napthine to finalise the new teachers pay deal. Locally Mr Ryan and Mr Dixon visited [...]
PHILLIP Island’s cry for a hospital to be reinstated was heard loud and clear last Friday when a massive crowd of some 700 concerned residents turned out in force at the Public Hospital rally in Cowes. Chair of the meeting Greg Price said the group organising the rally was thrilled with the strong support but [...]
WHEN The Star exclusively broke the story ALDI will open in Leongatha last Tuesday morning on its website and Facebook, the news went viral. The story created so much interest that by Monday afternoon, The Star’s Facebook page had received almost 10,000 hits. Leongatha has been given a desperately needed economic shot in the arm [...]
YOU may not know what a CERT is but if you dial 000 in Venus Bay they could well be the ones saving your life. CERTs or Community Emergency Response Teams are made up of volunteers highly qualified in first aid and emergency response. The Venus Bay area has employed the services of a CERT [...]