WEDNESDAY 18th MARCH -South West Local News

This morning on South West Local News

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man flees police after fuel theft in Cobden

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visitors to tower hill urged to drive carefully after a kangaroo hit and killed by car

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man identified after fatal truck rollover in Merideth

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and in sport

Koroit export Finn O'Sullivan aids north melbourne during round one upset 

For everything making and breaking news in South West Victoria.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

This morning on Southwest Local News. Man flees from police after fuel theft in Cobden. Visitors to Tower Hill urged to drive carefully after a kangaroo hit and killed by a car. Man identified after fatal truck rollover in Meredith. And in sport Croid Export Finnery Sullivan aids North Melbourne during round one upset.

SPEAKER_00 0:28

Live from Silverball Studios in Warnerball. This is Southwest Local News with Shauna Rogers.

SPEAKER_01 0:36

Good morning and welcome to Southwest Local News. A man in his 30s has taken fuel panic to a new level in a move police are strongly discouraging. The man yesterday afternoon drove off from a service station in Cobden after filling up his car but neglected to pay the$60 for the fuel. Servation staff alerted police who were able to intercept him in Naringle. Cobden Police Acting Sergeant Derek Verity said the man has been charged with stealing the fuel as well as committing offences while on bail. Sergeant Pat Day from Croat Police said people need to report any incidents in Tower Hill to police when they happen. Sergeant Day said Croat Police carry out regular nighttime patrols in Tower Hill. A man who died in an accident at Meredith on Monday has been identified as 59-year-old Peter Butler. Mr. Butler died when his truck rolled as he was transporting horses to Camperdown for racing trials. Mr. Butler's employer, Southwest Horse Transport, said in a statement he was a much-loved figure in the horse training community. The statement said he was deeply respected and the community was devastated by his loss. The plaza celebrated the milestone yesterday, including honouring Fiona Lee and Doug Pigdon for their 40 years of service.

SPEAKER_02 2:49

40 years the plaza's been in the community, 1986 to 19 2026. It's been so good over the last couple of months. Just looking back at the photos to see who's been in this in the plaza, the kids that come and had their first jobs here, the tenants that have been and have come and gone, and it's just really amazing to be a part of actually.

SPEAKER_03 3:08

I work on the registers as a checkout assistant and been here since the 25th of February 1986.

SPEAKER_02 3:15

Yeah, I actually started here as a junior um I won't tell how many years ago, but I actually worked at Hollies. Um my first job, one of my first jobs, so it's um exciting. I looked for some photos for Hollies too, but I couldn't find any, but it's been exciting, um, yeah, so it's really good footage.

SPEAKER_03 3:32

That, but there's not many of us originals around now, so a lot of them don't remember the shops that were here. And it's it's good to see a lot of the old workers and look at the old photos up on the wall, and I can remember all these shops, so yeah. We've got more to come.

SPEAKER_02 3:47

There's some exciting new stores coming along, um, just a really big range for the different Democrats across the young kids, the teenagers, the adults, and the elderly that come here and have the coffee and get their blood tests, like it's all happening here at the plaza, and it's exciting to be a part of.

SPEAKER_03 4:01

Being here 40 years has been a breeze, like it's just gone that quick. Like I was ready to leave at five years and get something better. Um, but here I am 40 years later, and still putting those groceries through.

SPEAKER_01 4:15

A piece of warnable history will soon be on the open market. The site is the old YMCA building on Henner Street, which was also the home to community school and later the Wave School. It is a government building, but there was no interest to regenerate the site in that sphere, so it will now be open to public bids. The building has not been used since 2016. The site began as a quarry. Duck hunting season began today with an iconic southwest location among the hunting hotspots. Hunting for ducks is allowed at Tower Hill State Game Reserve from 8 a.m. today. The duck hunting season will carry through until June the 8th. Victorian Laws makes duck hunting legal during its defined season in all state game reserves. Hunters have a limit of nine game ducks per day with hunting, the blue-winged shoveler prohibited. Non-toxic shot can be used to hunt ducks, but lead is not permitted. Some locations allow gun dogs for flushing or retrieval, with Tower Hill included in the list. Lake Bull and Mera in Camperdown has the same duck season standing as Tower Hill, as does Lake Notark. Tower Hill became a state game reserve in 1961, with local hunters one of the driving forces behind the re-vegetation of the site. Warner ratepayers have the chance to have their say on an open space strategy for the city. Warnable City Council has released a draft of the strategy for the public to comment on. High-profile public spaces such as Lake Potobe and the Botanic Gardens are included in the strategy. In all, the strategy will cover Warnable's 169 open spaces in council control. The strategy will cover for the next 15 years. Identifying mobile phone coverage black spots has become a team effort in the Southern Grampians Shire. Ratepayers have been asked by council to report where getting reception in the Shire is problematic. Mobile phone service in remote parts of the Shire has been classed as patchy to non-existent. Southern Grampianshire Council is asking residents to note the location where their mobile service drops out and report it to once they are back in range. Council is also asking residents to fill out a survey which can be found at Council's website detailing the issues with mobile phone services. This survey is open until April the 30th. Warner was among the regions in Victoria lamenting rather than celebrating yesterday. March 17th, 2026, was to be the opening day of the Melbourne Commonwealth Games. It was to be the beginning of two weeks of world-class competition that was to be a huge boost to the Victorian economy. Warner actively pursued the chance to host events or other associated infrastructure services around the Games. While nothing had been confirmed, the city was confident it would be included in some form to deliver the major events. But the state government made the call to not go ahead with hosting the games. The final figure on what the cost of the Victorian government to pull out of the games is estimated at$589 million. An incentive for Southwest Motorists to note stockpile fuel has arrived with the federal government releasing more petrol and diesel onto the market. First making news in sport. Croyd Export Finn O'Sullivan has helped North Melbourne record a memorable start to the 2026 AFL season. The Kangaroos pulled off the upset of round one when they defeated Port Adelaide by 46 points. O'Sullivan was a solid contributor for the winners, racking up six kicks and nine handballs. Another former Croyd player, Willem Drew, also played in the game and was one of Port Adelaide's best players. Drew gathered 21 disposals, four tackles, and four clearances. Nathan Sobey's National Basketball League Championship dreams have come to an end. The Warnable Star in his Southeast Melbourne Phoenix has been knocked out of the finals by the Adelaide 36ers. In front of a packed crowd on their home court on Tuesday night, the 36ers defeated Phoenix by 108-296. Soby was again a bright light for his team, shooting 17 points. Entries are now being taken for the Southwest Victoria Game Fishing Classic. The event is being ran by the Warnable Offshore and Light Game Fishing Club. It will take place off the waters between Warnable and Cape Bridgewater on April the 17th and the 18th. The event has a primary focus on tag and release point scoring, but there are also categories for weighing fish on the land. Entries close on April the 6th. It was a grand final of disappointment for three Southwest cricketers on the weekend. Warnable's Steph Townsend, Malt Lakes, Annabel Glossip, and Dunkeld's Jess Field were members of the Geelong team that was runners-up in the Victorian women's premier grade. Geelong was aiming for its first ever women's top grade premiership, but fell to four for one, batting first and never fully recovered against a strong Melbourne team. The Cats fought back to make 130, but Melbourne ran the total down with the loss of just one wicket. A partly cloudy day around the region in the southwest, with temperatures sitting around low to mid-20s for the next three days. As we get to Saturday, light winds are approaching, and now to the forecast. Tomorrow cloudy in Port Ferry with a chance of fog in the morning and a top of 20. Friday, a partly cloudy day with a top of 21 degrees, and overnight temperatures will be falling to 10. Saturday, 21 and partly cloudy. 24 tomorrow in Mortlake with a cloudy day. 25 on Friday with a mostly sunny day. 25 on Saturday as well with partly cloudy conditions. In the Kolak and Camperdown region, mid-20s through the week, with cloud due to clear tomorrow, a partly cloudy day throughout the day, starting the morning, and Saturday a top of 25 degrees with a partly cloudy day and light winds to come in from the east. Lower temperatures closer to the coast in Port Campbell a top of 19 with light winds becoming southeasterly. 19 again for Friday, a partly cloudy day, and 20 degrees on Saturday with light winds and overnight temperatures falling to 10. Home to Warnable, 21 degrees tomorrow with light winds and from the southeast. 21 on Friday, partly cloudy, southeasterly winds on Saturday with a top of 22 degrees and partly cloudy conditions. That's it from your Southwest local news team this morning, and thank you for tuning in. Remember, you can also watch this bulletin online at southwestlocalnews.com.au. Until Saturday morning with peace. Have a great day.