South West Local News
Fitzmedia’s South West Local News is an independently produced regional news bulletin delivering trusted, timely, and community-focused coverage to South West Victoria. Broadcasting three nights a week—Monday, Wednesday, and Friday—the program is filmed at Fitzmedia’s Warrnambool studios and presented by Sharna Rogers, with Liam Fitzgerald often providing key updates and headlines.
Covering everything from local politics and agriculture to grassroots sports, events, and human-interest stories, South West Local News prides itself on being deeply connected to the people and places
South West Local News
WEDNESDAY 25th MARCH -South West Local News
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This morning on south west local news
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warrnambool bowls clubs looks to buy its land from the council, for renovations
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Member for Polwarth Richard Riordan pushes for more carrages on trains
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state parliment extends its sumbission time for public to speak on the summers fires
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and in sport
the hampden leauge roosters get a boost as will white joins their ranks
For everything making and breaking news in South West Victoria.
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This morning on Southwest Local News, Warnable Bowls Club looks to buy its land from the council for renovation. Member for Polworth, Richard Reaven, pushes for more carriages on trains. State Parliament extends its submission time for public to speak on the summer's fires. And its board-handed league roosters get a boost as Will White joins their ranks.
SPEAKER_02Live from Silver Bowl Studios in Warnerball. This is Southwest Local News with Donna Rogers.
SPEAKER_00Good morning and welcome to Southwest Local News. A block of land belonging to Warnable City Council may soon be sold. The land is located in Tymore Street and is currently leased to the Warnable Bowls Club. The club wishes to erect a roof over its greens, which occupies the leased land. To build the roof, the club would need to own the land, hence, they request to council to sell it to the club. Council is keen on hearing public feedback before making a final decision on whether the sale of the land proceeds.
SPEAKER_01These locks and door safety mechanisms are installed on other train services in Northern Victoria, but they are not installed on the Western Victorian line. At the moment, people on the Warnable train line that services throughout the Polworth electorate currently have 6,400 fewer seats a week, transporting them to and from Melbourne. It's simply not good enough. It's poor for safety, it's poor for convenience. Elderly, unwell people, people with disabilities and access issues are finding themselves having to stand for up to three hours on this long train journey.
SPEAKER_00The deadline for submissions into State Parliament's inquiry into the summer's fires has been extended. Members of the public and organisations now have until April the 19th to make a submission. The committee behind the inquiry will look at a number of factors, including the government response, the availability and quality of firefighting equipment, and the impacts of climate change. The committee will hold public hearings once the submission phase ends, with the findings to be handed down later this year. Motorists will be affected by works happening now to strengthen the rail bridge in Dennington. The bridge, which was constructed in the 1960s, is on the Princess Highway and has a road directly under it leading into Dennington. A temporary vehicle height restriction of 4.2 metres will be in place for the road under the bridge during the works. Transport Victoria has advised alternating lane closures and speed restrictions will be in place from 7am until 6 pm while works are happening. The expected duration of the works is four months. Members of a duck rescue group believe some Southwest hunters have jumped the gun. Rescuers at Lake Kolak on Saturday said they heard gunshots sound at 7.41am, 19 minutes before they allowed time at 8 a.m. Nat Kopus from Geelong Duck Rescue said she was shocked by the hunter's behaviour. She said the shooters were brazenly breaking the law and compliance officers were nowhere to be seen. Duck hunting season began in Victoria on March the 18th and will run until June the 8th. Sessions will be held this week for those seeking updates on the redevelopment of the Warnable Base Hospital. The sessions will be held at the Warnable Library on Thursday and Saturday, March the 26th and the 28th. Members of the building and the project design teams will be on the hand to answer questions. The redevelopment project will come at a cost of$396.1 million. The first stage of the project, the construction of a new off-site regional logistics distribution centre, was completed in 2024. The new building being built is a multi-story clinical services building which will deliver a bigger emergency department, more operating theatres, an extra 22 inpatient beds, and dedicated areas for medical imaging and dialysis. The Mercury hit 45 degrees in Warnerville on January 27, breaking the previous record of 44.8 degrees. The release of a new report has hastened the concern of those who believe climate change is real and is now untethered. The Climate Council has released its latest report claiming human causes are now overpowering the globe's weather patterns. This summer had a La Nina climate pattern for Victoria, which was predicted to bring cooler than average temperatures. But the Climate Council report says the La Nina was overpowered by record global levels of coal, oil and gas pollution. Forest fire management in Victoria is currently active in the southwest undertaking non-burn fuel management. This management is used in areas where fire backburns and maintenance isn't suitable. Techniques used in non-burn fuel management include mowing, spraying and constructing fuel brakes. These methods are useful in areas of steep slopes or hard-to-get to areas, and maintaining public land roads to manage fuel in areas with steep slopes, high fuel loads, or close to communities and critical infrastructure. Forest Fire Management Victoria crews are identifiable by their green firefighting uniforms. First making news in sport, the pool of talent at South Warnable continues to expand for the 2026 Hampton League season. The Roosters have confirmed former junior Will White has named South as his feeder club. White has signed with the Geelong VFL team after playing senior AFL football for Carlton last season. He joins an impressive list of VFL players who have nominated the Roosters as their feeder club when they are not playing VFL. They include Jay Rantell, Marcus Herbert, Lamon Lowell, and Miles McCluggage and Archie Stevens. VFL players need to play three games with their own club to qualify for finals. The Corroydon District Angling Club will be staging its annual carp fishing classic next month. The event will be held on the weekend of April the 10th to the 12th. Fishing for the competition will take place in the Hopkins River and Mount Emu Creek. Weigh-in will take place on Sunday at the Warnerbullen District Angling Club. Organiser Phil McCosh said entries are now open.
SPEAKER_03Well this year, what I know is the carp are bigger and the carp there's more of them. So they're out there. The angles just got to go out and find them and catch them and bring them in for the weigh-in. And this year we've got a major, new major sponsor, Macchiar Jewelry from local areas, Warnerville, Port Ferry, Narracourt. Carp wreck the edge of the waters, they make it muddy, they take away the areas for the natural inhabitants to eat and to live and uh habitat. So yeah, once they wreck the edge of the waters, the water gets discoloured. It has a flow-on effect for every other species that already existed before the carp came along.
SPEAKER_00Star Warnable spring car driver James McFadden is in a rare form overseas. On the weekend, McFadden won at the Central Arizona Raceway in the US. McFadden was driving for high limit racing. This followed on for a third place as Las Vegas the weekend before. Let's take a look at the forecast for this week. In Port Ferry, tomorrow a top of 17 degrees with 9mm to fall and a chance of thunderstorms in the morning and the afternoon with light winds. 16 degrees and cloudy for Friday with 45km winds, and as for Saturday, 19 degrees. Over in Mortlake, 8mm on the way tomorrow with a top of 17 degrees. As for Friday, 16 degrees and only 2mm to fall. A shower or two expected on Saturday, but not nearly as much as earlier in the week. In the Kolak and Camperdown region, 6mm to fall tomorrow with a top of 18 degrees. Friday, only 2mm to fall and a top of 17 degrees with 30km winds. Saturday, light showers with a top of 19 and a partly cloudy day. Along the coast tomorrow, a top of 12 with a whopping 10mm to fall. Only 5mm on Friday with showers easing and a top of 16 degrees. To start off the weekend, light showers and clearer skies with a top of 18. Home to Warnable, 9mm with a top of 17 degrees. Friday, showers and it begins to become windy with 3mm. On Saturday, a shower or two, expecting a top of 19 degrees. That's it from your team at Southwest Local News, and thank you for tuning in. Remember that you can also watch this bulletin online at Southwestlocalnews.com.au. Until Saturday morning, I'm Shauna Rogers with peace. Have a great day.