FRIDAY MARCH27TH 2026 - SOUTH WEST LOCAL NEWS

This morning on south west local news

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man in koroit arrested on allegations of significant wildlife cruelty at Koroit

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police seeking information for the fatal collision in cudgee on sunday

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south west teachers strike on tuesday with up to 30’000 schools taking action for fair pay

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and in sport 

taylor bryne makes his afl debut, this sunday for carlton

For everything making and breaking news in South West Victoria.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

This morning on Southwest Local News, Manning Kerroit arrested on allegations of significant wildlife cruelty. Police seeking information for the fatal collision in Khaji on Sunday. Southwest teachers strike on Tuesday with up to 30,000 schools taking action for fair pay. And in sport, Taylor Byrne makes his AFL debut this Sunday for Carlton. Live from Silver Ball Studios in Warnhamball. This is Southwest Local News. Good morning and welcome to Southwest Local News. I'm Matt Baker. A Karroit man has been arrested and interviewed over significant allegations of wildlife cruelty. The conservation regulator, along with Victoria Police, is investigating an incident in which a vehicle was allegedly used to drag a koala along roadway in Karroit. The incident is believed to have been taken place around 5 p.m. on Wednesday, 25th of March, as the vehicle drove through the area, including along King Street. The koala was left with serious injuries at Victoria Park before being found by a member of the public and assessed by a vet. Due to the severity of its injuries, the koala was euthanized. Victoria Police arrested a man in Warnable yesterday in relation to the incident. Conservation regulator investigators interviewed the 67-year-old in relation to wildlife cruelty offences. Cyclist Clive Coomer, 70, died as a result of the accident. Detectives are currently working to establish whether a large truck was travelling west along Hopkins Falls Road at the time of the collision. Police are keen to speak to the driver to assist with their investigation. Police also urge anyone who may have been travelling in the area around the time of the collision to check their dash cams. It's alleged the RED 2023 Toyota Land Cruiser Ute and the cyclists were travelling east along Hopkins Fall Road about 8.10am when the collision occurred. Many school teachers and children across the Southwest were absent from classroom on Tuesday. Up to 30,000 public school teachers and staff went on strike as part of an industrial action led by the Australian Education Union Victoria Branch. This action was aimed at pressuring the state government into meeting pay rise demands being asked by teachers. The government has offered a 17% pay rise over the next four years, with the teachers asking for more than double that at 35%. Some Southwest teachers were amongst those who marched to Parliament House in Melbourne on Tuesday. New street furniture and more power for the stage are among the changes happening at Warnables Civic Green. On the Timor Street side of the Green, new seats and bench will be installed, while better access for wheelchairs will also be created. Additional power points, the green, and an upgrade power supply will be put in place, providing greater event infrastructure. The green will also be closed for the first two weeks of April to allow works to replace the underground irrigation. These works are being funded through a 100,000 allocation from the state government. A piece of Warnable history is now available for purchase. Warnable City Council is calling for expressions of interest for the purchase and removal of a large and supportive structure from the old Warner Sail Yard site in Carramont Road. The structure is galvanised steel with a galvanized roof and zinc finished. Removal of the structure will require a demolition permit from a building surveyor. The Warnable Sail Yard ceased operation in June 2023. Some life-saving apparatus is a new addition to Karroitz Main Street. Ambulance Victoria has installed an automated external defibrillator at the Blackwood Centre in Commercial Road West. The defibrillator is available to be used by locals and visitors in case of a cardiac arrest. The place of the defibrillator is part of Ambulance Victoria and the Hart Foundation's Heat Safe Communities Initiative. The aim of this is to equip communities with the skills and resources to help save a life from cardiac arrest. Ambulance Victoria Paramedic Tara Boyce said defibrillators made a life-saving difference.

SPEAKER_01 4:27

The last slave of cardiac arrests, we've looked at 63% survival rate compared to 7% if bystander CPR and an AED is used. So it's a massive improvement and something that we really really encourage people to find where their closest AED is. It's good to have some CPR training, but with the AED, there's no training, there's no medical education needed. It's really, really simple. You just open the AED and follow the steps. It'll slowly step you through what you need to do, so you don't need any medical training at all.

SPEAKER_00 5:01

Generosity on a staggering level has helped Southwest Healthcare move closer to purchasing an important piece of medical equipment. A woman who wishes to remain anonymous has donated$50,000 towards a breast tumour locator system. This donation has taken the money raised for this project to$74,240. In total, the breast tumour locator system will cost$120,000. It would allow the location of breast lesions that cannot be felt by touch to be more precisely identified. This would mean less invasive surgery for patients. Harmony Day and National Neighbour Day will be celebrated in style in Warnable this weekend. On Sunday, the West Warnable Neighbourhood House will host a picnic in the park event. This free event will include children's activities, live music, community information stalls, and a free barbecue. The Fruit Ferry will also be at the Pecton Avenue location to hand out free fruit. The event will run from 11am to 2 pm. The new laws in one state and the worldwide fuel threat has taken the fascination with e-scooters and e-bikes to new levels. The Queensland Parliament this week expected to pass laws that include sweeping reforms of who and how e-bikes and e-scooters can be used. The most dramatic of the changes is that anyone under 16 will not be allowed to drive either an e-bike or e-scooter. To pilot either machine, a Queensland learner's car licence will be required. In Victoria, e-bikes that do not exceed 20 km per hour operate under the same rules as bicycles. But riding an e-scooter in Victoria can only be done by those over 16. The popularity of e-bikes and e-scooters is growing at a rapid rate, despite some people considering them a hazard on the roads. The use of these electric-powered transport modes as an around town errand runner is saving users considerable money as the price of petrol continues to soar. The CFA has brought forward the end-of-fire restrictions for some municipalities, but none for the Southwest. In all ten shires in the north of the state, have their restrictions to now end on March 30. But in the Southwest, the wait will be over a month longer. Moyne, Wannable, Kerangamite, Southern Grampians, and Glenelg will all have restrictions in place until May 1st. First making news in sport, Correut's Taylor Byrne will make his AFL debut this Sunday. Byrne has been selected by the Blues senior team to play Melbourne. The small forward was selected by Carlton at number 45 in the 2025 draft. Byrne's last game for Correut was in the 2025 Hampton League grand final against the North Warnable Eagles. A solid preseason has Port Ferry excited about the upcoming start of the Hampton Open Grade Netball season. The Seagulls were the big improvers last season, winning three games and drawing one. The highlight of their season was defeating eventual premier Kuroit by 10 goals in round six. Local competitors made an impact at the Australian Martial Arts Championships last weekend. The championships were held in Geelong with students from the Funakoshi Karate International Terrang and Camperdown Dojos taking part. Some of the achievements of local competitors include competing referees accreditation. There were also podium finishes in veteran and open grades. A large group of dedicated cyclists will hit the road this weekend for a good cause. The annual Murray to Moyne cycling relay will cover one end of the state to the other. Riders will begin in Muldura or Achuka on Saturday morning and make it to Hamilton on Saturday night. The next morning will be the ride home to Port Ferry. All teams ride to raise money for their local health services as well as for bigger organisations such as Ovarian Cancer Australia and the Leukemia Foundation. The ride raises up to$350,000 annually and has been running since 1987. Two games in the South West have been chosen as part of the WorkSafe Country Club series this season. The Minnanero League will be involved with the Hawkstar MacArthur vs. Lismore Derren Alum game on August 1. Later that month on August 22, Hampton Clubs Kroit and Turan Mortlake will play in the featured game. The Worksafe games include the appearance of a high-profile football figure as well as a matchday marquee and community activations. Tim Boon Demons hosted a game last season. Colder days ahead with partly cloudy conditions over the weekend, along with infrequent rain, temperatures due to rise with the start of next week. Now into the forecast. Tomorrow in Port Ferry, cloudy with a top of 19 with a shower or two predicted. Sunday cloudy also with 19 and southeasterly winds. Monday, mostly sunny conditions with a top of 23. Over to Mort Lake, showers on the way tomorrow with a partially cloudy day. 22 on Sunday also cloudy with overnight temperatures dropping to 9. Monday, 26 with mostly sunny conditions. To the Camperdown Colac region, a shower or two on Saturday. Sunday cloudy and 21. Monday, 25 degrees and mostly sunny conditions. Over to the coast in Port Campbell, 19 tomorrow with showers on the way. Sunday cloudy with a top of 20. Monday partly cloudy with 24 degrees. Home to Warnable, partly cloudy and a shower or two, tomorrow topping at 19. Sunday 20 with clouds overnight temperatures dropping to 11. Monday 25 and mostly sunny. That's it from your Southwest Local News team this morning. Thanks for tuning in and remember you can always watch this bulletin online at Southwest Localnews.com.au