SOUTH WEST LOCAL NEWS- MONDAY JUNE 29TH-2026

This morning on south west local news

a house set ablaze early this saturday by faulty wiring 

gelenelg shire releses its tourism road map for the next 5 years

road works ahead for portfairy with the princes highway being refurbished

and in sport

improved facilities at the Port Fairy Basketball stadium, with tiny towns grant put to use

Transcript

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This morning on Southwest Local News. A house fire on Saturday caused by faulty wiring. Road works ahead for Port Ferry with the Princess Highway being refurbished. And its sport-improved facilities at the Port Ferry Basketball Stadium thanks to a tiny town's grant.

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Live from Silverball Studios in Warnable. This is Southwest Local News with Liam Fitzgerald.

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Good morning and welcome to Southwest Local News. Fire Rescue Victoria responded to an incident in Reglam Parade, Warnerville, at around 1.15am early Saturday after calls to Triple Zero reported a house fire. Firefighters arrived on the scene within seven minutes to find the single-story brick house well alight. Crews assisted by CFA worked swiftly to contain the fire. Two occupants sustained minor burns. Victoria Police and Ambulance Victoria also attended the scene. Power and gas companies were also in attendance. FRV's fire investigation unit has confirmed the cause to be an accidental electrical fault. A roadmap has been put in place for the tourism industry in the Glenalkshire. At its June meeting this week, Glenelkshire councillors officially accepted the tourism strategy for 2026 to 2031. A draft strategy was released for public feedback in February, with that input helping to complete the final product. Key factors driving the strategy include industry and community partnerships, access to facilities and visitor readiness, and destination awareness and promotion.

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And we've got a much broader base of marketing outside of this area. Accommodation performance has strengthened. Average occupancy for Portland has rose by 14.24% up to 62.28%. So some really great figures there. So fantastic to be able to bring that back to our community and the businesses that are supporting the retail and hospitality sector.

SPEAKER_01 2:29

Roadworks will be a familiar site in Port Ferry over the coming months. Transport Victoria will be working on the road along the Princess Highway from Bank Street to Phillip Street. This work is expected to be completed by late July. Reduced speed limits and traffic signals will be in place during the works. Those using public transport will also need to check timetables for changes of pickup and drop-off locations. Member for Wann and Danteen is urging owners of airports in the Southwest to apply for federal grants. Round five of Regional Airports program is now open with grants to the value of between $20,000 and $5 million up for grabs. Projects eligible to be funded include works involving runway upgrades, lighting, fences, accessibility improvements, safety infrastructure, training, and works supporting future aviation technologies. The MP says most of the airports in the Southwest are owned and operated by local councils that do not have the ratepayer base to absorb the high costs. Grants like this could be a valuable way to source important funding. The grant rounds close on July 28th. Police are warning Southwest residents to look out for scammers ahead of the tax refund season. Scammers are known to target this time of year, especially for older people. Fake notifications regarding your tax return form and refunds are common ways scammers can attack. Some danger points to be careful of include emails that look exactly like those from your bank, messages demanding urgent action and asking to verify your identity. The planting of a pocket forest has begun in Warner's Albert Park. The project hit the ground running when more than 30 volunteers gathered to put in more than 500 plants. The day also involved mulching, making tree guards and marking paths. The next planting day is planned for July 4th. A number of groups are teaming together for this project, including the Warnable Coast Care Land Care Network.

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I'm Tonya from the Warnable Community Garden and we're standing on our eastern boundary. Behind me here we have a fantastic collection of trees and plants that have been put into the ground last Saturday as part of our pocket forest project. So it's a really good chance for us to actually create some beautiful habitat. So, you know, obviously there's not enough trees around these days, and this gives us a chance to actually provide some beautiful habitat, some shade, places for critters to come and live. We have some beautiful black, yellow-tailed cockatoos that come to the garden, and we need to actually create more habitat for creatures like them.

SPEAKER_01 5:09

The Port Ferry Folk Festival has made its first performer announcement for 2027. Heading the list will be Australian singer-songwriter John Butler. Butler has played at the festival on a number of occasions and has proven a popular act. Other acts named include Eleanor McAvoy from Ireland and the Milk Carton Kids from the US. The 2027 event will be the 50th instalment of the Port Ferry Folk Festival. Landfill loads have dropped dramatically thanks to the introduction of a new council collection tool. In April, the Glenelkshire Council introduced a rollout of food, organics, and garden organics bins for curbside collection. Since the introduction of the bins, 187 tons of food and garden organics have been diverted from landfill, as well as saving volume going to landfill the nutrient-rich compost that can be returned to the soil. Portland District Health is celebrating the arrival of a new mammography chair. The chair will help ensure breast screening and other medical imaging services are more accessible for people living with mobility challenges. The chair was funded through a combination of community fundraising and a grant from United Way Glenalg. The specialised chair allows patients who are unable to stand for extended periods or who experience pain and mobility limitations to undergo mammograms and other imaging procedures locally at Portland District Health. Previously, many patients had to travel to Hamilton or Warnable to access suitable equipment. This year's Southwest Dairy Ladies Luncheon has sold out. The event will be held on August 13th at Deakin University, with a luncheon expected to attract over 300 people. The allocation has already been exhausted, with the extra attraction of this year's event being the 20th anniversary of the luncheon. Guest speaker will be Melbourne Cup winning jockey Michelle Payne. Time to take a look at some sports now, and players and officials are enjoying the improved facilities at the Port Ferry Basketball Stadium at Southcombe Park. An allocation of $16,800 from the state government's Tiny Towns Fund has been put to use with a refurbishment of player and scoring benches among the improvements. The Port Ferry Basketball Association has strong numbers in both senior and junior grades. Member for Western Victoria, Jacinta Ermakora, and Minister for Regional Development Michaela Settle visited the stadium. The return of star player Ali O'Connor helped South Warnable to victory over Warner on Saturday. It was O'Connor's first game of the season, having returned from her duties with the Melbourne Vixens, which included playing at a game at the highest level. The Blues took it up to the Roosters with scores leveled at 25 each at half time. The Roosters responded to the challenge, winning 56 to 44 to remain undefeated. Cobden caused the upset of the round, defeating third place Port Ferry while to rang Maltlake was too good for Portland. And Camperdown lost at home to the Hamilton Kangaroos. The Timbuk Demons were big movers in Warnerville and District football on the weekend. The Demons climbed from sixth to fourth on the ladder after defeating old collegians by three points on Saturday. They are now on six wins, one clear of both Merrivale and South Rovers. The Tigers lost by three goals to Russell's Creek, while Rovers lost to Pam Newbell by eight points. Allensford Cats defeated Kula Renurat in the other game with Lewis Herbert best on ground. The start of the week looks to be partly cloudy with temperatures low and infrequent rain, with more showers further towards the weekend. Now to the rest of the forecast. In Port Ferry tomorrow, cloudy temperatures reaching up to 16 with a high chance of showers. 17 on Wednesday, cloudy with moderate winds, and 15 for Thursday with expected thunderstorms predicted, and overnight lows down to nine. Inland to Mort Lake 16 and showers easing for Tuesday. 16 again for Wednesday with showers for the afternoon and evening, down to 13 for Thursday with clouds around the area. Over to Koalak and Camperdown, showers and 15 tomorrow with northerly winds. Wednesday 16, overnight temperatures falling to nine. And for Thursday, 13, northwesterly winds, up to 40 Ks an hour. Down to the coast between Cape Otway and Port Campbell, a top of 16 tomorrow with light showers. 17 for Wednesday, a high chance of showers with northerly winds. And for Thursday, a top of 14 with thunderstorms and northwesterly winds. Further west to Warnable, 16 tomorrow with partly cloudy conditions and light rain predicted. Wednesday looking for a top of 17 with showers increasing in the afternoon. And for Thursday, 14 degrees, thunderstorms likely in the evening with showers also predicted. That's it from your Southwest Local News team this morning. Thanks for tuning in. Remember, you can also watch this bulletin online at southwestlocalnews.com.au. Until Thursday morning, have a great day.