West Gippsland Week

It's spring in southern Australia, so all creatures great and small are working to deliver the next generation. In some cases, like magpies, this means hyper-vigilance to threats which sometime causes perceived threats (such as humans) to be warned off by swooping. How to lessen the risk and get on with our wildlife.

Some spectacular videos of electric cars burning in cargo ships has raised some concerns in the public, but it appears that the facts don't back up such concern

Cruelty to animals reports are increasing putting costs onto the RSPCA, who are enforcing state laws with their own fundraising. Repeat offenders are increasing as well raising the need to stronger deterrence. Both issues are being raised ahead of the coming state election.

An Adelaide University team have examined the best combination of solar panels and batteries for maximum return. We also consider the factors to consider before accepting the options of apparently cheap rates offers in power bills, and the developing idea of "virtual power plants".

H5N1 doesn't only affect birds. It has been found to kill some mammals, including pets. The RSPCA has ideas on what you need to do to protect your pets.

Sean Dooley is a knowledgeable birdo and policy advocate with Birdlife Australia. We discuss in detail the impact on native birds in australia whose genetics have not encountered this disease before, and the preparation, and lack of it, by authorities.

We discuss the on-going controversy about rubbish collection, with the State opposition chiming in, we discuss the other issues council is raising with candidates, and the process when a Councillor chooses to stand for election. We also touch on the new community consultation policy which now looks at how to cope with AI generated submissions, and a new flood mapping planning overlay which may affect some residents.

Full replay of our chat with Member for Narracan Wayne Farnham, in which he defends proposals by te Liberal leadership to mandates "red bin" collection and cap road tolls. He also takes a swip at One Nation's leader for standing in a seat that is considered winnable, rather than his residential community.

Several Battery Energy Storage System proposals are in the application process around west gippsland and raising much miss-understanding, miss-information and even husteria, so here we seek explanations for what is proposed and what the real risks are.

Warragul RSL has a strong focus on supporting veterans with health issues and getting appropriate support from Veterans Affairs, and in this chat we discuss their services with Ben Vahland, immediate past president and welfare manager, and he also raises the wide concern about decisions to cap some medical services