West Gippsland Week

Energy Markets are impacting all around the country, but what is actually the situation, especially in Victoria? Things are different in different states, but here Alan Rattray, who has been involved in the energy market since it was privatized in the 1990's explains what the current situation is (as at June 10!) and the background. He is also the principle in "Energy Umpire" which he introduces.

"Saving" eggs has been in the news because of alleged pressure being placed on young married people by grandparents to "provide" them with a grandchild. Leaving aside any ethical questions, what is this process, and where is it used in addition to human IVF? We explore the process and techniques with Monash biologist Dr Jarrod McKenna.

COVID has just about tired us all out, but it is perhaps even more widespread than ever, and still deadly, and causing huge disruption and maybe long term damage to individuals. So we go back to a prime source of expertise to get an update on current understandings, were treatment is at, what we can do, and get a feel for what even this expert might prefer to talk about!

The pandemic is ongoing, even though it seems most don't want to talk about it, and Australia is now one of the highest in deaths per week, though the rate per infection remains steady. The increased infectiousness of new variant means that numbers are staying high. To bring us up to date Prof Stuart Berzins from Federation University (Victoria Australia) walks us through what we now know (and don't know!)

Interact is an employment service assisting people with a disability become job ready, and importantly assisting employers to tailor jobs to fit their clients. In this episode we discuss how it works, and discover a a small positive from the pandemic.

Homelessness is commonly associated with cities, but it is increasing in rural areas not least because of changes in demand for rural living from people moving out from city lives. QUANTUM is a social support agency in Gippsland, and here we talk with their CEO about the pressures that are building (no pun intended).

We discuss recent developments with Prof Sara Charlesworth from RMIT University, and compare with what British Columbia in Canada has already done.

The Flying Fruitfly Circus is now almost a venerable institution in Australian circus theatre, but was a something of a radical idea on a number of levels when it was formed. In discussion their latest show "Girls with Altitude" the Artistic Director provides a delightful insight into how they work, and the history of the group.

Off the Leash is a community theatre group in Wesy Gippsland, that has been bringing a wide range of often challenging theatre to this semi-rural area. They reently tuned 10, and have developed a celebratory event, sadly delayed by nearly 2 years due to COVID. Here we talk about the event, but also chat about the role of community theatre.

A unique body set up 50 years ago (under a variety of names) to try to take the heat out of environmental conflict over land use. In previous episodes we have discussed a process underway for an area of forest near the town of Mirboo North in the Strzelecki Ranges in southern Victoria. Here Mellisa Wood, chair of VEAC discusses their role, and how the process will proceed from here.