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Stawell - 3380

Farmers vow to lock their gates against 'once-in-a-generation' power project

Some are cheering the extra income from a proposed renewable energy transmission line, while others are vowing to lock their gates against electricity provider Transgrid.
A man wearing a blue shirt and a hat looking displeased.

18-year-old spectator's death puts motorsport insurance under the spotlight

After a teen's death at a western Victorian burnout event, the rivalry of regulators competing to represent Australian motorsport, and its safety, has returned to the spotlight.
Updated
spectators watch a car doing burnouts from behind a metal fence and barricades

When Elie lost her leg aged 20 she thought it would limit her future prospects. Now she is preparing for Paris 2024 gold

Pacific worker and champion shot putter Elie Enock hopes her place at next year's Paralympics in France can inspire other people living with disability to achieve their goals. 
Elie Enock throws a shot put

A new breed of super-fit athlete is discovering the rugged trails of Victoria's Grampians and climbers aren't happy

Western Victoria's jagged Grampians mountains have long been a favoured destination for hikers and climbers, but they're also emerging as a must for a new type of fitness fanatic.
two runners on the top of a mountain ridge in regional victoria

Why a fridge '300 times colder than space' is headed for an underground lab in regional Victoria

The Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory is about to become home to a "quantum refrigerator", in a first for physicists in the Southern Hemisphere.
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Shiny coils and pipes form part of a super cold quantum refrigerator.

Western Victorian towns mourning four killed in two fatal accidents

Northern Grampians Mayor Kevin Erwin says it's been a "really tragic weekend" after the death of an 18-year-old spectator at a car event and a plane crash killed three people.
A man in a yellow and black striped shirt with a mullet drops a football

Crew lost in fatal crash near Cloncurry had travelled from a number of eastern states

Specialist police are on their way out to remote Queensland and four aircraft have been grounded after three people died in a plane crash while fighting fires.
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Mike Wassing stands in front of the government's emergency services complex

Witnesses rally after rushing to help spectator killed at burnout event in western Victoria

A spectator has died in western Victoria at a motoring event which promoted burnouts and drift cars.
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A yellow sign with chequered flags and a symbol with the words Stawell Motor Sports Club.

Competition 'stress' helps mine rescuers prepare for real-life scenarios

The competition in Stawell is one of the few opportunities the first responders have to practice vital skills before a real emergency arises.
a man in a CFA jacket watches a fire rescue

Transmission line project not yet approved, so why are farmers already being offered compensation?

Landholders along the alignment of the Western Renewables Link have begun receiving compensation offers before the energy transmission project has been fully assessed or received approval to proceed.
A group of farmers with 'Stop AusNet' signs

Toxic waste dump cleaned up after nearly 3 years and $40 million

A private company has almost finished moving 50,000 discarded gas cylinders from the site of Australia’s worst ever toxic waste dump near the Victorian and South Australian border. This week, the EPA held a meeting with locals informing them they had finished cleaning it up after nearly 3 years and $40 million.
ABC News Current
Duration: 1 minute

analysis:It's time to properly value the migrants who choose to live and work beyond our cities

International migration is crucial to the future of Australia. But as the Albanese government works to reform the migration system, the plan for beyond the big cities is unclear.
Faraz Ali oversees work on a local vineyard

Australian resident 'alone' with breast cancer wins reprieve as husband's visa granted

An Australian resident grappling with stage four cancer alone will finally be reunited with her husband after visa issues kept them apart for 15 months.
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an expressionless woman with hair tied back in a white hospital gown in a blue chair with awaiting treatment.

Mother lodges complaints after urgent care centre sent toddler 'home to struggle' with a spider bite

A frustrated resident says the "wheels are falling off' regional medical services, with a Grampians Health merger leaving sick locals feeling they have "nowhere to go".
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Mother holding daughter

Pacific Islands seasonal workers connecting with community

Vanuatu workers are using their Pacific values as a way of giving back to their new home Stawell, in country Victoria.
ABC News Current
Duration: 2 minutes 6 seconds

These Pacific Islanders are bringing village values to regional Australia

From helping the elderly with their gardening to moving furniture, Pacific Islander workers are creating a sense of connection far from home in the regional Victorian town of Stawell.
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ABC News Current
Duration: 4 minutes 30 seconds

'It is a big thing': These Pacific workers are bringing village values to a regional Australian town

From helping the elderly with their gardening to moving furniture, Pacific Islander workers are creating a sense of connection and camaraderie far from home in the regional Victorian town of Stawell. 
Group of eight men from Vanuatu smile at camera standing next to an elderly woman near brown brick building.

Ni-Vanuatu workers connect with regional town through community service

Back home in Vanuatu, it's expected for community members to lend a hand wherever it's needed in the village. In Stawell, when Junior Issachar and his friends are not working at the town's meatworks, they are out in the community visiting elderly residents and people living with disabilities, with one aim – to serve.
Updated
ABC News Current
Duration: 4 minutes 31 seconds

Teenagers Ryan Tarrant and Bella Pasquali win Stawell Gift, Australia's oldest and richest footrace

Teenagers Ryan Tarrant and Bella Pasquali have triumphed in the men's and women's Stawell Gift finals.
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A group of women running on a race track

Fierce advocate Stella Young immortalised with hometown statue

A schoolgirl says Stella Young's words remain her inspiration nearly a decade after the disability advocate's sudden death.
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bronze statue of Stella Young

Stawell Secondary students learn dark matter theory in 2021

Stawell Secondary students learn dark matter theory in 2021
ABC News Current
Duration: 1 minute 26 seconds

Learning face-to-face with actual scientists, Abbey was able to plot her path to a career in physics

A pilot program that connects students with scientists, based in a small town at the cutting edge of the search for dark matter, is now a fully-fledged program across parts of western Victoria.
A blond haired teenager in school uniform smiles at the camera

Regional Victorian health service under fire as doctors urge it to abandon 'one size fits all' contracts

Doctors are worried about the future of a regional hospital and the health of its locals as contract disputes continue in regional Victoria.
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A grene metal hospital building on a cloudy day. There is a sign and a letter A in blue

Vic hospital's uni partnership aims to help solve nurse shortages

Workforce shortages have been devastating the health industry, but this hospital is welcoming university nursing students to focus on retaining local healthcare workers.
Updated
Young woman in nurse uniform smiles, standing in front of hospital bed with dummy patient

Doctor's 'unfair' contract slammed as town loses half its GPs in two months

A Victorian MP calls on the state government to intervene in contract negotiations between Grampians Health and a Stawell GP whose resignation has devastated residents.
Updated
A reddish brown exterior of a GP clinic in regional Victoria. The sin reads Stawell Medical Centre