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Swan Hill - 3585

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.

Big dog Rugar doesn't mind saving lives as long as the treats and pats keep rolling in

With pet blood products in constant short supply, donations from dogs such as Rugar are the difference between life and death at busy veterinary hospitals.
A large dog on a treatment table next to a vet drawing blood.

Almonds are now Australia's most valuable horticultural export, but one shelled nut takes 8 litres of water to grow

Experts warn a water shortage is inevitable as almonds become the biggest crop by area planted on Australia's longest river.
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A hand holds almonds growing on a tree.

Minister rejects water-saving Murray flood plain project citing unacceptable environmental effects

Victoria's planning minister stuns farmers by ruling out a plan to save 1,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools worth of water in the Murray Darling Basin, saying it could harm important native vegetation.
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A photo of Burra Creek, Victoria. Ducks sit in the middle of a narrow stream between gum trees.

The Swan Hill Drag Strip cost millions to build, so why did the wheels fall off less than a decade later?

Despite spending nearly $1 million rectifying track surface defects, the local council had to close the facility in December, saying the faults made it too dangerous for high-speed racing.
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A grey racing car on a drag strip.

Industry says two-thirds of caravans are illegally overweight, uninsured and dangerous

As the owner of a caravan weighing business, Jarrod Dickinson is meticulous about packing light to meet the country's strict towing load limits, but he says most caravan owners turn a blind eye to the rules. 
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a man stands in front of a ute and caravan

Supply of plums, peaches and nectarines in doubt as storms ravage stone-fruit orchards

Weeks of wild weather in Victoria is likely to mean less stone fruit on supermarket shelves, after hail and heavy rain smashed Australia's main production regions, costing growers millions of dollars in losses.
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Nectarines sitting on the ground in a puddle of dirty water

WorkSafe charges two Victorian companies over death of 70yo farm worker who fell from moving trailer

WorkSafe has charged a Woorinen South fruit grower and a Swan Hill labour-hire company over the death of a worker.
Updated
A black and yellow WorkSafe logo.

Major disruptions hit Victoria's V/Line train services amid early morning strike

There were major delays along Victoria's regional rail network, after workers walked off the job in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
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A purple, yellow and grey train moves along railway tracks in a rural setting.

Landslide, rising rivers as Victoria battens down while NSW, Qld towns count cost of deluge

Flood threats remain in parts of the NSW south-east hammered by a severe weather system now moving into Victoria, where days of heavy rain is expected.
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An angry-looking storm cloud looms over a suburb.

Council blames 'one-in-fifty-year' flash flooding as Swan Hill streets are inundated with water

The Swan Hill council says 80 to 90 millimetres of rain fell on the north west Victorian town in seven hours, as it reassures residents that its drainage system did not malfunction.
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Two children in casual clothes paddle a blue coloured kayak in floodwater in a suburban street.

'Unusual' rainfall soaks Victoria's north as wild weather due to shift into state's east

The Bureau of Meteorology warns the Gippsland region in Victoria's east will likely to face substantial rainfall over the coming days as a low pressure system battering NSW moves down.
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Flooded street in front of St Mary's school

Farmers swamped by sand mine proposal while harvest in full swing

Farmers in the middle of harvest say they have not been given enough time to review more than 3,200 pages of technical information about a mineral sands mine proposal.
Farmer Craige Kennedy, wearing a blue collared shirt, stands with his hands on his hips in front of a header in a cereal crop

When Nancy moved into a home at the age of 100, visits from Keenan and his schoolmates made life easier

Nancy Mullarvey treasures the time she spends with "wonderful" high school students at her Swan Hill aged care home. Their time together is part of a volunteer program with benefits for all involved.
A teenage boy sitting with an elderly woman writes on a piece of paper as she looks on.

An elusive malleefowl encounter can induce 'chills' of wonder, but experts say feral goats threaten their survival

Wet conditions in recent years have been a blessing for malleefowl in South Australia's Riverland, but they have also been a blessing for wild goats that can destroy the birds' habitat.
Two brown, stocky birds standing on a nest in the bush

Sausage master snags salami festival's grand prize. Just don't ask him what's in it

Salami aficionados battle for bragging rights — with secret recipes at the ready — at the Great Murray River Salami Festival.
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Great Murray River Salami Festival

The Mammones live from one payday to the next. The RBA rate rise will mean saying 'no' to their kids more

Lisa Mammone and her husband do all they can for their kids, but they are bracing to make even more sacrifices as interest rates hit a 12-year high.
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Family of five smile at camera between birthday balloons

Victorian manufacturer fined $65,000 after thumb amputation in industrial incident

Victorian water tank manufacturer Polymaster has been fined for failing to provide a safe work environment after a worker's thumb was severed in a workplace incident.
Updated
A red and black building.

Lynette believes she saved her husband's life by driving him to Melbourne instead of waiting for an ambulance

Lynette Smith decided to drive to Melbourne from the border town of Howlong in NSW instead of waiting for a local ambulance for husband Peter. He was admitted to intensive care on arrival.
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a photo of a man in a hospital bed with his wife sitting next to him

The dingo 'unprotection order' loved by farmers, despised by ecologists has been extended

Wild-dog controllers will continue to trap and bait animals despite calls by First Nations groups and scientists for greater protection.
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A dingo looks out from atop a hill

Victorian council branded 'toxic' amid allegations of workplace bullying and harassment

The Australian Services Union alleges confidence in senior leadership at Swan Hill Rural City Council is "horribly low" and a toxic workplace culture exists throughout the organisation.
An image of a blue and grey council building

Cocaine, heroin and a $60k Commodore seized, nine charged after raids in Victoria

The arrests follow a six-month investigation into an alleged organised crime syndicate in Mildura.
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A police officer leads a man in a singlet, who cannot be identified, towards the back of a police truck.

Beard removed from tribute to Australia's first female riverboat captain

In a mysterious case of mistaken gender identity, a timber bollard commemorating the achievements of Captain Pearl Wallace was repainted as a scruffy seaman with a bushy brown beard.
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A large timber bollard, before and after repainting from a bearded man in a black hat to a bare-faced woman in a captain's hat.

Water tank manufacturer charged after man dies, another seriously injured during deliveries in Victoria

WorkSafe charges Polymaster Pty Ltd with a number of offences under the state's Occupational Health and Safety Act, after two separate unloading incidents with tragic consequences.
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The facade of red and black office building.

The honey bee industry has been trying to eradicate the varroa mite for more than a year. Now they want to stop

The peak body is now supporting a management strategy for the parasite, believing eradication that's involved the euthanasia of millions of bees has failed.
Updated
A man holds a frame from a bee hive and the bees crawl on it