PODCAST: The blue-green aglae which has been widespread throughout the Gippsland Lakes system over many weeks is slowly subsiding. The recent cold snap is helping disperse the algal bloom with DELWP declaring it's now safe for contact with water. Ross Scott, who lives on the Banksia Peninsula, and witnessed the worst of the algae bloom in Duck Arm, is pleased the blue-green sludge is...

PODCAST - Newlands Arm resident, John Kramme, likes nothing more than to take his boat out on the Gippsland Lakes and cast a line or two to catch a fish. He's often accompanied by his partner, Judy Leadoux, who is equally enchanted by fishing and reeling in her catch. However, since Newlands Arm has been plagued by a toxic blue-green algal bloom, like the rest of the Gippsland Lakes, the couple...

The Yoorrook Justice Commission was in East Gippsland last week to meet and yarn with First Nations Elders in Lakes Entrance and Lake Tyers as part of Australia's first and only formal truth and justice process. Led by chair, Professor Eleanor Bourke, the Commission will investigate historical and ongoing injustices and the continuing impact of trauma experienced by First Nations peoples since...

PODCAST - Bairnsdale will benefit from a Victorian Government blitz on social housing for low income and vulnerable families. Housing Minister, Richard Wynne, was in East Gippsland last week to announce the package. As part of a $5.3 billion investment, the Victorian Government will build 1000 new homes across the state, including 31 new homes in Bairnsdale. He says the new homes will help...

PODCAST - The role of community newspapers in holding local government to account plays a crucial role in ensuring transparency according to the Public Interest Journalism Initiative, also known as PIJI. Chief executive officer, Anna Draffin, says "it is absolutely fundamental to a healthy democracy to have local news and make sure the communities actually understand what's happening in their...