In amongst all the craziness and upheaval that we have endured so far this year, it was pretty fantastic to finally see some local sporting competitions get underway last week. Junior footy and netball has started up again locally and it was great to see friends, families and spectators in their cars parked around the oval, or spread out watching the netballers take to the court. It’s really heartening to see everyone doing the right thing, keeping their distance from others and avoiding large groups, all while supporting their teams. I know a few of the local leagues have decided to cancel their senior competitions this year, but I believe there will still be a few practice matches played over the next few weeks, which is good news.

Keeping to a sporting theme, the nominees in the Gippsland Sports Academy’s annual Gippstar Awards are expected to be announced soon – let’s hope we see some Bass Coast sporting stars amongst them.

We are continuing to work with the Save the Holden Bushlands group, Parks Victoria and the State Government to find the best solution for the former Holden Proving Ground at Lang Lang. The 877-hectare site is home to significant remnant bushland and wildlife and we received some positive news from the State Government this week, confirming that they will investigate possible acquisition and protection measures for the site. While this is a great step forward, we will continue to advocate to the State and Federal Governments, to ensure that any proposed outcomes reflect what is best for the community, our local economy and the environment.

It’s hard to do an update without mentioning COVID-19 at the moment! Bass Coast Health opened up a drive-through testing facility at the Wonthaggi Hospital last week, and after feeling a bit sniffly, I decided to go and get tested. It came back negative (phew!), but I just wanted to highlight that the process is super easy, you don’t even need to make an appointment or even get out of your car. I also wanted to highlight that if you do go and get tested, it is incredibly important to isolate at home until you get your results. And don’t forget, it doesn’t cost anything to be kind to one another, we are all going through this together.