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Issue One: Food Prices. Respondents: Premier Peter Malinauskas and Opposition Leader Vincent Tarzia. By Nasik Swami: The News is introducing a new series called Hard Talk, focusing on in-depth interviews with hard-hitting questions on issues relating to communities like ours. Through this series, we aim to ask our leaders, bureaucrats, and decision makers to respond to the various issues affecting our community—our businesses, our farmers, our workers, our children, along with our health, education, and industry networks; What is working well and what is not? Hard Talk is simple. It’s about holding your elected representatives accountable and demanding the change that’s needed. If no change is needed, we can promote that too. In our first issue, we focus on the rising food prices. We questioned Premier Peter Malinauskas and newly appointed Opposition Leader Vincent Tarzia. An affordable daily diet has edged too far away for many. Food prices have risen […]

Last week, the Naracoorte Cub Scouts had an exciting visit to the Naracoorte Council office. They were joined by Mayor Patrick Ross and Deputy Mayor Monique Crossling to learn how council operates, how a council meeting is run, and toured the council office. The Scouts explored the building, viewed historical maps of Naracoorte, admired the honour boards, and checked out some old surveying equipment. Picture: NLC.

Students, teachers and staff members of Naracoorte Primary School marked the Book Week parade last week by dressing up in their favourite characters from a book. Picture: Naracoorte Primary School Facebook Page.

By Nasik Swami and Chris Oldfield: Health Minister Chris Picton claims the Limestone Coast Local Health Network (LCLHN) has implemented several changes to improve the care being provided to the people of Lucindale, following input from the community. But the Lucindale community disagrees with the minister and after being excluded from several meetings, says it still has not been consulted. Many residents report nursing services still have not returned to previous reliable or adequate capacity. Earlier this year the State Government cut phone lines, removed vaccines and virtually shut down the Lucindale Health Centre nursing services – as previously reported by The News. It did so without warning and without consulting the community, forcing elderly, sick and frail people with no driving ability to travel 80 kms round trips and more for nursing services. A high-level meeting was held at Parliament House last March between Mr Picton, his LCLHN representatives, […]

By Chris Oldfield: AROUND 5,000 or so grey-headed flying foxes, often called fruit bats, currently have two main camps – one near Naracoorte and the other around Mount Burr. The flying foxes can carry the deadly Lyssavirus and Hendra virus – anyone scratched or bitten must seek urgent medical attention. Even dead bats are considered too dangerous to touch, particularly as the highly fatal Lyssavirus has been found in SA bat populations. With a wingspan of up to one metre, they can weigh as much as one kilogram. During the day bats can be seen roosting upside down in their “camps”. At dusk they leave their camp to forage for food up to 20 kms away, sometimes much more, returning at dawn. They usually like to feed on nectar from flowering gums. One of the main camps for flying foxes locally is in pines near the Naracoorte Caves. But readers […]

By Chris Oldfield: SOME public servants could soon enter homes without a warrant to “seize documents” including computers, phones, diaries, and bank statements under calls for tough new laws for SA Landscape Boards. Harsher than laws for Federal Police against terrorists if enacted, “authorised officers” could also make “an information discovery order”, compelling businesses and individuals to provide evidence without a court warrant. If enacted, public servants employed by councils on behalf of landscape boards could also “seize and retain” declared species of animals passing though farms and private properties. Landscape Boards are meant to manage soil, water, weeds and pests. But under the heading Compliance and enforcement, five recommendations sit on page 40 of the Independent Review of the Landscape SA Act 2019. All up there are 65 recommendations. More power for public servants than police “When I read it after it was released a couple of months ago, […]

Minister defends his position on radiation therapy By Nasik Swami: Minister for Health and Wellbeing, Chris Picton, has confirmed his position for no radiation service in the South East. Following the recent release of the independent feasibility study report, which scrapped the establishment of the service despite $4.3 million of federal funding, The News asked Mr Picton the following questions: The chairman of Limestone Coast Local Health Network (LCLHN), Dr Saies, is a fly-in, fly-out doctor at Mt Gambier. Why is that okay for him and most SE hospitals to have fly-in and fly-out staff, but it is not okay for any radiation staff?  Icon Cancer Care said it would provide staff – isn’t it their responsibility, not the LCLHN? Do you find it suspicious that a $110,000 report (radiation therapy report) finds what the LCLHN wanted it to find, given its February 2022 minutes? Avoiding our questions, the minister […]

Our Racheal joins the prestigious Racing SA Apprentice Academy By Nasik Swami: It’s been a tough ride, but Naracoorte’s Racheal Kraemer is not giving up. The 29-year-old has made it to the prestigious Racing SA Apprentice Academy, a journey filled with optimism, love, and passion to do something in life. Sharing her story with The News, Racheal said she was excited to be part of the program, which meant the whole world to her. After being knocked back in 2022 due to injuries, Rachael worked incredibly hard for boss Sue Murphy to develop her riding. “It’s not been an easy ride, but I appreciate everyone persisting with me and helping me through it, especially my Naracoorte community,” she said. Racheal’s journey started when she started working with Sue Jaensch at Cadgee Park Racing. “She taught me absolutely everything she could and was a fantastic mentor throughout for 10 years, on […]

By Nasik Swami: The emergency department at Naracoorte Hospital is being fixed to make it “fit for purpose”. Health Minister Chris Picton says the community deserves to have a hospital they are proud of and can provide a high quality of care. Mr Picton was part of a delegation from the Health Ministry that visited the hospital on August 7 to see the progress of $8million upgrade work supported by the government. “The current upgrades will deliver a better standard of care, closer to home, while the review of regional service delivery will evaluate how best to meet the community’s health needs into the future.” According to the minister, the upgrade would deliver much-needed new clinical and patient spaces for the community, including significant improvements in accident and emergency. The tender for works to the emergency department closed earlier this month, while some projects as part of the upgrade to […]

By Nasik Swami: Already fed up with mobile connectivity issues? Wait, there’s more coming your way, as all of Australia’s 3G networks go off in the coming months. Once the 3G mobile network is switched off, people will be left without means of communication in some regional areas, and the devices they rely on will be rendered useless. Many stakeholders in regional South Australia are calling the switch off unfair, putting unnecessary stress and pressure on those who use 3G-compatible handsets, and a government supporting mobile operators over its people. The big question being asked by the stakeholders is: how will network users on 3G devices be able to make Triple Zero emergency calls, and why are people being forced to upgrade their devices to a 4G- compatible one over a commercial decision? What happens to network users in Naracoorte and surrounding towns, where 4G connectivity is not so good […]

By Nasik Swami: The establishment of a radiation therapy service in Mount Gambier for the South East has been scrapped. An independent feasibility study has found that the establishment of a radiation therapy service in Mount Gambier for the South East to deliver cancer care is not “currently a safe, sustainable, or financially viable option”. The design and planning of the new Mount Gambier Cancer Care Centre have been on hold while the feasibility study into radiation therapy services was undertaken. The feasibility study has recommended changes to how cancer care is delivered in the region. The Limestone Coast Local Health Network Governing Board announced that it would pursue changes to the cancer treatment regimen, reduced requirements for travel, and the establishment of dedicated local cancer leadership, as well as advocate for adequate compensation for travel. LCLHN governing board chair, Dr Andrew Saies, welcomed the report’s findings and thanked everyone […]

By Chris Oldfield: NARACOORTE based radiotherapy working group chairman Lachlan Haynes has vowed “we won’t give up” following a $110,000 feasibility study rejecting South East radiation services. Meanwhile, the $243million Limestone Coast Local Health Network (LCLHN) is aiming to spend $4.3 million of federal funding for radiation services on a Cancer Consult Suite at the Mount Gambier Hospital. According to the LCLHN’s meeting minutes, it decided to do that in February 2022, before it hired Health Q to do a feasibility study. “This is a decision that treats us in regional South Australia as second-class citizens, especially those with cancer,” Mr Haynes said. “The former Coalition Federal Government put $4.3 million into a radiation therapy service for the South East. “The Malinauskas Government can’t even put $1.3 million towards running it. “But it can spend $42 million on a football oval at Lyndoch. Where is the sense in that? “Other […]