WEATHER
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Today looks to be a fresh breath of sunshine, in an otherwise cloudy, rainy, cold, dreary week.
A top of 23 with a couple of clouds here and there with winds 15 to 20 km/h becoming light in the middle of the day then becoming southeasterly 15 to 20 km/h in the evening.
TODAY'S TOP STORY
After months of public consultation, the City of Ballarat looks set to drop ‘Mullawallah’ as the name for Ballarat’s newest suburb.
A report to be considered by councillors on Wednesday night recommends that the council abandons the current proposal and goes back to the drawing board.
The move comes after the council was inundated with 109 submissions from residents living in or near the new suburb, opposing the name.
POLICE
Residents are being told to lock up their dogs or lose them after several attacks on livestock.
Three separate dog attacks on sheep in the Moorabool Shire have prompted the council to issue a reminder to residents of their obligations in relation to wandering dogs.
FIRE
An unattended pot of cooking oil is believed to be behind a Wendouree house fire on Monday afternoon.
Four fire crews were called to the blaze at a Learmonth Road property about 4pm.
Two occupants of the house escaped the flames before crews arrived.
AMBULANCE
Paramedics had a quiet night with no trauma incidents.
SES
A horse exploring its own backyard ran into deep trouble before ending up in a sticky situation.
Mynxee wandered into a boggy swamp near Hillview Road, Brown Hill, last week and reached the point of no return before being saved by the SES.
SES volunteer Damian White, who was part of the eight-person team to rescue the horse, said manpower was not enough to pull Mynxee from the swamp’s grip.
V/LINE
There are no reported delays on the Ballarat line according to the @vline_ballarat Twitter feed.
A track fault causing delays on Monday night was rectified about 6.30pm.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Good morning everyone. Get your weather update and national news snapshot here.
TODAY:
► BUNBURY: A Bunbury woman who sold unsuspecting mothers fake ultrasound photos of their unborn children will face prosecution. Read more
► BATHURST: Resurfacing work on the famous Mount Panorama circuit went like clockwork on the weekend. The circuit famously broke up in a couple of places during this year’s Bathurst 1000, causing the event to temporarily come to a halt for almost an hour. Read more
► BENDIGO: Victoria Police believe there are people who know what happened to murdered Bendigo mother Vicki Jacobs and have urged people with information to contact them. Read more
► BALLARAT: Ballarat Wildlife Park's wombat joey is just starting to leave its mother's pouch. The wombat joey is estimated to have been born seven to eight months ago, but only fully emerged from its pouch for the first time last week. Read more
► QUEENSLAND: The tiny outback Queensland town of Bedorie has been swallowed by a dust storm, with incredible photos of the event going viral. Read more
► NEWCASTLE: A Melbourne man, 27, was in hospital in a serious condition with suspected spinal injuries after his dive into the surf at Newcastle beach went wrong on Monday. Read more
► LAUNCESTON: Detectives expect to arrest more people as part of Operation Courier, which aims to smash the importation of ice into Tasmania. It follows a number of high-profile drug busts in Launceston where significant amounts of cash and ice were seized.
► Australians will be blocked from accessing popular overseas websites hosting pirated movies and TV shows but would escape punishment for downloading illicit content under copyright law proposals being presented to federal cabinet on Tuesday. Read more
► An increased risk of bushfires is being cited by the electricity industry as it starts its campaign against cuts recommended for power prices in NSW. The industry is challenging a key component of the Australian Energy Regulator's decision amid warnings the power companies may be forced to slice spending on trimming undergrowth near power lines. Read more
► Victoria's ombudsman has launched a major inquiry into the bungling of sex abuse allegations involving Yooralla amid new allegations the disability services provider may have also engaged in financial misconduct. The new allegations are being separately probed by the Victorian government and Yooralla and involve claims that senior managers exaggerated the severity of their clients' disabilities in order to extract more taxpayer funding. Read more
►The treaty to sell uranium to India will face tough scrutiny after the former chief atomic watchdog warned the deal lacked safeguards to ensure Australia did not inadvertently fuel India's nuclear bombs. Read more
► A massive fire at an apartment complex has shut down parts of two major freeways in downtown Los Angeles. The LA Times has reported that the fire broke out in an apartment complex that was under construction. Read more
► An executive jet crashed into a neighbourhood near a Maryland airport on Monday, killing at least three people aboard the aircraft and setting several houses on fire, a fire department spokesman said. Australia is the worst-performing developed nation when it comes to climate-change action, with the Abbott government's scrapping of the carbon price cementing its lowly ranking, a survey by European non-government organisations shows.
Australia ranked 57 out of 58 nations reviewed by the survey, which has been done each year since 2005 by Climate Action Network Europe and Germanwatch. Only Saudi Arabia fared worse. Read more
► An executive jet crashed into a neighbourhood near a Maryland airport on Monday, killing at least three people aboard the aircraft and setting several houses on fire, a fire department spokesman said. Read more
MANDURAH: Throughout all his volunteer work, Ray Pember has never asked for any recognition.
On Friday, December 5 he was named the 2014 Peel Volunteer of the Year on International Volunteer Day.
The 89-year-old is still going strong and helps out at Coolibah Total Caring.
Mr Pember was given his award by his son and City of Mandurah councillor Don Pember.
He said he had volunteered for a wide range of organisations over the years and started 64 years ago at Carey Park in Bunbury.
“You don’t do it to be recognised, you do it because you like doing it,” he said.
He was one of six people nominated for the Volunteer of the Year award presented at a breakfast at the Mandurah Offshore Fishing club in front of about 100.
