This year’s federal election campaign will be the longest since the 1960s.
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The mere thought may already be putting you to sleep, but here at the Bendigo Advertiser we want to use the opportunity to hear from central Victorians about the things which matter to them.
We’ll be visiting a string of towns around Bendigo, speaking to community members and stakeholders to find out what the local issues are and what needs to be done to address them.
ELMORE
When the 27 students at Elmore Primary School were asked to dress up as what they wanted to be when they grew up this week, the school was awash in flannelette, blue jeans and akubras.
“I want to be a cowboy,” six-and-three-quarters-year-old Patrick Henry Ward said.
But principal Michelle Griffiths wants to demonstrate to her students that there are more career possibilities in the country town than driving tractors and herding sheep.
And the town is in need of an injection of hope and goodwill – in recent times its tight-knit farming community has been rocked by drought and suicide.
Full story: Hope and despair in Elmore
BRIDGEWATER
The 350-odd people of Bridgewater on Loddon face two moral conundrums.
What to do about a native animal which is wreaking havoc on the town’s vineyard and surrounding cereal crops?
And also, what to make of a work for the dole program which has revitalised a key community service and offers a pathway into employment for those down on their luck but which even its proponents say amounts “pretty much to slave labour”?
Full stories:
HEATHCOTE
The sign as you drive into Heathcote declares the town “Victoria’s heartland”.
But hidden behind the facade of a main drag lined by heritage buildings and dotted with wine bars are young people who aren’t working or going to school, families struggling to put a decent meal on the table, small businesses closing down and pensioners worried sick about paying the rent.
Full story: Inside Victoria’s divided heartland
CASTLEMAINE
Housing affordability is looming as a major election flashpoint in the central Victorian town of Castlemaine.
Sporting infrastructure – described by locals as “deplorable” – unemployment and drugs are also key issues ahead of the July federal poll.
Full story: Castlemaine’s house divided
MALDON
When the National Trust declared Maldon "Australia's first notable town" in 1966 it triggered a new boom for the gold-rush town – tourism.
Now, residents reckon the time has come to give the central Victorian town’s major industry a boost again, and some hold out hope the federal election could help deliver it.
Fully story: Maldon striking gold once again
CHEWTON
Chewton is surrounded by bush and the environment will rank highly among the concerns of its several hundred residents at the coming federal election.
Fully story: Taking Chewton’s climate of change
AXEDALE
Full story: Axedale wants pathway to future
NEWSTEAD
There's no petrol pump but one of central Victoria's only electric charging station.
Full story: Newstead: The town with no fuel
GOORNONG
A train stop, footpaths and infrastructure would transform town, businesses say.
Full story: All train, no drain in Goornong
MARYBOROUGH and DUNOLLY
State issues threaten to bubble over in Maryborough and Dunolly, while both towns are desperate for jobs and growth and offer a few ideas on how to attain them which go beyond a three-word slogan.
Full stories:
INGLEWOOD
How to attract the “right entrepreneur” to get Inglewood moving forward? Local business owners have a few ideas.
Full story: Growing up in Inglewood
EDITORIALS
If you live in these are any other central Victorian towns and want to have your say, contact joseph.hinchliffe@fairfaxmedia.com.au