On the go Bendigo | Thursday, March 9, 2017

We’re in for a sunny day - Bendigo 32, Maryborough 33, Castlemaine 31, Kyneton 30, Redesdale 33, Echuca 33.

Catch up on news here:

Victorian Legal Aid is approaching a funding crisis point as the publicly-funded legal service grapples with increasing demand and static government funding. Read more here.

Bendigo will put in a bid to host any future regional White Night, despite expectations the festival would put a drain on the city’s coffers greater than its entire major events budget for the year. Read more here.

A Bendigo retailer was offering synthetic drugs for sale on the day the state government announced a crackdown on the Victorian legal high market. Read more here.

A rail advocacy group is calling for the Bendigo railway line to be diverted via Melbourne Airport as the state’s next major transport infrastructure project after the Melbourne Metro Tunnel. Read more here.

Roger Barbetti expects Bendigo’s showpiece ground, the Queen Elizabeth Oval, to be at its best for this Sunday’s JLT Community Series match between Essendon and Geelong. Read more here.

Need a national news snapshot first thing - well, we have you covered. 

► WAGGA WAGGA: Police claim to have dismantled a major drug syndicate during one of the largest anti-bikie busts in Wagga’s history. 

Detectives raided 15 properties, arrested 13 people and seized a huge haul of drugs, guns and cash during raids in Ashmont, East Wagga and Kooringal on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The state’s gang squad, riot squad and local police uncovered eight high-calibre firearms, bullet proof vests, methamphetamine, cannabis and various drug paraphernalia allegedly belonging to the Finks Motorcycle Club. More here.

► WANGARATTA: The end of Karen Chetcuti Verbunt’s life came at the hands of a man who allegedly drugged, bound and assaulted her before setting her alight.

The 49-year-old Whorouly woman’s neighbour, Michael Cardamone, faced Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, accused of her violent murder.

In the first time details of the death have been made public, crown prosecutor Gavin Silbert said Ms Chetcuti Verbunt's cause of death was a combination of blunt force trauma and being burned alive. More here.

► BALLARAT: The words of an amateur cage fighter who threatened to have the daughters of a former partner raped have been described as “one of the worst” ever heard.

Magistrate Gregory Robinson described the threat as “one of the worst family violence threats” he had ever heard during the plea hearing of Carrum Downs man John Beirouti at the Ballarat Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday afternoon. More here.

► METFORD: A police officer fired a gun at a dog that mauled people in a suburban park on Monday evening after five people were allegedly injured in a vicious attack.

Two children allegedly received bruises and puncture wounds while playing at a Metford park when the dogs allegedly attacked around 7pm. More here.

​► MANDURAH: Olive Road residents in Falcon have said they are living in constant terror after anti-social behaviour, hooning, violence and drug abuse has been reported in their neighbourhood.

The residents said they experience constant threats and abuse by people in the area, with police raids and patrols occurring on a regular basis.

“A few years ago it was a lovely place to come and retire,” a resident said. “If I had the money I’d be out of here tomorrow.” More here.

► RINGAROOMA: Residents have had to learn to not open their mouths while they are in the shower and alert visitors they can’t drink the water from the taps.

They have also had to learn that white clothing, towels and linens are likely to be stained and hot water cylinders and water tanks will need to be cleaned regularly.

These provisions have been the result of a community who has had to learn to adapt after three years of dealing with brown, dirty water delivered via an ageing water infrastructure system to their homes. More here.

► A radical reorganisation of national security agencies, such as the creation of a US-style Department of Homeland Security, is not necessary because existing arrangements are working well, experts and former officials say.

Fairfax Media has confirmed with government sources that two of Australia's major security agencies, the Australian Federal Police and ASIO, have told senior members of the Turnbull government they do not support such an amalgamation. More here.

► About 100 staff from the Sage Institute of Fitness have been made redundant, as administrators for the struggling college advised creditors and students that it has "ceased to trade" in Sydney and Brisbane. More here.

► Trade Minister Steve Ciobo has apologised for spruiking increased flights between Australia and Indonesia on the 10th anniversary of the fatal Garuda crash which claimed the lives of 21 people, including five Australians. More here.

► Besieged former Victorian speaker Don Nardella should leave parliament altogether if he will not repay more than $100,000 he claimed for living in a seaside residence, a Labor MP says. Labor's Anthony Carbines called for Mr Nardella to quit after he was booted from the parliamentary Labor Party for his claiming of allowances. More here.

► US: Donald Trump has a new stick with which to beat the US intelligence agencies - not only can they not keep his secrets, they can't keep their own. 

Lobbing amidst the worst standoff ever between a new president and the agencies, Tuesday's sensational WikiLeaks dump of thousands documents on the CIA's highly secretive, high-tech cyber arsenal reveals how the agency steals data from foreign targets by taking control of their mobile phones, computers and televisions. More here.

► JAKARTA: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has said the most important allies in the war against terror are Muslim leaders like Indonesian President Joko Widodo and praised Indonesia when asked how it might react to the reinstated US travel ban. More here.

► KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's police chief says at least two suspects in the nerve agent assassination of Kim Jong-nam are holed up in North Korea's barricaded embassy in Kuala Lumpur and police would wait as long as necessary to arrest them. More here.

The inaugural intake of University of NSW medical students in Port Macquarie came at just the right time for Benjamin Clarke.

The Hastings Education Fund grant recipient had his heart set on studying medicine.

The 2017 start of the full UNSW medical degree in Port Macquarie, Benjamin’s acceptance into the program and financial support through the Hastings Education Fund combined to create a memorable chapter in Benjamin’s life. Read more here.