The News Headlines

Wednesday  July 1, 2009

Letters to the Editor

Promaccom Fine Accommodation

From The Mirror, June 28, 1989

Bridging a gap at the Prom

Fish market – onward into uncharted waters

THE City of Melbourne has given a temporary reprieve to the Melbourne Wholesale Fish Market, which had been due to close at the end of June, with dire consequences for the fishing industry across Victoria.
The City owns the site currently leased by the company that operates the market, a business with an estimated $1.5 billion annual turnover.
Two years ago it warned its tenants that they would have to be out by the end of March 2009. That date was then postponed to the end of June.
“The Melbourne Wholesale Fish Market Pty Ltd and the Council are in discussion with Victrack, which has expressed an interest to purchase the Fish Market site, and as a result it has been determined to extend the operation of the Fish Market,” said Cr Brian Shanahan, Chair of the City of Melbourne’s Finance and Governance Committee.
Cr Shanahan said that the City of Melbourne had been trying to resolve the issue over the last ten years.
“In 2005 the City of Melbourne offered the site to the 24 traders for purchase, but an agreement could not be reached. In addition, the CoM has facilitated contact between the traders and potential developers in an attempt to resolve the situation.
“Tenants were informed in January 2007 that if negotiations were not fruitful then Council intended to close the market by 31 March 2009.
“The City of Melbourne has continued to communicate with the tenants throughout the process and they were aware that they needed to identify an alternative location and formalise these arrangements.
“This information and Council’s position has been discussed with various Fish Market representatives in meetings held.
“We are aware that the traders are in the process of progressing the search for a new site.”
The market directly employs around 200 people on site and around 400 businesses buy direct out of the market.
The market is one of the biggest in Australia, with fish from as far away as South Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand as well as from Victoria – including the Corner Inlet area – passing through it.
Corner Inlet fisherman Joe Pinzone calculates that the inlet supplies $2 million plus worth of fish to the market each year.
All his catch – roughly 20 tonnes a year - goes to the market – and he is keen to see its future secured – in one central location.
He does not want to see its stallholders splintering off to different locations around Melbourne.
“To break it up like that would destroy competition. We need a central market with all the buyers and sellers in the one place,” said Mr Pinzone.
“The loss of the market would hurt the local fishing industry - and rural Victoria,” he said.
The Nationals’ Member for Eastern Region, Peter Hall, raised the issue in parliament last October, calling on the government to acknowledge the importance of the commercial fishing industry and work with the Victorian industry on establishing a new wholesale fish market.
He said the closure of the market would leave commercial fishermen throughout Victoria at a loss as to where to sell their product.
“What will happen to the wholesale fish industry in Victoria when that market closes?” Mr Hall asked the parliament.
“The answer is nobody really knows. I guess more product will be sold through the Sydney fish market which is not the best outcome for the Victorian economy.”
The State Government has had discussions with the market owners about the possibility of a move to Epping with the wholesale fruit and vegetable market.
However, a move to Epping is not popular.
Foster fishmonger John Doran, who sources the seafood he can’t get from local boats, such as Atlantic salmon, prawns and oysters, from the wholesale market, said driving to Epping would add too much time to his already long drive to the market in the early hours of the morning.
He worries, too, that if the stallholders were forced to separate it would be a nightmare for the retailers and wholesalers who source their products.
“Instead of one regular trip to one destination we would have to go to several different locations. We need the stalls under one roof to keep prices competitive,” said Mr Doran.
On the bright side, he is confident that the stallholders are of one mind and are determined to stick together and keep the facility going – somewhere. He is hopeful that a solution will be found.
Peter Hall agrees.
He said this week: “My understanding is that the agents are close to securing a new site for a fish market. Some progress seems to have been made. I hope that further details can be revealed in the next few weeks.”

Foster’s future mapped out

Human Swine Flu – mild and manageable

THERE have been no confirmed cases of H1N1 Influenza 09 (Human Swine Flu) in the Foster area, although cases of it have been reported in South Gippsland and numerous people have experienced flu-like symptoms – as is common for this time of year.
Dr David Iser of Foster Medical Centre said there was definitely no need for panic.
“Swine flu does not appear to be as severe as originally feared. Routine tests for swine flu are not being carried out – this is in accordance with government recommendations - so we wouldn’t know if we are seeing swine flu or not, but we have not seen anyone desperately ill with flu,” he said.
Victoria is now in the ‘Protect’ phase of its pandemic plan for dealing with Human Swine Flu. This means:
Limiting school closures – instead the focus is on keeping school children with acute flu-like illness at home, away from school;
Controlling outbreaks in high-risk institutional settings, such as special schools and aged care facilities;
Treating people from high-risk groups, such as pregnant women, those with respiratory disease (such as asthma), heart disease, diabetes, renal disease, morbid obesity and immunosuppression.
People with mild flu-like symptoms are asked to stay at home until they are well. However, contacts will not be placed into quarantine.
TAMIFLU
Tamiflu is an antiviral medication that can be prescribed by a doctor to prevent the flu virus spreading inside your body. In the ‘Protect’ phase Tamiflu is not provided to people who have mild flu-like symptoms, unless they belong to a high-risk group or setting. Currently the vast majority of people experience mild flu-like symptoms and make a rapid and full recovery without receiving any medical treatment.
The Department of Human Services advises that people can minimise their chances of catching and spreading Human Swine Flu by adopting good hygiene practices:
Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze;
Throw the tissue in a plastic-lined rubbish bin after you use it;
Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective;
Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way.
SYMPTOMS
The symptoms of Human Swine Flu in people are similar to the symptoms of regular flu and include fever, cough, runny or stuffy nose, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people have diarrhoea and vomiting associated with Human Swine Flu. Like seasonal flu, the symptoms of Human Swine Flu can vary from mild to severe.
A person should seek medical care if they experience shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, especially if they are concerned about symptoms, or they become worse.
FLU MANAGEMENT PROTOCOL
The local medical centres are following Department of Human Services protocol to manage H1N1, as practice nurse Nancy Audrians explained:
“If people ringing to make an appointment suspect they have Swine Flu they will be asked to wait in their car once they arrive at the medical centre, let reception know when they have arrived (ring through by mobile phone if possible), and when it is their turn the doctor will go out under strict infection control conditions (e.g. gown and mask) to see them. Before the doctor goes back inside he (or she) will follow the infection control procedures and remove gown, mask, etc.”
For the most up-to-date information visit www.health.vic.gov.au or
call the National Influenza Hotline on 180 2007 or call Nurse-on-Call on 1300 606 024.

IN THE SWIM THANKS TO ESSO FUNDING

MORE people will be able to benefit from the warm waters of Toora Swimming Pool thanks to the installation of a hoist which allows access to the pool even for people who have little or no use of their legs.
The Ibis pool hoist from Healthcare Lifting was purchased with the help of a $5,500 grant from the Esso BHP Barry Beach Marine Terminal and a $6,000 grant from Esso and BHP Billiton’s joint venture contributions program. A further $1,000 each was received from Far Scandia of Farstad Shipping Pty Ltd at Barry Beach, the Toora Lions Club and Foster Rotary Club. This money paid for freight, installation and disability equipment to be used with the hoist, and the project was coordinated by South Gippsland Shire.
Local physiotherapist Megan Inglefinger regularly brings groups from South Gippsland Hospital, Banksia Lodge and Prom View Lodge to the pool for water therapy and has welcomed the installation of the hoist, which was purchased shortly before the close of the last swimming season in April. When the pool re-opens in the September school holidays, Yarram and District Health Service clients are expected to make use of the hoist, too.
The hoist is easy to use – pool staff are trained to use it - and can be used in conjunction with a wheelchair or a sling. It is portable, but secured by bolts, and is currently located at the shallow end of the pool.
“It has taken us two years to get the funding and then get the equipment adjusted so that it fitted correctly over the lip of the pool. It’s great to have it working now. We are very grateful to Esso,” said Tanya Cook. A district nurse as well as a member of the pool committee, she had long recognised the need for the hoist and worked long and hard for its purchase.
The hoist is a bonus at a pool which already caters well for people with disabilities. There is a long, gently sloping, wheechair-friendly path leading all the way from the gate to the pool, special showers, and the water temperature is kept at a comfortable 29 to 30 degrees Celsius. Water aerobics sessions are very popular at the pool, which has a permanent roof and side shades which can be pulled down when required to provide protection from the wind.

Long Jetty prospects gain expert support

TOP representatives from Marine & Civil, the Western Australian marine engineering company which built the Busselton Underwater Observatory and also specialises in jetty restoration, met a range of stakeholder representatives at Port Welshpool’s Long Jetty last Friday to look over the site where an underwater observatory is proposed.
Marine and Civil’s Managing Director Kay Giles and Director/Engineer John Neylon were visiting in the wake of positive feedback from one of their company engineers, Allen Zorotovic, who spent time at Long Jetty in May to estimate project possibilities and project costs.
A sizeable party of representatives was ready to welcome them and to discuss possibilities about the jetty’s future prospects.
The group included the Member for Gippsland South Peter Ryan MLA, Gippsland Ports Chief Executive Officer Nick Murray, Port Welshpool Working Group members Gus Kok [President], Lyn Lucas, Laurie Robertson and Ena Pettigrove, Welshpool and District Advisory Group members Paul Macphail and Kerry Pinzone, Port Welshpool Underwater Observatory Feasibility Study author Bob McDonald, South Gippsland Shire Councillors Jeanette Harding and Mohya Davies, and Council staff Dirk Holwerda [Acting CEO], Marzia Maurilli [Community Strengthening Facilitator] and Christian Stefani [Tourism Coordinator].
There was no representative present specifically on behalf of the Department of Sustainability and Environment.
AN ‘EASY JOB’
Speaking from a marine engineering background, Mr. Neylon described Long Jetty as “an impressive structure” which was “in much better condition” than the structure the company had worked on at Busselton.
He referred to the deck deterioration [surface holes, rotting timber and projecting deck spikes] as “superficial” and stated that from his viewpoint, restoration of Long Jetty for the purposes of developing an underwater observatory would be “a very easy task.”
Mr Neylon suggested that the work would be comparatively a lot cheaper at Port Welshpool since it didn’t have the level of problems experienced at Busselton Jetty, which apart from being in poorer condition originally, is in a cyclone area and an unprotected open sea location; aspects that involved additional costs not applicable at Port Welshpool.
“Marine and Civil would love to be involved with this project,” Mr. Neylon enthused.
Ms Giles cautioned that the longer such structures were left before restoration and maintenance action was taken, the greater the costs involved when work was carried out.
Mr. Murray explained that Gippsland Ports was the responsible authority for the jetty as an asset.
He warmly agreed that it would be a wonderful outcome if Long Jetty could be upgraded for tourist use, but was open in stating that the authority did not have the budget capacity to either restore or maintain the jetty, and was also an organisation overseeing port facilities for commercial use, not tourism use.
Mr Murray was interested in finding out what construction lifetime was envisaged by Marine and Civil, as that would affect both the material [for example timber species] used for restoration and the cost of ongoing maintenance.
“I prefer an enduring construction life because it reduces the burden of maintenance,” he commented.
Mr. Neylon replied that he would expect the structure to last for another 100 years if it was well-maintained after refurbishment, even if it was nominally described as having a 50-year design life.
He noted that the jetty was already a good age, having been built in 1937.
Ms Giles reminded the group that the underwater observatory at Busselton was pivotal in generating significant income that was used to repair Busselton jetty.
From the Shire’s view, Cr Harding - who is also a member of the Port Welshpool Working Group - exclaimed that “it would be fantastic if it [the refurbishment] can happen”, while Mr. Holwerda offered that Council would do “whatever it could within its resources to achieve a good outcome.”
BUSINESS PLAN
Mr. McDonald stated that the next stage was for a Business Plan to be completed for Long Jetty so that there was some calculated evidence of tourism attraction and emphasised that “getting the jetty reopened as soon as possible for pedestrians and recreational boats was essential.”
Grant funding has been sought to carry out such a Business Study, and Mr. McDonald expected the success or otherwise of the grant application to be known in the next few weeks.
Meanwhile, he was expecting information to come in such as VicRoads to provide car visitation figures passing Telegraph Road into Port Welshpool for both the pre-2003 period [before Long Jetty was closed to the public] and the post-2003 period.
“In the past, value in tourism has been greatly underestimated, but now organisations like the Department of Sustainability and Environment are keeping user statistics and jetties are proving to be significant tourist attractions.
“If Long Jetty had 40,000 visitors per year, that would be at the low end of Victoria’s jetty visitation experience,” Mr. McDonald observed.
Mr. Ryan committed to taking the completed Business Plan to the State Government as evidence of the project’s commercial viability, which would support the case for funding the Long Jetty project.
He described the jetty as “one of the few structural icons in Eastern Victoria” and pointed to the successful outcome in obtaining funding to retain the Great Southern Rail Trail’s Pumphouse Bridge at Meeniyan despite sceptics predicting that it couldn’t be done.
“We have a generational responsibility to preserve and enhance Long Jetty to its former glory!” he proclaimed.
Ms Pinzone noted that there was a significant groundswell of widely-based community support for the underwater observatory project and that she was receiving a growing number of calls and offers for help from people around the Gippsland region who were keen to see Long jetty opened and the project proceeded with.