Mount Evelyn
Tuesday, 14 May, 2024
More bank closures heading for the east
Future of the YR food supply highlighted
Bruno finds his way back home after ordeal
See Real Estate liftout inside
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A Star News Group Publication
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Road safety is the key Students from Lilydale were able to take their practical driving experience and shift to the theory on Thursday 9 May when learning about road safety education. The RYDA Program looks at all the factors that can lead up to a crash, including speed, weather, fatigue and distraction. Each program run across the state and the country aims to reduce the over representation of young people who die or are injured in road accidents. The assistance of Rotary Clubs, like that of Lilydale, ensures students are able to access this type of education at school. To read more, see page 18 Students from Lilydale Heights College took part in the Road Safety Education RYDA program on Thursday 9 May. Picture: MIKAYLA VAN LOON
Win, loss budget 12688720-MS20-24
From improved funding for family and domestic violence support to more free TAFE positions, the Victorian State Budget for 2024/25 has said to deliver on some of the essentials. But others have been left disappointed by the funding announcements, with community legal centres stating they were “pleased” to learn a further four years of funding would be provided for existing programs but were “deeply disheartened” that no further funding had been budgeted for the expansion of ser-
vices despite the apparent gendered-violence “national crisis”. The tourism industry was also blindsided by a cut to its funding, that will now see the $32.5 million for Visit Victoria initially intended for one year to now be spread over four years. While many areas of the budget were considered conservative, family violence funding stood out as a focus of the Labor Government, with $269 million alone being committed to
initiatives designed to prevent family violence and improve safety for women. $6.8 million is specifically set to bolster financial counselling services for family violence victim-survivors, providing support to stabilise their financial position and recover from abuse, something that was welcomed by EACH. “Financial abuse is a key factor in perpetuating family violence, but is often not recognised because people do not recognise this
as violence,” Head of Service Design and National Practice Lead for Family Violence Olivia Sinn said. Other highlights included the $555 million budgeted for free TAFE, support services within the training sector and the upskilling of workers to improve the workforce pipeline. More details on the highlights and lowlights of the budget can be found on pages 4-8