12496497-CG22-21
March 20, 2026 Ü¡
FREE DIGITAL EDITION
SIG N U P N O W!
Sing along with the Mik Maks The story of the local children’s creators the Mik Maks began 14 years ago when four brothers set themselves a challenge. Sitting outside a caravan in Port Fairy in 2012, brothers Brian, Alan, Joel and Dean McInnes decided to try their hand at writing a kids song “All of my brothers were involved in cover bands, and within an hour we’d written Bruce the Hairy Crocodile, which is still our most requested song today,” Joel said. “So we shared it with the kids in the neighbouring caravans…that just lit a fire, and off we went.” That fire has continued to burn. The Mik Maks, now seasoned entertainers and bona fide YouTube stars, have joined a new streaming series featuring some of Australia’s best-known children’s performers. “The content is really, really strong, really purposeful, and kids are going to love it,” Joel said. Turn to page 3 for the full story.
All in the family: Mik Maks members (and father and daughter) Joel and Ava McInnes. (Ivan Kemp) 541115_08
Breaking barriers When Bellarine resident Tess began to navigate her way through perimenopause she experienced first-hand the barriers women and gender diverse people encounter when trying to access sexual and reproductive healthcare. Tess considered herself more or less privileged; she was white, middle-class, healthy, university-educated and came from a medical family. So it came as a shock to realise that getting well-informed, compassionate and forward-thinking care for a condition that half the population experiences was so difficult.
“Trying to seek advice from professionals, or even friends, there was such a very negative approach to it,” Tess said. “You can’t think clearly, you don’t know how to find out what you don’t know, everything hurts, all that stuff…and when you encounter this really negative view that once you hit a certain age, that’s the end, it really makes you feel like it’s so much harder. “Instead of the usual narrative of ‘I’m getting old, it’s just another thing women have to deal with’ - that really negative view of being a woman - we have to flip it, see it as just the next stage and figure out how we’re going to work through it.”
And so Tess signed up as a participant in a groundbreaking new study conducted by local not-for-profit health organisation Women’s Health and Wellbeing Barwon South West (WHWBSW). The result of that study, the From Both Sides of the Door report, launched this week, drawing on data from surveys, focus groups and interviews with hundreds of community members and healthcare providers in the region. It identifies the barriers people encounter when seeking care related to sexual and reproductive health, such as abortion, mental health and physiotherapy during and after pregnancy, menopause and
chronic pain. WHWBSW chief executive Jodie Hill said the report both centred on the experiences of women and gender diverse people and highlighted the challenges faced by healthcare professionals. “From Both Sides of the Door includes a set of tangible actions needed to improve access to critical sexual and reproductive healthcare in the Barwon South West, and we will advocate with all levels of government, and the healthcare sector, to see those happen,” she said. Visit womenshealthbsw.org.au/ resources/sexual-reproductive-health to view the full report.
& WJYNWJRJSY ^TZ Ð QT[J Inspect our displays BOOK YOUR TOUR TODAY 1800 777 898 | armstronggreen.com.au 722–742 Barwon Heads Road, Armstrong Creek 12847901-MS12-26
2-3
2
2
ALFRESCO
BEDROOM TWO 4.2 x 3.0
ROBE
By Matt Hewson
DINING 3.5 x 4.6
STUDY BEDROOM THREE 2.3 x 3.9
LOUNGE 3.5 x 4.6
BATH ROOM DW
BUTLERS PANTRY
KITCHEN 5.6 x 2.5
LAUNDRY 4.2 x 1.9
FRIDGE
WO MW
LINEN
WM
ENSUITE
WIR
MASTER SUITE 4.2 x 3.6
GARAGE 5.5 x 6.1
VERANDAH