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April 24, 2026
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Help for our moggie mates
(Ivan Kemp) 547783_04
Project Meow Geelong is one of many welfare groups across the region struggling with ongoing pressures from uncontrolled cat breeding. More than 40,000 cats and dogs were registered across Greater Geelong last year, according to data from the City of Greater Geelong, with many more unregistered, unowned or feral cats across the region. Project Meow Geelong recommends that cats be desexed by four months old, with female cats able to have up to three litters a year. Director Abby Richardson and founder Lisa Kearns are pictured with their latest round of kittens, who were all desexed this week. The average number of kittens per litter is between four and six, with many cats struggling to find a home and care, leading to many animal welfare groups being overwhelmed with numbers. See page 3 for the full story.
Helping kids be kids By Jena Carr Peggy Creasy knows how painful severe eczema is, but the only thing that gives her relief is medication that isn’t funded for kids under 12. The six-year-old from Torquay has lived with the condition that causes her skin to become red, dry and itchy since she was six months old. Mother Rachel Allan said Peggy had tried different creams and medications, but nothing worked until she was granted compassionate access to the medicine dupilumab (brand name Dupixent), something she must reapply every six months. “We would constantly go to the GP for skin infections that impacted her sleep, as she would wake up with blood all over her sheets,” she said.
“We spent every second of our day trying to help her not have a flare-up and keep her comfortable while making sure she didn’t itch her skin so much that it bled. “Her friends would also ask questions about why her skin is the way it is and why she looks the way she does, because, especially on her hands, her skin would peel off, and it was flaky.” Peggy and her family have since joined Eczema Support Australia’s SOS (Save Our Skin) for Kids with Eczema campaign to ensure all kids have affordable access to the medicine they need. “Our SOS distress call can’t fall on deaf ears, and access to this medicine must not be impeded by more red tape,” Eczema Support Australia founder Melanie Funk said. Dupilumab is currently only available to Australians aged 12 and older through the
Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, reducing the cost from $1600 to $25 per month. Ms Allan said the hardest thing for her to understand was why children under the age of 12 couldn’t access the medication that allowed Peggy to “be a kid again”. “The medication means that I don’t have to stress, she doesn’t have to be in pain, and she can just live her life as any child should,” she said. “She will be on it for the rest of her life, as it is a chronic condition, but it can be managed a lot easier with this medicine.” The Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee will consider a new application to add dupilumab to the PBS for children as young as six months to 11 months in July, following a previous application four years prior. The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing was contacted for comment.
MOTHER’S DAY AT TEMPO
Rachel Allan with daughter Peggy Creasy and Federal Member for Corangamite Libby Coker. (Supplied)
MOTHER’S DAY LUNCH Gather your loved ones and celebrate Mum with a beautiful buffet lunch in Novotel Geelong's Peninsula Room overlooking the Waterfront. All Mums will recieve a glass on bubbles on arrival!
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BUFFET LUNCH 12pm - 3pm $85 per adult | $45 per child (5-12yrs) BOOK NOW Novotel Geelong 03 5273 5528 | events@novotelgeelong.com.au | www.novotelgeelong.com.au