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4 JULY, 2023
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Brumbies find a home Four wild brumbies saved from potential culling have arrived in Melton from Kosciuszko National Park to be broken in. At 23 Maddison Buckner has been breaking-in horses for eight years, and has just received four new brumbies to train. She said she will spend about three months training the horses before finding them a permanent home. The process requires slowly building trust with the animals, introducing new items slowly, until you can eventually ride them. “They’re cool, they’re really smart. They’re different from other horses. Only the toughest survive out in the wild,” she said. She said breaking-in wild horses is dangerous, but she likes the challenge. “I like that bit of adrenaline rush, and the reward of it – the problem solving that comes from working with horses,” she said. “Domestic horses can actually be more aggressive when they’ve had bad experiences with humans, but brumbies are blank canvases. “They’ve been really good … the stallion who is almost 15 has already got a halter on and I can brush him.”
Maddison Buckner. (Damjan Janevski) 343835_01
Liam McNally
Push for Plumpton pool By Liam McNally A $116 million aquatic leisure centre for Plumpton isone step closer, after Melton council endorsed a revised business case for the project at a meeting on Monday, June 26. A business case for The Plumpton Aquatic and Leisure Centre was created in 2017, and was revised and updated last year. The business case proposed an aquatic centre on Beattys Road, projected to cost $116.4 million if construction commences in 2025. The document proposes a range of
district-level features including $7.9 million in waterslides, a gym, a 50-metre indoor and 25-metre outdoor pool and a $2.7 million “aquatic sensory experience room”. Councillor Sophie Ramsay said a delegation of councillors “went like the Leyland brothers around Victoria” to see what other municipalities have done with their aquatic centres, and “can’t wait to see this in the City of Melton”. Cr Kathy Majdlik said the business case is an “important milestone for the project”. “With nearly 170,000 people expected to live
near Plumpton by 2040, we’re committed to delivering the kind of aquatic centre a growing community deserves,” she said. “I can’t wait for it to be delivered to our community, we’ve been waiting for a long time … but I understand it’s a long process because it’s a very expensive and large asset, but I say let’s get this thing built …” Council officers anticipate the project will be completed before the end of the next council term. Melton’s 2023-24 budget allocated $250,000 to commence the next stage of the Plumpton Aquatic Leisure Centre, which is to create
a master plan and schematic design for the centre. The purchase of land for the aquatic centre site is yet to be finalised. Cr Justine Farrugia said she anticipates all the members of the municipality “will enjoy this very thoroughly” “I’m sure it will bring much joy to all of the members of our community including all the children and I’m sure we’re going to have the best slides, the best gym, and the best possible facility going around which will be trend-setting.”
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