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News blog, May 20: Young people on the election; all you need to know about voting in Nicholls
Check back during the day for all the latest headlines across the Goulburn Valley.
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Hello, good day, happy Friday!
Caitlyn Grant driving the blog train today.
We’re looking at a top of 18 over the next couple of days. Speaking of, how cold was this morning eh? I’d be close to calling it the first frost of the season, but also very well may be wrong. Let me know.
Election eve is upon us, have you sorted out your vote? If not, we’ve got an absolute multitude of content to set you up to know who’s who and what’s what!
UPDATE, 4.45 pm: Final election notes
As we’ll be back on at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning to cover the big day, I’m signing off.
To send you on your way, I had a chat with five locals in their 20s to gauge their perspective on the election. All shared relatively similar insights (and concerns) on the cost of living, climate change and not being heard as a young person. Have a read if you like.
If you haven’t done the old scroll to see the necessities for voting, don’t stress ‒ you can find them nicely collated by Max Stainkamph here.
Happy voting and have a good weekend!
UPDATE, 4.30 pm: What’s on this weekend
Apart from the election, there’s a bit going on in the GV.
Wet your whistle with a tune or three at Goulburn Valley Grammar School’s rendition of Broadway Today, or perhaps a one hour session on catching the perfecto fish.
But, what we’ve all been waiting for, MONSTER TRUCK CARNIVAL!!!
We’ve compiled all the goods for this weekend here.
UPDATE, 2.45 pm: Let’s Talk
In this week’s Let’s Talk, a column dedicated to opening the conversation, Amy Wheeler shared her story.
Amy and her partner, Nick Dullard, tragically lost their son, Ottie John Dullard, to sudden infant death syndrome at only four months old.
Now, Amy is advocating to raise awareness and help other mothers feel less alone.
“If you know somebody that's lost a child or had a miscarriage or had a stillborn baby, anything like that, just talk to the person about it, ask them questions,” she said.
“All they want to do is talk so that the memory lives on; if I don’t talk about Ottie, that’s where it ends, so he has to be spoken about so that his memory does live on.”
UPDATE, 12.15 pm: All you need to know about Nicholls for election day
It’s everywhere you look around town ‒ voting day is coming in hot.
We’ve done the hard yards and tried to compile as much information as possible in hopefully the easiest way to consume.
If you’re not sure who the 11 candidates of Nicholls are and what they stand for, we’ve got you covered here.
Feeling intimidated by the endless scroll that is the Senate Candidate paper? As Max Stainkamph puts it: Who are all these people? What do they stand for? What is this piece of paper longer than any other piece of paper I’ve seen in my life?
Well, he’s done the digging. This is where you can see who, where, what and why.
And, most importantly, here’s exactly where you can vote! Anna McGuinness has popped together all the polls for tomorrow and checked out some high priority stuff ‒ who’s serving what in terms of democratic delicacies.
Obviously it’s been drilled into each and every one of us, but your vote really, really does matter. Our editor Tyler Maher has given his two cents, excited by the prospect of how engaged people have been this time around.
And finally, in today’s paper you will find The News’ insight into the election.
“We are spoiled for choice: it is the most impressive and competitive field of candidates we have seen in living memory.“
Good luck voting and if you see us at the polls, make sure to say a hello!
UPDATE, 11 am: AFL grand final details announced
The AFL has released details on the grand final this morning, set to start at 2.30pm on Saturday, September 24, the big game will take place at the MCG.
Better start rehearsing my Bombers team song!
UPDATE, 10.50 am: Breaking sports news
Hot off the press, former Melbourne Demons star Neville Jetta will line up for Tatura this weekend in the side’s Goulburn Valley League clash with Echuca.
Tatura coach Paul Kirby said it was a last-minute plot, with Jetta a development coach with Collingwood in the VFL ‒ and Bundoora when not tied up with the Pies ‒ but both sides have a bye this weekend, allowing him to make the trek north.
Check out the full yarn here.
UPDATE, 10.05 am: Election rules changed around phone voting
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has announced the eligibility for phone voting has been extended, allowing Australians who have tested positive for COVID-19 to vote over the phone.
Previously, voters who had tested positive before 6pm on Tuesday only had until Wednesday to apply for a postal vote, those who hadn’t applied would be excluded from voting via phone.
After a recommendation from the AEC, the Federal Government confirmed that any voter who has tested positive for COVID-19 after 6pm on Friday, May 13 can access phone voting.
To register to vote by phone, visit https://www.aec.gov.au/election/covid19-affected.htm and then call 1800 413 960.
It’s warned phone queues will be long, so if this is you, jump in early I’d say.
UPDATE, 9 am: Headlines to start the day
The kids at Gowrie Street Primary School hit the pavement this morning for National Walk Safely to School Day. Well done to them, it is chilly!
Next week, we’re looking at the new traffic lights on Hawdon Street kicking into action. Out front of GSSC, the lights will operational on Tuesday, May 24 at around 2pm.
The latest in police and court, police drew a gun after a man allegedly rammed a police car on the causeway between Shepparton and Mooroopna on Friday, May 14, a court has heard.
There will be a healthy dose of election material throughout the day, so make sure to check back in on the blog.
Shepparton News journalist