A Glenelg Shire Councillor has demanded assurances the full budget for this year’s road repairs will be spent, after about $500,000 of the previous budget’s road funding was left unused. 

What’s going on: Councillor Michael Carr asked Glenelg council staff at Tuesday’s council meeting to explain why unused money allocated for roads was not spent in the 2025-26 financial year.

“We can’t afford not to have spent the money last year. And I want to see that into this year. And then I want some [surety] that we've got plans in place to spend every dollar that we've got allocated within our budget on the roads,” Carr told the meeting.

What they said: Glenelg Shire spent $5 million in 2025-26 on road renewal projects.

Council Infrastructure director Aaron Moyne said works to fix roads, bridges and kerbs had started last year but weren’t finished by the end of June. The projects were then moved into the roads program for 2026-27.

Slow on the uptake? Looking at the quarterly finance report for this financial year, which covers July to September, Carr pointed out council had only spent $172,000 of its $4.9 million road renewal budget so far.

“So in the financial statement to the end of September, we wouldn’t see a lot,” she said.

Carr replied it’s not about the timing, but about “how we’re going to spend it, because our roads need it. That’s the feedback we get from the community”.

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Chris Mavridis has spent years watching her power bills climb - she even has the spreadsheet to prove it.

“I have gas heating, gas hot water and everything else is electric. I have a huge electricity bill, and that’s what I want to get down,” she said. “It’s only a two-bedroom home and I pay $600 every three months.”

Mavridis, who lives in an older brick home, said the increases had become difficult to ignore. People she knows who have upgraded their heating and water systems off gas and installed solar say their bills now run between $60 and $90 a month.

“That’s a huge difference,” she said.

What has held her back in making changes at her own property, is not knowing how to get started.

What’s going on: That gap in knowledge is what Geelong Sustainability’s All-Electric Homes Program aimed to address during a forum held at Colac Performing Arts and Cultural Centre on Wednesday night.

Installers for solar panels, hot water systems, and heating and cooling answered various questions from the crowd: how to access government rebates or check their eligibility, how to get started with selecting suitable solar panels and batteries for their homes and how changing technology might affect their choices.

The background: Geelong Sustainability Co-CEO Karina Donkers told the Brolga more than 750 households had participated in the program since its been operating across the Geelong region, with collective power bill savings across all households approaching $450,000 each year.

“In the moment of the cost of living crisis that we’re in, saving on our energy bills is a key part of what households really need to be looking at,” Donkers said.

The most popular upgrades include hot water heat pumps and solar and battery systems. Recently introduced federal and state government battery rebates have increased demand.

What did locals learn? Attendee Liz Collins and her husband Craig are building a new house out of town, with plans to be off-grid. 

“We just need to learn a little bit more about it as we approach the building dates and know what we're looking at,” she explained.

“There are people out there that know the business so well that you can be offered that information and not be paying for it, and not feel like you're being sent down [the wrong path],” she said.

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Wind turbines are the centre of many conversations in West Vic. How are they installed? Where are they going? How much do they cost?

But what happens when, as with all energy infrastructure, they reach end-of-life? 

For locals who attended the Ripon Candidates Forum in early October, many asked about the technicalities of decommissioning wind turbines. Specific questions from the floor included:

Local answers: The Codrington Wind Farm, in the south-west near Port Fairy and Yambuk, was first installed in 2001, but is set for retirement after producing power for Victoria for two decades. 

Decommissioning wind farms is new territory for Victoria, but 85 - 94 percent of the turbines are recyclable. 

All eyes on Codrington: A spokesperson for Pacific Blue told the Brolga it will be the first company to decommission a commercial wind farm in the National Electricity Market. 

The process will involve: 

Many of the turbine parts will be transported for further processing and reuse at manufacturing facilities. 

The blades: The blades are the only component where the process blurs. 

What about the concrete: Pacific Blue told the Brolga that concrete foundation hardstands and roads at Codrington will be “covered, revegetated, allowing the land to return to its former use… to ensure the process meets [the landholder’s] expectations.” 

expansion of this quarry following decommission activities,” the spokesperson said. 

According to the Clean Energy Council, there is currently “little evidence” that the infrastructure leaves behind contamination remnants in the soil that pose a risk to farmland. 

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Hamilton cinema would lose 53 seats under designs proposed by Southern Grampians Council that would move the venue into the supper room of the Performing Arts Centre.

What’s going on: The council has released designs for the new Hamilton Performing Arts Centre and Cinema for public consultation, as part of the new Hamilton Gallery and civic precinct, projected to cost about $50 million.

The details: Architects Angelo Candalepas and Associates developed the designs, which include a new bar, box office and amenities, with improved accessibility and acoustics.

Why fewer seats? According to the council, data from the cinema shows only 55 of 3964 sessions - 1.39 percent - between January 2023 and September 2026 drew more than 68 people.

Mayor Dennis Heslin said in a statement the supper room in the Performing Arts Centre has reduced in usage over the past decade and typically acts as a secondary bar area or green room.

“Obviously there are exceptions … the Rotary Art Show and the Eisteddfod, but we will work with those groups to ensure that their events can be accommodated within the revised facility or a suitable alternative,” he said.

Costs: The cinema is estimated at $2.14 million and will be included in the gallery construction contract.

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