On your feed 📱 

Archie from The National Account unpacked what it actually takes to increase speed limits following an announcement from the Victorian Coalition:

And I covered the announcement that Miners Rest might soon be home to a data centre, much to the disappointment of some locals:

Cafe controversy and acidic water 💧 

☕️ Ballarat cafe owner's post against “minority groups getting all the attention” triggers swift hospo backlash

A Ballarat cafe operator who describes himself as a “REGULATION Australia MALE” has railed on social media against “these minority groups getting all the attention”, a move that led to passionate rebukes from other local hospitality businesses. 

What about me? LeRoy Hand, co-owner of Turret Cafe, shared a post by outspoken right wing senator Alex Antic on his personal Instagram Stories on Sunday. 

Antic’s post included a video of him speaking in Federal Parliament. In his speech he claimed, “If you’re a regulation Australian male in 2026, you might actually be excused for wondering what this country has on offer for you anymore”.

It isn’t fair: He went on to complain about Reconciliation Week and stated, “you get Welcome to Country every time you step into an event … and then Pride Month rolls around, with its rainbow flags on buildings, and you get made to attend a Pride morning tea at your work”.

I’ve had enough: Antic said the “regulation” or “routine” Australian male is “told from an early age that your masculinity is toxic” and that your “background makes you less of a priority … is it any wonder Australian men are feeling so disillusioned, so disengaged and quietly angry as a result? Australians have had enough”.

Hand shared Antic’s speech and added his own commentary: “I don’t share my feelings on this too often … for good reason! But this hit pretty hard. It’s time we as a majority stand up and make as much noise as these minority groups getting all the attention. 

Now I want my share: “If we don’t stand up nothing will change, or worse we will lose more! It’s time to be proud to be a REGULATION Australian MALE.”

Instagram Stories disappear 24 hours after being posted, and this was long enough for Hand’s comment to reach others within the Ballarat cafe and baked goods communities.

You are welcome: Fresh Baked By Josh posted in response: “If you were unfortunate enough to have seen a story from a local business owner this weekend, I’m sorry. You are not less than, you are valued, you are welcome, you deserve to feel safe and respected. Ballarat welcomes all, and as a local business owner I’m absolutely disgusted and astonished that this was posted and left up for 24 hours …”.

Josh, who spoke on the condition we didn’t publish his surname, said he was “astonished that a well-known local business owner would so openly alienate so many groups”.

Read the full story here.

🐟️ Alcoa denied groundwater access after campaign by Anglesea residents and council

Southern Rural Water has rejected mining giant Alcoa’s application to use local groundwater to fill an Anglesea coal mine pit that closed in 2015. 

Keith Shipton, co-founder of Friends of the Anglesea River, said members had been “plugging away” at the issue for six years. 

🗣️: “We’ve had a pretty singular focus: operating on the assumption that no good could come to the Anglesea River unless pumping groundwater from the aquifer was ended.” 

Locals and council raised concerns about the environmental impact of extraction during the application process. 

❓What happened: Work has been ongoing to rehabilitate the site of the mine since its closure, and the remaining pit will fill naturally within 26 years. The use of groundwater would have sped up this process. 

• The proposal, if approved, would have seen 1,500 megalitres (ML) extracted per year from the aquifer for 10 years. 

• This is an amount equal to 600 Olympic-size swimming pools. 

• Alcoa has the right to appeal the decision to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT). 

💧 Why it matters: Southern Rural Water said on July 16 the licence would have resulted in a “potentially significant reduction” in groundwater levels and river flows, “increased risk of acid generation” and “no-flow” days in the Anglesea River. 

Surf Coast Shire made a submission to Southern Rural Water expressing concern about Alcoa’s request. 

• Surf Coast Mayor Libby Stapleton told the Brolga “protecting local ecosystems is really important to our community and council should obviously be reflecting the community, so it’s a priority for us”. 

🗣️: “It’s the acidity of some of my grapefruit juice,” Shipton said, comparing Anglesea River water to a beverage of choice. “We’ve got a river with no fish in it.” 

🫂 The local experience: The mine was operational in Anglesea for 46 years, and locals like Shipton claim it’s impacted the water availability and health of the nearby river significantly. He said reduced river flow and increased acid had created a “dead river”. 

Shipton told the Brolga there are many older residents of Anglesea who recall the river being a place to take your kids for a swim. It was also once known as a renowned nursery for Southern Black Bream fish. 

• In the local Wadawurrung language, the river is known as Kuarka-dorla, meaning “place to catch mullet”. 

Read the full story here.