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Happy Friday Brolga readers, Zara here to take you through todayβs edition. Weβre talking hackers, health promises, hectic weather and even more hectic fish.
Here are the headlines:
ποΈ The news ποΈ
What weβre hearing
The medical group behind Warrnamboolβs Medicare Urgent Health Clinic says itβs still working to discover the extent and nature of information stolen in a recent cyber breach.Β
Epichealth, which operates four clinics across Ocean Grove and Portarlington on the Bellarine Peninsula and Warrnambool, said in a statement last Wednesday an βunauthorised third partyβ accessed a part of its IT systems.
The breach: On October 31, Epichealth was listed on a ransomware monitoring site as having been targeted by The Gentlemen, an online ransomware group reportedly based in Russia.
Ransomware is typically known to lock organisations out of their own files and demand payment to re-open them.
What was stolen? Epichealth told the Brolga it believed the information breached by hackers may have included personal patient information, but independent cyber security experts were able to safely restore the breached systems.
The quote:
Our investigation has identified that some personal information held in our systems may have been accessed, and work to establish the nature and extent of the information involved is continuing.
What weβre hearing
With a pot full of money in her back pocket, Victoriaβs Health Minister Ingrid Stitt visited Ballarat on Thursday morning to sell two promises to locals.Β
At a media event at Grampians Wellbeing and Connect Centre, Stitt said if reelected Labor would invest $19.5 million in new Mental Health and Wellbeing Locals in Wendouree and Ararat.Β
Whatβs that? A Local provides free mental health care without the typical obstacles, such as the need for a GP referral, Medicare Card or Australian Visa.Β
βIt's very hard for families, with the cost of living [and] the pressure a lot of families are feeling, to be able to afford private psychology and psychiatry support,β Stitt told the Brolga.Β
She also announced $15.8 million in statewide funding to deliver housing for adults living with mental illness.Β
Local lens: Juliana Addison, Labor MP for Wendouree, said the new Local centres would be βgame-changers for Ballaratβ and βif you remove barriers, people will reach outβ.
She said they would help relieve pressure on local hospitals, potentially before patients reached a crisis point.Β
A staffer at Grampians Wellbeing and Connect Centre told the Brolga the funding was the result of βa lot of advocacy from a lot of peopleβ.Β
The quote:
It's very hard for families, with the cost of living [and] the pressure a lot of families are feeling, to be able to afford private psychology and psychiatry support.
What weβre hearing
Corangamite, Colac Otway and Northern Grampians will begin their fire danger periods two weeks early this year as the Country Fire Authority (CFA) prepares for a hot, dry summer.
While September this year was the sixth driest β and fourth hottest β September on record, some parts of the state recorded their wettest October day on record, and others had their wettest October on record.
From dry to wet: An official El Nino was declared on June 16, which is typically known for bringing dry weather and drought. So how did Victoria go from all the regular symptoms of El Nino to bringing in record rainfall?
Drying out in a flash: Andrew Watkins, an adjunct professor in Monash Universityβs School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, told the Brolga the Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting high temperatures in the later months of the season.
βAs we get into January and February, that's when that wet signal would probably ease off the most β¦ it would mean there would be a lot of grass growth and a lot of undergrowth that will dry out, and the bureau's seasonal outlook is very hot, so the grass fire danger would go right up,β he said.
Whatβs on?
Events to check out this week ποΈ
Before we get into the news, hereβs some events and things to do that caught our attention this week.
Throughout November |National Photographic Portrait Prize 2025 Exhibition
Friday, 13/11/26 | Jet live at Civic Hall
Sunday, 15/11/26 |50th Anniversary of the Regent Cinema Reopening
πΉ Show me πΉ
This week, I braced my nostrils for a visit to the Barongarook Creek in Colac to see what condition it was in following the mass death of about 40 tonnes of carp. There were still some dead fish in parts of the water.
Check that out in the video below.
Darcie uncovered a grim story of ghostly gossip about a woman named Mary Barrell, after speaking to Federation Universityβs Dr David Waldron. You can watch more on that story, here.
Thanks for catching up with us this week at The West Vic Brolga, folks.
We hope you enjoyed this issue, and weβd love to hear your thoughts. Weβll be back next week with more stories, local legends, and fun polls, so stay tuned!
Cheers,
Zara & The West Vic Brolga team.