Politics & Council
19 March, 2026
Plenty of whacks, so show benefits
HELLO from the North of the Shire, where a cool spring finish to 2025 saw higher than expected crop yields for Loddon farmers, writes Cr David Weaver
The Boort Grain Co-op and Grain Corp received a combined total of almost 300,000 tonnes of grain.
The Boort Co-op has been the largest private Grain receival site in Victoria for the last three years and is a great facility for the region’s farmers.
Little Lake Boort and the caravan park have been busy all summer. The Little Lake Boort Committee of management do a tremendous job, year in and year out, maintaining the lake and surrounds and should be commended for their efforts.
The Australia Day Ceremony in Boort was again very well attended; the Amity Ladies should be congratulated on another well run event.
Peter Walsh was the guest speaker and spoke of the hardships of a family who have moved from war torn Afghanistan to start a new life in Swan Hill as Australians.
It was a pleasure to present the Boort Ward Citizen of the Year Award to Sherryn O’Flaherty, she has dedicated years of service to the community particularly to the youth of our community.
It was also a pleasure to witness the pride on the faces of the school children as they received their Australia Day awards for colouring or literature.
Boort Yando Cricket Club held their 40-year reunion of the merger of the two clubs. Former Australian Test Captain, Graham Yallop was a very interesting guest speaker. 150 people came from all over Victoria and thoroughly enjoyed catching up with old mates.
I would like to congratulate the Boort Yando Under 17 cricket team on winning the ULCA premiership.
They defeated a younger Bridgewater team who showed great courage in the final. Congratulations also to the Boort Yando senior team on winning the Loddon Herald T20 premiership by finishing on top of the ladder. The grand final was cancelled due to extreme heat.
It has been a very busy fire season throughout Northern Victoria and I would like to thank all the CFA volunteers for their service. The Boort Trotting Club held their Cups meeting. The rain may have kept a few people away, but those that did attend had an excellent day.
The rain has been well received by most in the north, although you don’t receive 150-200mm of rain over 8 days and not have some damage.
Shire staff have been working hard to repair damage to roads and are assisting those whose houses were inundated with water.
The lack of childcare services is still a great concern in Loddon, particularly in the North of the shire, where young families are travelling up to 200km per day to access childcare.
On the eve of last years federal election, the government pledged $5million for childcare in Loddon.
Given that the Wedderburn Centre was already planned and funded (and under construction) at that stage the community was led to believe that the funding was for a new centre to be built.
On the September 3, whilst in Canberra, the Mayor Cr Straubb and the CEO Mr Lincoln Fitzgerald were reassured by an advisor of Minister Jess Walsh that the funding was for a new centre and not for any centre currently planned.
In February, the State Government basically commandeered the funding, saying it was for the already built and operating Wedderburn centre.
As a community, we feel as though we have been misled.
I’ve often stated that the most important crop a rural community can grow is the next generation.
This leads me to the question, “When are these seedlings of our future going to matter to the state and federal governments?”
One of the greatest restrictions on population and job growth in our community is the lack of childcare services.
Sustainability through development is the way forward for all our towns. Attracting new families to our towns benefits us all.In the north we are having so much forced upon us by government backed renewables and mining.
Much of the community are against these projects. In response, perhaps there is an opportunity for our governments to respond to these concerns and demonstrate direct benefits to the Loddon community with services and infrastructure to support a long term and prosperous future for our communities.
It’s time for the State and Federal governments to be fair to the children of Loddon.
Although we at Loddon Shire Council are advocates for and not providers of childcare, I will keep up the fight for as long as it takes.
The decision of Ambulance Victoria to abandon its plan to build an ambulance station in Wedderburn is just another slap in the face for our region.
The people of Loddon contribute $1.3 billion to the economy; this figure shows the might of our region with its small population but very large output.
Our shire is a region rich with opportunity.
David Weaver is Loddon Shire’s Boort Ward councillor
Read More: Berrimal, Boort