Danielle Grindlay
As seen in:
ABC News (Australia),
The New Daily
Part-time ABC journo (proudly regional), mum-of-three, part-time psychology student
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Articles by Danielle Grindlay
Peak forestry body rejects science behind SA water plan
A national forestry body says water licensing policy introduced by the South Australian Government is based on ‘artificial’ evidence. Forestry companies in the lower south east of SA will be required to buy water licences, as part of the State Government's plans to ensure sustainability of the resource. It has taken the Government nearly a decade of work to introduce the policy.
Rural financial counsellors tell dairy farmers Federal Government loan scheme is 'too hard' to access
Rural financial counsellors, paid by the Federal Government to assist dairy farmers in applying for its concessional loans, are reportedly advising clients not to bother with applications. Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Timboon farmer Stephen Spokes said his rural financial counsellor advised him not to apply for a Federal Government loan, amid reports a list of farmers have been told the process is 'too hard'.
Regional Australians falling through the cracks of a 'complicated' mental health system
By Danielle Grindlay and Sean Wales for ABC Regional Investigations Posted July 15, 2020 06:00:03 Mal Coutts scrolls through an old flip-top mobile phone, tallying up 47 calls, incoming and outgoing, from one day. "The need is just huge, especially now with this COVID-19." Mr Coutts is a mental health outreach worker in western Victoria, a role he describes as a "gap-filler".
Uniting Church charity shop removes golliwogs from sale in western Victoria
A Uniting Church charity shop in Victoria has removed golliwogs from its shelves after management was urged to consider the offensive message behind the dolls.
Regional doctors 'absolutely calling' for telehealth to be continued beyond COVID-19
Doctors in rural and regional Australia are urging the Federal Government to continue the telehealth scheme started under COVID-19, saying it will help to close Australia's health gap.
Victorian town of Hamilton sees man in a gorilla suit, running, as a reason to smile
A gorilla is on the loose in Hamilton. Well, a man in a gorilla suit. Known only as Hammo, the costumed man has been running along highways and through streets of the rural Victorian town since Easter. While his identity remains a mystery, Hammo's motives are clear. "I thought, if I put on a gorilla costume and run down the highway between 5:00pm and 6:00pm while essential workers are going home, their first comment when they walk in the door won't be, 'we can't go away for Easter,' " he said.
Farmers and retirees in 'Minyip Philosophical Society' begin 'master's' degree in rural Victoria
A group of farmers, working professionals and retirees in a small Victorian grain town will this year begin their master's degrees in Western philosophy. They will not receive a certificate, as the course is not recognised by authorities. They will not write an essay, nor sit any exam. In fact the only official part of the course is their lecturer, former philosophy professor Dr Homer Rieth, who has been running free classes in Minyip for five years.
Australia's first ever moon bounce remembered as a feat that shocked industry experts
Updated March 04, 2020 15:49:44 You probably haven't heard of Ray Naughton's feat of science — not many people have. But 55 years ago, the quiet electronics store owner from Birchip, in western Victoria, successfully completed Australia's first ever moon bounce.
Victorian town of Sea Lake transformed from 'ghost town' to international tourism hotspot
Posted March 01, 2020 07:37:33 When an influx of tourists arrived in the isolated Victorian town of Sea Lake, locals were forced to decide whether they should embrace an entirely new identity. A ripple of resistance ran through parts of the conservative community, which has long been defined by the grain harvest. The fear was that tourism could destroy a rural culture that shaped generations of local families.
Danielle Grindlay
'Overlooked again': Disability advocates want answers in wake of sports grants snub Posted February 06, 2020 07:08:36 Upgrades to improve disabled access at Horsham's aquatic centre in western Victoria are on the backburner after its application was rejected by the Federal Government's sports grants scheme.
Horsham Aquatic Centre snubbed in sports rorts saga and disability advocates want answers
Posted February 06, 2020 07:08:36 Mandy is not a fan of politics or any of the speculation around the resignation of former sports minister Bridget McKenzie, but the Horsham woman joins a chorus of voices across the country asking for an explanation in the wake of the so-called sports rorts scandal.
Yarriambiack Shire Council probed over fishing charter, race days and shares in a racehorse
Authorities are investigating a Victorian council over allegations workers used money from doing private jobs to start a bank account that funded a staff fishing charter, race days and shares in a racehorse.
Yarriambiack Shire Council probed over fishing charter, race days and shares in a racehorse
Authorities are investigating a Victorian council over allegations workers used money from doing private jobs to start a bank account that funded a staff fishing charter, race days and shares in a racehorse.
Leila Sweeney speaks about her glamorous attempts to raise the profile of Aussie farmers.
Tasmanian cherry growers in the state's south are in a race against the clock to pick their produce or face the possibility of leaving it to rot.
Beauty queen and farmer uses fashion and glamour to champion rural Australia
The Victorian town of Tatyoon has a population of well under 400 people but among them is a young woman with plans to lure fashion designers, camera crews and reality TV stars to her hometown. Leila Sweeney is a farmer, fashion designer, textiles teacher and beauty queen. And because that list wasn't long enough for the 25-year-old, she has also launched her own charity 'Live Rural'. Her aim is to promote the positive side of farming and provide support when communities are struggling.
Are you one of the 'everyday Australians' politicians refer to?
Are you one of the "everyday Australians" we hear politicians talking about? Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.
Chinese tourists flood isolated grain town, throwing drought-stricken community an unexpected lifeline
Even to an outsider, Chinese tourists seem out of place in the drought-stricken grain town of Sea Lake. Speckled among vast wheat paddocks, about 400 kilometres from Melbourne, it is one of Victoria's most isolated towns. Regular drinkers in The Top Pub don bemused expressions as white-gloved hands juggle cameras and the pizza menu is dissected in a foreign tongue. The locals in this conservative farming community were baffled by the sudden influx of Chinese tourists.
Rain salesman says his business is attracting investors, but experts say his claims don't stack up
Posted October 23, 2019 14:57:51 Miles Research chief executive David Miles is building a following in the Victorian grain belt, where a group of farmers have paid for rainfall between May and October. Key points: David Miles claims to be able to make it rain by manipulating "electromagnetic scalar waves" and charges farming regions $250,000 for three month contracts.
Rain salesman says his business is attracting investors, but experts say his claims don't stack up
Miles Research chief executive David Miles is building a following in the Victorian grain belt, where a group of farmers have paid for rainfall between May and October. Key points: David Miles claims to be able to make it rain by manipulating "electromagnetic scalar waves" and charges farming regions $250,000 for three month contracts. The Victorian Farmers Federation labelled Mr Miles a "snake oil salesman" and urged vulnerable farmers not to engage with his company.
Drought-affected farmers desperately turn to a man who 'can make it rain'
As the drought deepens and many farmers become increasingly desperate, some are turning to help from a man who claims he can make it rain. David Miles markets a weather modification service and is building a client base in the Victorian grain belt. The competition regulator says it's preying on vulnerable people but there's little it can do.
Mayor agrees to apologise for introducing MP Emma Kealy as 'best-looking politician in Victoria'
By Sean Wales , Danielle Grindlay and Rebekah Lowe Posted October 07, 2019 11:21:22 "The best-looking politician in Victoria." That was how a regional mayor introduced the Victorian Shadow Minister for Women Emma Kealy at an event in Nhill in western Victoria, later saying it "was not that big of a deal".
How professional careers, family, farming and netball finds balance among the women gracing my team
Posted September 14, 2019 12:05:57 There is an old stereotype that paints rural women as 'farmers' wives' who spend their days baking and cleaning while their husbands bring in the income. Perhaps, on a subconscious level, that shaped my expectations when joining the Harrow-Balmoral C Grade netball team in rural Victoria. I was there to meet people in the small rural town I married into, but also to escape life's responsibilities.
Sentinel turkeys keep us one step ahead of flu, providing blood for up-to-date vaccines
A flock of turkeys in western Victoria is at the centre of the global fight to improve the flu vaccine.
Torrita locals fight for just eight seconds of your time, to slow traffic down through their town
Posted July 16, 2019 15:09:49 When is a town no longer a town?
'Today I would like to tell you my story'; Karenni refugee students use Heywire to connect with the Australian public
Kleh Wah was seven years old when he walked from Burma to Thailand, seeking safety in a refugee camp. His mother died on the way. Now in Australia, he is sharing his story through the ABC Heywire competition. Kle Wah was seven-years-old when he walked from Myanmar to Thailand, seeking safety in a refugee camp. The trek took a month. His mother didn’t make it. She died in the forest. "Burmese soldier come and burn our house," he said.
National taskforce formed to tackle 'ice' and other drug abuse in shearing sheds
The Shearing Contractors Association, National Farmers Federation, Australian Workers Union and Wool Producers Australia have come together to address drug concerns in shearing sheds. Drug testing suitable for shearing sheds is high on the list of priorities for a national taskforce, formed to tackle widespread reports of drug and alcohol abuse in the wool industry.
Country football counts the cost of interstate commutes
Footballers are travelling thousands of kilometres to play for country clubs, who are spending millions importing the best players from interstate. The AFL is struggling to maintain a fair playing field.
United Dairy Power processing plants in South Australia to close putting 100 jobs at stake
South Australian dairy farmers protest farm gate prices at a rally in Murray Bridge earlier this year. Now many could lose their milk market altogether with the closure of the local UDP factory. About 100 jobs look set to be lost at Murray Bridge and Jervois in South Australia, with United Dairy Power (UDP) moving into administration.
Doctors deemed incompetent and stripped of registration after years of work
International doctors who have worked in regional areas for many years are being deemed incompetent and deregistered amid a Medical Board of Australia (MBA) crackdown.
Woodchopping poised to become national sport amid junior axemen resurgence
Five teenagers are perched on elevated logs, swinging axes from above their head and down between their feet as fast as they can manage. They are the pride of the Wimmera Axemen's Association in Victoria and part of a junior axemen resurgence that could see woodchopping officially recognised as a national sport by the Australian Sports Commission by the end of the year.
Parents follow backpacker son's footsteps from WA to tragic end in Victoria
The parents of a Canadian backpacker who died in a triple road fatality have travelled from the coast of Western Australia to central Victoria, following their son's footsteps to his tragic end. Jesse Munroe, 21, was one of five backpackers in a car that smashed into a line of trees on Boort-Kerang Road in the early hours of August 27 last year. Mr Munroe's best friend Scott Goebel and the German driver, both 21, were also killed in the incident.
Victorian laws changed to stop the forced divorce of transgender people
New laws passed in Victoria mean married trans and gender-diverse people will no longer have to file for divorce after their gender is changed on their birth certificate. Victoria's Upper House on Tuesday voted to change laws that had previously forced heterosexual couples to divorce if one them underwent a gender transition and changed their birth certificate.
Obesity epidemic: Regional Australians the biggest losers in specialist treatment
It has been five years since Katrina Pianta, from Ararat in western Victoria, competed on national television show The Biggest Loser, but her efforts to lose weight date back decades. She remembers being a teenager, when the local doctor told her mother "your daughter needs to lose weight". "I just remember thinking, well what do I do? How do I do this?" she said.
Farmers welcome new national standard for free-range egg production
Farmers have welcomed a new national standard for free-range egg production, saying it is a win for commonsense, consumers, farmers and chickens. Minister for Small Business Kelly O'Dwyer and her state and territory colleagues signed-off on a new standard on Thursday. The national definition of free-range will require hens have "meaningful and regular" access to the outdoors, and that the density of chickens outdoors must be no more than one hen per square metre (10,000 hens per hectare).
Last laugh for bottle shop owners after 'no curries here' sign sparks outrage
An outraged community has sent a clear message that racism will not be tolerated in regional Victoria, after a "no curries here" sign was displayed in a local bottle shop. The sign was displayed in Horsham's Premix King liquor outlet earlier this year while an Indian family was preparing to open a new Cellarbrations store around the corner. "It was a shock — I didn't know how to react," Cellarbations co-owner Sukoon Bedi said. "You hear about it in the news sometimes and you go 'surely not' ...
What does a farmer look like? There's a good chance she's a woman
The Invisible Farmer project is highlighting the role of women such as Vicki Howard in agriculture. When you hear the word 'farmer', what image comes to mind? If you are relying on an internet search, it is unlikely you pictured a 64-year-old woman with a blonde bob and red lipstick, like Steph Evans.
Sex requests and obscene gestures 'the norm' for genuine Asian massage businesses
Men exposing their genitals and requesting sex has become the norm for Asian massage therapists who say they are being "tarred with the same brush" as illegal sex workers. Thai and Chinese massage therapists report regular cases of sexual harassment despite clear signage stating that there are no sexual services. A sign on the door at 'Yin's Chinese Traditional Massage' reads: "Keep your underwear all the time.
Indigenous and rural school attendance getting worse despite investment, new report shows
Despite extensive investment in Closing the Gap programs, new data shows Indigenous school attendance is getting worse. The latest report from the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACCR) shows more than half of Australian Indigenous students miss at least 10 per cent of the school year. On any given day in the Northern Territory, one-third of Indigenous students will be absent.
Rehabilitation recognised as best way to tackle youth crime and school dropouts in Victoria
Victorian authorities are rolling out new laws and flexible school programs in a bid to get teenagers off the streets and out of court rooms. The changes recognise rehabilitation as the best way to re-engage troubled youth. A phone call home would not mean much to couch-surfing teen Jack [not his real name], who has no contact with his parents. "I only went to school for one week [this year]," Jack, 16, said.
Victoria trials new laws and school programs to help teens
Victorian authorities are rolling out new laws and flexible school programs in a bid to get teenagers off the streets and out of court rooms.The changes recognise rehabilitation as the best way to re-engage troubled youth.A phone call home would not mean much to couch-surfing teen Jack [not his real name], who has no contact with his parents.“I only went to school for one week [this year],” Jack, 16, said.
Victoria's flexible school programs plan to keep students in the classroom and off the streets
Victorian authorities are rolling out new laws and flexible school programs to try to get teenagers off the streets and out of courtrooms. The changes have recognised rehabilitation as the best way to re-engage troubled youth. Victoria Legal Aid's criminal law executive director Helen Fatouros said there was a clear link between young criminals and school attendance.
Centrelink 'brick wall' frustrates rural and remote Australians
When Margo Sullivan phones Centrelink, from her family's remote cattle station the Northern Territory, she hopes to hear hold music. She hates "the music" but it means she has at least reached a hold queue. "It doesn't ring, it just goes 'beep beep, user busy'," Ms Sullivan said. Ms Sullivan is not alone. Last financial year more than 55 million calls to Centrelink were met with "user busy" signals. Sea Lake mother-of-three Carol Blundy said it took her five days to get through to a staff member.
Fresh Australian berries booming but imported fruit still three times cheaper than local
The cost of machinery required to freeze berries is very high. Australian consumers are buying more fresh berries every year, but are yet to see local raspberries and blueberries in major supermarket freezers. Berries have been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons since Hepatitis A cases were first linked to frozen imports nearly three years ago.
Why $400,000 house and car packages are not enough to attract GPs to stay in the bush
Dr Hafizullah says his rural clinic is struggling to remain viable. When nine doctors left one town in his regional Victorian electorate, Federal Minister Andrew Broad was baffled. "The packages that are being offered are in the tune of $400,000, plus a rent-free house, plus a car," he said. So why is rural life so unattractive to Australian GPs? And why are they being offered such lucrative packages?
Fly-in footballers keep country teams like Ouyen United alive - but what's the real cost?
Every weekend Josiah Farrer spends 28 hours driving, flying and sitting in airports — for one game of football in regional Victoria. The midfielder travels more than 8,500km to and from Katherine in the Northern Territory to represent the small farming town of Ouyen (population 1,082). Mr Farrer was one of eight players to fly interstate for Ouyen United's unsuccessful grand final bid on Saturday — five from Darwin and three from Adelaide.
Fly-in footballers keep country teams like Ouyen United alive - but what's the real cost?
Josiah Farrer, left, travels for 28 hours every weekend to play football for Ouyen United. Every weekend Josiah Farrer spends 28 hours driving, flying and sitting in airports — for one game of football in regional Victoria. The midfielder travels more than 8,500km to and from Katherine in the Northern Territory to represent the small farming town of Ouyen (population 1,082).
Hamilton saleyard smashes own record for biggest lamb sale in Australia with 62,187 head
A saleyard in western Victoria has smashed its own record for the biggest lamb sale in Australia, penning more than 62,000 head. Hamilton livestock exchange already held the standing record of 58,631 lambs, set in December last year. At the time, stock agents association president Craig Pertzel said that was already "bloody hectic", adding "you couldn't handle any more than that". But on Wednesday he and a hoard of other weary agents proved the statement wrong, lifting the record to 62,187 head.
Australia's biggest lamb sale on record a boost for western Victorian town
Croaky auctioneers and sleep-deprived stock agents were validated when Meat and Livestock Australia confirmed they held Australia's biggest lamb sale on record in western Victoria this week. The Hamilton sale saw 58,631 head sold, with a large crowd of buyers picking up stock for Gundagai, Tamworth, throughout South Australia and over to Tasmania. Lambs flooded sheep pens and spilt into the cattle yards, filling Hamilton's livestock exchange to capacity.
Mallee farmer, 90, brings in last crop after 75 years of harvests
Philip 'PK' Templeton has not missed a harvest since 1941, but this year stands out for two key reasons — it is his best ever, and it also is his last. Mr Templeton, 90, has manned the header for 75 successive years. Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. When this harvest is complete, in about mid-January, he and his 57-year-old son Tom will lease their Mallee, Victoria grain farm to someone else. "In the past 30 years ...
Mallee farmer, 90, brings in last crop after 75 years of harvests
Philip 'PK' Templeton (R), 90, and his son, Tom Templeton, 57, are in the midst of their last harvest. Philip 'PK' Templeton has not missed a harvest since 1941, but this year stands out for two key reasons — it is his best ever, and it also is his last. Mr Templeton, 90, has manned the header for 75 successive years. When this harvest is complete, in about mid-January, he and his 57-year-old son Tom will lease their Mallee, Victoria grain farm to someone else. "In the past 30 years ...
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