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Articles by Debbie Rybicki
Former VicRoads staff say privatisation to blame for Victoria's crumbling roads
Coco Veldkamp and Debbie Rybicki The upcoming Victorian election is shaping up to be a poll on potholes. Political parties have set out their plans and promises to fix the state's roads, no doubt in response to a litany of complaints about blown tyres and close calls that have filled newspaper letter sections and talkback radio segments.
Netball teams ousted from league due to lack of footballers sparks equal opportunity complaint
A regional Victorian mother has written to the state's Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission after her daughter's junior netball club was removed from the Ballarat Football Netball League (BFNL) due to low footballer numbers. The league's decision has raised questions about why Woady Yaloak Football Netball Club's thriving junior netball teams have to suffer due to a lack of junior footballers.
Milli watched trees 'surf' past her house in a 600,000-tonne landslide — then turned some of the dirt into souvenirs
When Milli Gunner saw dirt and trees "surf" down the mountain above her house, she didn't know just how much her life was about to change. It was October 2022, and a landslide was making its way down the mountain at Bogong Village in Victoria's Alpine region. "I find dirt really fascinating, just the colours of it and textures," she said. "So watching it just trickle down like a waterfall was quite mesmerising, but also scary because we didn't know the extent of it. Loading...
Insurers refuse to cover swimming pool inflatable that fosters youth relations with police
In short: Insurance companies won't insure a $60,000 community-funded inflatable water park because they say it's too risky in the current market. An insurance broker says the system is broken because courts are increasingly awarding damages for vexatious claims. What's next: Organisers are considering selling the inflatable water park to recoup costs because the insurance market isn't improving quickly enough.
Nearly 600 sheep stolen from Victorian farm after owner loses livestock theft insurance
Police are concerned about the brazen nature of a sheep rustling operation after nearly 600 sheep were reported stolen from a western Victorian property in two separate incidents.
'Easy' mobile coverage switch could save lives in emergencies, says regional development chief
A solution to mobile phone coverage issues in emergencies such as bushfires could just be a few steps away, according to a Regional Development Australia (RDA) committee in Victoria.
A new campaign expresses frustration about the state of Ballarat's roads - ABC listen
You might start to see a new bumper sticker popping up on cars around Ballarat soon, with a message that sounds like a broken record at this point: Fix Our Roads! The Ballarat Residents and Ratepayers Association have printed these stickers, and have heard from other ratepayer groups interested in running a similar campaign. The group's President Bruce Crawford says the message to fix local roads isn't being heard.
3.5 million Australians have used sick leave for non-health related reasons this year
Approximately 3.5 million Australians have 'chucked a sickie' this year, using sick leave to take a day off work for non-health related reasons. Belinda Fyffe is the CEO of Proven Group, an external HR consultancy based in Ballarat. She says there's no foolproof way to do this, however it has led to some very creative excuses to take a day off work.
School teachers concerned over possible Narmbool sale
Sovereign Hill is refusing to rule out the possibility of selling the historic 2,020-hectare property. The open-air museum was given the homestead decades ago for educational purposes, on the condition it never be sold. The move has upset educators who have used the site for school camps and other education programs. Geelong Grammar teacher Jye Hearps says it would be a disappointing move.
Sovereign Hill in Ballarat refuses to rule out selling historic donated property Narmbool
The board of Ballarat open-air museum Sovereign Hill is refusing to rule out the possibility of selling historic property Narmbool.
Rail trail for disused Castlemaine to Maryborough corridor one step closer - ABC listen
A passionate group of locals have been trying to get the disused rail corridor between Castlemaine and Maryborough turned into a rail trail for a few years now. They're now one step closer to that, with a feasibility study on the project giving it a glowing endorsement. The secretary of Castlemaine-Maryborough Rail Trail, John Carruthers, says the next step is to secure funding to build it.
Western Victorian wind farm plans fail to mention brolga nests, say Brewster residents
Wind energy company RE Future has submitted a planning permit for a seven-turbine, 42-megawatt wind farm which, under new planning provisions, will bypass council and be assessed directly by Victoria’s planning minister. Fourth-generation grain farmer Brett Swan said he was worried about the project’s effect on the community, especially noise, shadow flicker and the population of brolgas.
Western Victorian wind farm plans fail to mention brolga nests, say Brewster residents
Residents of Brewster, west of Ballarat, are worried a wind farm proposed for the area will be approved despite its proximity to populations of an endangered bird.
Victorian mayor may sue OpenAI after ChatGPT 'accuses' him in bribery case
A regional mayor may take unprecedented legal action to sue the creator of AI chatbot ChatGGPT for defamation, after the program falsely claimed he was a guilty party in a foreign bribery scandal.
Pushing through tragedy and isolation as a rural Mum - ABC Radio
Drummond's Lyn Kelson knows what it's like to have to pick up the pieces. She lost her first husband to suicide, and a house to bushfire. She's become part of a community of rural mothers, reducing isolation by sharing her experiences of loss. Now she's part of Stephanie Tretheway's new book Motherland. Lifeline: 13 11 14 Broadcast 4h ago4 hours agoWed 5 Apr 2023 at 11:00pm Drummond, Rural Women, Suicide, Bushfire
Matilda thought kids should be informed about the big issues - so she started The Little Issue
Matilda Goodbourn has been editing a magazine for five years — and she's only just in high school. The Ballarat student started up The Little Issue in Grade Two, inspired by Melbourne's Big Issue. Following a nomination from her little sister, she became the 2022 Victorian winner of the Fred Hollows Foundation Humanity Award. The awards recognise Grade Six students "who show compassion, integrity and kindness in their everyday lives." Nominations for the 2023 awards are now open.
Apollo Bay locals rescue six-year-old buried by collapsed sand dune at Mothers Beach
A father is thanking the Apollo Bay community for saving his daughter's life after a dune collapsed at a popular beach and buried her for almost five minutes. Key points: Samba Brown is back at home with her family The Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority says it has erected temporary fences and signs at the site Erosion is a major issue in the area Six-year-old Samba Brown was rescued on Friday afternoon after the incident at Mothers Beach.
Would you live in a tiny house on wheels? - ABC Ballarat
A regional Victorian Council is working to combat housing affordability for families living on the Surf Coast through an innovative home-on-wheels concept. The council is proposing to allow people to live in mobile tiny houses following an action plan developed last year. Surf Coast Shire Councillor Libby Stapleton spoke with the ABC's Gavin McGrath about the two year trial set to start early next year. Credits Gavin McGrath, Presenter Debbie Rybicki, Producer Broadcast 7 hours ago
Illegal firewood collectors destroy ancient river red gum in Victorian state forest
Government regulators are investigating after illegal firewood collectors destroyed a 300-year-old river red gum in a state forest in the Grampians.
Droving cattle for roadside grazing doesn't reduce fire risk, it does the opposite, says ecologist
Roadside grazing seems to be an obvious win-win situation — hungry stock access feed, and the fire risk beside the road is reduced.
Emily Bissland
'Tidal wave of ponytails': Lockdown 'Fabios' join salon crush to donate hair for medical wigs Feature Posted December 18, 2020 12:50:04 | Updated December 18, 2020 13:40:16 With baldness a distressing prospect for children like 12-year-old Paris, who has alopecia, and others undergoing cancer treatment, the nation's medical wigmakers are thrilled we've let our tresses grow —and now we're letting them go.
Amid drought and bushfires, Victoria's duck hunting season remains in doubt
By Jessica Longbottom and Debbie Rybicki Posted February 12, 2020 16:22:23 This year's duck hunting season in Victoria is in doubt after a prolonged drought has devastated waterbird numbers and bushfires are estimated to have killed more than 1 billion native animals.
Wallaby Airlines hops in to help evacuate endangered wildlife from ACT fires and hot weather
Posted February 11, 2020 09:05:34 With a heatwave and high winds forecast, the call was made at the end of last week to evacuate the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, near Canberra.
Timber bridge at Piggoreet near Ballarat poses risk to residents if bushfires return
Posted December 05, 2019 18:02:27 Experienced firefighters are concerned dozens of residents in a western Victorian community could be trapped during a bushfire following the local council ditching a plan to upgrade an old bridge.
Beech Forest - the town that lost half its residents to the war effort
By Liam Petterson, Debbie Rybicki and Steve Martin Posted April 25, 2019 08:46:20 At the beginning of WWI, the south-west Victorian town of Beech Forest had a population of around 250 people. But by 1917 it had almost halved.
Woman still in hospital after 100kg fur seal bites her ‘to the bone’ at Port Fairy boat ramp
A woman in her 70s remains in hospital after she was bitten by a seal near a boat ramp at Port Fairy, a popular seaside town in south-west Victoria, over the weekend. Paramedics reported the bite went “through to the bone” at the wharf late on Saturday afternoon. Seal ‘lunged out of the water’ Helene Whelan and her partner witnessed the attack and helped the woman after the seal lunged at her. She said they had stopped after noticing a crowd around the boardwalk.
Woman still in hospital after 100kg fur seal bites her 'to the bone' at Port Fairy boat ramp
By Sian Johnson, Emily Bissland and Debbie Rybicki Updated March 25, 2019 18:47:16 A woman in her 70s remains in hospital after she was bitten by a seal near a boat ramp at Port Fairy, a popular seaside town in south-west Victoria, over the weekend. Paramedics reported the bite went "through to the bone" at the wharf late on Saturday afternoon. Seal 'lunged out of the water' Helene Whelan and her partner witnessed the attack and helped the woman after the seal lunged at her.
For every square kilometre in the 'pristine' Otways region of Victoria, there is a feral cat
Posted March 10, 2019 06:15:00 There are an estimated three times as many feral cats in Victoria's Otways region than the national average, according to a new research from the University of Melbourne. PhD candidate Matthew Rees from the School of Biosciences has placed 240 motion-sensing cameras at two sites in the western Otways region prior to and after the introduction of fox baiting in November 2017.
Residents protest abalone farm proposal for Victoria's south-west coast
A proposed onshore abalone farm on Victoria's south-west coast has residents concerned about the size and location of the development which would be near their homes. The Yumbah Nyamat aquaculture farm, proposed for Bolwarra, near Portland, would cover more than 45 hectares of low-lying land — an area equivalent to seven MCGs with 2,000 concrete tanks covered in shade cloth. The proposed $60 million development would be located within the rural living zone.
Panel beaters and wildlife carers report increase in kangaroos being hit by cars
There has been a dramatic increase in the number of cars colliding with kangaroos, according to smash repairers in Australia's south-east. Glenn Umbers, from Bega in southern New South Wales, said there are a lot of kangaroos on the ground at the moment. "There's been a lot of good seasons and they've just bred up and now it's dry and it's bringing them out," he said.
Police investigate slaughter of pigs and alleged discharge of firearm at Men's Shed
The slaughter and butchery of up to 10 pigs at a council-owned Men's Shed in the centre of the small south-west Victorian town of Forrest has sparked a multi-agency investigation. Police said two pigs were believed to have been killed at the community group's shed using a firearm, and eight other pigs and potentially a couple of sheep were slaughtered elsewhere and then butchered at the shed.
Regulator under fire as protestors and shooters hit waterways for Victorian duck hunting season
Doubts have been raised over the ability of the regulator overseeing duck hunting in Victoria after multiple reports of non-compliance across the state at the weekend. The Game Management Authority (GMA) said there was a drop in the number of shooters at this year's opening weekend. But a recreational duck hunter said hunters deliberately evaded scrutiny by avoiding wetlands where protestors were expected. Warning: This story contains graphic images that some readers may find distressing.
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