July 29, 2026

Here is what is making news for July 29, 2026.====================================Following the announcement of Ben Carroll  as the new Victorian Premier, Member for Polwarth Richard Riordan says little will change locally.Mr Riordan says the similar issues from Jacinta Allan's tenure apply.========================================================================Local C-F-A brigades have formally recognised the Gellibrand Hotel and its owner for their significant support during the recent Otways fire campaign.Members of the Corangamite Group recently held an appreciation dinner at the venue, where captains from the Gellibrand, Kawarren, and Carlisle River brigades presented owner Dorthe Koorn with a token of gratitude. ========================================================================Preparations are well and truly underway for Colac Rifle Club Shooter James Hay who has the 25 and Under F Class Open Championships in a fortnight.Hay has also been appointed to the inaugural National Rifle Association of Australia committee ahead up the upcoming Championships.========================================================================Kirsten Diprose has been appointed as the new Board Chair for South West TAFE, replacing Brian Crook.The communications specialist and farmer is the first chair to progress from the organisation's Observership Program, having joined the board in twenty-twenty-one.Diprose says the region faces a critical need for trades and essential workers in health and agriculture. ========================================================================Opening in less than three weeks, the Red Door Theatre Company's Colac production of And Juliet is nearing capacity.The Theatre Company's Zoe Hudgell says more than 70 percent of the shows tickets have already sold out.========================================================================Following the resignation of Jacinta Allan yesterday, the Victorian Labor Party has announced Deputy Ben Carroll as its new leader ahead of the upcoming State Election.Under Allan's tenure, the region saw major local investments, including the one hundred and twenty-six million dollar Twelve Apostles Centre and the Great Ocean Road Regional Trails Strategy twenty-twenty-five to twenty-thirty-five.========================================================================AND IN SPORTThe Geelong Falcons have announced their twenty-twenty-six V-Line Cup squads, featuring players from twenty-one community clubs.The matches will take place in Gippsland during the school holidays, from September twenty-first to twenty-third.Irrewarra-Beeac's Baxter Dewar and Colac Tigers' Manny Robb, Ted Hay, and Fred Melville have all been selected for the same boys' team.Meanwhile, Colac product and St Mary’s footballer Astin McCimmon was picked for the women’s squad.========================================================================Lorne footballer Kai Enticott will serve a two-week suspension following a dangerous tackle on Irrewarra-Beeac's Lachie Farr.Enticott initially faced a three-week ban, but the penalty was reduced after Lorne accepted an early guilty plea.========================================================================Colac Gun Club Shooter Penny Smith has wrapped up the 2026 ISSF Senior World Cup Trap Final in Hangzou, China.Smith finished fourth with a total of 18 in the Women's Trap Final.====================================See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.