Apprentice Chef Zak Resuggan has earned the honour of representing Australia at WorldSkills, the world's largest and most prestigious skills competition, bringing together elite young professionals from over 60 countries to showcase their expertise across diverse trades and professions. The 2025 Nationals Certificate of Excellence winner will now carry Australian culinary excellence onto the global stage. Zak's path to this remarkable achievement began in the most humble of places: his garden. What started as a passion for gardening naturally evolved into culinary experimentation as he discovered the magic of transforming the produce he'd grown with his own hands into extraordinary dishes. That spark of curiosity proved transformative:...

The ABC has conducted an investigation of a lengthy planning dispute involving Clifftop at Hepburn, an upmarket tourism accommodation business co owned by local businessman David Penman. The dispute has kept Hepburn Shire Council in the midst of multiple legal proceedings for over a year, straining council resources and raising questions about development approval processes. The dispute centres on structures built at the Clifftop villas site overlooking Hepburn Springs, including accommodation units such as Eaglesnest and Jumanji. According to council documents released under Freedom of Information, the site was found to have "extensive additional works" when inspected in early 2024, with officers identifying potential breaches including dwellings built without...

The vulnerability of a kangaroo mob The baby joey was hopping about her mother in an agitated way and the mother was lying so still, I stepped outside for a closer look. At about five meters the mother looked somehow flat and the joey was circling the mother’s head and trying to suckle and get into the pouch, to no avail. It was heart-breakingly sad. I kept a distance and this went on for some time. After a call to Wildlife Victoria’s 24/7 hotline, I reported an orphaned joey, about the size of an adult hare, and they canvased for a rescuer for the Hepburn area. For an...

The Goldfields Bonsai Society will mark its 25th anniversary with a special exhibition at Daylesford Town Hall on Saturday, September 12 and Sunday, September...

Does your step feel lighter when spring arrives? In spring anything seems possible. Dormant plants awaken; evergreen plants put on new growth and flowers and...