Street Talks Melbourne

 Nursing students at Melbourne's Victoria University say they are struggling to make ends meet as they complete up to 12-week blocks of unpaid placements in order to graduate.  Third-year Bachelor of Nursing student Gia (not her real name) said she knew her degree in healthcare would come with late nights and shift work when she signed up. But she did not expect she would struggle to support herself through her studies. Gia told ABC Radio Melbourne she, like many other students, was not able to undertake her first work placement until her final year of study because of COVID restrictions during 2020 and 2021. Read More: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-26/university-victoria-unpaid-nursing-placements-degree/101267664

 Melbourne Zoo will restrict visitor access to the giraffes, elephants and kangaroos amid fears of a potential foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in Australia. Concerns are high following an outbreak in tourist hotspot Bali. Last night Zoos Victoria, which runs the Melbourne and Werribee zoos and Healesville Sanctuary, sent a message to members announcing the elephant enclosure's public pathway would be closed out of an "abundance of caution". The message said the measures were intended to lower the risk of animals coming into contact with "soil that could have potentially been brought in from outside the zoo grounds". Read More: https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2022-07-26/zoos-ban-public-access-to-popular-animals-amid-fmd-threat/101269628

 Shop counters across the south-west Victorian city of Warrnambool have been dotted with small yellow donation tins for the past five years.  The brightly coloured Support The Lookout tins carry a decent amount of coins, as well as the heartfelt pleas of community members who have been working hard to have a purpose-built rehab centre built on the city's fringe.  Known as The Lookout, the proposed facility has been a key talking point at every local, state and federal election that's been held since it was first proposed. But it has struggled to receive financial backing.  Read More: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-26/liberal-drug-rehab-centres-promised-to-regional-victoria/101269370

 My cousin had just earned a huge sum of money and was wondering whether to invest this money in a course or a home in Melbourne. He was not sure whether he should keep staying on rent and saving some money for his further studies or use it all for a property in Melbourne. So he went online and found this article that spoke about the advantages and disadvantages of renting or buying a home in Melbourne. It helped me create a good checklist in his head and he decided to keep staying on rent and used the money elsewhere. If you too need help in deciding between the two, I would suggest you go through this article as well to stay well-informed before you make a decision. https://www.betterremovalistsmelbourne.com.au/renting-vs-buying-a-home-in-melbourne-which-is-smarter/

 Wildlife rescuer Tracey Wilson lets out a familiar refrain whenever she receives a call about a lost or injured koala: "Here we go again".  It is not from a lack of love for the iconic marsupial — Ms Wilson spends countless hours helping injured koalas recuperate from all sorts of injuries and mishaps. She was one of the first people on hand when 21 koalas were found dead and 49 so horribly injured they had to be euthanased after a south-west Victorian timber plantation was cleared in 2020. Many of the koalas that survived that incident recovered at Ms Wilson's wildlife sanctuary in Koroit. Her frustration, she said, stemmed from the fact that the number of calls to help injured koalas was increasing. Read More: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-22/koala-protection-act-lobbying-save-endangered-animal/101168116

 It was the hot topic of letters between former prime minister Scott Morrison and the Tasmanian government — and it appears there's still no guarantee Australia's poorest state won't pay half the cost of a massive new power project and reap a fraction of the benefits. The undersea electricity interconnectors and new transmission infrastructure between Tasmania and Victoria, dubbed Marinus Link, are estimated to cost $3.5 billion to build.  The Commonwealth and Tasmanian Governments have already committed over $200 million to pay for feasibility studies and a business case, and a Final Investment Decision is set for 2024. But both governments privately acknowledged most of the benefits will go to mainland electricity customers and Tasmanian energy generators, including Hydro Tasmania and wind farm owners, and not to Tasmanian consumers.  Read More: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-22/marinus-link-power-project-cost-argument-tasmania-v-victoria/101169642