The Standard's 2016 year in review

The May Races, Fun4Kids, and the Port Fairy Folk Festival continued to be major drawcards for our region, while broken roads, unreliable trains and overflowing courts continued to draw our ire. These things happen every year, but 2016 had its fair share of surprises.

No one expects their boat to explode – not unless they’re in an action movie. But that happened to two men on Lake Bullen Merri in February, landing both men in hospital.

A horror head-on smash on the Glenelg Highway east of Hamilton in February killed one man, but in a bizarre twist, the driver of the other vehicle was initially believed dead, only to be discovered 16kms away a day later. 

If you thought buying a house in Warrnambool was tough, you weren’t wrong. A US housing affordability study found it was easier to buy a house in Tokyo, Dublin, Chicago, New Orleans or Las Vegas than in Warrnambool.

Equally unforeseen was the arrival of Pokemon to the streets of the south-west (although everyone got over that quickly). As was the driver whose car ended up hanging from a wire at the Mortlake Road roundabout. And then there was the beautiful story of Amy Phillips, whose dying wish was to meet Robbie Williams – sometimes dreams do come true.

After 20 years, Terang was finally connected to natural gas. After seven and-a-half years of campaigning, the South West Regional Cancer Centre opened (with Vicki Jellie also being named 2017 Victorian Australian of the Year Local Hero). After 11 years of fostering live original music in the south-west, The Loft was allowed to continue rocking thanks to a crowdfunding campaign. And after 62 years, the Bulldogs broke their premiership drought, led to victory by Camperdown’s Easton Wood.

Portland’s waterfront was a source of news throughout the year. In January, it was all about the boats – some that visited and one that wouldn’t leave. Cruise ships docked, bringing 7000 people to the region. Prior to that, the MV Portland languished in the port, the subject of a 60-day industrial dispute that was only ended by a secret midnight raid. Further round the bay, the Alcoa smelter continued to make headlines for the wrong reasons, as pundits questioned if and when it should close. This wasn’t helped by a major power outage toward the end of the year that severely diminished production, raising further questions about the facility’s future.

Trying to find an idiot of the year in 2016 was tricky – there was plenty of competition. Firstly there were the two men who baited police by doing burnouts outside the Warrnambool police station, only to be later caught with a loaded shotgun in their car. Then there were the nine drug-drivers caught by Hamilton police in just 20 tests. Or the man caught with 150 ecstasy pills in his jocks. Or the drunk Macarthur L-plater who was over .3 when he rolled his father’s car. Or the Camperdown ice user who shot at two associates at close range using a sawn-off .22 rifle.

It’s no wonder the courts were kept busy in 2016. An ice user who was “trying to save humanity from aliens” when he went on a rampage at Portland's Cape Nelson lighthouse complex was jailed for 12 months, while three Hamilton people will stand trial over the murder of Hamilton man Joshua Kane, whose body was found at Mt Eccles National Park in January.

Past crimes also dominated the headlines. Bishop Ronald Mulkearns told the Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse he was terribly sorry after presiding over decades of paedophile priests. He died in April. Cardinal George Pell later fronted the Royal Commission via video link from Vatican, admitting to a “catastrophic” failure. Both Catholic figures were criticised for their imprecise memories, claims of ignorance and blame shifting. Meanwhile paedophile priest Robert Claffey was sentenced to at least 13 years in prison.

Answers are still being sought over the Portland hairdresser murders from 1991, but we won’t be getting them from Robert Penny, who was charged with the murders last year. Mr Penny died this year, but an inquest into the double-murder will still go ahead.

Warrnambool’s Richard Pritchard shared in the Oscar glory of Mad Max: Fury Road’s success, having been part of the blockbuster’s production design team. Meanwhile, Tom Ballard was nominated for two awards at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, winning won. And former Goanna member Marcia Howard was named the Folkie’s Artist of the Year, then turned up on The Voice just two months later.

Some of the biggest tragedies were the ongoing ones – the issues of ice, suicide, and domestic violence. Others were the ones that changed lives in an instant – the heartbreaking drowning of a two-year-old boy in the Merri River, the 14 people who died on our roads this year, and the father who drowned when his boat capsized near the breakwater. 

The fragility of life is evident in the near misses too. The train crash at Pirron Yallock left a truck driver in a critical condition about 20 people injured, but could have been far worse. A group of students and teachers from Brauer College had a close call when they had to be rescued at Anglesea after their kayaks were swept out to sea in wild weather. A Portland police officer saved a 25-year-old woman from a burning building. Nine students and a teacher from Hawkesdale P-12 College survived a mini-bus rollover.

Warrnambool City Council renewed its hostilities in 2016. They argued about parking and free parking trials (one of which cost the council $88,000). One of them tried to instigate councillor-only meetings without “the distraction or dominance” of council staff. Three of them called for a special meeting about the CBD renewal. Meeting procedures were changed. When a notice of motion was passed unanimously, one councillor was so shocked he asked if there was a doctor in the house. A council watchdog investigated allegations one of the councillors had breached conflict of interest laws. Two councillors claimed other councillors were having secret meetings with the CEO. Changes to the code of conduct led one councillor to dramatically declare that “democracy was dead”. One councillor breached electioneering rules. Then the municipal elections happened, and all of a sudden things were much more civil.

Three issues dominated our pages more than others in 2016 – the dairy industry crisis, the plight of Deakin University, and the “horses on beaches” saga.

The latter matter is likely to continue to spin the news cycle in 2017, with environmental groups and horse trainers equally unhappy – one wants all horses off all beaches, the other wants more horses on more beaches. A compromise seems unlikely.

Deakin belatedly committed to stay in Warrnambool but only after every attempt to leave failed and they cut courses, jobs, the golf course and their CBD office. Once again, we’ve probably not heard the last of this issue.

But the big one was the dairy crisis, which was triggered by changes in international markets. Murray Goulburn started the year as heroes, promising to build a $300 million milk powder plant at Koroit. By year’s end, the plans were in doubt, the managing director had lost his job, and suppliers were crippled by a controversial clawback scheme. Fonterra didn’t fare much better, with their clawback looking particularly callous in the light of an $807 million profit. There were protests and outrage, as some dairy farmers sold up rather than face years of working for nothing. Only Warrnambool Cheese & Butter came out smelling like roses – rather than passing the burden on to its suppliers, it took a hit on its profits.

All things must pass – we said goodbye to footy legend Paul Couch, one of Warrnambool’s oldest retailers Leahy’s closed its doors for good, Jamie McKew stepped down as festival director of the Folkie after 40 years, the Camperdown Cruise was cancelled, and Emma House Domestic Violence Services manager Pat McLaren was forced to resign following an investigation which uncovered governance and management issues at the service.

THE state government put paid to the idea that safe Liberal seats get nothing when Labor is in power. After years of campaigning, Warrnambool Special Developmental School found a new home on Wollaston Road. Meanwhile a fourth daily train service, an $8.6 million boost for Warrnambool and Brauer colleges, plus money for TAFE, SEAL and Moyne Health Services were all included in the state budget. The $650 million Dundonnell wind farm was also given the thumbs up, as was an $8 million boost for the Budj Bim landscape’s ambitions as an international tourist destination.

Not to be outdone, the federal government backed an investment in Deep Blue Hotel & Spa in Warrnambool and an eco-resort at Princetown, as well as putting money into Mortlake, in particular the pool and DC Farran Oval. In fact, Mortlake had a pretty bumper year – on top of the federal funding, the town was picked as the future home of a $15 million livestock exchange, which is predicted to have a major impact on municipal-run saleyards in the area.

Early in the year Wannon MP Dan Tehan gained greater prominence in his party, taking up a seat on the front bench and being sworn in as Minister for Defence Materiel and Veterans’ Affairs. Following the Coalition’s victory at the federal election, which Mr Tehan won easily (with only a small swing against him), he added cyber security to his portfolio. 

In May we saw the highest rainfall in 16 years – 140.4 mm, or twice the monthly average. September and October were dominated by floods, with Casterton and Coleraine hardest hit. One man died after his ute was swept away in floodwaters at Wallacedale. Bureau of Meteorology data showed September and October rainfall were at their highest since 1893-1894.