These are serious days, strange and disturbing and the south-west is getting dudded.

Fonterra dudded us when they pulled the pin the Dennington plant, closing the doors on a factory that has stood at the heart of the region for more than 100 years. We must now place our milk, and our faith, in Bega, the Union Dairy Company and Saputo.

We got dudded in the federal election with no-one other than sitting Member for Wannon Dan Tehan even bothering to turn up to campaign in the region. Alex Dyson's entirely welcome You Tube-era dancing campaign proved ultimately inconsequential.

We even got dudded when Jono Brown led the Interleague side to a smashing win. In Ballarat. On a ground that makes Reid Oval look like the Gobi Desert.

Fear not folks. We care. So we're going to spend every day "sticking it up 'em" as Ted Whitten would say. Fonterra, federal government, state government, councils, the multi-nationals reduced to being slaves of accountants ... we want better roads, a better hospital, better schools, an actual harbour, better sporting facilities, changerooms for women at those facilities, protection of our astounding environment and more.

Let's have a dip.

And don't worry, we won't always be this serious here.

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