The Standard

www.standard.net.au

WEDNESDAY, May 20, 2015 5

LOCAL NEWS

Closer
look at
pension
changes
FINANCES
By ALEX SINNOTT

Southwest Healthcare CEO John

Krygger (left), Activ Concrete
formwork carpenter Lachlan
McKinnon, Wannon MP Dan Tehan
and Peters Project Foundation
director Vicki Jellie at the cancer
centre construction site.
150818LP43 Picture:

LEANNE PICKETT

From idea to reality, a dream starts to take shape

COMMUNITY
By ALEX SINNOTT
CONSTRUCTION work
on a south-west cancer
centre was only a dream
for campaigners ve years
ago now it is a bricks-andmortar reality.
Peters Project founder
Vicki Jellie inspected work
at the edgling South West
Integrated Cancer Centre

this week with progress

obvious to the casual
observer.
The foundation of the
site, directly opposite the
Warrnambool Base Hospital
on Ryot Street, is already
in place with above-ground
infrastructure taking shape.
It is understood the site
will be operational by
August 2016, marking the
end of a near decade-long

campaign to have cancer

services based in the
Western District.
Mrs Jellie toured the
site with Wannon MP Dan
Tehan and discussed what
would occur during the
construction phase and the
process immediately after
its completion.
Mr Tehan described
the fund-raising efforts to
establish the centre as a

perfect storm of federal

and state funding mixed
with the collective will of
the south-west community.
Its fantastic to see the
sticks-and-stones side of
things actually seeing it
getting built, the Liberal
MP said.
Its also fantastic that
were getting closer to the
date when the centre will be
up and running.

There was a perfect

storm when it came to
getting this centre for
south-west Victoria. There
was funding from a federal
Coalition government, a
state Coalition government
as well as the fantastic work
of the south-west community
who really got behind the
project and worked hard to
raise the funds.
alex.sinnott@fairfaxmedia.com.au

$195,000 lost to TAB

Ex-disability service nance ofcer held in custody
COURT
By ANDREW THOMSON
A MORTLAKE man was
yesterday remanded in custody until July 21 after being
charged with stealing $195,000.
Stephen Blacker, 42, previously of Allansford, appeared
in Warrnambool Magistrates
Court yesterday for a mention
hearing.
Ofce
Of
Public

Prosecutions
solicitor
Raeleene Maxwell and Mr
Blackers solicitor Amanda
Chambers agreed on a brief
service date of June 30 and a
committal mention hearing
was set down for July 21.
Mr Blacker has been
charged with obtaining nancial advantage by deception,
making a threat to kill, failing
to answer bail and committing a serious offence while

on bail. Detective Senior

Constable Peter Wellington,
of the Warrnambool police
crime investigation unit,
told the court last week that
Mr Blacker was employed on
October 15, 2012, by Southern
Way Direct Care Service Inc
as a nance ofcer.
Southern Way supplies
disability services and accommodation, mainly funded
by the Department of Human

Services. In 2013 and last year

Mr Blacker is alleged to have
set up weekly electronic transfers to his own bank account
for expenses.
The total allegedly obtained
was $195,591, which was put
into his TAB account and
spent.
Mr Blacker made an unsuccessful bail application
last Thursday. Yesterday, Ms
Chambers foreshadowed there

would be a bail application at

some point but that application had not been prepared.
Magistrate John Lesser
yesterday noted there was
no application for bail and
remanded Mr Blacker in
custody until July 21.
Mr Blacker indicated he
was prepared to appear in
court on that day via a video
link from wherever he was
being held in custody.

MAINTAINING partpensions through simple

solutions will be the focus
of a south-west retirees
meeting later this week.
New measures relating
to pensions outlined by
Treasurer Joe Hockey in
last weeks federal budget
will be put under the
microscope during the
Australians in Retirement
(AIR) event.
AIR Warrnambool
branch will meet at the
citys Uniting Church to
discuss the threshold
changes with two guest
speakers set to address the
crowd.
SHB Wealth Advisors
representative Emma
Arthur and RACV spokesman John Chittick will
speak on matters related to
investment and household
security respectively.
The drop in the ofcial
interest rate by the Reserve
Bank will also be discussed
during the forum.
AIR Warrnambool
branch spokesman Rod
Carter said the interest
rate and federal budget
alterations were issues of
concern to retirees.
As with any federal
budget, theres a fair bit of
complexity involved and
were going to discuss how
it impacts on retirees, Mr
Carter said.
There were a number
of changes that Joe Hockey
announced in his budget
speech last Tuesday and
were going to have a look
at what the part-pension
changes mean and what
is involved with the asset
tests.
Historically low interest
rates are also something
we will look at given the
Reserve Bank lowered the
ofcial rate recently.
The AIR meeting will
be held at Warrnambool
Uniting Church Hall from
10am on Friday, May 22.
Anyone interested is
welcome to attend.