Author Archives: fobif

Driving 1: ‘For fun’s sake’

Posted on 15 April, 2019 by fobif

Viewers of sporting coverage on television last Friday might have noticed, if they weren’t asleep, a commercial for Suzuki, which featured a car tearing through a muddy road, then reversing, bouncing over some obstacle [possibly a dead body?]. The clip … Continue reading →

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Driving 2: Do gladiators have sensitive thighs?

Posted on 15 April, 2019 by fobif

A regular offender in the matter of promoting tough guy destructive driving is The Age Drive section. Its edition of last Saturday [April 13] featured an extensive review of the Suzuki Gladiator, complete with pics of mud being spattered, and … Continue reading →

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Remember the thinnings trial?

Posted on 15 April, 2019 by fobif

The ecological thinnings trial was conducted about 15 years ago in four locations in the box ironbark region. Locally the thinnings plot is in the Diggings Park along Morgans Track, between the Chewton-Fryerstown Road and the White Gum Track. The … Continue reading →

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Black Saturday, ten years on: what’s changed?

Posted on 8 April, 2019 by fobif

The March edition of the VNPA’s Parkwatch magazine is now online, and can be found online here. The magazine has numerous articles of interest, but we particularly recommend the section where the magazine looks over the Bushfire Royal Commission’s recommendations … Continue reading →

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Central West forests: sorting out what the public thinks

Posted on 8 April, 2019 by fobif

The Victorian Environment Assessment Council has released a summary of responses to its draft recommendations on the Central West forests. The summary can be found here. The consultation is an interesting example of a public body sounding out opinion as … Continue reading →

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Want to be in the Easter bird check?

Posted on 7 April, 2019 by fobif

BirdLife International has identified areas of conservation importance around the world as Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs). This includes KBAs right here in our region. Our KBAs were designated especially for their importance for two special birds, Diamond Firetail and Swift … Continue reading →

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State of the environment: Victoria gets a D

Posted on 28 March, 2019 by fobif

The Commissioner for the environment has released the five yearly State of the Environment report for Victoria. The summary report can be found here. Even the summary report is not easy reading, but it’s fair to say that in most … Continue reading →

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Here’s a pretty picture: tell us how nice it is

Posted on 28 March, 2019 by fobif

FOBIF has made a reluctant submission to the current government consultation on forest management. Our reluctance is based on two concerns: These consultations increasingly look like popularity polls, along the lines of the Herald Sun’s daily polls on subjects like, … Continue reading →

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Fire: another submission

Posted on 28 March, 2019 by fobif

FOBIF has made a late submission to the Bushfire Management consultation [see our previous post], after our representatives attended ‘drop in’ consultations in Castlemaine and Bendigo this month. The substance of our submission is set out below: The poor quality … Continue reading →

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Fire 1:Take your pick…hang on: whose pick will count?

Posted on 18 March, 2019 by fobif

DELWP and CFA fire officers have conducted a number of consultations on the ‘Safer together’ fire management strategy in Bendigo and Castlemaine in the last few weeks. As we noted two weeks ago, the Department is considering three strategy options … Continue reading →

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