Prime Minister Julia Gillard visited Flowerdale on the 27th of January to present the new Emergency Medal to people involved in the February 7th 2009 Victorian Black Saturday Fires of 2009 and Queensland floods. The fires desimated much of the Murrindindi Shire of which UGFM covers and the Flowerdale area was heavily impacted by the Kilmore East fire.
PM with Peter Rice & Peter Weeks
Normal programing with the Ditzy Chicks was interupted when UGFM broadcasted the event live and later Peter Rice & Peter Weeks who are also CFA and SES volunteers interviewed the Prime Minister Gillard, and local federal members for McEwen – Rob Mitchell and Indi – Sophie Mirabella along with Dept Victorian Police Commissioner Kieren Walsh and some of the medal recipients.
The medal was officially given approval by the Queen in October 2011 and these were the first to be presented in Victoria. The Prime Minister was disapointed that the same ceremony in Canberra on Australia Day was marred by protesters.
This is the second time the Prime Minister has spoken with UGFM, the first being at Marysville at the reopening of the Marysville SES HQ; that was her first official engagement in Victoria as Prime Minister and spoke on UGFM together with then Victorian Premier John Brumby.
Prime Minister Gillard being interviewed on UGFM at Flowerdale
The event also covered by the major TV networks and broadcast by UGFM, again made great use of the Tieline equipment funded by the Bendigo Community Bank to broadcast live from events such as this and other events from around the shire and beyond.
UGFM also now has new portable digital recorders funded by a recent community grant from VicForests that will now enable us to record interviews and news items in the field for replay as part of programs and local news such as the recent interview with INXS during their concert at Bonnie Doon and the Governor Generals visit to Marysville.
