@bpreiss profile picture
Benjamin Preiss @bpreiss

Regional editor with The Age. Tweets are my own

Joined April 2009
  • Tweets 3,328
  • Following 3,068
  • Followers 4,114
Photos and videos
Looks like it'll be a challenging summer: Coastal holiday spots a growing bushfire concern this summer theage.com.au/national/victo… #springst

Coastal holiday spots a growing bushfire concern this summer

Popular tourism destinations including Aireys Inlet, Anglesea and Lorne are facing a fire risk as bushfire conditions return to normal after rain and floods.

theage.com.au
1
2
837
This piece is the result of years of research about my grandmother's incredible story of survival. How lucky I am to still have her around to talk about it: Two sisters were saved from the Nazis and one was lost. Until now theage.com.au/national/victo…

Two sisters were saved from the Nazis and one was lost. Until now

My grandmother Sonja’s life story, particularly her escape from Nazi Germany, lies at the heart of my family’s collective identity. I had long accepted that the voices of her murdered family were...

theage.com.au
6
2
28
2,887
Bass Coast CEO Ali Wastie will take on the top job at City of Greater #Geelong where the previous chief exec announced his retirement about a year ago.
1
5
1,047
I took a dive into the myriad challenges in Geelong - Victoria's 2nd biggest city. The council there was sacked in 2016 and there are troubling signs emerging again. A thousand cuts: Geelong is growing, but its budget is in a hole theage.com.au/politics/victo… #springst #geelong

A thousand cuts: Geelong is growing, but its budget is in a hole

At a council meeting earlier this month, the warning was stark. If there were budget cuts to life saving, “we will see people drowned”.

theage.com.au
1
4
7
2,073
What a great stint in state rounds @sumeyyailanbey I consider myself lucky to have worked with you there. Democracy has withered on Andrews’ watch. I know because I watched it happen theage.com.au/politics/victo…

Democracy has withered on Andrews’ watch. I know because I watched it happen

I messaged a long-serving former Labor MP to ask what the theme of this column should be and what would best encapsulate my three years covering state politics. “The death of accountability in...

theage.com.au
1
1
10
1,353
Some great comments about my story on rabbit hunting and introduced species. I'm trying to respond to all of them. Thanks very much to all the readers who have engaged on this topic. theage.com.au/national/victo…

The first hunt: My journey from vegetarian to shooting my dinner

My heart thumps as I line up those glinting eyes and fire. I see the rabbit struggle momentarily before falling still amid the dry grass and burrows and bald earth.

theage.com.au
6
665
RT @theage: From vegetarian to hunter, journalist Benjamin Preiss is answering your reader questions this morning. theage.com.au/national/victo…

The first hunt: My journey from vegetarian to shooting my dinner

My heart thumps as I line up those glinting eyes and fire. I see the rabbit struggle momentarily before falling still amid the dry grass and burrows and bald earth.

theage.com.au
1
New feature from myself exploring introduced species and whether we should eat more of them. The first hunt: My journey from vegetarian to shooting my dinner theage.com.au/national/victo…

The first hunt: My journey from vegetarian to shooting my dinner

My heart thumps as I line up those glinting eyes and fire. I see the rabbit struggle momentarily before falling still amid the dry grass and burrows and bald earth.

theage.com.au
2
5
759
Benjamin Preiss retweeted
Royce Millar@MillarRoyce
13 Mar 2023
Coastal councils urge action after rejecting permits over sea level rises. Latest from @bpreiss and me theage.com.au/national/victo…

Coastal councils urge action after rejecting permits over sea level rises

Councils want state government leadership on coastal inundation as more property owners have their beachside planning dreams knocked back.

theage.com.au
4
3
4
1,160
Falls Creek should have been pumping this summer. Instead it’s missing another crucial holiday season as a landslide isolates town. I went last week to see for myself. Businesses say they desperately need help. theage.com.au/national/victo… #springst

Falls Creek misses another key holiday season as landslide continues to isolate town

Falls Creek is still suffering beneath the weight of Victoria’s biggest landslide in 40 years. Operators are hoping the road will reopen in time for winter.

theage.com.au
1
616
Here’s to all the fierce grandmothers and Yiddishe mammes who helped raise and nurture us. Mine was an incredible woman. I was very lucky to have her and I still miss her everyday theage.com.au/national/victo… #yiddishtwitter #yiddish

My summer of grief, when I lost Bubbe Hinda

I was experiencing a year of backpacking and freedom when I got the terrible news from my family and had to fly back home.

theage.com.au
2
3
18
1,285
For the past few years @MillarRoyce and I have written a lot about erosion and our changing coastline. Here’s the latest episode of Please Explain that delves into the issue open.spotify.com/episode/2WG…

1
1
2
727
And this is the story from the weekend theage.com.au/national/victo…

Coastal communities cry out for state government action as sea levels rise

The government’s approach to planning for the impact of climate change on the coast is based on a 15-year-old document which has been long superseded.

theage.com.au
2
260
I was incredibly lucky to get back to Rochester for Christmas but there's so much work that needs to be done while the town recovers. Such generous community spirit. But locals are worried some of their neighbours will never return. theage.com.au/national/victo… #springst

Christmas goodwill shines in town devastated by floods

A Victorian town’s generous spirit was on display over lunch as the town struggles to recover from October’s devastating floods.

theage.com.au
2
5
1,471
It's going to be a tough summer for a lot of regional communities. Landslide threatens to bury Falls Creek's summer economy theage.com.au/national/victo… #springst

Landslide threatens to bury Falls Creek's summer economy

A slow-moving landslip is devastating Falls Creek’s tourism industry, with the main route to town cut off and the cancellation of events costing businesses at least $5.5 million.

theage.com.au
1
Rochester residents will be housed in a temporary village in Elmore while they rebuild their homes if they want to take up that option. It'll have capacity for 350 dwellings @JaclynSymes says #vicfloods
1
3
12
Benjamin Preiss retweeted
The Age
@theage
22 Oct 2022
Development on flood-prone land is highly divisive. But the issue has been thrown into sharp relief as devastating floods swept Victoria this week, claiming two lives and inundating thousands of homes. @carawaters and @bpreiss theage.com.au/national/victo…

‘Playing Russian roulette’: why development continues in flood zones

Ask Wayne McKail if people should be building in Carisbrook’s flood plains and his answer is unequivocal.

theage.com.au
7
4
For anyone interested in the welfare of Glenys and Brian, I've heard from them today and they're fine. They got out to the relief centre in Bendigo and are now back in Rochester. Builders began repairs after they had 14 inches of water in their home. theage.com.au/national/victo…

When water bubbled up through the toilet, Glenys knew she was in trouble

One moment, Glenys and Brian Mulcahy were preparing for the worst. The next, water was pushing up through the floors.

theage.com.au
1
11
My impression from Rochester covering the floods. In a strange way, it was hard to leave: Eyeing the ‘Silicone Line of Rochester’ as waters rose and fell theage.com.au/national/victo…

Eyeing the ‘Silicone Line of Rochester’ as waters rose and fell

Age reporter Benjamin Preiss went to Rochester to report on a calamity, and found a community showing extraordinary spirit in the face of the town’s worst disaster.

theage.com.au
1
6
18
Streets still submerged in Rochester. So much water needs to clear even with the river receding
5
9
Load more