Geelong, Australia News

Sitting down to story time with Auburn West primary school students in Sydney on Wednesday, one bright spark asked Julia Gillard how much longer she had left as prime minister.

In another major blow to Australian manufacturing, the Ford Motor company has announced plans to close its Geelong and Broadmeadows plants - shedding more than 1,200 jobs by late 2016.

Everything has its end. And now there is the end of the 85-year-old Ford's production in which will be stopped by 2016.

An ice addict has told a Victorian court he thought he was playing in a game show when he took on police.

Geelong worker Henry Fuller, who has been making cars for Ford for 25 years, said he felt ''gutted'' by the car maker's decision to stop production in Australia in 2016.

BALLARAT brake manufacturers FMP Group Australia, trading under Bendix, won't be directly affected by the announcement that Ford will cease manufacturing in Australia from 2016.

Victorian Premier Denis Napthine is confident the state can deal with the loss of 1,200 jobs at Ford Australia, after the company announced plans to close its plants at Geelong and Broadmeadows in 2016.

DAVID MARK: Ford may be abandoning its Australian manufacturing operations, but it will still benefit from $34 million in Federal Government assistance announced last year.

Vik is an Editor at High Gear Media and contributor for a number of sites within the High Gear Media network.

THE economy and lifestyles of the Geelong area will be smashed by Ford's decision to close production and cut 510 jobs by 2016.

Ford Australia says it will close its Australian manufacturing plants in October 2016, with the loss of hundreds of jobs.

FORD will close its manufacturing operations in Australia and 1200 workers will lose their jobs in October 2016, despite receiving $1.1 billion in taxpayer funding over the past decade.

"If there's a change to car production we would be working with the federal government to support people who are affected and the supply chain," Dr Napthine told reporters in northeast Victoria on Thursday.

DAVID MARK: A failed $10 million program to reduce alcohol-fuelled violence in Queensland has prompted renewed calls for more effective action.

Dr Simon Gower reaches the summit of Mount Everest. He has now successfully climbed the highest peaks of each of the seven continents.

Harry Taylor wants to stay at Geelong, but with a wife and young family feeling the tug of life back in Western Australia, the defender is having to seriously contemplate a shift home.

TO PLAY: Lalbert's Jake Maher will be the only Pioneer to pull on the "Big V" this weekend.

Mark Gooley is the owner of pet food manufacturer Huds and Toke. He is the taste tester for the pet food.

O'Sullivan is a monthly nominee vying for the Fred Hoysted Medal. He was nominated in January for his achievements with British General and Tuscan Fire.

NTnews.com.au has published this picture of a boat carrying asylum seekers that came ashore on the Northern Territory coast.