Bec Symons
Bec Symons joined the ABC in 2016 after working at the Latrobe Valley Express and WIN News. After presenting the ABC Gippsland Mornings program for five years, she has returned to her hard news roots and delves into issues affecting the broader community. She files ABC news for our website, radio and TV.
Latest by Bec Symons
The Raes say their fridge malfunctioned, triggering illness, and their refund offer included a 'gag clause'
Victorian couple Adele and Alex Rae say they were exposed to a "really strong" chemical smell coming from their Samsung fridge, which caused Ms Rae to collapse. They've been offered a refund on the condition they never talk about it again.
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Global company fined $400k after workers exposed to silica dust
Kevin Weekes's world shattered when his doctor asked him if his affairs were in order. Five years on, Sibelco has been fined for failing to act on "red flags".
A local councillor ignored a directive to apologise for her anti-trans tweets. Now she's suspended
A Latrobe City councillor who was ordered to apologise after sharing anti-trans content says "political activists have gone too far".
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Regional councillor questioned by police over letter drop containing accusations about fellow councillor, local MP
Latrobe City councillor Sharon Gibson is questioned and released without charge in relation to a letter distributed on the eve of last year's mayoral election spreading rumours about another councillor and a state MP.
Missing woman Samantha Heberlein found six hours' drive from her broken down car, six days later
Point Cook woman Samantha Heberlein has been found alive and well in North Melbourne, six days after her car broke down in far East Gippsland.
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Former friend killed Dale Pantic with a piece of wood before dumping his body, court told
While the victim's family begs for more information, the Melbourne Supreme Court has heard for the first time publicly that Sam Gordon Blake fatally struck Mr Pantic before disposing of the body, which has never been found.
'Coward' who crashed into woman and left her trapped with life-threatening injuries pleads guilty
A 31-year-old Morwell man pleads guilty to crashing into a 59-year-old woman near Moe, running away, then returning for his ID and leaving again without rendering any assistance. She died 16 days later.
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Cartoon depicting council's first female CEO wielding broom slammed as 'sexist trope'
This cartoon of a Victorian council's first female leader has fallen flat with women's advocates but the Australian Cartoonists Association says it is a depiction of the phrase "a new broom sweeps clean".
New clues unearthed in 28yo mystery of missing woman Marcia Ryan
Marcia Ryan was 33 when she disappeared in 1996, her car abandoned by the side of the Princes Highway in Victoria. Her family has never given up hope of finding out what happened to her.
Grandmother was sent home from hospital twice with paracetamol. She died days later from a stroke
Carolyn Stanton first went to the emergency department with a severe headache, numbness on one side of her body, blurred vision and vomiting. Upon presenting a third time, she never returned home.
MPs at inquiry refuse to watch footage of Victorian piggery, including vision of alleged bestiality
Politicians who stayed for the footage from a Stanhope piggery, including the alleged bestiality of a pig by a worker, watched on in shock as it was played to them at the parliamentary Inquiry into Pig Welfare in Victoria.
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Household rubbish to be burnt for electricity at Victoria's first waste-to-energy plant
Kerbside rubbish will become a commodity when the project in the Latrobe Valley gets underway, but an environmental group has concerns about the impact.
Known for being the home of Victoria's coal-fired electricity, could this region go nuclear?
Victoria's Latrobe Valley has built its identity on electricity production, but the Coalition's suggestion nuclear power plants could be built at coal sites in the region has drawn criticism.
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Ballarat teacher jailed for sexually assaulting student, sometimes multiple times a day
Former head of performing arts Damien Woods is sentenced to four years and two months in prison after repeatedly sexually assaulting a student, with whom he exchanged more than 110,000 text messages.
Inquest begins into man's death in custody after pleading guilty to child sex abuse offences
Coroner hears David James Dorling complained to custody officers at Dandenong Police Station he had chest pain and said he had taken a large amount of medication.
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Mushroom meal survivor breaks his silence six months since his wife died from mushroom poisoning
Pastor Ian Wilkinson has delivered a sermon to his church for the first time speaking publicly since his world was turned upside down.
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Paramedic Phil 'Teddy Bear' Bell consumes 5,000 calories a day and a lot of anime chasing one strong ambition
If he is not in his Ambulance Victoria uniform, Phil Bell is dressed as his favourite anime character and pulling four-wheel drives and boats along the streets of his country town, a gentle "circus freak" in pursuit of a big dream.
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'Ripped away from us': Hundreds gather to farewell slain Victorian doctor Ash Gordon
Seven hundred people attended the funeral and hundreds more watched online as the Box Hill GP was laid to rest after his alleged murder earlier this month.
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‘What's the world come to?': Family of slain Victorian GP calls for crackdown on crime
Ash Gordon beat the odds in his quest to dedicate his life to caring for others. On the weekend, the 33-year-old was fatally stabbed during a home invasion. His loved ones want the world to know how proud they were of the remarkable man.
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KFC franchisee charged with trafficking cocaine, other drug offences
Matthew Jones, 39, was arrested as part of Victoria Police's Viper Taskforce investigation into organised crime and drug trafficking.
Vigilante who kidnapped, tortured and executed Victorian dad sentenced to life behind bars
Albert Thorn was "at the heart" of the savage assault and murder of Bradley Lyons in 2018. He will be nearing 90 by the time he is eligible for parole.
Chef's plan to lure a woman to Australia to have a baby they could sexually abuse, deemed 'abhorrent' by judge
Victorian man Jonathon Edwards could serve just 20 months in prison after pleading guilty to possessing more than 6,300 files containing images of child sexual abuse and torture.
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Medical duty of care should extend to data, academic says, after routine pathology test led to Russian hack
Lynda George felt violated when she learnt her personal information was lost to hackers in a data breach. And to make matters worse, it took the hacked company two months to notify her of the issue.
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Former MP Russell Northe jailed for gambling more than $170,000 of electoral office funds
Former Victorian MP Russell Northe has been sentenced to nearly two years in prison for using more than $170,000 of public money to fuel his gambling addiction.
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Lily's family home was her 'happy place'. A shock bushfire has them picking up the pieces
When the Saunders family made the decision to flee their east Gippsland home, they escaped with their pets and the clothes on their backs. They returned to find their "happy place" in ruins.
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