Rural and regional communities will have the opportunity to tap into a $30-million fund to help reinvigorate their town’s main streets under a Victorian Liberal Nationals Government. The Liberal Nationals’ Local Shopping Strip Recovery Plan will support communities to recover and rebuild by providing grants of up to $500,000 to revive shopping strips through initiatives…
The Nationals Member for Gippsland South Danny O’Brien is calling for answers on when communities impacted by the storm events and subsequent prolonged power outages in June and October last year will be consulted as part of a formal review into the electricity framework. Speaking in Parliament Mr O’Brien said that while he had…
Regional train passengers are again wearing the consequences of decades of neglect of V/Line, with a statewide communications outage forcing the entire network to a standstill today. Commuters deserve a full explanation of what caused the ‘communications fault’ that suspended all train services for 90 minutes, including to Bendigo, Ballarat, Geelong, Gippsland and Seymour. Today’s…
Dear Editor, CFA stations at Strathbogie, Rochester and Myrtleford are among those to miss out on upgrades this year, while the Labor Government rakes in $800 million from the fees you pay to the fire services property levy. Analysis of the State Budget papers confirm that just $7.6 million will be spent on new asset…
Mental Health Minister James Merlino has confirmed almost $60 million of cruel cuts to mental health programs that were designed to help struggling Victorians recover from the pandemic. Despite growing evidence of Victoria’s deepening shadow pandemic, the Minister told Parliament’s Public Accounts and Estimates Committee (PAEC) on Monday that the axed programs were ‘no longer…
There’s a new push for Victorian drivers to be part of the solution for safer roads during National Road Safety Week this week by telling their story and casting their vote for the state’s worst roads. Labor cut a further $24 million from road maintenance in this year’s State Budget, on top of a $191…
An Opposition amendment to the Road Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 that would have re-established the Victorian Parliament’s Road Safety Committee, was yesterday defeated by 16 votes to 16, ironically thanks to two votes from the Justice Party and Animal Justice Party’s Andy Meddick. Tragically, far too many Victorians die as a result of…
Local CFA brigades have been left dismayed after being asked to reduce the volume of water carried on firefighting vehicles to overcome an engineering failure. In State Parliament, The Nationals Member for Gippsland South Danny O’Brien has asked the Minister for Emergency Services to take immediate action to rectify the problem with certain ultralight…
Illegal green activists are disrespecting the Traditional Owners of the Wombat State Forest, blockading planned salvage harvesting needed to restore country. The Dja Dja Wurrung have commissioned VicForests to undertake extensive surveys and arrange salvage harvesting of wind blown timber. The wind blown timber with sawlog value has been still laying on the ground since…
Accessibility failures on Victoria’s regional train network continue to be ignored by the Andrews Labor Government, despite harrowing stories of people with a disability spending hours stranded at platforms or forced to travel in the cargo hold. More stories have emerged this week of Victorians with a disability being prevented from travelling on V/Line trains,…
Nationals Member for Ovens Valley Tim McCurdy is frustrated to hear that the Minister for Roads and Andrews Labor Government have decided to forgo their budget promise and cut even more funding towards regional road maintenance in this years 2022/23 State Budget. Mr McCurdy said, “This is just disgraceful. “The Victorian Government is…
A pet census and a destructive plan to shut down the native timber industry are the biggest ticket items for agriculture in a Labor State Budget that’s a cruel disappointment for Victorian farmers. Analysis of the 2022-23 State Budget papers also revealed further cuts to the agriculture budget that will gut services even more. And…