The Andrews Government has slashed $149 million from V/Line’s annual budget as country passengers continue to be plagued by frustrating delays, cancellations and service breakdowns. The release of the V/Line annual report, tabled in Parliament today, also reveals the organisation suffered a $30 million deficit in 2018/19. The news comes as customer satisfaction with the…
Local households are struggling to cope with soaring energy costs, driving a massive spike in complaints. Energy and Water Ombudsman Victoria’s (EWOV) 2019 annual report released this week shows a 57 per cent increase in the number of cases about energy prices from the Strathbogie Shire over the past 12 months. There was also a…
Regional train passengers will be condemned to a future of lengthy delays and longer travel times if the Andrews Government steamrolls plans for a dedicated airport rail link. Labor’s embattled Public Transport Minister Melissa Horne was asked today in State Parliament about whether regional passengers would have longer travel times if the airport rail link…
Petitions containing signatures of nearly 1500 people from South Gippsland have been tabled in State Parliament by The Nationals Member for Gippsland South, Danny O’Brien. Mr O’Brien has tabled a further 615 petitions from Foster and district residents opposed to the possible relocation of South Gippsland Water (SGW) from Foster. “This is a…
Regional communities will expect the new Commissioner to be frank and fearless with his advice to the Andrews Government. Labor may have put him on the payroll but at the end of the day it’s taxpayers’ dollars and Mr Tuohey’s job is to stand up for our regional communities. Labor’s arrogant neglect of regional Victoria…
The Nationals Member for Eastern Victoria Region, Melina Bath said Labor’s plastic bag ban has been bungled. “It is another example of the Andrews Government’s mishandling just like we have seen with Victoria’s recycling crisis, our inadequate farm trespass laws, the kangaroo pet food trial and the Solar Homes Program to name a few,” said…
Two more sections of safety barrier on the Princes Highway west of Bairnsdale will be removed after they failed recent safety audits, said Gippsland East Nationals MP, Tim Bull. “In what has become an acute embarrassment for the Andrews Labor Government, this now means that five sections of safety barrier will have been…
Farmers in north-east Victoria had the opportunity to have their say on the impact of farm invasion when the parliamentary inquiry to fix farm trespass laws visited Wangaratta yesterday. The inquiry heard from farmers who have serious concerns for the safety of their family and livestock and detailed the emotional and economic toll of…
The Nationals Member for Gippsland South, Danny O’Brien has again called on the Andrews Labor Government to complete the duplication of the Princes Highway to Sale after the Premier finally visited the region this week. Mr O’Brien and his federal colleague, Darren Chester, Member for Gippsland have been campaigning for the completion of…
Nationals Member for Ovens Valley, Tim McCurdy, has encouraged people to consider the impact that gambling has on their lives and family relationships during Responsible Gambling Awareness Week, which for 2019 runs from 7 to 13 October. Mr McCurdy is a board member of the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, which aims at prevention, early…
Daniel Andrews is ignoring the enormous stress fixed water charges are placing on irrigators within the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District (GMID). Farmers have been calling for assistance on fixed water charges or direct relief on council rates for more than 12 months, but the State Government’s drought assistance package doesn’t deliver either. Farmers are paying thousands…
The Andrews Government has cruelled farmers trying to manage kangaroo numbers by making the state’s kangaroo pet food program unworkable, Member for Euroa Steph Ryan says. Kangaroos controlled under an Authority to Control Wildlife (ATCW) permit can no longer be processed for pet food under the Andrews Labor Government’s changes. “Removing kangaroos culled under a…