Victoria’s latest lockdown is having a shattering impact on the mental health of thousands of Victorians. The snap five-day lockdown announced by Premier Daniel Andrews on Friday led to a surge in requests for mental health support, with Lifeline on Saturday receiving its third-highest number of calls in the nearly 60 years it has been…
Regional Victorian families and businesses are back in lockdown because Daniel Andrews isn’t prepared to do the hard work to get gold standard contact tracing in place. While all Victorians are forced to again live under harsh restrictions, New South Wales has successfully put processes in place that ensure the state can continue to function…
The Andrews Labor Government needs to step back from its plans to classify animal manure as industrial waste according to The Nationals Member for Gippsland South, Danny O’Brien. Reports this week indicate that the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) intends to classify animal manure such as cow, chicken and sheep manure as industrial waste potentially…
East Gippsland Shire Council is being short changed by the Andrews Labor Government on boat ramp maintenance. Gippsland East Nationals MP, Tim Bull, asked questions in Parliament that highlighted the unfairness where a council like Frankston – with only two boat ramps – receives $112,000 every year for their maintenance, while East Gippsland –…
Checkpoints on Victoria’s border with New South Wales must be removed following today’s announcement that reclassifies all of NSW as either ‘green’ or ‘orange’ zones. Border communities are at their wits end. Despite no COVID cases in NSW border communities, Labor’s unwieldy permit system is leaving local people still facing debilitating delays to get across…
A new V/Line timetable unveiled by the Andrews Labor Government again fails to provide any additional services for Gippsland train passengers. The Nationals Member for Gippsland South, Danny O’Brien said he was extremely disappointed that there were no new services for Sale and East Gippsland and not even additional trains between Melbourne and Traralgon.…
Victorians seeking mental health care are waiting longer, and fewer services are available to them when they need it most. That’s according to the Report on Government Services released today which provides a bleak assessment of the capacity of Victoria’s mental health system. Statistics show there are fewer beds available in specialised mental health units.…
Inadequate resourcing has taken the teeth out of wild dog control in Victoria, leaving livestock at risk and exposing landholders to further emotional and financial trauma. The Andrews Labor Government’s lax management is seeing attacks increase, with reports today landholders near Wyperfeld National Park in Victoria’s north-west have lost more than 300 sheep to wild…
A more than $200 million Commonwealth rescue package will revive the Murray Basin Rail Project after it was derailed by the Andrews Labor Government. The Federal Liberal and Nationals investment, announced today, includes $195.2 million to fix the mess left by Labor’s Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan, with a further $5 million for planning for…
Help for Homeless on its way The Nationals Member for Gippsland South, Danny O’Brien says he is hopeful help is on its way to assist with Gippsland’s growing need for crisis accommodation and community housing. In Parliament last month Mr O’Brien asked the Minister for Housing to work with the Minister for the Prevention…
Community consultation will soon begin on The Nationals’ plan to rebuild our CFA and strengthen the volunteer organisation following Labor’s disastrous fire service reforms. The CFA is an icon of country Victoria, but the Andrews Labor Government’s reforms have deliberately sidelined volunteer brigades that are integral to the protection of country communities. Member…
The Andrews Labor Government has outspent itself with a city-focused State Budget that delivers little for regional Victorians. Country people’s resilience has been stretched to the limit this year, first by catastrophic bushfires and then two waves of coronavirus shutdowns that have blown a hole in once thriving local economies. Today’s State Budget doesn’t deliver…