Local Richmond families and students continue to be placed in harm’s way by Labor’s failing Medically Supervised Injecting Centre. Confirmation that a local resident has found a significant quantity of heroin outside their front gate is the another alarming wake-up call of the dangers faced by the local community. Concerningly, the heroin was…
DetailsChronic labour shortages are causing huge issues for business, industry and workers right across Gippsland. The Nationals Member for Gippsland South, Danny O’Brien told Parliament this week that everywhere he goes he is hearing the struggles of small, medium and large businesses who are unable to find staff. Mr O’Brien raised the matter in State…
DetailsYoung first homebuyers fear they’ll be locked out of the property market forever due to high costs and ever-growing government charges. New data released today by the Property Council of Australia found two-third of Victorians fear they’ll never be able to buy “because the cost is so high”. According to CoreLogic, house prices in north-west…
Details
Legislation for on-the-spot fines for farm trespass has finally passed state parliament after two years of delay by the Andrews Government. Amendments to double the maximum fine for illegal farm invasion and close a loophole on licensed river frontages have been blocked by Labor, the Greens and Independent MPs. The Nationals proposed two amendments to…
Details
Amendments to double the maximum fine for illegal farm invasion have been blocked in Victorian Parliament by Labor, Greens and Independent MPs. The Liberals and Nationals proposed two amendments to the Livestock Management Amendment (Animal Activism) Bill 2021 to double the maximum fine for individuals in line with New South Wales’ hefty penalty scheme –…
DetailsThe Victorian Nationals have stopped an attempt from the Andrews Labor Government to simultaneously hide changes impacting regional communities and axe an important source of revenue for local newspapers. Labor’s Regulatory Legislation Amendment (Reform) Bill 2022, introduced in Victorian Parliament in February, would have removed the requirement for state departments and councils to inform communities…
DetailsNew data from Victoria University’s Mitchell Institute shows large gaps in the provision of childcare across rural and regional communities, including the Euroa electorate. The study, which classifies communities as a childcare ‘desert’ or an ‘oasis’, depending on the availability of care, shows most local communities are a desert with either no childcare service or…
DetailsMany communities in regional Victoria are “highly under-serviced” by public transport, with flow on effects to liveability acting as a handbrake on potential population growth, a new report has found. Infrastructure Australia released the 2022 Regional Strengths and Infrastructure Gaps report last week, shining a light on the poor state of transport infrastructure across regional…
DetailsThe Nationals Member for Lowan Emma Kealy is calling on Independent MPs in Parliament’s Upper House to vote in favour of greater protection for our Victorian farmers through harsher on the spot fines. Ms Kealy, together with her National Party colleagues, has continued to call for tougher penalties to be imposed against animal activities who…
Details
The Nationals Member for Ovens Valley, Tim McCurdy, rode in support of mental health awareness on Sunday 20th of March, with the Black Dog Ride. Mr. McCurdy said, “There has never been a time where mental health awareness has been so prominent, yet there is still more to do” “Too many of our friends and…
DetailsA new survey today detailing the declining mental health of young people after the pandemic has further highlighted the urgent need to rejuvenate Victoria’s fatigued mental health workforce. The survey, conducted in February by research company Resolve Strategic, found a quarter of young Australians thought about suicide in the past two years. The highest number…
Details
Infringements issued by the Department of Justice and Community Safety for alleged COVID breaches have raised the ire of small business owners who have endured the burden of changing compliance complexities for two years. Nationals Member for Gippsland East, Tim Bull, said small businesses should have been helped, not hounded, as what they had to…
Details