Dear Editor On the eve of the 2022 election, Labor promised $290 million to complete Stages 2 and 3 of Wonthaggi Hospital to service the Bass Coast. Four years later this remains unfulfilled and unfunded. A new birthing complex, expanded outpatient services and additional beds have failed to materialise. Labor refuses to provide a timeline…
DetailsThe Coalition is calling out the Albanese Labor Government for failing rural and regional Australians after twelve leading nursing and healthcare organisations have warned that Medicare is no longer delivering for communities in the bush. Shadow Minister for Health Anne Ruston said the powerful joint submission to the Senate inquiry into regional healthcare should finally act…
DetailsThe Nationals’ Melina Bath said Labor’s budget delivers more debt, taxes, higher costs and fewer opportunities, warning that hardworking regional Victorians are being left to carry the burden. “Labor is attempting to hoodwink voters with sugar hits and fake ‘freebie’ headlines, but no amount of spin can hide the fact this budget makes life harder,…
DetailsThe latest police data shows Victoria now has 500 fewer police than when Jacinta Allan became Premier. The Nationals’ Member for Eastern Victoria, Melina Bath said local communities were not immune to the Allan Labor Government’s cuts with Latrobe Valley losing vital police resources. Latrobe Valley today has 11.66 fewer full time equivalent (FTE) police…
DetailsThe Nationals have declared their support for research into converting surplus wine in Australia into ethanol to help with national fuel shortages. Member for Mallee Dr Anne Webster MP said she had been pursuing the initiative for years as the wine industry strains under an immense 260 million litre oversupply of wine in storage. Leader…
DetailsThe Coalition has reiterated its support for reforms to make organ donation registration easier by linking it to driver’s licences, ahead of the Health Ministers meeting today where the proposal is due to be discussed. Despite strong public support, only around 200,000 Australians sign up as organ donors each year, while the population grows by…
DetailsDrought-affected farmers across western Victoria are being unfairly excluded from support as rigid eligibility boundaries fail to reflect conditions on the ground. The Nationals Member for Lowan and Shadow Minister for Agriculture Emma Kealy has again urged the state Labor government to restructure drought support measures to ensure equitable access for affected farmers. “Across Lowan,…
DetailsMember for Lowan, Emma Kealy MP, has called on the State Government to urgently increase support for regional patients forced to travel long distances for essential medical care. Speaking in Parliament, Ms Kealy highlighted the growing number of Lowan residents who must travel hundreds of kilometres to Melbourne, Ballarat or Geelong to access specialist treatment…
DetailsHorsham, Hamilton and Ararat communities are still waiting for the Allan Labor Government to fulfil its promise three years ago to increase mental health services. Labor announced in 2023 that it would build Mental Health and Wellbeing Locals in the three communities, but the continuing delay has prompted Nationals Member for Lowan, Emma Kealy, to…
DetailsThe Albanese Labor Government is once again leaving regional Australians in the dark, with funding for the highly successful Regional Tech Hub due to expire at the end of this financial year and still no word on whether it will be extended. The Regional Tech Hub, a proud Coalition initiative, plays a vital role in…
DetailsThe Nationals have selected experienced and respected community advocate Brett Hosking as their candidate for the seat of Murray Plains, for November’s state election. Mr Hosking is a fifth-generation farmer, and broad acre cropping farmer in Quambatook with his wife Jane and their four daughters. “To be selected as The Nationals’ candidate for Murray Plains,…
DetailsOlder Australians are being hit from all sides — and in regional Australia, they’ll feel it first and worst. “In regional communities, when Canberra gets it wrong, we feel it immediately — in our hospitals, in our aged care homes, and in our cost of living,” said Dr Anne Webster, Shadow Minister for Regional Health.…
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