Nationals Member for Ovens Valley, Tim McCurdy, called on the Minister for Higher Education to support RTO organisations, following a recent decision from GOTAFE to stop providing RTO support. Mr McCurdy said that several RTOs had already contacted him saying they will be forced to close down at the end of the year. “I have…
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Labor’s new health tax will leave regional Victorians without vital healthcare services if the Andrews Government refuses to withdraw its imposition on General Practitioners (GPs). Labor’s Health Tax would mean backdated payroll tax is levied on local GP clinics, resulting in tax bills of up to hundreds of thousands of dollars and placing the ongoing…
DetailsSpecialist teachers saved Disability advocates are celebrating the reversal of a government decision to cut a highly valued disability support program. In late July education minister Natalie Hutchins announced 85 of 117 teachers in Victoria’s decades-old visiting teacher service would be sacked. The visiting teacher service provides one-on-one specialist support to students with disabilities and includes…
DetailsThe Liberals and Nationals have today called on the Andrews Government to restore the funding it has cut from Victoria’s peri-urban councils. Last Friday, without any prior notice or community consultation, the Andrews Government removed all five of Victoria’s peri-urban councils from the Growing Suburbs Fund eligibility list. When asked for an explanation in Question…
DetailsThe Liberals and Nationals today strongly back the future of duck hunting in Victoria, after a biased and stacked Inquiry recommended the end of the practice. Labor, the Greens and the Animal Justice Party members involved in the Inquiry into Victoria’s Recreational Native Bird Hunting Arrangements have ignored science and based their call to end…
DetailsThe Nationals Member for Morwell, Martin Cameron, has called on Labor to provide compensation to small businesses across the Valley who will wear a huge financial hit due to the disastrous cancellation of the Commonwealth Games. “Last week I met with the owners of a motel located on the doorstep of the would-be athletes village…
DetailsThe final report in the Inquiry into Victoria’s Recreational Native Bird Hunting Arrangements has been released. The Nationals MP and Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Public Land Use Melina Bath said there is no logical reason to ban duck hunting in Victoria given the overwhelming evidence that habitat is the key to duck populations, not hunting.…
DetailsBillions of bees are at risk of being destroyed and an industry under threat as the Minister for Agriculture fails to respond. Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Emma Kealy, is demanding the Minister for Agriculture, Gayle Tierney, take immediate action to quell the potentially catastrophic effects of a varroa mite outbreak. Almost a week ago, the…
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The Nationals Member for Gippsland South, Danny O’Brien has raised concerns for community safety as recent data shows public transport related crime is on the rise in Victoria. Mr O’Brien was referring to data released by the Crime Statistics Agency which shows that public transport related crime in Victoria has risen 41 per cent in…
DetailsSkyrocketing energy bills and a cost-of-living crisis have driven the Member Deputy Leader of The Nationals, Emma Kealy, to demand the Andrews Labor Government to immediately extend the $250 Power Saving Bonus. The current round of the Power Saving Bonus closes at midnight on August 31 and all eligible households, including those that received payments…
DetailsDear Editor, Regional Victorians are reeling as the hits keep coming on several fronts, beyond the obvious pain of the Commonwealth Games cancellation. The Games disaster continues to make headlines, but regional Victorians face so many more pressing challenges – recovering from floods, waiting lists for homes following horrific fires, and soaring homeless rates. Families…
DetailsThe Andrews Government continues to pile on the cost-of-living pain as annual council rates skyrocket. Victorians need an urgent solution as rate payers and hardworking families are being unfairly asked to foot the bill for Local Government funding inequities. The Andrews Government needs to provide Local Government with more funding to maintain service delivery and…
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