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…
Nationals Member for Ovens Valley Tim McCurdy was recently called upon to see first-hand the damage feral pigs have caused to a local farming property. Mr McCurdy said the level of damage he saw was of great concern. “When I inspected the farmland it was like somebody had taken a set of discs…
Nationals Member for Ovens Valley Tim McCurdy is calling for local Victorian farmers to be allowed access to their livestock and crops on the NSW side of the border. Mr McCurdy said he had been fielding up to 20 calls a day from Ovens Valley farmers who have been affected by the hardened border…
Union politics is jeopardising food security at a time of crisis. The horticulture sector fears a union call to end the Working Holiday Maker Visa will push up the price of fruit and vegetables at a time when our communities need a reliable, affordable supply of fresh food. Shadow Minister for Agriculture Peter Walsh said…
Bush users have been left hanging by the Andrews Labor Government as it continues to delay its response to a report that recommended locking up state forests in national parks. The Victorian Environmental Assessment Council’s (VEAC) Central West investigation recommended locking up more than 77,000 hectares of forest at Mount Cole, Wombat and Wellsford state…
The Nationals Member for Gippsland South, Danny O’Brien, is encouraging young Gippsland farmers to apply for a spot on the Young Farmers Advisory Council. Mr O’Brien said applications were welcome from young people (under 35) in the agriculture sector with experience in farm management, agribusiness, finance, education, international markets and regional development. “The…
Logging contractors have had a rare win with the announcement that they will be paid by Vic Forests in line with both their contractual obligations and the Owner Drivers and Forestry Contractors Act 2005. “The impetus for this came from timber industry businesses that were being threatened with penalties under a new State law that…
Morwell CFA Brigade volunteers are fiercely pushing back on Daniel Andrew’s plan to move them to a new Morwell fire station. At a Morwell CFA volunteer brigade meeting held last night, members vowed to continue fighting to remain at their current home. The Nationals Member for Eastern Victoria, Melina Bath said the Andrews Labor Government…
The Nationals Member for Eastern Victoria Region, Melina Bath is calling on the Andrews Labor Government to confirm the 2020 duck season. “Recreational shooters are incredibly important to Gippsland’s regional economy and it is imperative the season goes ahead,” Ms Bath said. “Gippsland tourism has experienced an unprecedented downturn as a result of bushfire –…
Thousands of kilometres of internal and external fencing, including boundary fencing bordering with state forests and national parks, has been damaged in the bushfires in East Gippsland and north-east Victoria and will need to be replaced. While the threat of bushfire still remains for some communities, many are now looking to clean-up and rebuild homes,…
More support for those wanting to clean up and get on with rebuilding is being sought by Nationals Gippsland East MP, Tim Bull. “While we still have fire in some areas, many are ready to start moving on and the first thing they need to do is start the clean-up. “After the Black Saturday…
Gippsland East Nationals MP Tim Bull has spoken to the Premier’s office this morning, stressing the need for rapid action on key bushfire issues including assistance with boundary fencing, ongoing fodder subsidies and clean-up. After consistent feedback from local farmers and landholders, Mr Bull spoke to the Premier’s office this morning and impressed upon the…