Nationals Member for Ovens Valley, Tim McCurdy, has encouraged people to consider the impact that gambling has on their lives and family relationships during Responsible Gambling Awareness Week, which for 2019 runs from 7 to 13 October. Mr McCurdy is a board member of the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, which aims at prevention, early…
The Nationals Member for Lowan, Emma Kealy has hosted a visit to the electorate by the Shadow Minister for Education, Cindy McLeish MP, taking the opportunity to tour Longerenong College and show Ms McLeish first-hand the Agribusiness Centre buildings which are significantly dated and require works. The Liberal Nationals made a commitment before the 2018…
Member for Lowan Emma Kealy has called on the Andrews Labor Government to explain what it’s doing to address critical GP shortages in rural health, as communities in western Victoria continue to go without a local GP. Daniel Andrews recently announced a $50,000 incentive to encourage teachers to relocate to country areas in an…
The Andrews Labor Government should halt its plan to create a super school in Shepparton, after a poll conducted across the Shepparton electorate showed more than 60 percent of people oppose the plan. The poll which was commissioned by The Nationals found just 18.6 per cent of people supported the super school, while about…
Shepparton school teachers concerned about the Andrews Labor Government’s new super school have been warned not to criticise the school in public. The minutes from a school meeting in May last year show teachers were told that when discussing the new school, they must praise it in public and keep any criticism behind closed doors.…
A young person’s future shouldn’t be determined by where they live. For many young regional Victorians the daunting challenge of moving away from family and friends for tertiary education is a reality they have to face alone. An elected Liberal Nationals Government will invest in a brighter future for young Victorians with a new program…
Victoria’s training budget was underspent by hundreds of millions of dollars in 2016-17 but no one seems to know where the money has gone. Asked today how much money was returned to consolidated revenue, department officials appeared to be struck by a case of amnesia. Department officials are not just confused about where the money’s…
Goulburn Ovens Institute of TAFE’s decision to cut dairy training at Warragul and Leongatha raises more questions than it answers. The Andrews Government must come clean on the number of students who are part way through a traineeship with GOTAFE who will no longer be able to complete their training with the provider. Given Federation Training…
Young people encouraged to apply for Labor’s Youth Congress are still waiting to hear if their applications were successful, four months after the Congress was due to begin. Asked about the delay in Parliament on Tuesday, Youth Affairs Minister Jenny Mikakos blamed Australia Post, despite applicants confirming that all correspondence with them to date has…
Background The Andrews Labor Government is burying key data showing the extent of its cuts to Victoria’s struggling training system. Asked about the delay of the 2016 training market report in Parliament, Training and Skills Minister Gayle Tierney claimed the report could not be completed until the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) published…
Daniel Andrews’ TAFE ‘rescue’ has been a total sham. A third of Federation Training’s workforce was sacked with 182 full time equivalent staff losing their jobs at the TAFE in Labor’s first year in office. Under Daniel Andrews the number of students undertaking training at Federation Training has reduced drastically, with 700,000 fewer student contact…
Australian Sustainable Hardwoods has announced today it will close its Heyfield mill earlier than planned. ASH confirmed today the mill will wind down from August due to “VicForests expected short supply of logs to the mill again this year”. At a recent hearing for the parliamentary inquiry into VicForests, VicForests Acting CEO Nathan Trushell confirmed…