Illegal green activists are disrespecting the Traditional Owners of the Wombat State Forest, blockading planned salvage harvesting needed to restore country. The Dja Dja Wurrung have commissioned VicForests to undertake extensive surveys and arrange salvage harvesting of wind blown timber. The wind blown timber with sawlog value has been still laying on the ground since…
The Nationals Member for Eastern Victoria Region, Melina Bath has labelled the Victorian State Budget underwhelming for Latrobe Valley, with shocking levels of debt and funding cuts. Regional Victorians will be slugged further with the regional development budget cut by $87.1 million, with $47.8 million cut from agriculture. Ms Bath said instead of funding local…
The Nationals Member for Eastern Victoria Region, Melina Bath says today’s energy from waste announcement for Latrobe Valley’s Maryvale Mill is a much-needed boost which is great for jobs and the environment. The Nationals Federal Member for Gippsland, Darren Chester, has today announced an investment of $48.2 million for Opal’s Maryvale Mill to establish the…
The Andrews Labor Government has walked away from a promise to establish a plantation nursery in East Gippsland today. It raises another red flag on catastrophic building and construction material shortages that will be generated when Labor bans native timber in 2030 – at the cost of tens of thousands of Victorian jobs. Announced in…
The Nationals Member for Eastern Victoria Region, Melina Bath has called for funding to be provided in the upcoming budget Victorian state budget for the Cape to Cape Resilience Project. Originally gazetted in August 2020 by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP), the project area extends from Cape Paterson to Cape Liptrap…
Timber communities have vowed to fight back against Daniel Andrews’ policy to shut Victoria’s sustainable native timber industry. A round table forum held in Heyfield attended by community members, harvesters, industry groups, local Councillors and Gippsland’s state and federal MPs strongly rejected the Andrews Government’s native timber transition plan. Shadow Assistant Minister for Public Land…
The release of a timeline for the Chunxing Corporation’s Used Lead Acid Battery (ULAB) project has triggered community concerns about lead emission monitoring in the Latrobe Valley. The Andrews Government has released documents indicating that construction of the ULAB smelter is scheduled to begin in December 2022, with commissioning set for September 2023. In state…
The hypocrisy of State Labor’s cuts to agriculture jobs has been exposed with figures today that the number of spin doctors in the Premier’s personal office nearly outstrips resourcing for Victorian farmers. The Labor Government cut a further 109 jobs from Agriculture Victoria in recent months, from the pool of about 1100 to 1200 staff…
A new report released this month makes a mockery of the Victorian Roads Minister’s claim that Victoria’s state’s road network is now ‘safer and smoother’. Infrastructure Australia’s Regional Strengths and Infrastructure Gaps report zeroed in on an urgent need to invest more into Victoria’s neglected and crumbling regional roads. It found a lack of adequate…
The Greens, Labor and Independents have joined forces in the Legislative Council to defeat amendments from the Liberals and Nationals that would have given the Native Timber Industry more protection from illegal protestors and green lawfare. Victoria is already seeing the closure of sawmills due to a lack of timber and this legislation does…
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…
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 –…