Water Minister Lisa Neville is hanging on to 75GL of irrigation entitlement that could be used to relieve the pressure on irrigators in northern Victoria. The 75GL irrigation entitlement is owned by Melbourne water corporations and held to top up Melbourne storages in times of extreme drought. But despite announcing on December 1 that Melbourne’s…
Euroa MP and Deputy Leader of The Nationals Steph Ryan has issued a stern warning to the Andrews Government that a review of the placement of wire rope barrier on the Hume Fwy is needed ahead of this year’s fire season. The call comes after fires were started on the freeway at Clonbinane earlier this…
Shadow Minister for Water Steph Ryan has welcomed Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud’s decision to act on the Victorian Nationals’ suggestion to utilise the Adelaide desalination plant to secure extra water for farmers. Minister Littleproud yesterday announced the Federal Government’s plan to release 100GL for fodder production at a discounted rate of $100 per…
Thousands of patients waiting for access to public dental care across north east Victoria and the Goulburn Valley are being kept in the dark about how long they have to wait for treatment. Speaking in Parliament yesterday, Euroa MP and Deputy Leader of The Nationals Steph Ryan called out the Health Minister’s tardiness in responding…
The expansion of Lake Buffalo in north-east Victoria and its possible connection via a pipeline to Lake Nillahcootie should be referred to the Commonwealth Government’s new national water authority for investigation. Shadow Minister for Water Steph Ryan is also calling on the Victorian Government to reverse its panicked and unsupported ‘no dams’ policy. The Victorian…
The Andrews Government has slashed $149 million from V/Line’s annual budget as country passengers continue to be plagued by frustrating delays, cancellations and service breakdowns. The release of the V/Line annual report, tabled in Parliament today, also reveals the organisation suffered a $30 million deficit in 2018/19. The news comes as customer satisfaction with the…
Local households are struggling to cope with soaring energy costs, driving a massive spike in complaints. Energy and Water Ombudsman Victoria’s (EWOV) 2019 annual report released this week shows a 57 per cent increase in the number of cases about energy prices from the Strathbogie Shire over the past 12 months. There was also a…
Regional train passengers will be condemned to a future of lengthy delays and longer travel times if the Andrews Government steamrolls plans for a dedicated airport rail link. Labor’s embattled Public Transport Minister Melissa Horne was asked today in State Parliament about whether regional passengers would have longer travel times if the airport rail link…
Daniel Andrews is ignoring the enormous stress fixed water charges are placing on irrigators within the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District (GMID). Farmers have been calling for assistance on fixed water charges or direct relief on council rates for more than 12 months, but the State Government’s drought assistance package doesn’t deliver either. Farmers are paying thousands…
The Andrews Government has cruelled farmers trying to manage kangaroo numbers by making the state’s kangaroo pet food program unworkable, Member for Euroa Steph Ryan says. Kangaroos controlled under an Authority to Control Wildlife (ATCW) permit can no longer be processed for pet food under the Andrews Labor Government’s changes. “Removing kangaroos culled under a…
Daniel Andrews has today repeated his Water Minister’s folly saying there’s no point in building dams when it’s not raining. On Melbourne radio this morning the Premier dismissed calls for the state government to look at building dams as “spurious debates” stating “dams don’t make it rain”. Labor has sat on its hands for five…
Forests that would otherwise be dry during times of drought are being flushed with liquid gold as irrigators struggle to keep livestock watered and to keep crops alive. Media reports today highlight yet again the pressure irrigators are under while the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder (CEWH) flushes about 400GL of environmental water down the river…