Deep concerns remain for Southern Basin communities after Victorian Minister for Water, Harriet Shing dodged questions at a Public Accounts and Estimates Committee Hearing. The Minister has failed to say whether she has directly told the Federal Water Minister to cease buybacks and protect Southern Basin communities after the Murray Darling Basin Plan expires in…
DetailsQuestions remain unanswered as the Labor Government faces renewed heat on how much money is being drained from water authorities to prop up Victoria’s budget. The Minister for Water, Harriet Shing, failed to answer questions about the impact of capital repatriations on metro-based water corporations in a Public Accounts and Estimates Committee hearing. Basic questions…
DetailsNationals MP Gaelle Broad has urged residents of Northern Victoria to make a submission to the current gambling inquiry, amid concerns over massive gaming losses in regional areas. “As regional Victorians are disproportionately affected by problem gambling, I encourage people living in our region to make a submission before the closing date of Friday…
DetailsCommunity leadership programs in regional Victoria have been cast adrift by the Andrews Labor Government. Funding for the programs, set up by the Victorian Liberals and Nationals in 2011/12, will finish at the end of this year, with the Government abruptly addressing the issue at today’s Public Accounts and Estimates Committee hearing. “The…
DetailsShadow Minister for Water, Tim McCurdy, has again called out the Labor Government’s murky role in Melbourne Water’s review of the Maribyrnong floods after key questions were today left unanswered. In a Public Accounts and Estimates Hearing, the Minister for Water, Harriet Shing, and DEECA officials denied the Department or the Premier’s Private Office meddled…
DetailsSeniors will suffer after Andrews Government’s sudden call to stop advertising in major Victorian newspapers. A key, traditional source of public and emergency information will be lost as the focus turns to other platforms. Shadow Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers, Tim Bull, said while Victorians of all ages relied on newspapers, it…
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The Andrews Government is set to repeat history by repeatedly underspending on regional roads to the detriment of local communities, according to The Nationals Member for Morwell, Martin Cameron. “Labor’s latest catastrophic budget has cut more than $260 million in maintenance funding for an already crumbling network of roads, including in the Valley where notoriously…
DetailsThe Andrews Labor Government must provide funding certainty for the Mode Shift Incentive Scheme (MSIS) to encourage more freight onto rail. The MSIS is an incentive program providing financial support to rail freight companies to make the cost of transporting goods on rail more competitive. The program was established by the former Liberal…
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Nationals MP Gaelle Broad has asked the Government to urgently provide more information on the controversial high voltage powerline destined for north central Victoria. Speaking in Parliament, Ms Broad said she supported renewables, but she also supports the regional communities that will carry the burden of delivering renewable energy to the city. “The…
DetailsThe State Government is being called on to explain why public housing is sitting empty in Gippsland while people are desperate for a roof over their head. The Nationals Member for Gippsland South, Danny O’Brien has called on the Minister for Housing for answers with recent figures confirming that more than 67,000 Victorians were…
DetailsThe Nationals Member for Gippsland South Danny O’Brien is concerned that new energy legislation passed by the Andrews Labor Government will do little to improve resilience or help communities affected by extended power blackouts. Mr O’Brien said he was pleased when the Energy Minister answered his calls for an electricity distribution network resilience review…
DetailsLabor has sensationally backed away from mental health support for timber workers in state parliament following further questioning from The Nationals Member for Eastern Victoria Region and Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Public Land Use, Melina Bath. Ms Bath contested Labor’s commitment to worker mental health, after multiple Ministers referred to its native timber industry worker…
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