The Nationals Member for Gippsland South, Danny O’Brien, has raised concerns in State Parliament about the double standards that apply to wind farm planning in Victoria, to the detriment of communities in Gippsland. Speaking in Parliament last week, Mr O’Brien highlighted that under Labor Government planning guidelines, wind farms were specifically excluded from certain areas…
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No end to VLine’s poor performance The crisis in VLine has hit rock bottom. February performance data for the VLine network reveals a worsening trend of unreliable and late trains. Every short distance service – Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Seymour and Gippsland lines – failed to meet reliability and punctuality targets. Four of the six long…
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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…
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The Federal Government has answered the call to provide a support package for businesses significantly economically impacted by the recent fires. State Nationals MP, Tim Bull, who has made several representations over recent weeks on this issue, said he was delighted, but added it was now time for the State to stump up a…
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A new campaign is aiming to put maximum pressure on the Andrews Labor Government to increase fuel reduction on public land to better protect country communities from bushfire. Nationals MPs recently joined Bush Users Group United (BUGU) to call on the government to adopt a five per cent target, as recommended by the 2009 Black…
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The Nationals Member for Gippsland South, Danny O’Brien has called on the Andrews Labor Government to guarantee water entitlements for Latrobe irrigators in light of the planned creation of pit lakes in Latrobe Valley coal mines. Mr O’Brien put a series of questions to the government in State Parliament this week seeking to ensure…
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Gippsland Bush Nursing Centres are struggling due to inadequate state government funding. The Nationals Member for Eastern Victoria Region, Melina Bath said Gippsland’s bush nursing centres are being forced to fundraise to keep the doors open. “The recent bushfire crisis in East Gippsland has further exposed Labor’s inadequate heath care funding in our small rural…
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The Nationals Member for Gippsland South, Danny O’Brien, is urging the Andrews Labor Government to do more to ensure all landholders play their part in tackling the growing weed problem across the region. It’s estimated that weeds cost Australian agriculture $4 billion through yield losses and product contamination each year and that controlling invasive…
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Re-opening of our National Park tourist areas and other visitor locations – like Cape Conran and the partially opened Buchan Caves Reserve – need to be fast-tracked by the State Government and timelines provided to communities. Nationals Gippsland East MP, Tim Bull, said that while some areas required more work than others, it needed…
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The Nationals Member for Gippsland South Danny O’Brien is encouraging local volunteers to take part in consultation currently underway to shape the new Victorian Volunteer Strategy. Mr O’Brien said the new strategy will aim to ensure Victorians have all the support they need to help others. “My experience has always been that Gippslanders…
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Labor’s bushfire recovery announcement today in East Gippsland will be seen for what it is by locals – totally underwhelming and insignificant. “What we had announced today was just $2.5m for three projects in East Gippsland – $2m to rebuild the Buchan Caves (which the Government needs to do anyway), $300k for new sprinkler system…
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Statement on the 2020 duck season The Andrews Government has announced a drastically reduced 2020 duck hunting season today. Opening weekend will be on May 2, with a bag limit of three ducks per day and a modified length of five weeks. A full season runs for nearly 12 weeks from mid-March to mid-June with…
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