Media Releases

In Parliament last week, Member for Swan Hill Peter Walsh called for an ambulance service to be based in Wedderburn.
In calling for the service Mr Walsh detailed the excellent work the Wedderburn Community Response Team (CERT) performs throughout the district.
When the team was established in 2005 it was told that they would only receive an estimated 3 to 4 callouts per month however, this figure blew out to 120 callouts in its first year of operation.
“The Wedderburn CERT callout rate is now the equal highest in the State,” Mr Walsh said in Parliament.
“They were called to 216 incidents involving fatal drug overdoses, suicides and car accidents last year.
“With only 10 volunteers now available for the 24/7 roster and the extremely demanding requirements for training of new recruits, I fully support the move by the Wedderburn Lions Club to campaign for an ambulance service to be based in Wedderburn,” Mr Walsh said.
“In the meantime, I urge authorities to support the Wedderburn CERT team and its recruitment program by providing a training program for new volunteers to be held in Wedderburn rather than requiring them to travel to Bendigo for the six weekend training course,” he said.

The appalling mismanagement of public lands by the Brumby Government has again been exposed by a damning report from the Auditor-General says Member for Swan Hill, Peter Walsh.
“Today the Auditor-General tabled his report on the state of Victoria’s parks and public lands and his findings demonstrate a total lack of responsibility by the Brumby Government for our State’s biodiversity,” Mr Walsh said.
“The Control of Invasive Plants and Animals in Victoria’s Parks report details extensive failings and mismanagement by this Government proving it to be the most negligent landholder in Victoria,” he said.
“The report is scathing on the lack of management and the lack of resource allocation to address the issues of invasive weeds and pest animals such as rabbits, foxes, feral cats and wild dogs.
“This lack of responsibility by Premier Brumby is having a devastating effect on landholders whose properties abut public land.
“Whilst private landholders battle to control the invasive plants and animals that encroach onto their land, John Brumby’s negligence allows unfettered growth of the problem in our parks and public lands.
“Farmers are sick and tired of constantly outlaying large amounts of money, time and energy combating weeds and pests whilst the Brumby Government effectively ignores the problems that afflict the land under its control,” Mr Walsh said.
“Ignoring these problems on public lands only allows these pests to further invade private land increasing the expense to our farmers.
“Effective programs to address the problems of weeds, pests and land degradation, such as have been proposed by the Liberal-Nationals, are the only way to manage these issues and, as the largest landholder in the State, the Brumby Government must take responsibility for its mismanagement and lack of resourcing,” Mr Walsh said.

Victoria’s waterways are in poor health despite the massive environmental tax imposed by the Brumby Government, an Auditor-General’s report tabled in State Parliament today has revealed.
Shadow Minister for Country Water Resources and Deputy Leader of The Nationals Peter Walsh said the Control of Invasive Plants and Animals in Victoria’s Parks report showed three-quarters of Victoria’s waterways were degraded.
“Victorians are paying dearly and they expect the state’s water is being sustainably managed, yet the Brumby Government’s incompetence has left the state’s waterways in a dire condition,” Mr Walsh said.
“Since Labor introduced the environmental water levy in 2004, the government has reaped more than $300 million from household and rural water users.
“But instead of improving the health of the state’s waterways, John Brumby has redirected a significant amount of the funding to find ‘savings’ for the north-south pipeline to boost Melbourne’s water supplies.
“In the past two years, more than $43 million collected under the environmental levy has gone towards upgrading irrigation infrastructure in the Goulburn Valley.
“Instead of using savings from the project to improve the health of the Murray, Goulburn and Snowy rivers as originally intended, Labor’s immediate plan is to send that water to Melbourne to reduce water restrictions.
“Regional communities are suffering as the state’s water resources become an election year cash-cow for the Brumby Government.”
Mr Walsh said Labor’s environmental credentials were in tatters.
“The Brumby Government has looted environmental water from Lake Eildon and the state’s heritage-listed rivers,” Mr Walsh said.
“The Auditor-General’s finding is not surprising when the government has earmarked environmental water destined for the Murray, Goulburn, Loddon, Campaspe, Snowy, Thomson and Yarra rivers for Melbourne.”

Member for Swan Hill, Peter Walsh, has thrown his support behind local Landcare Coordinators through his strong advocacy for funding to provide for 60 coordinators to be employed across the State.
“Landcare programs are vital in providing opportunities for landowners to protect natural environments, assist with drought-affected land and fight salinity,” Mr Walsh said.
“Under Labor the number of Landcare support staff in Victoria has gone from more than 140 in 2007-2008 to just 35 in 2009.
“We realise the importance of these co-ordinators and that’s why the Coalition Government will provide $12 million over the next four years to fund up to 75 per cent of the salaries of 60 Landcare Coordinators across Victoria’s 10 Catchment Management Authority areas,” he said.
Mr Walsh joined with Coalition Leader Ted Baillieu in condemning Labor’s erosion of these coordinators and the major role they played in assisting Landcare groups and the vital environmental projects they undertake.
“Kevin Rudd’s recent Budget cut funds for Landcare by $10.9 million, but a Baillieu Government will increase Landcare funding by $12 million to help fund 60 Landcare co-ordinators across Victoria,” Coalition Leader Ted Baillieu said.
“The co-ordinators who lost their jobs provided expertise in project funding applications, advice on project development and support for groups in management, communication and administration,” he said.
“The six coordinators in each of the North Central, Wimmera and Mallee Catchment Authority areas will ensure the future of the Landcare groups across the region,” Mr Walsh said.
“The volunteers who make up these groups will benefit from the administrative expertise and experience of these coordinators and they will be able to focus on developing projects that will be of immense and ongoing benefit to their local areas,” he said.

Member for Swan Hill, Peter Walsh, had great delight this week in watching his National Party colleague, Hugh Delahunty from Horsham, don a Central Murray Football League jumper in Parliament House following the local league’s win over Wimmera last weekend.
A friendly dare over the result of the match will now see the Wimmera’s local Member parade down Firebrace St in Horsham wearing the CMFL jumper.
“I was very confident our boys would do us proud,” Mr Walsh said.
“It was a very young team we sent to Horsham and they played a fantastic game.
“Hugh was very humble when I presented him with our jumper and I’m looking forward to seeing a photo of him walking down Horsham’s main street promoting our league,” he said.








Hugh Delahunty wearing the CMFL jumper with Peter Walsh soaring above the former Essendon and Wimmera League star.

Produce from Victoria’s world-acclaimed food bowl is set to become the centrepiece of Sydney’s markets thanks to the incompetence of the Brumby Labor Government.
Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Deputy Leader of The Nationals Peter Walsh said Sydney was exploiting uncertainty surrounding the relocation of the Melbourne Wholesale Fruit, Vegetable and Flower Market in a bid to poach Victorian producers.
“Sydney Markets held information sessions for Victorian growers in Shepparton this week in an attempt to lure them north,” Mr Walsh said.
“Sydney is looking to capitalise on the frustrations of growers who have been frozen out of the relocation of the Melbourne Wholesale Markets.”
Mr Walsh said the redevelopment of Melbourne’s new market was lagging a year behind schedule and had been dramatically scaled back.
“The Brumby Government’s incompetence has jeopardised Victoria’s food producing sector,” Mr Walsh said.
“The redevelopment of the Melbourne Market is now a year behind schedule and the project is looming as another of Labor’s failed public-private partnerships.
“Victorian Agriculture Minister Joe Helper was pulled from the project after he botched the negotiations between the developers and the stakeholders.
“The first developer was dropped in controversial circumstances and a private consortium of growers and wholesalers has now broken away and announced their intention to build a private market in Dandenong.
“Regional fruit and vegetable retailers have also been disadvantaged by the government’s operational changes in favour of the big supermarket chains.”
Mr Walsh said the Brumby Government’s failure to manage the project had left Victorian producers open to selling in Sydney.
“Victoria produces more than 800,000 tonnes of vegetables each year and grows 40 per cent of the nation’s cut flowers,” Mr Walsh said.
“The Goulburn Murray irrigation district accounts for $2.2 billion or just under a quarter of Victoria’s total annual food production.
“The Brumby Government’s incompetence has given Sydney the opportunity it has been waiting for to muscle in on northern Victoria’s lucrative fresh produce sector,” Mr Walsh said.

Member for Swan Hill, Peter Walsh, is warning local liquor licensees to have all relevant paperwork in place after inspectors visited the city this week.
The Nationals MP said at least one local business had been hit with a non-compliance Inspection Record.
“I was told yesterday that inspectors are visiting premises in Swan Hill and requesting to see a copy of Red Line Plans that by law need to be held onsite,” Mr Walsh said.
“The Brumby Government is trying to justify its huge liquor licence fee hikes by sending out inspectors to visit licensees, such as small family run motels, in an attempt to demonstrate that they are busy policing licence holders.
“I urge all liquor licence holders in the electorate to double check that they have all their files and paperwork up to date to avoid being issued with a non-compliant Inspection Record.”

A public meeting has been organised by Member for Swan Hill, Peter Walsh, for next Wednesday, June 2, to discuss the implications of the new river frontage legislation.
The meeting which will be chaired by Mr Walsh, will be held in the upstairs meeting room of the Swan Hill Town Hall and will commence at 2pm.
“Residents who have river frontage licences are only just becoming aware of the implications of the River Red Gum Legislation and the impact it is going to have on their homes and properties,” Mr Walsh said today.
“I have had reports of new fence lines that practically run through property owner’s homes, access roads being cut off and large swathes of cultivated paddocks suddenly being removed.
“Most of the river frontage was surveyed well over 100 years ago and boundary lines have become extremely blurred since then and as a result the impact on property owners is going to be quite devastating for some,” he said.
“I have called this Public Meeting so that all property owners whose boundaries front land affected by this legislation can come together and be more fully informed on how they are going to be affected and just what their options may be.
“I urge all affected landowners to attend this public meeting next Wednesday,” Mr Walsh said.

A Victorian Liberal Nationals Coalition Government would provide insecticide to Victorian
farmers and local government to control locust hatchings in spring.
Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Deputy Leader of The Nationals Peter Walsh said
immediate decisions were needed to start the campaign to control locust hatchings in the
spring to stop the entire state being damaged to a greater degree than already
experienced in north-west Victoria this autumn.
“In government, the Coalition would immediately open a competitive tendering process for
the supply of knockdown and residual insecticide and fund the purchase of that insecticide,
with the 90 to 120-day lead time that is needed to ensure sufficient chemicals could be
manufactured,” Mr Walsh said.
“This process should ensure there is sufficient insecticide to spray up to two million
hectares of public, private and local government-controlled land that will be affected by
spring locust hatchings.”
Mr Walsh said the Coalition would also ensure the availability of enough aircraft to spray
hatchings on both public and private land before locusts started to fly.
“We would also ensure the relevant insecticides had current registration for locust control,”
Mr Walsh said.
“It is deeply concerning that the Brumby Government has failed to outline any course of
action.
“Labor’s refusal to act on locusts is leaving all Victorian food producers and communities
dangerously exposed to an unprecedented spring locust plague.”
Mr Walsh said without immediate action from the government to guarantee the supply of
chemicals, it was highly likely food producers and government departments would face
insecticide shortages.
“New South Wales and South Australia are already preparing for next season but
Victoria’s incompetent Minister for Agriculture Joe Helper has refused to admit the true
extent of the threat from locusts to Victoria’s food security.
“Farmers cannot afford for the Brumby Government to wait until November before it
decides locusts are a problem, because by then it will be too late,” Mr Walsh said.

Cheer on the Doggies for free - Walsh
Two lucky Western Bulldogs supporters will cheer on their team live at the game for free for the remainder of the AFL Season.
Member for Swan Hill, Peter Walsh, said he would put aside his support for rival, Geelong Cats, to give away the memberships, in conjunction with the Western Bulldogs Football Club.
Mr Walsh said it followed a similar competition he ran with the club several years ago.
“The Western Bulldogs prides itself on its strong community involvement and links, and I’m happy to join with them in offering country supporters an opportunity to be a part of their 2010 AFL premiership bid,” he said.
“It can be quite expensive for country supporters to attend footy matches in Melbourne, with the travel, entrance and accommodation costs,” Mr Walsh said.
“These generous memberships are worth $180 each and will make going to the game more affordable for the lucky winners by saving them the cost of an entry ticket when they get there.”
Mr Walsh said the competition was restricted to primary school-aged children in his Swan Hill electorate and entrants should write to him explaining in 25 words or less why they deserved to win a membership with the Doggies.
Entries should also include a name, address and phone number.
Entries close on May 28 and can be sent to Mr Walsh at 274 Campbell Street, Swan Hill or by emailing peter.walsh@parliament.vic.gov.au
Winners will be notified by telephone and Mr Walsh will present the lucky pair with a membership certificate and cap at the conclusion of the draw.