Media Releases

By the end of last financial year the Victorian Coalition Government’s fox and wild dog bounty had reduced numbers of the savage pests by almost 80,000.
Agriculture and Food Security Minister Peter Walsh said more than 1,900 Victorian hunters had collected from the bounty in the nine months since it was introduced.
“There has been recent speculation by the Invasive Animals Co-operative Research Centre (CRC) that fox bounties are ineffective in controlling foxes. The fact that almost 80,000 foxes have been removed from Victoria in nine months says otherwise,” Mr Walsh said.
“That is 80,000 foxes and wild dogs that are no longer able to breed or savagely maul lambs and calves, devastating the livestock and farmers who have to deal with the horrific consequences of
an attack.”
Mr Walsh said the fox and wild dog bounty allowed livestock owners who were already making an effort to control numbers of the pest to be compensated for their efforts.
“I do not believe the Invasive Animals CRC understands how much of an impact fox and wild dog bounties have on farmers,” Mr Walsh said.
“No farmer would sit idle if their livestock was being mauled by foxes, however, bounties provide the encouragement that their control efforts are appreciated.
“No-one who has seen the remains of calves and lambs in the paddock would question the merits of a bounty,” Mr Walsh said.
The end of year audit showed a total of 79,277 foxes and 282 wild dogs submitted to the bounty by 30 June.
“The Coalition Government trusts the real-life experiences of farmers and will continue to do so as the bounty continues,” Mr Walsh said.
“The fox and wild dog bounty has been a resounding success and I have no doubt that it has had a serious impact on numbers in Victoria.”

Agriculture and Food Security Minister Peter Walsh today announced the new Murray Valley Citrus Board.
The new Board has been appointed to serve for the next four years, after citrus growers voted to support its continuation in June this year.
“I am pleased to announce John Tesoriero as the new chairperson of the Board. Mr Tesoriero currently works for the Mildura Development Corporation and has history in the water sector,” Mr Walsh said.
“Mr Tesoriero was Chief Executive of the Board for six years and was highly regarded for his
management during that time.
“Other new appointees to the Board include lower Darling citrus producer Geoffrey Rix and producer and consultant Craig Urand.
“I would like to welcome them to the Murray Valley Citrus Board and thank outgoing members Paula Gordon, Peter Morrish and David Salter for their work over the past four-year term.”
The Murray Valley Citrus Board is responsible for planning, funding, facilitation and commercialisation of citrus research and development services.
Continuing members include organic citrus producer and outgoing Murray Valley Citrus Board chair Janet Denham; senior Department of Primary Industries policy analyst Tony Fay; irrigation specialist Jeremy Giddings; agricultural consultant Alison McGregor; citrus grower and Sunraysia Citrus Growers Director Trevor Radloff; and citrus grower and legal consultant Keith Richards.
Mr Walsh said the Board’s services to growers would be funded by a compulsory levy on all citrus producers operating within the Murray Valley region.
“The Murray Valley Citrus Board has been established at the desire of citrus growers to serve the local industry and I encourage all growers to participate in and support their activities over the coming four years,” Mr Walsh said.
Member for Mildura Peter Crisp welcomed Mr Tesoriero and said the Murray Valley Citrus Board played a vital role for Sunraysia growers.
“The Board provides a wide range of regionally-based services to growers, including marketing, citrus research and development, and biosecurity. I am pleased to see it continue for another four years,” Mr Crisp said

The Victorian Coalition Government is calling for expressions of interest and applications for a total of $3.5 million in funding for initiatives to recover and recycle organic, commercial and industrial waste under its Conserve, Invest and Save strategy, Member for Swan Hill, Peter Walsh, said today
“The Coalition Government is reinvesting the landfill levy in better infrastructure and in doing so diverting more commercial, industrial and organic waste away from landfill whilst also reducing Victoria’s emissions,” Mr Walsh said.
“These grants are designed to encourage investment from the private sector, government organisations and non-for-profit organisations which will create new and sustainable employment across Victoria.
Minister for Environment and Climate Change Ryan Smith announced two rounds of funding earlier this year.
Driving Investment for New Recycling (DINR) includes a total of $3m to improve and increase recycling and recovery of commercial and industrial waste including food organics through the provision of grants of between $200,000 and $500,000.
Expressions of interest opened on Monday 30 July and close on Friday 7 September.
Building Victoria’s Organics Recovery Package is a total of $500,000 offering individual grants of up to $100,000 for infrastructure, market development and education programs reducing organics going to regional and rural landfills.
Funding applications for this package opened on 30 July and will close on Wednesday 3 October.
Information sessions on these grants will be held at the All Season Resort Swan Hill on Wednesday 15th August from 2pm.
For further information on Conserve, Invest and Save go to www.sustainability.vic.gov.au

Twenty one sporting clubs from across the Swan Hill electorate have received uniform grants in the latest round of funding from the Victorian Government.
These sporting clubs join 448 other clubs across the State who are sharing in a total of $435,000 of grants under the Sporting Uniform Grants Program funding.
“The funding boost to these clubs will not only benefit existing club players, but hopefully attract new members who are also keen to show their support for their club and look and feel part of the team,” Member for Swan Hill Peter Walsh said today.
“Team uniforms are more than just colours, they represent sporting traditions and community pride.
“The clubs will each receive up to $1000 towards their new uniforms,” Mr Walsh said.
The twenty one clubs from across the electorate to receive funding are –
Rupanyup Football Netball Club
St Arnaud Rifle Club
Boort Hockey Club
Donald Golf Bowls Club
Kerang Golf Club – Bowls
Murrabit Football Club
Nullawil-Culgoa Cricket Club
Nyah District Pony Club
Pioneer Country Harness Club Swan Hill
Swan Hill Calisthetics Club
Swan Hill Soccer League
Tyntynder Football Club
Ultima Football Club
Quambatook Football Club
Pyramid Hill Netball Club
Wandella Football Netball Club
Pyramid Hill Football Netball Club
Quambatook Bowling Club
Wycheproof Bowls Club
Wycheproof Narraport Cricket Club
Wycheproof Narraport Netball Club
The Sporting Uniform Grants Program aims to reduce financial barriers to participation by providing sporting clubs with an opportunity to purchase new uniforms, or a range of related items for club members including team tops, shorts, socks and footwear.
“These grants will assist sporting and recreation clubs to invest in new uniform clothing and footwear and thus attract and make new members feel more at home, helping to increase participation in sport as well as nurture talent,” Mr Walsh said.
“New uniforms can go a long way towards boosting team morale and encouraging healthy and active communities, and that’s why we’re proud to continue to deliver this initiative,” he said.

Dear Sir,
I would like to take this opportunity to extend my congratulations to Melissa Sinnott of Wedderburn.
It has come to my attention that Melissa is the recipient of a Victorian Government Elite Athlete Travel Grant.
Melissa is competing in the Darts Australia Championships in Darwin in October and this grant is designed to support our top athletes enabling them to compete at the highest level.
Grant recipients must be recognised by their State Sporting Association as a representative of Victoria or Australia and to receive such a grant is recognition of the level of competition that the athlete has reached.
This program is giving our local elite athletes the support they need to achieve their dreams of sporting success and I wish Melissa every success when she travels to Darwin to compete later this year.

Member for Swan Hill, Peter Walsh, has welcomed a funding boost for the State’s eighteen Bush Nursing Centres by the Victorian Government.
The Dingee Bush Nursing Centre will share in $1.1 million in grants from Stage One of the Bush Nursing Support Fund, part of a $2.2 million commitment over the next four years into Victoria’s smallest bush nursing services.
“The Bush Nursing Support Fund will address future demand and ensure rural Victorians can access a strong and sustainable, high quality local health service,” Mr Walsh said.
“The grants support small capital works projects such as refurbishments and infrastructure upgrades, as well as the purchase of new medical and IT equipment.”
The Dingee Bush Nursing Centre will receive $18,000 to upgrade and buy new equipment including a vital signs monitor, photocopier and a CPR training mannequin for staff training and development.
“The Victorian Government is committed to securing the future of our highly valued bush nursing services to provide quality health services in smaller communities,” Mr Walsh said.
“These bush nursing centres are a focal point of many of our remote communities delivering vital emergency care and valuable advice to residents in our small rural towns,” he said.

Member for Swan Hill, Peter Walsh, has welcomed a total of $170,000 in funding to assist with the implementation of practical solutions to improve local transport solutions.
Communities in the Loddon, Buloke, Swan Hill and Gannawarra local government areas have received funding for several projects under the Victorian Government’s Transport Connections program.
“The Loddon Shire will join in with other Councils in and around Bendigo to take part in a project that will see the development of interactive tools for a new website which will be used to promote community transport across the region,” Mr Walsh said.
“This project will receive $85,000 to enable interactive tools to be developed to allow users to self-manage bookings and the use of community transport resources.
“This will develop an increase in the awareness of community members of the services available and the access points for community transport across the region,” he said.
“The Buloke, Swan Hill and Gannawarra Councils will join with the Mildura Council in another $85,000 project that will assist parents in providing support for the children as they achieve their 120 hours of driving experience.
“This driver training project will assist in the development of skills and independence for young people and will provide a link to other support services for parents and learners.
“As well, a new mobile phone app will be developed to promote community transport across the region.
“These are practical projects designed to assist the community to develop and implement practical solutions to improve local transport options,” Mr Walsh said.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional and Rural Development Peter Ryan said the Coalition Government’s $4 million Transport Connections Innovation Fund assisted communities to find local solutions to transport disadvantage.
“Under this initiative Victoria’s 34 existing Transport Connections projects are able to apply for funding to support new local initiatives that helped to address transport barriers and improve access to services and facilities,” Mr Ryan said.
“The fund encourages collaboration between communities, business and government to implement community transport solutions and find new ways of using existing resources to improve access to work, learning, health and social opportunities.”

Member for Swan Hill, Peter Walsh, has endorsed the Victorian Government’s anti ‘dooring’ campaign in an effort to reduce the number of bike riders who suffer from serious injury due to the opening of car doors by drivers and passengers.
“Many cyclists end up with serious injury or worse from collisions with car doors being opened in front of them or in their attempts to avoid these sudden obstacles,” Mr Walsh said today.
“All drivers and passengers need to be aware of the possibility of cyclists riding past their stationary vehicle.
“It is a simple matter of checking for bikes before you open your door,” he said.
A campaign to alert car users of the dangers of ‘dooring’ includes the use of free sticker packs which contain the simple message ‘look for bikes’.
These stickers are available from VicRoads or online from www.vic.gov.au.
“The message is very simple,” Mr Walsh said. “Look for bike riders before opening the car door.”
“We can all play a part in reducing road trauma and this is a very easy but basic rule we can all adopt as road users.”

Agriculture and Food Security Minister Peter Walsh today announced the appointment of four new members to the board of meat and seafood safety regulator PrimeSafe.
Dr Caroline Barrett, Zoe Attwood, Gary Hardwick and Leonard Vallance are new appointments to the PrimeSafe board, while Dr John Carnie, Tim Mirabella, Frank Russo, Chris Turner and Frank Whitford have been reappointed.
“Under the ongoing chairmanship of Bill Bray, PrimeSafe plays a vital role in helping to maintain the world class reputation of Victoria’s red meat, poultry and seafood sectors,” Mr Walsh said.
“Each of the board members has diverse and impressive industry, health and governance experience, making them an excellent choice to lead PrimeSafe into the future.”
Dr Caroline Barrett is a veterinarian and veterinary pathologist currently working at a senior consultant level at Gribbles Pathology (Healthscope) Laboratories. She has a wide range of international experience in the scientific, laboratory, and animal healthcare fields.
Zoe Attwood is a current Dairy Food Safety Victoria board member with a strong background in research, science, biotechnology, engineering and commercialisation.
Gary Hardwick is the founder of Hardwicks Meat Works Pty Ltd and currently chairman of the Australian Meat Processor Corporation (AMPC) of Australia.
He is also current chairman of the National Meat Processors Council and a member of the Australian Processor Council.
Mr Leonard Vallance runs a 9,000 hectare beef and grain property in the central Mallee, is an executive member of the Cattle Council of Australia and a strong force in the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) Livestock Group. He is also the current chair of the Cattle Council’s R&D Beef Taskforce which helps to prioritise research and development programs with Meat and Livestock Australia.
Mr Walsh thanked departing board members Ailsa Fox, Jillian Francis, Frank Herd and Paul Conway for their invaluable contribution to PrimeSafe and their commitment to the red meat, poultry and seafood industries.
PrimeSafe is a statutory authority operating under the Meat Industry Act 1993 and Seafood Safety Act 2003 to regulate the safety of meat, poultry and seafood across Victoria.

Almost 90 young farmers have received a helping hand from the Victorian Coalition Government’s program to cut stamp duty for young farmers buying their first property.
Treasurer Kim Wells said today that the Coalition Government would review the program to make sure it was achieving its policy objectives after receiving the first year results.
“To date 89 young farmers have benefited from a total of $849,000 in reduced stamp duty,” Mr Wells said.
“We are now delivering on our commitment to review the program to see whether it is appropriate for us to broaden the eligibility criteria in some way.
“The review will be led by the Department of Treasury and Finance in consultation with relevant agricultural groups, including the Victorian Farmers Federation.”
Mr Wells said the Coalition Government was providing unprecedented support to young farmers, doubling the original election commitment from $6 million to $12 million over four years in last year’s Budget.
“We want to support young food and fibre producers in the way that best helps them get a start in the industry,” Mr Wells said.
Agriculture & Food Security Minister Peter Walsh said the Coalition Government was providing extensive support to the state’s young farmers because it understood the huge contribution agriculture makes to Victoria.
“If we are going to double the state’s food and fibre production by 2030, we need more young people to take up a career in agriculture,” Mr Walsh said.
“The Coalition Government is delivering practical assistance to young people by reducing the stamp duty they need to pay when purchasing their first block of land.
“We are also driving research and development with a $61 million strategy to increase the productivity and profitability of the state’s food and fibre producers.
“The Coalition Government is making responsible investments in tough times because we understand that the state’s food and fibre producers play a vital role in the growth of Victoria’s economy,” Mr Walsh said.