Mr WALSH (Murray Plains) (11:50): I rise to speak on the Appropriation (Interim) Bill 2020, the Appropriation (Parliament) (Interim) Bill 2020 and the State Taxation Acts Amendment (Relief Measures) Bill 2020. As our lead speaker, the Shadow Treasurer, the member for Ripon, said, I will speak particularly on the bushfire component of the state taxation bill. It seems…
Our dedicated RSL volunteers can’t get out in the community selling badges and collecting donations this year, but the Murray Plains community can still contribute to the cause through the online ANZAC Day Appeal. Leader of The Nationals and Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh encouraged local people to get behind the online Appeal, which…
Communities in north east Victoria and East Gippsland are questioning slow progress on work to clean up homes destroyed in the summer’s catastrophic bushfires. As of Monday, only 41 of 692 properties decimated in the bushfires have been cleaned up by government-appointed contractor, Grocon. Many families are now fearful their homes will not be cleaned…
Passengers on the Swan Hill and Echuca, and Bendigo lines continue to be plagued by frustrating delays and unreliable train services. Just 78.7 per cent of Bendigo services ran on time in March, while the Swan Hill and Echuca lines were on time 84.8 per cent of the time. All but one of Victoria’s eleven…
The Murray Plains community is encouraged to commemorate our servicemen and women from home this year. All public ANZAC Day services have been cancelled this year as we all continue to do our part to stop the spread of COVID-19, but Leader of The Nationals and Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh urged the community…
Dear Editor, The emergency sitting of the Victorian Parliament is a critical opportunity to give our communities a voice during the unprecedented coronavirus outbreak. With the State of Emergency now in place until May 11, the sitting of Parliament on April 23 is our one chance to pass necessary legislation to keep our communities running.…
The Liberal Nationals are calling for a freeze on farm rates to support farmers struggling with financial pressure caused by both the bushfires and the coronavirus pandemic. In recent years, massive increases to farm rates in some Local Government Areas have pushed up farmers’ rates burden by tens of thousands of dollars. Councils are currently…
Any plans to expand criteria for priority testing for COVID-19 must include Victoria’s agriculture workforce. The Premier told Victorians today that “with such a substantial reduction in the tests we have to do on returned travellers, we have the potential to increase testing in other settings”. Currently, even a suspected case of coronavirus will put…
Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh is calling for the Federal Government’s $1500-a-fortnight JobKeeper payments to be exempt from Victoria’s payroll tax. The unprecedented package from the Federal Government is a boost for the small businesses and workers most hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. But Mr Walsh said without changes to existing Victorian law,…
The Andrews Government must reverse its unexpected decision to close the Victorian Pig Services Centre (VPSC) – the industry’s frontline defence against devastating disease outbreaks. The Victorian Government blindsided our pork producers with the sudden closure of the Bendigo Centre on March 27 – without consultation with producers, the Victorian Farmers Federation or the national…
