Daniel Andrews’ city-centric shutdowns are unfairly costing jobs in regional Victoria. Victorian food service businesses had planned to reopen to 50 people on Monday under a planned easing of coronavirus restrictions. Leader of The Nationals and Shadow Minister for Regional Victoria and Decentralisation Peter Walsh said the Andrews Labor Government had blindsided country businesses with…
DetailsTHE numbers don’t lie and right now Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh said the numbers don’t add up. And he said ongoing indecision around the numbers is putting local schoolchildren at risk. Mr Walsh stood up in Parliament this week in an urgent bid to save the Echuca East Primary School pedestrian crossing. “According…
DetailsAgriculture Minister Jaclyn Symes has again refused to fight for jobs in Victoria’s timber communities – including those in her own electorate of Northern Victoria. Federal Labor has slammed the Andrews Government’s plan to ban Victoria’s native timber industry by 2030, with Senator Raff Ciccone telling Parliament this week: “Every single one of these jobs…
DetailsThe Andrews Labor Government’s decision not to renew the Wild Dog Management Advisory Committee decimates years of hard work to protect livestock against vicious wild dog attacks. The Committee was recently notified it will be disbanded when the current term ends in June 2020. Agriculture Minister Jaclyn Symes says she will instead be seeking ‘bespoke…
DetailsThe Andrews Labor Government must release the revised business case for the Murray Basin Rail Project. The once-in-a-generation opportunity to standardise north-west Victoria’s freight rail network stalled in 2018 after poor management by Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan left the project out-of-money. New reports indicate the Andrews Government has finally submitted a revised business case…
DetailsDear Editor, After dealing with the impact of catastrophic bushfires, years of drought and now the pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic our farmers need some certainty. 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. With many councils now…
DetailsThe Liberal Nationals are calling on the Andrews Government to allow people living in communities with no active COVID-19 cases to be allowed to return to work. This week in Parliament, the Leader of the Nationals, Peter Walsh, asked the Premier why were people living in regional Victoria being prevented from going back to work,…
DetailsVictorian farmers had a small win today with the Andrews Labor Government finally agreeing to take the first steps to fix farm trespass laws. The commitment comes in response to the final report of the Inquiry into the Impact of Animal Rights Activism on Victorian Agriculture, which was established by the Liberal Nationals to better…
DetailsAN 86-year-old Swan Hill woman, who singlehandedly raised a petition with almost 700 signatures for a Stradbroke Avenue bus shelter, is still waiting after months of stalling by Public Transport Victoria according to the Member for Murray Plains, Peter Walsh. He said Margaret Cooper has done an outstanding job; first with the petition and then…
DetailsTHE people of Murray Plains have been refused access to the Andrews Labor Government’s rebate scheme for solar power batteries. The government scheme is based on postcodes; but not one of the 28 postcodes across the region is on the list Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh said. A decision Mr Walsh said simply added…
DetailsWinding back of COVID-19 restrictions in Victoria must be common sense. Daniel Andrews’s blanket ban on all Victorians going back to the workplace unfairly disadvantages regional communities, particularly those that have never recorded a positive case of COVID-19. Today in State Parliament, the Premier refused to consider excluding country people from the work from home…
DetailsAgriculture Minister Jaclyn Symes must explain why funds intended to provide direct employment in the agriculture sector will instead be used to prop up new jobs at Victoria’s Catchment Management Authorities (CMAs). The Andrews Government announced today that part of the $50 million Agriculture Workforce Plan will go to “job creation projects” at five of…
DetailsChina’s 80 per cent tariff on Australian barley shows Victoria’s Belt and Road deal with China hasn’t delivered for our farmers. Agriculture Minister Jaclyn Symes was asked today in Victorian Parliament to explain why the Andrews Government is pushing ahead with its Belt and Road deal with China – despite the Chinese Government’s punitive tariff…
DetailsA Michael O’Brien-led Liberal Nationals Government will withdraw Victoria from Labor’s lop-sided and secretive Belt and Road deal with the Chinese Government. This is not a decision that has been taken lightly. But it is the right decision for Victoria. The Belt and Road deal is not in Victoria’s interests. It doesn’t support our sovereignty,…
DetailsMember for Murray Plains Peter Walsh is urging local sports clubs and associations to apply for COVID-19 survival grants to help with operational costs. The Community Sport Sector Short-term Survival Package is available to assist community sporting clubs and associations. “The suspension of community sporting competitions due to the coronavirus has left a hole in…
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