A parliamentary inquiry has uncovered allegations the Allan Labor Government held over millions in local council grants to prop up its own balance sheet. One large regional council told the Inquiry into Local Government Funding and Services it was left with a $14 million “hole” because the state government did not follow usual convention…
DetailsDear Editor, Mergers are mergers, no matter how they’re framed. The Nationals have launched a petition https://www.handsoffourhospitals.com.au/ and we urge you to support it. Regional health services are in crisis, with 22 out of 23 operating in deficit. Elective surgeries are being cut, and ambulance services are failing to meet critical…
DetailsToday in Question Time, Premier Jacinta Allan made the extraordinary claim that the suburban rail loop would benefit “all Victorians.” Reality is, this is a $216 billion niche project that swings from Cheltenham to Box Hill in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs with no positive impact on regional Victoria. Even worse, it is draining money away…
DetailsThe Nationals leader and Member for Murray Plains, Peter Walsh, says the Allan Labor government is so determined to squeeze blood out of every unturned stone to offset its financial incompetence it is now punishing local shires for running vital healthcare programs. But Mr Walsh says its latest penny-pinching cash grab – to charge…
DetailsThe Allan Labor Government’s “Free Kinder’” program is far from free. Ratepayers are helping to foot the bill, according to key Local Government leaders. A Parliamentary Inquiry into Local Government funding and services has revealed many regional councils are facing substantial financial and logistical challenges in delivering these so-called “free” services. Warrnambool…
DetailsThe Allan Labor Government is marching ahead with mergers of regional health services, regardless of its spin and rhetoric. A report today revealed regional health will be consolidated into five “local health service networks” – Barwon South West, Grampians, Loddon Mallee, Hume and Gippsland. Premier Allan has claimed here will be no “forced”…
DetailsA regional council has revealed it is being asked to pay what amounts to an “immunisation tax” by the Allan Labor Government. In an alarming example of cost-shifting, Corangamite Shire Council said it was now being charged a $6000 fixed cost, and then $2 to record each immunisation administered. Corangamite Shire CEO David…
DetailsThe Nationals leader and Member for Murray Plains, Peter Walsh, says the NSW government has finally done what he has been demanding for more than a year – it has publicly, and in writing, confirmed the Swan Hill bridge replacement is an official goer. Mr Walsh says Transport NSW, which will be the lead…
DetailsEmergency department wait times have spiked across regional Victoria, highlighting the dire state of our buckling health system. The latest data from the Victorian Agency for Health Information paints a frightening picture, with troubling trends emerging in Ballarat, Warrnambool and the Latrobe Valley. Among the damning wait time statistics for emergency departments is…
DetailsThe Nationals leader and Member for Murray Plains, Peter Walsh, says the full reality of the failure of the Allan Labor government’s ridiculous reliance on its renewable energy fantasy is coming home to roost where it hurts most – in people’s hip pockets. Mr Walsh says the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has put…
DetailsThe Nationals leader and Member for Murray Plains, Peter Walsh, has condemned the Victorian justice system for dismissing a police-supported victim-of-crime compensation claim. Mr Walsh says the tenants in the rental property of a Swan Hill constituent of his were “attacked by two knife-wielding thugs” in an aggravated home invasion. He says they…
DetailsThe Nationals leader and Member for Murray Plains, Peter Walsh, says local football and netball clubs across regional Victoria can now apply for a share of $600,000 to improve their club as part of an annual road safety rewards grants program. Mr Walsh says the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) has kicked off this year’s…
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