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From Peter Walsh, leader of The Nationals:

VICTORIANS are looking for an iron-clad guarantee we’re on the road to reopen, rebuild and recover. Mixed messages and the Premier’s condescending lack of trust in Victorians has left us without hope that Labor’s roadmap will deliver us the freedoms it promises. As double-dose vaccination rates reach 60 per cent in regional Victoria, we deserve to know 18 months of sacrifice won’t be for nothing. The Nationals’ alternative roadmap delivers certainty and a positive way forward. Under Labor’s roadmap, when regional LGAs do hit higher vaccination thresholds, we’ll still wait weeks to reopen due to lower rates in Melbourne. The Nationals’ alternative roadmap calls for regional Victoria to be unshackled from Melbourne, to allow us to move to the next phase as soon as we reach key milestones. Commonsense changes, like rolling out rapid testing, will build confidence that we’re doing everything we can to keep protecting our health when we do reopen. For regional hospitality, it should include an immediate return to density limits of one person per four square metres, not patron caps, for LGAs that aren’t in lockdown. Our schools and childcare in regional areas that aren’t in lockdown should be able to fully reopen – immediately. And at the 70 per cent milestone, all country community sport should return for fully vaccinated Victorians, with an adequate number of players for competition. What regional Victoria needs is a plan for recovery, not a fake lifting of restrictions that stops us building a post-COVID future. Carbon emissions reductions and trees

From Ray Veal, Stratford:

I DO not deny that climate change is happening, but I do wonder at the way we are going about minimising it. The climate change activists, in my opinion, seem to have blinkers on and cannot focus on a full picture of the problem, or how to tackle the problem. Wood, timber, is about 97 per cent carbon. Trees grow by taking carbon dioxide in through their leaves, storing the carbon, and releasing oxygen into the atmosphere for us, and all other living creatures, to breathe. Trees are most productive at doing this in their mid-life span. By reducing carbon dioxide emissions, we are in point of actual fact slowly starving the trees to death. The logical follow on from this is that we will be starving ourselves of oxygen eventually. An aside to this is the desire to preserve old growth forests. While it is an honourable and nostalgic idea, more often than not they will succumb to termite infestation and eventually fall, but more importantly, at that stage of their life, they produce very little oxygen to sustain other life. As humans we have adopted the “throw away” mentality very well. We waste so much. In the 1980s and 90s there were many bluegum plantations established. They could have absorbed a lot of carbon dioxide and supported the hardwood timber industry. They did not amount to very much for a few reasons, such as little attention to nurturing them and the prolonged drought of the time. So we basically walked away from them in a lot of cases. At the other end of the spectrum, we send all the sewage to Dutson, spend money treating it several times to get it to a safe level, then just pump the majority of it out to sea near Golden Beach. Draft boating strategy ‘city-centric’

From Tim Bull, Gippsland East MLA:

MANY will be unaware the state government has launched a Draft Victorian Recreational Boating Strategy, which was open for community feedback until September 20. This document requires significant local feedback from east Gippslanders, so while this date has passed, it is important people have their say. If I am to paraphrase my concerns, the strategy, which prioritises future government investment in the boating sector, does not adequately reflect its importance to our region. It is city-centric. The perfect example is that the inequity around government funding of boat ramp maintenance isn’t addressed. The background is many metro councils charged boat ramp and car park fees for – by their own admission – maintenance of the launching facilities. The state government, in an effort to shore up its voters in the marginal bayside seats, announced it would fund the councils to remove the fees. They made it free for boaters by subsidising the councils for the fees they charged. Here’s the problem. Councils like Hobsons Bay and Frankston now receive hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay for the maintenance of their boat ramps — they have two each. East Gippsland Shire Council, with 24 ramps, and Wellington, with 18, receive diddly-squat. Fair? The smaller rural councils with a lesser rate base and more facilities receive nothing, while the wealthier inner-city councils with the large rate bases and fewer facilities get major support. The stupidity of this is that the decision on who received what in maintenance funding, was made on which councils previously charged fees – how ridiculous. East Gippsland and Wellington Shire councils, which funded maintenance costs at their 42 ramps to try and keep their regions visitorfriendly, get punished. Here is another example. One of the key points of the document states that the Port Phillip and Western Port catchment, where the largest concentration of boaters lives, should be given significant priority. At a time when congestion is causing massive issues in these locations and government is promoting decentralisation, surely, we should be priority funding first class facilities at alternative locations, like the Gippsland Lakes. A big part of the answer to city ramp congestion is to provide facilities at country locations not currently hemmed in by development. If we upgrade boating facilities at locations out of Melbourne and make it an enjoyable experience, more people will come and make a weekend of it. This takes the pressure off the metro facilities and boosts regional economies. On congestion around Port Phillip and Western Port, the document, which is full of over-arching fluffy statements, simply says government will expand facilities where possible and consider other opportunities. There’s no detail. The major issue here is car parking — there is not enough. Unless you are going to bulldoze homes, or build a multi-storey car park, the reality is you are not going to make much difference at most locations. To be fair, the document does suggest some Gippsland Lakes investment, but not nearly enough. It should be the major focus, along with other rural areas. I could go on with more city centric focus examples, and although space prevents me, you get the picture. Pleasingly, I believe East Gippsland Shire has seen it is being short-changed and is taking up the opportunity to highlight this. The Municipal Association of Victoria, which represents all Victorian councils, also has major issues with the document. I encourage all who have an interest in boating to make a submission. Read the document for yourself and make up your own mind. It is easily found by googling ‘Victorian Recreational Boating Strategy. At a time when we are coming out of drought, fire and COVID, we deserve at least our fair share of government funds (probably more than our fair share), but this document short changes us. It’s another case of Dan thinking the state stops at Pakenham.

WE N EED STAFF

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