Minister Foley Announcements

I was pleased to join Minister for Housing Martin Foley in Shepparton last week for three special announcements.

First was the official opening of the city’s Youth Foyer.  This is a particularly special place, which will be an asset to the young community, as they strive to finish their education. 

The Minister and I also stopped at Rural Housing, where met with a victim of domestic violence.  She discussed the importance to her of stable housing when attempting to leave a violent relationship.  Meanwhile, six properties for Shepparton have been funded under the Rapid Housing Program, as part of the Royal Commission into Family Violence.

We were greeted by plenty of smiling happy faces, as we saw the youngest of Shepparton’s Black Eagles basketball team in action.  The club, along with the Greater Shepparton City Council, and Moira Shire have received Ice Action grants to deliver workshops, forums, local campaigns, training and engagement with young people.

GV Health update

I have now met with both the Chief Psychiatrist and the Chief Medical Officer regarding the respective inquiries into the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, and Goulburn Valley Health.

Both acknowledged the concerns which have been raised, and I am pleased with the immediate government response after I raised it in Parliament on August 30.

Action has already been taken at the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service to ensure there is adequate staffing, and that all staff are aware of patient and community concerns.

Meanwhile, I had a productive discussion with the Chief Medical Officer regarding a number the issues raised with me by constituents about many aspects of the operations at Goulburn Valley Health.

Basin Plan study tabled

The draft socio economic study into the impact of the Murray Darling Basin Plan has been tabled at the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District Leadership Forum this week.

It’s a strong document which will help in a campaign for fairer water policy.

The draft will be launched at the group’s second Water Summit in coming weeks.

SPC site visit  

I was fortunate to have been invited to tour Shepparton’s SPC factory this week, particularly to have a look at its latest tomato processing line, launched earlier this year.

This was the result of a $100million investment from its parent company Coca Cola Amatil, and the State Government.

Looking back on where the company was at that point, it’s a great reminder on the importance of buying locally made produce.

We do make the cleanest, greenest product in Australia.  We should be proud of that, and look for our Goulburn Valley products on the shelves.

Dairy business assistance

Workshops and small business mentoring sessions are being made available in Strathmerton next week for those affected by the dairy crisis.

Hosted by Small Business Victoria, and Regional Development Victoria, together with local Councils, the free initiative aims to provide support for businesses in our dairy communities.

There are two options:

• A two hour Small Business Resilience Workshop, focussed on creating business resilience, and looks at how to conduct a financial health check.
• An Individual Small Business Mentoring session, which gives access to individual and confidential mentoring from an experienced mentor in a private session, following the workshops.

For further information, visit www.business.vic.gov.au

CFA dispute continues

I am arranging to meet with the new Minister for Emergency Services Minister, to go over the finer details of the latest version of the Enterprise Bargaining Agreement, and raise the concerns relayed to me by my constituents.

I remain supportive of our dedicated CFA volunteers, and I’m sad some have come out stating they are looking for options to stand alone as an independent organisation, as a result of this bitter dispute.

It’s another example of why this dispute must be brought to an end, now.

Queen’s Birthday honours

I congratulate all those who received Queen’s Birthday honours this week, particularly those in the Shepparton district.

The posthumous honour for former deputy mayor, Alan Sutherland was well deserved for his tireless efforts in the community, while Azem Elmaz is a familiar face for his tremendous effort in operating the People Supporting People soup kitchen.  There are very few people like Azem, who will also close their own business, to feed emergency service volunteers in times of crisis.

I also commend Mark Rumble, for his remarkable efforts both locally and overseas, where he set up a state-of-the-art hospital in Kenya, and Ross Wilkinson who received an Emergency Services Medal after 20 years of service to the vital Shepparton Search and Rescue Squad.

Dairy Industry Crisis

Since the current price adjustments were announced by Murray Goulburn and Fonterra in early May I have had numerous briefings and discussions with various stakeholders.  Our local dairy farmers and associated industries have been delivered some very shocking news and the ramifications continue to unfold.  I have spoken to farmers, Murray Goulburn, Agri-business branches, G M Water, Murray Diary, VFF, UDV and Rural Financial Counselling Service, along with other affected individuals and organisations. At this stage it is impossible to quantify the impact on our farmers and our region but we know without a doubt there will be life changing decisions being made by some business and families in our district.

I urge all community members to be conscious and mindful of the challenges being faced and offer support to friends and family where possible. Our district was built on a love and respect of the land, farming and our rural industries and we must continue to work together to ensure we pull through the very difficult times ahead. One of the biggest challenges we face is recognising when we or our neighbours aren’t coping and inevitably will require assistance from professionals, government agencies and others. I encourage farmers to seek assistance and remain engaged in open and constructive discussions with friends, family business associates and government through this challenging period.

Celebrating Volunteers        

Last week I had the pleasure of presenting three Awards to Vision Australia volunteers in Shepparton, during volunteer week.  Maria Presti, Geraldine Humphrey and Teresa Manno have all contributed 20 years of service volunteering with Vision Australia Shepparton. It is astonishing to consider the aggregated amount of time, knowledge and skills that are provided to community organisations annually. I congratulate all award recipients during volunteer week in the District of Shepparton who received acknowledgement. I also wish to make mention of the unsung volunteers in our region that continue to selflessly give back to our community. It is the enthusiasm and service of these individuals that makes our district a wonderful place to live.

 

Minister Allan visit     

The budget announcement of an extra train service to Shepparton and improvements to our Railway Station and bus shelters was welcomed news. The Minister for Public Transport, Jacinta Allan visited Shepparton last week to discuss the planned improvements that were announced in the Victorian Budget 2016/17. While this announcement is a positive step forward, there is still much work to do in improving the quality and frequency of the rail services to our region and I will keep advocating strongly for more and better services.

120 hours x 200 = a great effort

Roads Minister Luke Donnellan was in town this week to recognise the fantastic achievement of the Berry Street program L2P in Northern Victoria to celebrate its 200^th licenced driver. I feel proud to represent a community that values its young people by fundraising and volunteering all these hours to drive with learner drivers under 21 years of age so they reach their 120 hours of mandatory training, which through personal circumstances they might not otherwise be able to do. A big “well done” to all involved.

Education explored

The inequity in the educational outcomes for rural and regional students when compared with the results achieved by those who live in metropolitan Melbourne needs to be addressed. We all understand a good education starts at home with great parental support, but not all children are lucky enough to have that. In Parliament I called on Education Minister James Merlino for a commitment to fund two of the excellent projects that our local educators have developed: the Better Together Alliance and the Neighbourhood Schools Project . I was heartened by Minister Merlino’s response and will meet him soon to discuss the projects’ needs.

Rail  Strain

I continue to hammer home the state of Shepparton rail services. Recently the All Aboard Campaign committee met at my office to talk tactics while in Parliament  I asked the Transport Minister whether Public Transport Victoria can research registered Myki cards to analyse where people travel from to board the train at Seymour. I think this would be a very useful bit of information in our All Aboard campaign where we’re lobbying for better and faster services between Shepparton and Melbourne. There is plenty of anecdotal evidence from constituents to suggest many people drive from Shepparton and towns far beyond including Nathalia, Barmah, Numurkah, Strathmerton and Cobram to Seymour to access a more regular train service to Melbourne. I often do this myself.  I would be interested to hear your experiences!

Budget waiting game

The Victorian State Budget will be handed down by Treasurer Tim Pallas on April 27, less than three weeks away.  Minister Pallas toured Goulburn Valley Health’s Shepparton campus with me on his recent visit and gave the impression he will give serious consideration to my budget “wish list”, headed by the much-needed first stage of the GV Health redevelopment. Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo have enjoyed the benefits of the big-ticket budget items that Shepparton District has missed out on. It’s our turn.