Sheed questions lack of rail waiting room construction

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Independent Member for Shepparton District Suzanna Sheed has questioned why construction planned for a new waiting area at the Shepparton Railway Station is yet to materialise nine months after the promised completion date.

Last year the Victorian State Government and VicTrack undertook to complete the enclosed waiting area by November, 2018.

The Member for Shepparton asked the Public Transport Minister Melissa Horne to investigate why the upgrade was yet to occur.

“Where is the Shepparton Railway Station waiting-area upgrade?” Ms Sheed asked from the floor of the Victorian Parliament on Thursday.

“The project was meant to deliver a sealed waiting area to protect commuters from the elements and realign the ticketing window to make for easier access. Over twelve months later and the waiting room is yet to materialise.

“My constituents would like to know why,” she said.

These works are a small part of what will be a major upgrade resulting from an injection of $43 million in the 17/18 Victorian State Budget and $313 million in the 18/19 Victorian State Budget to greatly improve rail services for the Shepparton District.

“I and many others want to see the roll-out of all these projects and to see them completed as part of our campaign for better rail services in the Shepparton region,” Ms Sheed said.

ENDS

Media contact

Myles Peterson 0467 035 840│myles.peterson@parliament.vic.gov.au

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Sheed calls out fraud in the Murray Darling Basin Plan

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From the floor of the Victorian Parliament Independent Member for Shepparton District Suzanna Sheed yesterday targeted mismanagement and fraudulent behaviour in the Northern Murray Darling Basin.

During a question to Victorian Water Minister Lisa Neville, Ms Sheed strongly criticised the Murray Darling Basin Plan.

“Minister, the ongoing rollout of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan is a cause for great concern throughout the southern basin, and there is little confidence that there will be integrity in its ongoing management,” Ms Sheed said.

“Given the litany of mismanagement, questionable water purchases and fraudulent behaviour, particularly in the northern basin. More recently allegations of tampering have occurred in relation to evidence about South Australia’s scientific reports into the Coorong lakes.”

Noting an agreement made by COAG water ministers last November, Ms Sheed called on the Minister to ensure no further water would be removed from the Goulburn-Murray Water District under the agreed “socio-economic test.”

“What steps will the Victorian Government take to ensure that the socio-economic test will be applied fairly and that no further water will be removed from the consumptive pool as part of all these projects?” Ms Sheed said.

Minister Neville responded that her government was committed to applying the strict socio-economic test agreed to last November to prevent further loss of water from the GMID consumptive pool.

“It is my view that no more water will come from the consumptive or productive pool – it has to come from water savings, otherwise we risk the future of the GMID (Goulburn-Murray Irrigation District) and other productive areas,” Minister Neville said

Ms Sheed also questioned the Minister about the appointment of a new Inspector-General tasked with overseeing the entire basin plan.

“What confidence do you have in the role of Inspector-General building community confidence in water management and compliance across the whole Basin and what are your expectations of him from a Victorian government perspective?” Ms Sheed said.

The Minister replied the Andrews Government supported the appointment of an inspector-general to oversee the Murray Darling Basin Plan and in particular the northern basin.

“The member is right to say that there have been significant issues in terms of transparency and accountability, particularly in the Northern Basin. There is no question about that. We had a long conversation about that at the last ministerial council in relation to the appointment of the Inspector-General,” Minister Neville said.

“In supporting the Inspector-General appointment, this was about making sure we did have somebody who looked at the systemic issues and was able to report back to states and to the ministerial council to show where there are any systemic issues around water misuse.”

ENDS

Media contact

Myles Peterson 0467 035 840│myles.peterson@parliament.vic.gov.au

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Sheed welcomes expanded school meal program

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Independent Member for Shepparton District Suzanna Sheed has welcomed last week’s announcement that eleven more schools in Greater Shepparton will be joining the School Breakfast Club program.

“This is a very good initiative. The evidence clearly shows that hungry children find it difficult to study, learn at a slower rate and are prone to be disruptive in class. Feeding children at school is a wonderful initiative particularly given that there are circumstances where children, for many and varied reasons, may miss out on breakfast before arriving at school,” Ms Sheed said.

The program will be expanded to include many public secondary campuses in 2020 on top of the 17 primary schools already involved in the initiative.

At a cost of $58 million, the program will also be expanded to include lunches and school holiday meals for students in need.

Greater Shepparton already possesses a community driven program that provides nutritious food for students at Mooroopna Park Primary School.

“I have little doubt that the introduction of school lunches over time will also be welcomed. In our own community Mooroopna Park Primary School has already introduced this initiative in conjunction with Food Share and the Greater Shepparton Lighthouse Project,” Ms Sheed said.

“The food is being provided by food share and the school has a chef coming in to cook a healthy lunch for all children. Teachers are reporting better concentration and outcomes as a result of this program”.

List of schools in Greater Shepparton currently part of the School Breakfast Club program:

 

  • Ardmona Primary School
  • Bourchier Street Primary School Shepparton
  • Dookie Primary School
  • Gowrie Street Primary School Shepparton
  • Katunga Primary School
  • Katunga South Primary School
  • Lemnos Primary School
  • Mooroopna Park Primary School
  • Mooroopna Primary School
  • Nathalia Primary School
  • Numurkah Primary School
  • St Georges Road Primary School Shepparton
  • Strathmerton Primary School
  • Verney Road School
  • Waaia Yalca South Primary School
  • Wilmot Road Primary School Shepparton
  • Wunghnu Primary School

 

Schools in Greater Shepparton that are in the next tranche of schools to join in 2020:

 

  • Congupna Primary School
  • Guthrie Street Primary School Shepparton
  • Katandra West Primary School
  • McGuire College
  • Mooroopna North Primary School
  • Mooroopna Secondary College
  • Nathalia Secondary College
  • Numurkah Secondary College
  • Orrvale Primary School
  • Shepparton East Primary School
  • Shepparton High School
  • Tatura Primary School
  • Wanganui Park Secondary College

ENDS

Media contact

Myles Peterson 0467 035 840│myles.peterson@parliament.vic.gov.au

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Sheed welcomes Goulburn River transfer limits

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Independent Member for Shepparton District Suzanna Sheed welcomed this week’s announcement from Minister for Water Lisa Neville seeking to protect Victorian waterways by limiting high river flows resulting from inter valley transfers.

“Community members have contacted me on many occasions about this issue. They have sent videos of riverbank damage captured from boats on the river. This evidence clearly showed the significant damage caused by slumping banks, large trees falling into the river and the failure of riverbank reeds and grasses to grow,” Ms Sheed said.

While it is widely acknowledged that this damage has been occurring for some time, both on the Goulburn River and in the Barmah Choke, Minister Neville is to be commended for her recent visit to see the damage for herself ahead of yesterday’s announcement, according to Ms Sheed.

“The key actions that the government announced yesterday are welcome, as was Minister Neville’s earlier announcement to call in further applications for water licenses below the choke while the issue of deliverability is being investigated”, she said.

The Victorian Government announced changes to tagged accounts to make sure that the same rules apply to all water users. This comes on the back of high volumes of tagged water moving from the Goulburn to the Murray outside the limits of the inter valley transfer trade rules.

Following an initial review of the current trading rules it was found that they were not protecting the environment of the lower Goulburn River and that they did not provide a level playing field for all water users to trade water.

“Deliverability is becoming a critical issue and I am pleased by the fact that both Victoria and New South Wales agreed at the recent Ministerial Council meeting of Water Ministers that they will go it alone to investigate this issue more broadly,” Ms Sheed said.

ENDS

Media contact

Myles Peterson 0467 035 840│myles.peterson@parliament.vic.gov.au

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Sheed disappointed by Andrews Government solar farm approvals

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Independent Member for Shepparton District Suzanna Sheed says many in her community are devastated by today’s approval by Planning Minister Richard Wynne of three solar farms at Lemnos, Tatura East and Tallygaroopna.

“Few would argue against the merits of new solar farms, but these farms are in the wrong place, located as all three are, on the irrigation back-bone and prime agricultural land. I am very disappointed by this announcement,” Ms Sheed said.

The approvals run counter to draft guidelines released last month that stipulate irrigation and agricultural suitability must be taken into account when deciding whether to approve new solar farms.

“It’s a big state – we have a lot of land far more suitable to the establishment of these kind of projects, land that has not been improved in terms of irrigation infrastructure at considerable expense and land that is not highly suitable for agriculture.”

Conceding there are some benefits to the approvals, Ms Sheed said she hoped in future the Andrews Government would stick to its own rules and expected the City of Greater Shepparton to do the same.

“600 new jobs is a silver lining on this cloud, as is the prospect of 175 megawatts of sustainable energy being fed into the grid, but surely this result could have been achieved in a different location in our region,” Ms Sheed said.

“I call on the Andrews Government to ratify the guidelines immediately so there is certainty going forward for farmers, energy providers and planners in where future solar farms will be approved.”

ENDS

Media contact

Myles Peterson 0467 035 840│myles.peterson@parliament.vic.gov.au

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Sheed calls for release of Shepparton Bypass Business Case

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Independent Member for Shepparton District Suzanna Sheed has again called for the release of the Shepparton Bypass Business Case from the floor of the Victorian Parliament.

Speaking to the Andrews Government’s 2019-20 Budget Papers, Ms Sheed noted a lack of funding for this important project due to a delay in the release of the Business Case.

“The budget was unable to address the long-awaited Shepparton bypass, because we are yet to see the Business Case which has been in development now for two years,” Ms Sheed said.

“The Federal Government committed $208 million to this project prior to the federal election in May, and last week the Federal Member for Nicholls recommitted these funds.

“The pivotal part of the bypass is to get a connection from the Midland Highway at Mooroopna, a second river crossing and one that joins the Goulburn Valley Highway again as it travels north. One of the main reasons for this is that in our City of Greater Shepparton and also in Mooroopna we have a situation where we have B-doubles, huge trucks, thundering down our main streets as they travel east–west and north–south.”

During her budget reply speech, Ms Sheed noted the hundreds of millions of dollars rolled out for the Electoral district of Shepparton by the Andrews Government in its first term across the key areas of health, education and transport infrastructure including $170 million for stage one of the redevelopment of Goulburn Valley Health, $21 million for the Shepparton Education Plan and $356 million for Shepparton rail.

This year’s budget also contained $1.8 million to remove asbestos from Nathalia Secondary College, a share of $5 million to create a regional basketball hub and $7 million towards the new fish hatchery.

A further $2 million was allocated to begin planning for the GV Health Stage Two development.

Ms Sheed is also calling on the government to fund the remaining $100 million needed to develop the Shepparton High School site to deliver the Shepparton Education Plan in full.

“Without this money on the table, some members of community are expressing concerns over a lack of certainty that the Shepparton Education Plan will be fully funded.”

ENDS

Media contact

Myles Peterson 0467 035 840│myles.peterson@parliament.vic.gov.au

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Sheed calls for Inspector-General’s power to be enacted immediately

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Independent Member for Shepparton Suzanna Sheed has welcomed the announcement of the Federal Government’s intention to create the role of Inspector-General to oversee the Murray Darling Basin Authority

However, Ms Sheed questioned why the role will not hold any legislated powers until 2020.

“Recognition of the need to create such a role demonstrates that critics of the Murray Darling Basin Plan have been justified in our advocacy," Ms Sheed said.

"Our farmers and the environment are suffering now. Dairy farmers in the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District are losing their farms now. The Goulburn River and Barmah Choke are being damaged now.

"Next year is a year too late. At the very least, we need a tough cop on the beat to investigate and enforce the rules when it has become obvious that many, especially in the Northern Basin, have been at the very least flouting the rules and at the worst potentially engaging in fraudulent conduct as seen through recent prosecutions,” Ms Sheed said.

“I call on the Federal Water Minister David Littleproud and his state counterparts to move quickly and legislate the powers required by the position of Inspector General so that he can hit the ground running.

“With expressions of interest now out for the recovery of the 450 GL of up water through efficiency measures it is more important than ever that there is oversight of this process to ensure that the recovery only occur where there are no negative socio-economic impacts."

The new position will see former AFP Commissioner and Northern Basin Inspector-General Michael Keelty AO APM appointed to the role following the unanimous agreement of state and territory ministers at the recent meeting of water ministers.

"We will be inviting Mr Keelty to visit our region at the earliest opportunity so he can see for himself the negative impact the Plan is having on our farms, our rivers and our community. I am hopeful that his previous roles have equipped him to take a clear and tough approach across the whole of the basin and to ensure that no more water is removed by stealth."

ENDS

Media contact

Myles Peterson 0467 035 840│myles.peterson@parliament.vic.gov.au

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Shepparton District Homelessness Inquiry: Update

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My office is undertaking research into the causes and potential state government policy solutions to address homeless in our region.

Many of us are familiar with media reporting that the Electoral District of Shepparton experiences some of the worst instances of homelessness in regional Victoria and that the problem is worsening.
In November 2019, I commissioned research into homelessness in our region to develop policies to advocate to the Victorian Government.
The research has focused on examining differing datasets and holding interviews with local stakeholders in the not-for-profit, private and local government sectors.
These are two areas we have been examining closely and I hope to have these and a number of other policies ready to advocate to the Victorian Government in the near future.

Homelessness – Housing First principle

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‘Housing first’ principle – based on the idea first put forward by New York community psychologist Sam Tsemberis in 1992, that providing permanent, unconditional housing should be the first priority in addressing homelessness, rather than more common ‘staircase’ or ‘treatment-led’ approaches in which individuals must graduate through stages of treatment or rehabilitation before earning permanent housing. According to the Housing First principle, issues that contribute to homelessness (such as unemployment, addiction, mental health issues etc.) can be more fully and meaningfully addressed once permanent housing is provided. This shifts the aim from temporarily managing homelessness, to instead attempting to end it altogether.

The Housing First philosophy is underpinned by eight core principles: housing is a human right; choice and control for service users; separation of housing and treatment; recovery orientation; harm reduction; active engagement without coercion; person-centred planning; flexible support for as long as is required.

  • Finland is the only European country where homelessness has decreased in recent years, and rough sleeping has been eradicated altogether
  • Housing First policy was adopted at a national level in 2007, with the focus on long term homelessness
  • By 2015 long term homelessness had declined by 35%, and more than 1,500 homes and packages were created
  • This is in contrast with most other European countries, in which homelessness had increased over the same period
  • In 2016, the focus was shifted to prevention of homelessness
  • The success of Finland’s Housing First model is attributed to its adoption at a national level into mainstream policy, which then allowed its strategic implementation at a number of levels, through the cooperation of state, and municipal governing bodies, as well as NGOs and other service providers.
  • A practical reason for the strategy’s success was the investment in social housing, with the focus placed away from expensive emergency and temporary housing, and instead on more permanent solutions. This meant hostels and shelters that were previously used for emergency housing were converted to independent apartments with onsite staff; apartments were bought from the private market and new facilities for supported housing were built.
  • While there have been some pilot projects in Australia, such as Mission Australia’s Common Ground in Sydney, there has not been the same level of unified, national approach as that of Finland.

Some other important/interesting resources:

Sheed welcomes education forum opportunity

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Independent Member for Shepparton District Suzanna Sheed says she is looking forward to the opportunity to listen to the concerns of parents and carers regarding the Shepparton Education Plan at a community-lead forum tomorrow night.

“I am hoping the forum will be an opportunity to hold a productive discussion between concerned parents and carers, the Department of Education, the new school’s leadership team and local political leaders,” Ms Sheed said.

“Any change of this magnitude will generate understandable worry in the community and this forum will be another opportunity to hear concerns and the Department of Education’s proposed solutions.”

The Shepparton Education Plan is designed to deliver transformational educational change to the Greater Shepparton region and provide pathways into productive jobs and careers for all public education students.

“We all agree we cannot accept the status quo. The public education needs of Greater Shepparton’s children must be addressed and ensure that all young people have equal access to the opportunities that a good and diverse education brings. Our public secondary schools are some of the lowest performing in the state and parents have been voting with their feet with total enrolment numbers declining year on year,” Ms Sheed said.

“I fought hard to get change and the Minister and the Department have responded with this transformational model. There will be challenges going forward but I am confident that the Greater Shepparton community can meet these challenges. We have done so before and this investment in our young people’s education will provide equality of access for all our public school students. It will deliver cutting-edge teaching and facilities – the most modern in regional Victoria.

“The Department of Education has considerable experience in building new schools, with over 100 to be built over the next ten years and 40 to be constructed over the next four years. Growing population and changes in how education is delivered to our young people to prepare them for the future is a reality that we cannot ignore.

“Once built, Greater Shepparton’s children will have access to a state-of-the-art campus. But they will not have to wait to begin their new education journey. It starts next year, delivering more opportunities than are currently available and providing equality of access for the region’s public system students.  I believe it is important that we grasp this opportunity for investment in our children’s future. Previous efforts to achieve such change were unsuccessful and we must not let this opportunity slip by.”

ENDS

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Myles Peterson 0467 035 840│myles.peterson@parliament.vic.gov.au

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5 Vaughan Street, Shepparton
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Get in touch with Suzanna

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5 Vaughan Street, Shepparton
T 03 5831 6944   F 03 5831 6836
E suzanna.sheed@parliament.vic.gov.au

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