Suzanna Sheed
  • Home
  • About
    • About Suzanna
    • Shepparton District
    • How Suzanna can help
  • Priorities
    • Agriculture
    • Education
    • Health
    • Infrastructure
    • Our Achievements
  • News
    • Media Releases
    • Blog
    • Parliament
    • Photos
  • Resources
    • Newsletters
    • Out & About with Suzanna
    • COVID-19
  • Contact
    • Request a
      Congratulatory
      Message
    • Subscribe to our
      newsletter
  • Menu Menu

Sheed welcomes minister’s commitment to water market transparency

December 16, 2019/0 Comments/in Media Releases /by Suzanna Sheed

Shepparton District Suzanna Sheed has welcomed plans by the Victorian Minister for Water, Lisa Neville, to achieve greater transparency in the water market.

“This is a good start to fixing many of the perceived problems in the water market,” Ms Sheed said.

“Without transparency, we are left to guess at what has been happening and how the price of water is being determined. The current opaque state of the water market would not be tolerated in any other market sector – we simply do not know who is trading what and if the system is being abused.”

Minister Neville’s announcement that companies who own two per cent or more water will be publicly identified, along with non-water users involved in the trade, goes part way to providing a better understanding of the behaviour of so-called speculators in the market, according to Ms Sheed.

Registering water brokers was also an appropriate measure, she said.

“It’s been a very long haul, but suddenly we are seeing a lot of political attention and from the Victorian Government, welcomed action around issues such as transparency,” Ms Sheed said.

“This announcement provides an opportunity to better identify the actions of the big players and speculators in the market. While I and many others I have consulted with, favour complete transparency in the market and have advocated accordingly these proposed changes will, as an interim measure, provide an opportunity to assess the situation and determine whether further change might be needed.

“Now if only we can address a whole range of other issues such as carry-over, inter-valley transfers and the damage they can do to the environment, the Lower Lakes and alleged Northern Basin corruption we will be much better placed.

“The state and federal water ministers have a lot to discuss this Tuesday and I hope they are able to have fruitful discussions and finish the year on a win for farmers and communities across the Murray Darling Basin.”

ENDS

Media contact

Myles Peterson 0467 035 840│myles.peterson@suzannasheed.com.au

Click here for PDF version

https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/default-post-image.jpg 240 330 Suzanna Sheed https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Sheed-Logo-V2.png Suzanna Sheed2019-12-16 14:22:432020-07-01 13:47:35Sheed welcomes minister’s commitment to water market transparency

Sheed cautious over MDBA Lower Lakes review

December 12, 2019/0 Comments/in Media Releases /by Suzanna Sheed

Independent Member for Shepparton District Suzanna Sheed has welcomed a review by CSIRO scientists on behalf of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority into South Australia’s Lower Lakes but has urged caution and says she wants to see the review’s terms of reference.

The issue of freshwater wastage in the Lower Lakes was central to a protest of thousands of farmers at Federal Parliament House last week.

“We have frequently pointed to Professor Gell’s peer-reviewed scientific claims that the Lower Lakes have been artificially made fresh when the evidence states they were formerly estuarine. This has resulted in hundreds of gigalitres of water being wasted each year in evaporation,” Ms Sheed said.

Ms Sheed noted the Lower Lakes review was yet another announcement in the wake of the successful December 2nd and 3rd protest.

“There are obviously a lot of backroom discussions going on in the Liberal and National Party and various other bodies following farmers, many from my electorate, making their voices loudly heard in Canberra last week,” Ms Sheed said.

“We’ve seen reactions from Minister Littleproud, from the National and Victorian Farmers Federations, from the Victorian and NSW state governments and now the Murray-Darling Basin Authority. It’s good that all these bodies are listening, but reactive platitudes are not the action we need.

“We’ve had scores of reviews over the years and we still have dead rivers, environmental damage, an opaque water market, and ridiculously high-water prices with farmers leaving the industry in droves.

“‘Action’ is what is needed.”

ENDS

Media contact

Myles Peterson 0467 035 840│myles.peterson@suzannasheed.com.au

Click here for PDF version 

https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/default-post-image.jpg 240 330 Suzanna Sheed https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Sheed-Logo-V2.png Suzanna Sheed2019-12-12 05:20:592020-02-07 02:46:12Sheed cautious over MDBA Lower Lakes review

Illegal tree felling

December 12, 2019/0 Comments/in Parliament /by Suzanna Sheed

Constituency question – My constituency question is for the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change. It has been reported to me by my constituent Mr Joel Hoffman that at least 40 large old-growth trees have been cut down illegally from Reedy Swamp, which is a part of the Lower Goulburn River National Park in close proximity to Shepparton. I have received further reports of illegal tree cutting in the Loch Garry area. Mr Hoffman witnessed these acts and has provided evidence of both video footage and photos of the perpetrators to Parks Victoria. However, he tells me that there appears to have been no action taken and that the tree cutting continues. These are old-growth trees and it is concerning that there has been no response. Can the minister inform me where this investigation is up to and the action being taken?

Click here to view this record on Hansard

https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/default-post-image.jpg 240 330 Suzanna Sheed https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Sheed-Logo-V2.png Suzanna Sheed2019-12-12 05:17:512020-02-07 02:48:40Illegal tree felling

Matters of Public Importance – Bushfire Preparedness

December 12, 2019/0 Comments/in Parliament /by Suzanna Sheed

Indeed this is a matter of public importance. The forthcoming bushfire season is a matter of great concern to our communities. In Shepparton last week the headlines of our local newspaper were ‘Code red’ and we were advised of the catastrophic circumstances that we would face on that day. It really does strike fear into the hearts of people who live in regional areas when that sort of warning comes out. I do not think there would be anyone anywhere who would disagree with that. But with it comes a level of concern about what that means. There is a real need for more clarity around what these sorts of warnings mean. I know people were contacting me and my electorate office asking, ‘Should I leave? Should I stay?’. This messaging is very important, but it has taken on a different look now—the whole question of whether you do stay or leave—and it often comes down to where you live. Once it would have been thought that if you lived in the forest, if you lived out in country areas where there was a lot of grass or a lot of trees and it was a day like we had last week, you might think about leaving. But now in a town like Shepparton or Mooroopna we have many people living along the river, which is actually part of our city, our town. Many houses there would be very seriously affected and burn if a fire got started in the forest between Shepparton and Mooroopna. So there is a serious lack of clarity around what people should do at certain times, and I do not think you can always rely on the common sense of people. That day last week was the day when, for the first time, I packed a bag. Now that might sound odd, but I have some precious things. They are photos mainly, there are some important papers that anyone would want with them, a passport and those sorts of things—and for me it was a day when I thought, ‘This has really not happened before and this could be a day when our area could get hit really badly’. So I had my things ready at the door, the things that were important to just put in the car and go. A lot of people might think that that was fairly fanciful because I probably am about a kilometre away from the river, but I think we have all seen the change that has happened in our environment, the dryness that we now face. Farmers for years have been talking about the change in the seasons, the drought and the impact of climate change, and I think for many people who live in towns even we see it. I know even in my garden, and I have quite a big garden, I have seen the change in the way plants now react, the ones that survive, the ones that do not—these are all a sign of the times. I think we are very wise to take into account the change that is occurring and the preparations that we need to make in relation to that. In the paper the day following our code red the local fire chief, Pete Dedman, said we were lucky. It was like we dodged a bullet. There were a few small fires, a house fire, a small grassfire, various ones that were gotten under control quickly, but it was a day when there were hot north winds blowing right through the region and it could have been a disaster. It was not, but we know we are going to face many more of these days as we go forward. One of the areas in my electorate that is such a concern to me is the Barmah National Park, and indeed the Barmah forest and the Lower Goulburn National Park, which run along our Goulburn River and along the Murray River. They are vast areas: 77 000 hectares of national park. Just yesterday I spoke with our fire chief, Peter Newman, who is the chief of the CFA at Yalca-Yielima. That is the CFA that is located all along that northern part of my electorate that faces onto the forest. He expressed his great concern about the state of the forest. It has been incredibly dry for a long time. There is not usually a lot on the forest floor, but more and more leaves are falling, bark is peeling off the trees and there has been no management of that park for a very long time, so there are so many saplings that exist that are blocking off tracks in the forest. He said that there had been no burning undertaken and no preparation done for the forthcoming fire season that he could see in the area that he covered. There are some tracks that have been graded and others that have not. He said it is a disaster waiting to happen because if you get the right conditions, if you get that north wind behind a fire on the New South Wales side coming across into the forest, then you have a serious disaster, and you have one of the most iconic red gum forests in the world—Ramsar-listed—ready to blow. I think that is something that troubles everyone who lives along that part of the region.

This is sort of a good story I am going to tell you here. The local CFA guys were out on a truck a few weeks ago and they looked around at themselves and they determined that the youngest of them was 62 years of age—the youngest. So they said to themselves, ‘We’ve gotta do something about this’, so they planned a doorknock throughout the whole area and they—can you believe it—recruited 16 new members in a very short time. The way they did it was by explaining that, ‘You can’t get on the fire truck unless you’re a member. You have to wear a uniform. You can’t even go and fight for your parents’ home if it’s burning unless you are properly equipped. If you want to come with us’. The response generally around the community was ‘Well, I guess we’d better join’, and they have. It is really quite a remarkable story, and I think it really reflects how country people sometimes deal with the problems that are facing them. I really applaud that can-do attitude that that particular CFA have taken to deal with the problems that they know they have. One of the bigger problems in those sorts of more remote areas of my electorate, and of course across the river in New South Wales, is that our communities are being hollowed out. There are very few young people to join anymore because they are leaving those areas. We have farming under such great challenge, we have poor water policy, we have a whole range of issues including the drought that are driving young people away from country communities. Parents are saying to their children, ‘Don’t stay here. Look to your future somewhere else’, so it is very hard to get the level of recruitment you might need. And so many people in country areas of course rely on volunteers to do so much of this important work. In New South Wales just this week the leader of the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party in the New South Wales Parliament introduced a bill seeking to allow landowners adjoining forests and national parks to be able to undertake their own planned burning. For a distance of about 250 metres they of course put firebreaks on their property, they do planned burning on their property, and they now want the right to be able to go forward into a certain level and create a firebreak into the forests. That is the sort of thinking that is now happening in so many places, because the threat of fire and the concern about what we have seen happen in Queensland and New South Wales are so great that there is a very broad understanding that we cannot rely on being protected. We cannot rely on help coming from somewhere else always in the time that it is needed. We have to be prepared, we have to act, but we do need to have that ability to be able to do it. You can look at roadsides covered in tall grass and wood that has fallen from trees, just so much of a fuel load, and yet local councils will say, ‘You’re not allowed to go and take the wood from the side of the road’. We have come to a position where we really actually need to do that. We are now in a time when we can no longer allow that sort of neglect to go on. It was done for good reason at a time when we were in a wetter period, when it was a habitat and it was all those good things, but it is no longer safe to allow that sort of a fuel load to exist. I had so many things I wanted to say, but I think in winding up I would like to pay tribute to all of the CFAs in my electorate. I meet them at dinners and at many events during the course of the year and the work they do is astounding, but I do reflect on the fact that they are an ageing volunteer force and we are going to have to address that somehow. While Yalca-Yielima have come up with a creative way of doing it, we are going to have to think of many other creative ways because the CFA volunteers are a critical part of our firefighting system and we need them.
Click here to view this record on Hansard
https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/default-post-image.jpg 240 330 Suzanna Sheed https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Sheed-Logo-V2.png Suzanna Sheed2019-12-12 05:14:152020-02-07 02:48:40Matters of Public Importance – Bushfire Preparedness

Standing and Sessional Orders Committee

December 12, 2019/0 Comments/in Parliament /by Suzanna Sheed

Business of the house – I am pleased to rise to support this motion before the house today. I do so also as a member of the Standing Orders Committee. I am very pleased to be a member of that committee. It was formed in this Parliament in March this year. We have had several meetings and, as you can see from the report, we have done some fairly substantial work. The purpose of the Standing Orders Committee is to review the standing orders of the Legislative Assembly and to make recommendations for change. That is indeed what we have here in the report before the house today. We have had a number of meetings and there was some quite robust discussion about a number of the changes, although you will see from the report that many are very cursory in their nature, some brought about by technological change and some simply noting that there need to be some changes in the way that the house operates and the streamlining of these standing orders.

The Legislative Assembly adopted the new standing orders in 2004. The house has made some minor changes along the way and in particular in this Parliament they have included the removal of a number of committees, the joint investigatory committees. I must say that from my point of view it was quite disappointing to see that occur, because in my first term in this place I had the honour of being a member of the Family and Community Development Committee. That was an important committee. The very first referral to that committee looked into the abuse of disabled people in residential care. That inquiry took evidence from all around the state. The committee submitted an interim report and later a final report. One of the recommendations of that committee was that there should be a national royal commission into what was happening in disability services, and we now have that royal commission happening. So it was an important piece of work that made very important recommendations, and a major one of those recommendations was picked up and acted on. The standing orders have been in operation now for 15 years, and the house determined that they should be reviewed. The committee has now put forward these recommendations.

I would just like to refer to several of them. For instance, standing order 11 only provides that scrutineers give the Clerk a written report of the results of the count when there is an election of the Speaker. There has been a change to ensure that there is real clarity around informal votes not being taken into account but just the formal votes being counted and the majority of the formal votes determining who is elected. It is an important amendment but again a fairly straightforward one. The absence of the Speaker: if the Speaker is absent at the start of a sitting day, the Clerk currently notifies the house before the Deputy Speaker takes the chair. We thought that that was no longer necessary and that the Deputy Speaker should now be able to take the chair without such an announcement being made. The discussion around the condolence motion was interesting. There were some fairly firm views about that. We heard the member for Murray Plains in this place speaking on this motion earlier. It was very clear that he would not want a condolence motion in this house upon his passing. I must say that I always take the view that funerals and condolence motions are not about the person who died but about those who are left living and that they do have a place, but nevertheless the committee has come to a consensus that it is appropriate to give a member the option as to whether the house acknowledges them by way of a condolence motion. That is indeed one of the recommendations of the committee and will be reflected in the new standing orders. The committee is an important one and has a lot of potential to change things. While we are looking at a number of the smaller changes that have tidied things up along the way, one of the issues that is of concern to me is that—I presume it was probably about 2004 that this was introduced—government business takes precedence entirely and that any opportunity to have non-government business was removed from the standing orders. Now we are in a position where we only have government business. I have to say I think that is a very poor state of affairs for any Parliament. No other Parliament indeed in Australia has such a circumstance. Every other Parliament throughout Australia allows for general business. That is often a couple of hours on a Wednesday; that is the way it takes place in the upper house here. This is the sort of thing that your Standing Orders Committee could consider. It is an important issue and one that could be raised and discussed going forward. It is certainly something I would support. I look to other Independents and small parties in other parliaments around Australia who have the opportunity to introduce bills during general business or non-government business, depending on how they call it. Water policy is something that is very important to me and to my electorate, and I spend a lot of time on it. I have colleagues who are members of Parliament just across the river in New South Wales, members of the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, who have just recently been able to introduce to the house their own legislation that calls, for instance, for all members of Parliament to declare their ownership of any water on their register of interests. It is a really important issue in that state, and this is something that has really brought to the attention of everyone the importance of a member being able to raise matters that are important to their electorate. Similarly, in my previous contribution to the matter of public importance I referred to the fact that in the same Parliament—New South Wales—the Shooters and Fishers Party put forward a bill to enable landowners who adjoin forests and national parks to take some authority over an area of, say, 250 metres from their boundary into a forest and do planned burning to prepare firebreaks of their own accord, because in many places, especially more remote places, there is a need for a lot of that sort of community involvement in preparation and fire planning. These are some of the really important opportunities that a member of Parliament who is not a member of the government can use to bring matters before the house. As it stands at the moment I do not have that opportunity. Neither does anyone else on this side of the house. It is something that we sorely miss and that I believe should be changed. It is an important committee and there is some important business that it could certainly consider going forward. Again, I refer to the fact that there are many minor amendments here. I am also clearly supporting the report that has been written and the motion before the house. I commend the motion. Motion agreed to.
Click here to view this record in Hansard
https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/default-post-image.jpg 240 330 Suzanna Sheed https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Sheed-Logo-V2.png Suzanna Sheed2019-12-12 05:06:362020-02-07 02:48:39Standing and Sessional Orders Committee

Aunty Irene Thomas

December 12, 2019/0 Comments/in Parliament /by Suzanna Sheed

Members statement – Today I would like to pay tribute to a most honoured woman in our Shepparton community who recently passed, Bangerang elder Aunty Irene Thomas. Aunty Irene was a selfless and kind woman with a big heart. As a mother and grandmother, Aunty Irene travelled the country to work and support her family. After settling in the Goulburn Valley, she worked as an Aboriginal educator with 45 children at Shepparton South Technical School. Widely known for captivating storytelling, Aunty Irene spent most of her life sharing and telling the stories of her culture and devotedly worked with our young people, inspiring future generations. Her storytelling abilities have been captured for posterity in several published children’s books such as 2007’s How the Murray River Was Made, which is included in libraries and schools across Victoria. She raised many children in addition to her own and helped keep many others out of the foster care system. This was the person that she was. No matter your background, no matter your situation, no matter your race or religion, there was no divide. She always had an open door and went well beyond the call of duty to help anyone in need. In 2006 Aunty Irene represented the Goulburn Valley at the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, wearing a specially made possum skin cloak which is now being exhibited at Shepparton’s Bangerang Cultural Centre. Our community has certainly been made richer because of Aunty lrene’s presence and her significant contribution.

Click here to view this record on Hansard

https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/default-post-image.jpg 240 330 Suzanna Sheed https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Sheed-Logo-V2.png Suzanna Sheed2019-12-12 05:02:412020-02-07 02:48:40Aunty Irene Thomas

Sheed concerned by official reaction to water protest

December 4, 2019/0 Comments/in Media Releases /by Suzanna Sheed

Independent Member for Shepparton District Suzanna Sheed says she is concerned the official reaction to the Convoy to Canberra protest this week will not deliver for farmers in the Goulburn-Murray Irrigation District.

“I’m not sure what exactly Minister Littleproud put on the table other than another review,” Ms Sheed said.  “There have already been over 35 reviews and the government is yet to take up any recommendations including that of the Productivity Commission.”

Ms Sheed congratulated organisers and the thousands of farmers who attended the Convoy to Canberra Protest.

“Thousands of farmers representing tens of thousands of their peers and members of their communities took the time to go to Canberra and strongly voice their frustration with the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. But what did they get for it?”

The quick reaction to the protests by National Party members in the Federal Government, the National Farmers Federation and other peak bodies is to be welcomed, according to Ms Sheed.

“The Federal Government has asked state governments to help strengthen the powers of the Water Inspector General Mick Kealty – but what are these powers and how will they help solve the water crisis? It is so important that issues like compliance, flood plain harvesting and the rollout of metering in NSW is closely monitored,” Ms Sheed said.

“We need a clear statement from Minister Littleproud of what he has agreed to so everyone who attended the protest can fully understand his stated position.”

Ms Sheed remains supportive of much of the work being done at a Victorian Government level on inter-valley transfers and water market transparency including the examination of the role of speculators and water brokers. Ms Sheed has recently called on the Victorian Government to undertake a widely supported review of the current carry-over rules.

“Victorian farmers were the targets of the early buy-backs and have given up the most water to date. Not another megalitre should leave Victoria’s consumptive pool.” she said.

ENDS

Media contact

Myles Peterson 0467 035 840│myles.peterson@suzannasheed.com.au

Click here for PDF version

https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/default-post-image.jpg 240 330 Suzanna Sheed https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Sheed-Logo-V2.png Suzanna Sheed2019-12-04 00:39:302020-02-07 02:46:07Sheed concerned by official reaction to water protest

Pages

  • About Suzanna
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • COVID-19
  • Get Involved
  • Home
  • How Suzanna can help
  • Media Releases
  • News
  • Newsletters
  • Our Achievements
  • Our Vision
  • Out & About with Suzanna
  • Parliament
  • Photos
  • Request A Congratulatory Message
  • Shepparton District
  • Subscribe to our newsletter

Categories

  • Blog
  • Latest News
  • Media Releases
  • Newsletters
  • Parliament
  • Uncategorized

Archive

  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • February 2019
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • June 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015

Get in touch with Suzanna

Share this page and show your support.

Subscribe

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

Keep up-to-date.
Follow us on social media.

Get in touch with Suzanna

Share this page and show your support.

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

Keep up-to-date.
Follow us on social media.

Scroll to top
Subscribe to our newsletter