Independent Member for Shepparton District Suzanna Sheed has called on the state and federal governments to act urgently or Victoria’s fruit and vegetable produce will rot on the trees and in the fields.

“With just a matter of weeks to go before fruit and vegetable harvesting is due to start, there are massive problems getting the workers that are needed to pick the crops in the Goulburn Valley as well as other regions across Victoria and the country,” Ms Sheed said.

“The shortage of seasonal workers across Victoria is extremely worrying for growers in my area, many of whom have bumper crops and have been facing years of drought, fluctuating overseas markets and high water prices.

“Much has been said and done to incentivise local workers to become fruit pickers, but as February and March – the peak picking period for pears and apples in my region – nears it is critical that a solution is found.”

“The Pacific Islander seasonal workers program is extremely important, particularly in the absence of our usual backpacker cohort.”

Ms Sheed said the state and federal governments should urgently remedy the situation.

There is a strong economic imperative to bring Pacific Islander workers to assist with the harvest just as there are strong economic reasons for ensuring that overseas tennis players are in Australia for the Australian Open at much the same time.

“The federal government should send the federal Chief Health Officer to the Pacific Island nations that have been declared COVID-free to ascertain their status.”

“If those nations prove their COVID-free status, then include them in an Australia travel bubble so seasonal workers can travel to Victoria without the need to quarantine.”

“Otherwise the federal and state governments need to urgently work on a mass quarantine scheme to ensure that the state’s fruit and vegetables can be harvested in a COVID-safe way.”

“Agriculture Victoria said there are 20,000 short-term jobs paddocks and packing sheds on farms in the Sunraysia, the Goulburn Valley, the Yarra Valley and Gippsland,” Ms Sheed said.

“It is becoming increasingly clear that in order to harvest our fruit and vegetable crops in the Goulburn Valley producers will need access to Pacific Islander workers under the federal government’s Pacific Islander seasonal workers program.”

ENDS

Media contact

Jacqui Hawkins 0403 657 267│jacqui.hawkins@parliament.vic.gov.au

Independent Member for Shepparton District Suzanna Sheed has written to the Minister for Health seeking an urgent briefing following the release of Heart Foundation data that shows that the Shepparton region is Victoria’s worst for heart health and obesity.

Ms Sheed said:

“I have written to the Minister for Health urgently requesting a full briefing. I have also sought a coordinated public health response to this alarming information on the health outcomes in the Shepparton region.”

“The Heart Foundation’s work is just the latest to show the health divide between metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria, where health is determined by where you live and what services you have access to.”

“It is disgraceful in this day and age that where you live should determine your health outcomes,” Ms Sheed said. “Something needs to be done.”

The Heart Foundation report said the rate of hospitalisations for heart attack (17.4 per 10,000 people) and coronary heart disease (55.9 per 10,000 people) in the Shepparton region is around 70 per cent higher than the state’s lowest region – Melbourne’s inner east.

This puts the region’s figures – which cover Greater Shepparton, Moira and Campaspe shires – close to 30 per cent higher than the state’s average for both hospitalisation rates, the Heart Foundation said.

The Shepparton region also ranks as the state’s top hotspot for obesity rates (39.8 per cent) and high blood pressure (23.7 per cent). These are two leading risk factors for heart disease, which is  Victoria’s single leading cause of death, the Heart Foundation said.

The Heart Foundation findings are similar to those of work conducted previously, such as a longitudinal study of health in the Goulburn Valley conducted by Dr David Simmons and the Department of Rural Health at Melbourne University, Shepparton.

Ms Sheed said:

“The situation is critical. People’s health and lives are at risk and the right action needs to begin happening now.

“The Shepparton community has proved beyond doubt that we can get things done when we have the support that is needed. We need the state government to step up with the resources that Shepparton and all of rural and regional Victoria needs to combat heart disease and obesity.”

ENDS

Media contact

Jacqui Hawkins 0403 657 267│jacqui.hawkins@parliament.vic.gov.au

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Independent Member for Shepparton District Suzanna Sheed has today welcomed the state Budget and what it delivers for Shepparton District community members.

“The $80 million to enable rail works to continue and to help provide VLocity trains on the Shepparton line is very welcome.”

“This is something the community has worked towards for many many years and will finally provide Shepparton Line passengers with the modern, reliable public transport services they deserve.”

“I am also delighted that, in this Budget, the State Government has underlined its commitment to a guaranteed minimum investment of $45 million to build new social housing in Shepparton.”

“This investment is expected to cut the waiting list for homes in the Shepparton area in half.

“I look forward to working with the government and the community to ensure that this investment is maximised for the benefit of community members who need it most, those who are suffering homelessness and insecure housing.”

“I see the next step as working to find even more investment so that the waiting list can be cut entirely and we can eliminate the scourge of homelessness from our communities across Victoria.”

“I also welcome $119 million confirmed today for the Shepparton Education Plan, which includes funds to continue support for the merger of four secondary schools to create Greater Shepparton Secondary College at a new purpose-built campus.

The college will offer the Shepparton community new facilities and provide students more subject choices than ever before.

This builds on previous budget announcements that provided funding a new integrated early learning centre in Mooroopna also a part of the Shepparton Education Plan.

“Investment in education is essential for the Shepparton area. It will help transform student outcomes by empowering all students to learn and achieve, provide high-quality teaching and give students the best possible conditions for lifelong learning.

“This investment will help change lives, providing young people with the confidence and skills they will need to achieve for themselves, their families and for the broader community.

“Only an independent local member, working hard with and on behalf of the community, has been able to deliver investments on this scale for Shepparton District, which had previously been overlooked for decades.

“Independent MPs are delivering for communities right across Victoria.

“Instead of being bound to a party system, Independent MPs can concentrate on what matters most, representing their communities with integrity, focus and grit and fighting for what communities really need.

“I will continue to work hard on behalf of Shepparton District, consult as widely as possible and work to ensure that the region gets what it needs most,” Ms Sheed said.

“There is no doubt that, as the pandemic eases, debt and how we pay it off will become an issue. In the meantime, we must use the stimulus available and ensure that every dollar is invested wisely, that jobs are created and that the needs of the community are prioritised.

Budget announcements that affect Shepparton

Together with a federal contribution we now have $400 million for the Shepparton Rail Line Upgrade Stage 3 which will enable nine daily return passenger services to Melbourne.

Other Shepparton-based initiatives include:

• $45 million for social housing on Greater Shepparton

• Upgrade funding towards the University of Melbourne’s Dookie campus from the Agricultural College Modernisation Fund

• $1.2 million for the Shepparton Family Drug Court Treatment program to help parents escape dependency and be there for their children

• Shepparton Art Museum to receive funding for external works from the $34.7 million Regional Creative Infrastructure Projects Initiative

• Shepparton will also receive funding through the ‘Social Cohesion Through Education’ program ($0.7 million this year) to support school communities and young people to be more engaged and informed, to reduce the risk of isolation, marginalization and attraction to violent extremism.

• Strathmerton Primary school is to receive $3.686 million for school upgrades

• $1.5 million for upgrades to Currawa Primary School

• Waaia Yalca South Primary School gets about $800,000 for upgrades

• $12.6 million to go to Goulburn Murray Rural Water Corporation this year for new projects

• $27.3 million to go to Goulburn Valley Regional Water Corporation this year for new projects

• $5.75 million has been made available for the Barmah National Park Joint Management Plan Implementation as part of the governments building works program

• $2.4 million has been made available for upgrades to Goulburn Ovens Institute of TAFE (GOTAFE) as part of the $55 million TAFE maintenance fund. Some of the other regional initiatives that should benefit Shepparton

Some of the other regional initiatives that should benefit Shepparton

• $2.2 million has been allocated towards ‘Supporting Improved Settlement Outcomes’ for Victorian humanitarian cohorts and emerging migrant communities and to provide increased capacity for regional community hubs

• The Regional First Home Owner Grant (Part of COVID tax relief) has been extended

• Support is being put in place for businesses to open, relocate and expand in regional Victoria (including 50 per cent stamp duty concessions for business to move to rural and regional Victoria) • An increase in the payroll tax threshold

• $120 million Regional Health Infrastructure fund to fund local health initiatives

• The Government’s $350 million Higher Education State Investment Fund is open to projects based in regional campuses including La Trobe University in Shepparton.

• $300 million to eradicate Mobile Black Spots in populated areas of regional Victoria

• $250 million to co-fund business-grade broadband connectivity for regional communities through the Gigabit State program.

• $65 million investment will back Victoria’s farmers, growers and producers, with our state’s new agriculture strategy.

ENDS

Media contact
Jacqui Hawkins 0403 657 267│jacqui.hawkins@parliament.vic.gov.au

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Independent Member for Shepparton District Suzanna Sheed Shepparton has welcomed the state government’s commitment to a guaranteed minimum investment of $45 million to build new social housing in Shepparton.

Ms Sheed said the commitment would create at least 150 new social housing homes in Shepparton.

“We have 722 people on the priority list for social housing in Shepparton and this commitment by the government will cut the waiting list in half,” Ms Sheed said.

The funding for Shepparton is part of the Victorian Government’s $5.3 billion for the Big Housing Build to construct more than 12,000 new homes throughout metro and regional Victoria.

One-quarter of the funds have been committed to new regional housing stock.

“As the independent local member, I have, along with community organisations and individuals, been pushing the Victorian Government very hard to invest in more social housing stock because of the dire need within our community,” Ms Sheed said

“The Shepparton electorate has some of the highest levels of homelessness in the state, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics and Department of Health and Human Services data.”

“Homelessness is an appalling situation for people to find themselves in and this commitment will go a long way to helping many of the homeless people in the Shepparton region.”

“There are far too many people rough sleeping, including in the forest, or trying to raise children in caravans that are unsafe, insecure and not adequate to protect against extremes of heat and cold, never mind the lack of cooking and other facilities.”

“To thrive, people need the security that a home gives them and their families.”

“Again I welcome this announcement as an important step in the right direction,” Ms Sheed said.

ENDS

Media contact

Jacqui Hawkins 0403 657 267│jacqui.hawkins@parliament.vic.gov.au