A damning new report has laid bare the cost blowout and waste of the Western Victoria energy transmission project, threatening prime Mallee farmland, Member for Mallee Anne Webster says. The Victoria Energy Policy Centre’s (VEPC) ‘No Longer Lost In Transmission’ report highlights the Victoria New South Wales Interconnector West (VNI West) costs are understated by…
DetailsThe Albanese Labor Government’s $5.4 billion Cheaper Child Care subsidy has been exposed as poor policy with skyrocketing fees and no relief for Mallee’s child care deserts, Member for Mallee Anne Webster says. Families across Mallee have told Dr Webster of their inability to access child care, which renders any taxpayer funded subsidy useless. However,…
DetailsThe Victorian Labor Government’s ban on gas connections for new homes in the state from next year is an egregious overreach on energy policy, Member for Mallee Anne Webster says. The ban will mean new homes and residential subdivisions will be powered entirely by electricity, with electric or induction cooktops to be installed instead of…
DetailsWith unemployment figures for North West Victoria dropping to 2.4 per cent and a record Regional Victorian low of 2.8 per cent, the challenge is now to ensure businesses are able to find workers to continue the growth. Australian Bureau of Statistics labour force figures released this week showed Regional Victoria’s unemployment rate was well…
DetailsThe Albanese Labor Government has rightly extended the Murray Darling Basin Plan deadline beyond 2024, but not without Water Minister Tanya Plibersek adopting a partisan approach. Member for Mallee Anne Webster said the Minister has not assisted the debate by using terms like ‘guerilla warfare’ and ‘sabotage’ in announcing the delay. “In her first briefings…
DetailsShadow Assistant Minister for Regional Health and Member for Mallee Anne Webster urges Australians to register to be an organ and tissue donor. July 23-30 is DonateLife Week, which highlights the importance of organ and tissue donation. “Organ donation is a cause close to my heart as someone whose family has been touched by the…
DetailsThe imminent official release of the ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ case pamphlets on the Voice to Parliament for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) peoples comes as over 64 per cent of the near 5,000 Mallee residents surveyed saying they intend to vote No at the referendum, Member for Mallee Dr Anne Webster says. In that…
DetailsThe closure of two regional Aged Care facilities is further proof the Federal Labor Government’s ham-fisted staffing changes are hurting the sector, Shadow Assistant Minister for Regional Health Dr Anne Webster says. Mount Morgan’s Carinity Summit Cottages and Petrie Gardens Aged Care Service in Tiaro announced this week they will shut their facilities – displacing…
DetailsLabor has failed to deliver on a key incentive to alleviate the regional health workforce crisis, Shadow Assistant Minister for Regional Health Anne Webster says. Almost five months after the legislation passed parliament, a Coalition-era policy of reducing or waiving doctor or nurse practitioner HELP debts if they practice in the regions is still not…
DetailsThe potential investigation of two of the Albanese Labor Government’s grant programs by the Auditor-General obliges the Government to rescue key Mallee projects in Labor’s 90 day Infrastructure Pipeline review firing line, Member for Mallee Dr Anne Webster says. The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) Works Program of performance audits for 2023-24 includes a review…
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