Policies and power struggles in Australian, Victorian and local governments
- CFA Chief Officer Steven Warrington on disaster management and 2016/17 fire season | AUDIO - CFA Chief Officer Steven Warrington discusses his community-centred approach to emergency management, and Victoria’s upcoming fire season, at a special lunch at Laharum, near Horsham, on Wednesday, October 19, 2016. Steven was appointed CFA Chief Officer on June 30 after a 35-year career in emergency management that started as a volunteer firefighter.
- Rural Press Club of Victoria and Women in Media: Communicating in a digital age | AUDIO - Communicating in a digital age; what it means for work life balance, traditional storytelling and managing the personal versus the professional. How do you cut through in an era soaked in storytelling? A panel of Gippsland women, experienced in telling stories through print, broadcast and social media platforms, share their experiences. Your hosts are Walkey-award … Continue reading "Rural Press Club of Victoria and Women in Media: Communicating in a digital age | AUDIO"
- Victorian opposition leader Matthew Guy at the Rural Press Club of Victoria | AUDIO - Victorian opposition leader Matthew Guy explains his vision for rural and regional Victoria. Recorded on February 18, 2016 at the Rural Press Club of Victoria.
- Tax data reveals low income growth in western Victoria - HAMILTON’S income growth is in the bottom 15 per cent of Victorian postcodes and the immediate area has lost hundreds of net taxpayers over 10 years. Australian Tax Office data shows that the Hamilton 3300 postcode recorded an almost 44.8 per cent increase in mean taxable income between 2003/04 and 2013/14. That sounds impressive but the … Continue reading "Tax data reveals low income growth in western Victoria"
- Roads a priority - The Hamilton Spectator – October 31, 2015 SOUTH-WEST COAST state by-election candidates have all agreed that local roads are in a terrible state, especially around the Macarthur and Condah areas that have seen heavy freight use in recent years. Most of the 10 candidates that spoke to The Spectator about local transport issues this week have advocated for a new system of funding allocation for road … Continue reading "Roads a priority"
- Glenelg River to stop flowing this summer - The Hamilton Spectator – October 15, 2015 THE Glenelg River’s upper sections are “quite likely” to stop flowing this summer and create impacts for the environment, agriculture and recreation users. Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority chief executive Kevin Wood blamed “record low” rainfall for the likely river flow stoppage and said his organisation had reserves of water to help with its environmental responsibilities. “We have … Continue reading "Glenelg River to stop flowing this summer"
- Farmers voice concern over proposed oil shale project - The Hamilton Spectator – September 24, 2015 SOUTH-West Victorian farmers have expressed concern about a proposed oil shale drilling project between Casterton and the South Australian border. They say that their focus is on what will happen to food production over the next century, rather than the economic benefits over the lifespan of an unconventional oil or gas field, which … Continue reading "Farmers voice concern over proposed oil shale project"
- Training course scam net could include our region - September 19, 2015 VOCATIONAL training promoters have been going door-to-door offering courses to vulnerable people in Warrnambool and Ballarat, leaving them deep in debt, and they may have also targeted Hamilton and Coleraine. The Victorian Department of Education and Training says some training colleges are engaged in an “abuse” of a program that allows people to pay for their education with a Federal Government loan. The Age … Continue reading "Training course scam net could include our region"
- Put ‘bombing’ question to Defence Minister: Tehan - September 10, 2015 WANNON MP Dan Tehan has refused to comment directly on a United States Military Central Command report that suggested the Royal Australian Air Force may have bombed a civilian area in Iraq last year. Mr Tehan did say that avoiding civilian casualties would be “a key consideration” if Australia decided to expand its campaign of airstrikes against terrorist group … Continue reading "Put ‘bombing’ question to Defence Minister: Tehan"
- Data retention is no threat to terrorists - REX MARTINICH Opinion The Hamilton Spectator – April 03, 2015 THE Mandatory Data Retention scheme that was passed by both houses of Australia’s Parliament last week represents the unholy trinity of bad legislation: rushed debate, unclear costs and no real solutions. To make things clear, I am not a libertarian or anarchistic extremist who … Continue reading "Data retention is no threat to terrorists"
- Tehan calls for RAAF to bomb ISIS in Syria - REX MARTINICH The Hamilton Spectator – August 15, 2015 WANNON MP Dan Tehan has called for the Royal Australian Air Force to expand its current bombing campaign against ISIS terrorists in Iraq to include Syria. Mr Tehan made the call in an opinion piece published by the Herald Sun on Thursday, arguing that Australia … Continue reading "Tehan calls for RAAF to bomb ISIS in Syria"
- ‘Debate, not hate’ on same-sex marriage - REX MARTINICH The Hamilton Spectator – August 15, 2015 FORMER Casterton man Lachlan Beaton, who has become a prominent figure in the debate over same-sex marriage, has called for people on both sides of the issue to abandon “hate”. “As the weeks drew closer to (Tuesday’s Coalition party room vote), the debates become quite … Continue reading "‘Debate, not hate’ on same-sex marriage"
- Single-officer police stations are “lifeblood” of communities - REX MARTINICH The Hamilton Spectator – August 06, 2015 SINGLE-officer police stations are the “lifeblood” of smaller regional communities and must be retained, according to Victorian shadow police minister Edward O’Donohue. Mr O’Donohue visited Macarthur police station last week with South West Coast MP Denis Napthine as part of a tour of local police … Continue reading "Single-officer police stations are “lifeblood” of communities"
- Potential $6 Billion Oil Deposit in SW Vic - The Hamilton Spectator – September 22, 2015 SOUTH-WEST Victoria is potentially sitting on a $6 billion oil and gas deposit with a production capacity of 100,000 barrels per day, according to Melbourne-based industrial engineering and mining company Mecrus Resources. Mecrus has told Victorian Parliament’s inquiry into a potential onshore unconventional gas inquiry, via a written submission, … Continue reading "Potential $6 Billion Oil Deposit in SW Vic"
- Tehan misses out on portfolio under Turnbull - REX MARTINICH The Hamilton Spectator, 22 September, 2015 WANNON MP Dan Tehan has missed out on a ministerial portfolio from Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s post-leadership spill cabinet reshuffle. Some of Mr Tehan’s fellow Victorian Liberals were big winners in the reshuffle, which saw a number of key Abbott-era ministers replaced but the Immigration, Finance, … Continue reading "Tehan misses out on portfolio under Turnbull"
- Liberals preselect Britnell for South-West Coast - REX MARTINICH The Hamilton Spectator – 22 September, 2015 SOUTH-WEST Coast’s state by-election Liberal candidate will be Woolsthorpe farmer Roma Britnell after she won support from a majority of local party members at a preselection vote on Sunday. Ms Britnell told The Spectator that she was “honoured to have been nominated to represent the … Continue reading "Liberals preselect Britnell for South-West Coast"
- Rates rise cap a risk to local gov staff, services - REX MARTINICH The Hamilton Spectator – August 18, 2015 THE State Government’s proposed rates cap will cause “long-term unsustainability” and cuts to staff or services from local governments, according to Southern Grampians Shire Councillor Dennis Dawson. Cr Dawson made the comments during a debate on how to respond to the State Government’s latest round … Continue reading "Rates rise cap a risk to local gov staff, services"
- Federal wind energy regime call ‘misguided’ - REX MARTINICH The Hamilton Spectator – August 08, 2015 A SENATE committee’s call for a new federally-controlled wind energy regulatory regime has been described as “misguided” and “baseless” by the Victorian Government. The Victorian opposition has backed the committee’s call that “local councils should retain development approval decision-making”. The Senate Select Committee on Wind … Continue reading "Federal wind energy regime call ‘misguided’"
- Western Victoria’s aquifers and surface water face a “low” risk from fracking - REX MARTINICH The Hamilton Spectator – August 08, 2015 WESTERN Victoria’s aquifers and surface water face a “low” risk from onshore unconventional gas fracking, according to a State Government report that has been harshly criticised by The Greens. The report explored “hypothetical onshore natural gas development scenarios”, including a wide band of shale gas … Continue reading "Western Victoria’s aquifers and surface water face a “low” risk from fracking"
- Parents call for change of mind on same-sex marriage - REX MARTINICH The Hamilton Spectator – August 04, 2015 THE parents of former Casterton area man Lachlan Beaton, who posted an emotional online video calling for same-sex marriage in Australia, have called for Wannon MP Dan Tehan to change his mind on the issue. Wando Bridge cattle farmers Andrew and Juddie Beaton met with … Continue reading "Parents call for change of mind on same-sex marriage"