VicHealth funding for the Benalla electorate

The Nationals Member for Benalla, Bill Sykes, today congratulated sporting clubs in the Benalla Electorate on their success in gaining funding from the 2007/08 VicHealth Active Clubs Grants Program.

Dr Sykes said one practical way to increase participation is to provide small grants for equipment and training, because we know that a lack of these resources can stop clubs from offering their activities to as many people as they would like.

“This year there were approximately 1,180 applications received from sporting clubs across Victoria, and the VicHealth program will provide $1.2 million in grants this year to 622 sporting clubs and community organisations.

“It is pleasing to see that 21 sporting clubs in the Benalla Electorate were successful in securing a total of $39,107 in funding.

Avenel Bowling Club $2,439
Euroa Football Netball Club $90
Tabilk Junior Football Club $2,460
Nagambie Tennis Club Inc $1,850
Benalla Rovers Soccer Club $1,630
Benalla Netball Association $2,050
Benalla Little Athletics $1,565
Benalla Lawn Tennis $960
Benalla Gardens Tennis Club $2,150
Alexandra Football & Netball Club $947
Eildon District Pistol Club $600
Eildon Amateur Swimming Club $2,000
Mount Beauty Cricket Club $2,500
Alpine U3A Inc $2,430
Myrtleford Football Club $1,500
Myrtleford Pony Club Inc $2,450
Delatite Cricket Club $2,500
Guides Victoria Mansfield $2,500
Mansfield Bowls Club Inc $2,500
MACE – Mansfield, Seniors Table Tennis $1,731
Mansfield Swimming Club $2,255

Dr Sykes concluded, “I congratulate these clubs on their applications for funding and I encourage all sporting organisations to watch the VicHealth website www.vichealth.vic.gov.au for further funding opportunities”.

Sykes:Ease the e-waste

Member for Benalla, Bill Sykes, is encouraging Benalla Electorate residents to ease the e-waste (electronic waste) epidemic by thoughtfully disposing of their used printer cartridges.

‘Cartridges 4 Planet Ark’ the innovative recycling program provides Benalla Electorate residents with a free and easy way to recycle used printer cartridges.

“The frequent upgrading of electronic equipment has led to an e-waste surplus mainly consisting of old and unused computers, mobile phones and printer cartridges that can harm the environment if not disposed of correctly,” says Bill Sykes. I encourage all residents to alleviate the e-waste epidemic by recycling their Cartridges 4 Planet Ark.”

Through its free collection and recycling service, ‘Cartridges 4 Planet Ark’ has diverted more than 6.3 million printer cartridges from landfill, and in the last 12 months has increased its nationwide return rate by 27%.

“This is a wonderful result for the environment. 6.3 million printer cartridges equates to more than 3,000 tonnes of potentially hazardous material that has been spared from landfill,” says Bill Sykes.

Used printer cartridges of any brand or type can be dropped into a ‘Cartridges 4 Planet Ark’collection box at participating Australia Post, Officeworks, Harvey Norman, Tandy or Dick Smith Electronics and PowerHouse stores.

To find your nearest retail drop off location, visit www.RecyclingNearYou.com.au or call the ‘Cartridges 4 Planet Ark’ hotline on 1800 24 24 73.

Sykes calls for increased taxi fare subsidies

Taxi fare subsidies for needy and frail, elderly people should be increased according to Nationals Member for Benalla, Bill Sykes.

Dr Sykes requested the Brumby Government in Parliament this week to increase the per trip cap from $30 to $50 in recognition of the long distances travelled in country Victoria.

Dr Sykes also requested recognition that the absence of public transport is a legitimate reason to use taxis and therefore should be included in the eligibility criteria for the Multi Purpose Taxi Program (MPTP).

“I have raised this issue again in response to a request from Damian Murphy, Euroa-Nagambie Taxis”, said Dr Sykes.

“The MPTP is a good program, but country people are disadvantaged by rules and subsidy rates set by people unfamiliar with country issues.”

Dr Sykes continued, “It is an opportune time to increase the fare subsidy and free up the eligibility criteria as the Government, to its credit, is attempting to improve public transport in country communities.”

Dr Sykes concluded, “Taxis provide a valuable component of public transport resources in country Victoria – it is critical that we make the use of taxis affordable to our needy and frail elderly so that they can continue to enjoy all of the good things about living in country Victoria.”

Neighbourhood Houses need indexed income: Drum

State funding for Neighbourhood House programs was being eroded and should be automatically indexed, National Party MP for Northern Victoria Region, Damian Drum, told State Parliament last night.

Mr Drum said the Labor Government was keen to link its own taxes and charges to the Consumer Price Index, so they rose automatically, but did not apply the same principle to its on-going funding of organisations such as Neighbourhood Houses.

Addressing his concerns to State Treasurer, John Lenders, Mr Drum cited an example of a Neighbourhood House in Robinvale which was struggling to maintain its Adult Community Education program.

“Five year ago, the State Government provided the Robinvale house with $6.11 per student contact hour. That’s a very modest sum when compared with the $9.42 per student contact hour paid to the TAFE system. It’s a level most recognise as appallingly inadequate.

“Five years later, the house now gets $6.34 per student contact hour. Even if the original amount of $6.11 had kept pace with inflation, it would now need at least $7.28 just to maintain its level of operation.”

Mr Drum said that in real terms, the neighbourhood Houses were trying to make do with an effective 14 or 15 per cent cut in funding.

The failure of the State Government to link payments such as these to the CPI meant that programs such as the Adult Community Education project would disappear. People already disadvantaged in the community would suffer again.

“I call on the Treasurer to align the payments out of Treasury for general revenue to be indexed in the way that fees and charges and taxes that come in are indexed at the moment,” he said.

Victorian mental health: funding

Extract from Hansard - 15 April 2008 ASSEMBLY

Dr SYKES (Benalla) -- My issue is for the Minister for Mental Health I ask her to immediately confirm ongoing funding for Ivan Lister, the drought outreach worker at Benalla.

Northern Victoria is entering its 11th tough year as signs of an early autumn break disappear. Even the most financially and emotionally robust people have become very fragile and many are in need of professional support.

Locally, Ivan Lister, a knockabout bloke, is outstandingly successful in seeking out people in need, winning their confidence and connecting them to professional support. Ivan and I are in frequent contact, sharing our views on the situation and striving to help people survive the toughest times in living memory. It is therefore extremely frustrating and distracting for Ivan and others to have to plead every few months for a continuation of his funding.

I was involved last year, and it took several weeks and repeated contact from me to the minister's office to win $15 000 funding to ensure Ivan's full-time employment until 30 June 2008. Regrettably, as at today, Ivan is not assured of full-time employment beyond 30 June, even though the need is bleedingly obvious to anyone connected to country people.

The Labor government is either totally disconnected to country people or is extremely callous. The Brumby government's policies and inaction are placing additional stress on country people. The current package of drought assistance measures, which includes the funding for mental health, is discriminatory. For example, the rainwater tank rebate is restricted to households on reticulated water supplies, so people in small country communities and those on rural lifestyle properties miss out.

Similarly, funding for local government drought coordinator positions does not include all shires where exceptional circumstances have been declared: Murrindindi shire is one of those that has made several requests for funding for a drought coordinator without success. The on-farm productivity grants only apply to the 20 most severely affected shires.

This discrimination really angers people. It is tough enough battling drought and bushfires, but when you have an unsympathetic, city-centric government, it leads to absolute despair. The north-south pipeline is the last straw. People in northern Victoria cannot comprehend the Premier's plan to pipe water from drought-stricken northern Victoria to Melbourne to flush the toilets. This particularly galls people when there are other options for solving Melbourne's water problems, in particular increased use of recycled water and stormwater capture. And of course the Auditor-General's report on the whole project has highlighted the deceit and incompetence of the Brumby government.

The Brumby government's inaction and/or discriminatory policies on drought assistance are adding to an already stressful situation. I therefore call on the Minister for Mental Health to immediately ensure ongoing funding for outreach worker Ivan Lister to help connect mentally fragile people with appropriate professional services. It would be extremely helpful if the Labor government reviewed its drought assistance and water policies to remove significant factors contributing to mental ill health

Autism: Mansfield Acorn artists

Extract from Hansard

Dr SYKES (Benalla) -- Last Friday night I had the pleasure of launching an online art gallery for six Mansfield artists. The six artists -- Tim Mallows, Jonathan Esser, Carl Harris, Thomas Huber, John Kostea and Kylie Hughes -- are known as the Acorn artists.

The Acorn artists are members of a group of local young people with autism who, under the guidance of Joan Curtis and many other caring Mansfield people, have developed their unique artistic talents. The work of Acorn artists has been exhibited at the National Gallery of Victoria and the Benalla Regional Art Gallery.

Their art hangs in places such as Wangaratta, Sydney, Canberra and San Francisco. As Joan Curtis said, 'They have a unique vision of the world; they don't look at things the way other people look at them'.

The online website has been developed by New Zealand internet Web design and Web marketing specialists Niche Design, and Rachael Errington in particular. Rachael is both talented and very passionate about the marketing of the Acorn artists' work, and the website is simple and user friendly.

Rachael will be operating the site at no cost to the artists. I encourage members to visit the website at www.acornartists.com, view the paintings and of course purchase one or more. I have put my money where my mouth is by purchasing a painting by Tim Mallows entitled Water Waves. Tim's painting is a welcome addition to paintings I have previously purchased from Jonathan Esser, Carl Harris and Kylie Hughes.

Congratulations to all who have been involved in making the Acorn artist website a reality.

Country electricity bills set to soar

The Brumby Government has seen fit to talk up its axing of a scheme to provide country Victorians with a rebate on their electricity bills in Parliament.

Leader of The Nationals, Peter Ryan, said country Victorians had a right to feel ripped off by the Brumby Government.

“In response to my question in Parliament today Energy and Resources Minister, Peter Batchelor confirmed the Network Tariff Rebate scheme had been scrapped,” Mr Ryan said.
“This $130 million scheme has been in existence for years and has helped countless country families by ensuring their electricity bills were on par with those received by their city counterparts.

“However the Brumby Government has now seen fit to take the razor to the program and ceased to provide rebates as of March 31 this year.”

Mr Ryan said Mr Batchelor had tried to justify the cut on the basis that it was providing additional solar hot water rebates in rural areas.

“Mr Batchelor has told Parliament today that the rebate scheme was cut to fund a program to give country Victorians access to rebates if they install a solar hot water system,” said Mr Ryan.
“However this solar hot water scheme has been in existence since July 2000. The only change is that the rebate will now be made available to households that replace electric hot water systems with solar technology.

“In the past the rebate was only available to houses that replaced gas hot water systems with solar, a limitation that made no sense environmentally.

“This change is something we’ve been calling for years and it’s commonsense, however it by no means justifies the axing of a program that provided country Victorians with real assistance to pay their electricity bills.

“The Brumby Government is trying to pretend that a one-off payment that can only be taken up by some is as good as a regular rebate that helps country families cope with the higher costs of electricity in regional areas.

“And of course those who’ve already converted to solar hot water systems will receive nothing.
“At a time when the cost of living is spiralling higher for all Australians this will increase the hardship for country Victorians.

“The Energy Minister should reinstate the Network Tariff Scheme and ensure country Victorians aren’t hit with higher electricity bills this winter.”

Sykes supports recycled water for Melbourne

Compulsory increased usage of recycled water in Melbourne proposed by a Liberal-National Coalition Bill introduced in Parliament today has been welcomed by Nationals Member for Benalla, Bill Sykes.

Dr Sykes said, “The Bill initiated by Peter Hall, Nationals Member for Eastern Region provides a cost effective, environmentally friendly solution to Melbourne’s water needs.

“The operation of the Bill is based on the Government’s Mandatory Renewable Energy Legislation.

“The Bill sets targets for the use of recycled water, including storm water, in lieu of potable water by the major Melbourne water retailers and the 1,500 or so large users of water.

“Importantly, the Bill does not require Melburnians to drink recycled water but for recycled water to replace potable water currently used in parks and gardens, industry and other situations which don’t involve human consumption of the water.

Dr Sykes concluded, “This Bill provides a common sense alternative to the ludicrous proposal to pipe water from dry Northern Victorian to Melbourne.

“I challenge the Government to allow the Bill to be debated in the Parliament.”

Coalition proposal a win for Benalla Electorate Teachers

Under a new proposal unveiled by the Leader of the Liberal Nationals Coalition Ted Baillieu yesterday, Benalla Electorate teachers would become the highest-paid in Australia.

The member for Benalla, Bill Sykes, said the Victorian Liberal Nationals Coalition proposal would be an enormous victory for teachers in North East Victoria.

The Coalition would spend $396 million over three years on boosting the pay of Victorian teachers, currently the lowest-paid in Australia.

Bill Sykes said the Coalition’s proposal would be a significant boost for teachers and education in the Benalla Electorate, attracting the best and the brightest to all government schools.

“Under the Brumby Government, teachers in North East Victoria have endured the worst pay in Australia,” Bill Sykes said.

“The Coalition’s proposal would remedy Labor inaction and neglect in the education sector for Benalla Electorate residents.

“North East Victorian students deserve better, and education can never be our number one priority if those who teach them struggle on poor salaries.”

The Coalition would ensure that government-employed teachers would be elevated in the current round of Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA) negotiations to be the highest paid teachers for their level in Australia, bringing all Victorian kindergarten, primary, and secondary teachers to national parity levels and above.

If the government maintains its wages policy at 3.25 per cent, this commitment would require an additional Budget allocation of $396 million over three years (between 2008/09 and 2010/11).

John Brumby claims education is his number one priority, yet his neglect and inaction has resulted in:

• The lowest student literacy and numeracy rates of any mainland state (Source: OECD: Program for International Student Assessment);

• The lowest funding per student for government schools (Source: Productivity Commission Report on Government Services, 2008);

• A school maintenance backlog which has doubled from $130 million to $268 million at last audit, with many schools not being fixed until 2016; and

• Parents losing confidence in Victorian government schools (in the last two years government school enrolments have fallen by 752 students while enrolments in the non-government school system increased by 8,658 students over the same period).

“North East Victorian teachers have been trying to negotiate a salary increase with the Brumby Government for 12 months, yet the Premier arrogantly refuses to meet with or speak with them,” Bill Sykes said.

“Parents and students in North East Victoria want a better education than the one John Brumby is offering. Attracting and retaining the best and the brightest to teach at our schools is a sound investment in Victoria’s classrooms.”

Pipeline: Auditor General exposes Government deceit

Brumby Government deceit and use of ‘rubbery’ figures for the North-South Pipeline/Foodbowl Modernisation Project have been exposed by the Auditor General’s report on Victoria’s Water Infrastructure Project.

Bill Sykes, Nationals Member for Benalla congratulated the Auditor General for listening to the people and taking seriously their concerns about the Government’s rushed, incompetent and deceitful approach to the Pipeline/Foodbowl Modernisation and other water projects.

Dr Sykes said, “The Auditor General’s major criticisms included:-

• The Government misled the public in relation to the costs of water infrastructure projects by using costs lower than the most likely cost projection for the Wonthaggi Desalination Plant;
• The Government failing to disclose the ‘low level of rigour’ applied to the Foodbowl Modernisation water savings and benefit/costs/risks assessment;
• The Government failing to verify water losses available for savings – in spite of concerns being expressed by a large number of individuals and organisations; and
• The Government misled the public in relation to its claims of VFF support for the project.”

Dr Sykes continued, “This sort of incompetence and deceit is what you may expect in a third world country.

“Mr Brumby’s excuse is that it was an emergency when Victoria had very low run off into Melbourne dams in Summer 2006/07.

“The truth is that the rain had been 50% of long term averages since 1997 and Mr Brumby just realised there was a problem in 2006/07!”

Dr Sykes also said that Mr Brumby’s incompetence and deceit is going to be further exposed over the next few months. The Auditor General is conducting further investigations into issues such as allocation of a $140 million contract without following due process.

Dr Sykes concluded, “I encourage people of Northern Victoria to continue to voice their objection to the North-South Pipeline while maintaining their support for the much needed water infrastructure upgrades”.

Auditor General vindicates pipeline opponents

Sophie Mirabella, the Federal Member for Indi, has welcomed the report tabled in the Victorian Parliament – Planning for Water Infrastructure in Victoria – by the Auditor General, Des Pearson, regarding water policy in Victoria.

“This report clearly demonstrates the arrogant manner in which the Victorian Government went about its ill-fated plans for the north-south pipeline. It vindicates the position taken by so many of us in the north-east against Labor’s dangerous and reckless plot to pipe our water to Melbourne,” Mrs Mirabella said.

“Whilst many have simply given up hope that the Victorian Government might change their mind on this project, it is clear now that due process was not followed, nor was there any consideration of the environmental, social or economic impacts of the pipeline to our region.”

“I commend the Auditor General for speaking openly and fearlessly on this topic. It is now incumbent on Premier Brumby and his Government to listen to the people of the north-east instead of riding roughshod over our rights,” Mrs Mirabella said.

“Rather than me commenting more on this, I have enclosed some quotes from the Auditor General’s which highlight the flawed manner in which this project was developed,” Mrs Mirabella concluded.

Excerpts from the Auditor General’s Report
The level of rigour applying to the components of the plan varies considerably. For example, the food bowl upgrade costs represent the lowest level of rigour and were, at that time, based on a preliminary study by a stakeholder group (the Food Bowl Alliance). (Page 31, Figure 3B)

In some cases the level of precision, at the time the plan was announced, fell below that required within a business case. This should have been mitigated by more explanation of both the stage reached and the process being followed to fully justify strategies and plans before implementation. (Page 32, 3.4.3)

Information provided on the food bowl project did not adequately explain the basis for the water savings estimates. The announcement of the food bowl project in June 2007 was not informed by a rigorous cost analysis and full validation of the water savings estimates. At that time the supporting documentation consisted of the submission by the Food Bowl Alliance advocating the project. We found this documentation did not have the depth of analysis and level of rigour commensurate with a project business case. (3.4.5)

The food bowl steering committee’s final report provided no new information to address stakeholder concerns about the water savings. (Page 34, 3.4.5)

Sykes host morning tea at Parliament for student award winners

Nationals MP Bill Sykes this week had the pleasure of hosting morning tea at Parliament house for 12 student award winners and their families from the Benalla Electorate.

The students were last year’s recipients of Dr Sykes’ Weary Dunlop, You’ve Got What It Takes Award. The award was initiated by Dr Sykes in 2003 to recognize students who have demonstrated persistence and resilience in overcoming challenges to achieve either personally, socially, academically, on the sporting arena or in some other field of endeavour.

Dr Sykes said, “It was a great pleasure to welcome students and their families to Parliament House this week. For most it was their first time to view the magnificent building and surrounds and learn a little of it’s history and maybe recognize some familiar faces in the corridors.”

Students attending were:
Jayde Wardle, Benalla 31 PS; Natalee Coad, Benalla West PS; Ahren McNab, Benalla East PS; Joseph Anker, Broken Creek PS; Asha Greenhalgh, Devenish PS; Rowan Milligan, FCJ College; Patience Cooper, St Joseph’s PS; Casey Harrison, Warrenbayne PS; Gillian Deed, Bright P-12; Ben Talbot, Mt Beauty SC; Taylor Holland, Mansfield PS and Joanne Scorah, Thornton PS.

Whilst these 12 students chose to come to Parliament House, another seven award winners and their families have chosen to attend an AFL match with Dr Sykes at the MCG on 29 June this year. The award is generously co-sponsored by the Brisbane Lions Football Club and the AFL.

Dr Sykes concluded, “I look forward to following the progress of the award winners in years to come and continuing to offer the award to schools in my Electorate each year. Nomination packs will be sent to schools during Term 3.

Sugarloaf pipeline will not affect tourism

FROM THE MINISTER FOR TOURISM AND MAJOR EVENTS

DATE: Thursday, April 3, 2008

Tourism and Major Events Minister, Tim Holding has dismissed claims that tourism in the Yarra Valley will be affected by the construction of the Sugarloaf Pipeline.

Mr Holding, who is also Water Minister, said tourism to the region remained strong and would be unaffected by the construction of the pipeline.

“The Sugarloaf Pipeline will not impact on tourism to the region,” Mr Holding said.

“Melbourne Water will be working with tourism operators including wineries along the pipeline route to ensure disruptions are reduced to a minimum during construction.

“The Yarra Valley region will continue to attract huge numbers of local, interstate and international visitors to Victoria.”

Mr Holding said recent reports suggesting a decline in visitor numbers were incorrect and that visitor numbers to the region have increased significantly over the past year.

“During 2007 domestic daytrip visitation to the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges Region grew by 21.8% over the previous year to reach 2.7 million visitors,” he said.

“Over the same period, domestic overnight visitation to the region also grew by 9.4% to reach 626,000 visitors.

“There was also an increase in international overnight visitors to the region during 2007 with an increase of 21.3% over the previous year.”

Last year the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges Region was allocated $600,000 as part of the State Government’s Regional Marketing Program.

A new $150,000 brand campaign for the Dandenong Ranges was also launched in September, tag-lined Visit Make Believe. The campaign aims to encourage more visitors to discover the natural beauty of the Dandenong Ranges region.

“This new campaign along with the Yarra Valley’s hugely successful You’ll Never Want to Leave brand campaign, has helped the region to successfully promote its key strengths of gourmet food and wine experiences, natural attractions and its close proximity to Melbourne,” Mr Holding said.

Regional Victoria is a vital part of the Victorian tourism industry. In regional Victoria, tourism is worth $3.4 billion annually and is responsible for 61,000 jobs.

Mokoan: key issues remain unresolved

The key issues arising from the decommissioning of Lake Mokoan (ie water security, flooding, future land use and equitable sharing of water savings) remain unresolved after six years of battling by Broken Valley irrigators and the Benalla community.

Nationals Member for Benalla, Bill Sykes said, “As we all know, the new Minister for Water, Tim Holding, fell into the same trap as his predecessor, John Thwaites, when he re-affirmed in December 2007 the decision to decommission Lake Mokoan based on flawed and incomplete information.

100 days on we are still waiting for:-

• Government support for an independent assessment of the current level of security of supply of irrigator water – (The previous ‘so called’ independent assessment was done with extremely restrictive terms of reference which precluded considering a range of potential impacts of Blue Green Algae rather than the most extreme impact used ie. that blue green algae causes closure of Mokoan 95 years out of 100 – something which is clearly not true!)

• Government assurances regarding increased flood risks to Benalla and downstream –. Earlier Government assurances have stated ‘minimal risk increase’ but further historical evidence of floods, including in the Winton area in 1939 which washed out part of the railway line, has re-affirmed doubts about the basis for the Government’s assurances.
The Government has now agreed that another flood risk assessment should be done.

• Future Land Use – Over 12 months ago the Government was presented with a future land use strategy for the Mokoan area post decommissioning.
Successive Ministers have failed to get their minds around the subject and failed to commit the $30m plus required to ensure a ‘world class wetland’ rather than a weed and pest animal infested jungle.

• Equitable sharing of water savings – The recent Federal Government commitment of $1 billion for water saving projects in Victoria involves sharing of the water savings on a 50:50 basis between irrigators and the environment.
At this stage not one litre of the claimed 50 billion litre water savings from decommissioning Lake Mokoan is ear marked for Broken Valley irrigators.

Dr Sykes concluded, “I call on the Brumby Government to immediately address these important issues for which the most simple and cost effective solution is to accept the irrigator’s proposal for a ‘mini Lake Mokoan’ – but of course that would require Mr Brumby and Mr Holding admitting that they ‘got it wrong’ – something that neither are good at doing!”

Sykes welcomes return of Benalla races

Nationals MP Bill Sykes has welcomed the return of a race meeting to Benalla by Racing Victoria.

Racing Victoria announced this week that Benalla Racing Club will get one of the five race meetings returned to country Victoria after it had earlier removed 28 meetings from country Victoria.

Dr Sykes said, “This is good news for Benalla and I am sure that the local community and the horse racing fraternity will fully support the new meeting on 20 December 2008.

“That said, other race clubs in the North East area such as Mansfield, Towong, Tatura and Wodonga are still losers.

“It is critical that Racing Victoria understands the full impact on the community of its removal of race meetings and downgrading the status of race meetings.”

“Racing Victoria must not remove further meetings from country Victoria and those race clubs and communities which have lost meetings or had meetings downgraded must be fully compensated.

Dr Sykes concluded, “I was pleased to be able to support Benalla Race Club’s application for the return of a race meeting and I will continue to support all race clubs in my Electorate as race meetings are an integral part of our local communities.”

Sykes supports National Volunteers Week

It is true that “Volunteers Change Our World” and this year Bill Sykes is encouraging all members of our local communities in the Benalla Electorate to join in celebrating National Volunteer Week between 12-18 May 2008.

“Volunteers form a crucial and invaluable part of our communities, they donate their time and abilities for the betterment of all and this is our chance to recognise their efforts,” said Dr Sykes.

Dr Sykes continued, “The theme for this year’s National Volunteer Week “Volunteers Change Our World” perfectly encapsulates the value and importance of volunteers. Let’s use this opportunity to celebrate and recognise all the people around us that volunteer in our community. From members of local emergency services groups such as the CFA, to parents who assist at schools, those involved in local youth organisations, to those using their energies to improve our environment.”

“It is great to hear that over 5.4 million Australian’s over 18 years of age are involved in volunteering, lets get behind these people thank them, and see whether we can all get involved!” encouraged Dr Sykes.

For more information on this important week please visit www.volunteeringaustralia.org/NVW or contact my office at 2/55 Carrier Street, Benalla, or by phone on 03 5762 2100.

Rural communities to lose under broadband plan

The north-east will be left without a faster speed broadband service for at least another five years, following Labor’s decision to axe the OPEL broadband contract, Mrs Sophie Mirabella, the Federal Member for Indi said today.

“The government’s scandalous decision to dishonour the agreement for the OPEL broadband network, which included the provision of $958 million in Federal funding, is a massive blow for the people of the north-east,” Mrs Mirabella said.

“The OPEL network was to utilise a combination of technologies, including WiMAX wireless technology, to deliver enhanced broadband services to 900,000 premises across the country, including throughout the north-east.”

“The Labor Party’s city focused plan is to build fibre-to-the-node services that will cost taxpayers around five times more, yet deliver speeds that are no faster than ADSL2 or WiMax. It will not provide for fibre to every isolated farmhouse, unlike the satellite subsidy that was the coalition government’s policy,” Mrs Mirabella said.

“Other than talk about its fibre network, Labor has provided absolutely no detail on how it plans to deliver high-speed, metro-equivalent broadband to those of us living outside the key population centres.”

“Over the last few years, Labor has failed to keep up with the coalition in having a policy for bringing telecommunications to rural areas. Does anyone genuinely believe that Labor will now install new fibre to the node to every isolated farmhouse? Of course not, and that is why a wireless service is far more practical and affordable for rural internet users and for the taxpayer,” Mrs Mirabella said.

“Labor’s policy means that the so-called ‘last mile’ between telephone exchanges and residences will not be upgraded. This is where the bottlenecks currently exist—between the exchanges and the users. This is exactly what the coalition government’s clear plan for using innovative wireless technology was all about. Further, the technology advocated by the Labor Party is only accessible by users who are within four kilometres of an exchange.”

“This left a huge hole in Labor’s claim that their broadband service would serve people in rural areas of north-east Victoria. I condemn Labor’s announcement as it will leave consumers high and dry until at least 2013,” Mrs Mirabella concluded.

Sex shop opponent hopes pokies ruling helps case

clipped from www.abc.net.au An opponent of a sex bookshop in Wangaratta says a recent ruling about the impact of poker machines on the community should help his case against the shop. Wangaratta council approved a permit for the sex shop last month, saying it could not reject it on social or moral grounds. A group of at least 30 opponents will lodge an appeal with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) tomorrow. Opponent John Moore says the Supreme Court's ruling about poker machines in Romsey sets a precedent for VCAT. "One of the quotes from the court judgment is that if the approval of gaming at a particular premises is likely to cause unhappiness or discontent in that community, that consequences a social impact of approval, which would be detrimental to the wellbeing of the community," he said. "I think that equally applies to the adult bookshop."