Media Releases

The Cohuna Scout Hall will be refurbished through a $59,000 funding grant, announced in Cohuna last week by Member for Rodney, Paul Weller.

The much-needed refurbishment will see an extension to the existing hall, new shower and toilet facility built and provisions made for a Venturer Den, a storage room and a major kitchen upgrade.

The Cohuna Scouts applied for the funding and their application was approved as part of the first round of the $4 million Scouts and Guides Facilities Grants Program.

Mr Weller said the grant allows local scouts to enjoy upgraded facilities and delivers on the Government’s election commitment to upgrade Scout and Girl Guide facilities across the state.

“This funding also ensures that these facilities remain accessible to other community and local not-for-profit organisations, many of which cater for young people,” he said.

“The Victorian Government had recognised the importance and benefits of Scouting and Guiding in today’s society and by providing the funds to upgrade their facilities, the Cohuna Scouts will have the ability to retain and attract new members,” Mr Weller said.

Cohuna Scout Group Leader, Stuart Richardson said the funding was a very welcome announcement for the plans that had been in the development stage for four to five years.

“The funding is very much appreciated and we hope to get the works underway as soon as possible,” Mr Richardson said.

Works to improve the Scout Hall will see much needed improvements to the site, including new showers and toilets – the previous facilities were condemned – and the inclusion of a Venture Den, a facility to cater for older Scout members aged between 15 and 18 years.

A spokesperson for Scouts Australia, Carol Richards, said that the Scouts Association will also be offering further assistance to the Cohuna Scout Group and many other refurbishment projects for scout and guide groups across the state.

“We offer general support and encouragement to groups to self-manage and contribute to their local communities and these State Government grants will allow us to reach some great outcomes for shared facilities throughout Victoria,” she said.

Echuca’s Yorta Yorta elder, Aunty Melva Johnson has been named on the inaugural Australian Indigenous Honour Roll list.

Aunty Melva is one of 20 Victorians to be listed on the Honour Roll, the first of its kind in Australia, along with many other high-profile indigenous people including reconciliation pioneer the late Sir Douglas Nicholls, also a Yorta Yorta elder and the first Aboriginal man to be knighted.

Former world champion boxer and the first indigenous man to be named Australian of the Year, the late Lionel Rose was also honoured as well as internationally recognised and award-winning singer and musician, Archie Roach.

Member for Rodney, Paul Weller has personally congratulated Aunty Melva for her inclusion on the Honour Roll list.

“This Honour Roll acknowledges the many significant contributions from our indigenous leaders and Aunty Melva has been a tireless worker behind the scenes in helping to educate Aboriginal children in Echuca,” Mr Weller said.

In announcing the Honour Roll, Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu made specific mention of Aunty Melva as a quiet achiever and said the many inductees were inspiring role models for all Victorians with achievements that deserved to be formally recognised and truly honoured.

Mr Weller said the Honour Roll was created following an election commitment from the State Government and as part of its broader commitment to closing the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous Victorians.

“Aunty Melva and all of the inductees have made significant contributions to our society across many areas, including health, education, politics, sport and the arts,” Mr Weller said.

Members of this inaugural Honour Roll group were nominated by people across Victoria and selected with the assistance of an advisory panel made up of Indigenous people from a range of backgrounds.

“It is very important that we learn about and acknowledge the work of many indigenous Victorians like our own Aunty Melva who have made tremendous contributions to their communities,” Mr Weller said.

Nationals Member for Rodney, Paul Weller, has announced major funding for the Rochester Recreation Reserve at the Water to Wickets cricket event in Rochester last Sunday, February 19th.

Along with Nationals Member for Northern Victoria, Damian Drum, Mr Weller announced funds to the tune of $97, 554.60 for major works to repair the football club change rooms - extensively damaged in January 2011’s devastating floods.

The funds have been granted through the Victorian Government’s $30 million Flood Recovery for Community Infrastructure Fund.

Mr Weller said the funding will go a long way towards helping the people of Rochester get back on its feet after the devastating flood event in 2011.

“There was significant damage to the Rochester Recreation Reserve, and throughout 80 per cent of the town, and these funds will kick-start the major refurbishment works planned for the site,” Mr Weller said.

“To date more than $51,000 has been awarded to the Rochester Recreation Reserve Committee of Management to help clean up and repair damaged fencing however this additional funding will allow the committee to repair the football club rooms, bringing them back to the appropriate standard for our local teams and visitors,” he said.

“Recreation facilities are vital to the community’s physical and social well-being and all user groups at this site are integral in keeping community sport and recreation alive and well in Rochester,” Mr Weller said.

“The Water to Wickets Twenty20 match was the perfect platform to announce the funding,” said Mr Weller.

According to Campaspe Shire Flood Recovery Officer and Water to Wickets committee member, Jordan Tamblyn, “Rochester is set to boast one of the best recreation reserve facilities in the state on completion of the works thanks to this much needed funding”.

Mr Tamblyn said there had been many individuals and groups involved with the funding including the Rochester Recreation Reserve Committee, the Flood Recovery Committee, Rochester Chamber of Commerce, the Major Events Committee and the Campaspe Shire.

Rochester Recreation Reserve Committee member, Allan Darbyshire has been heavily involved in the grant application process with the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) and has praised the announcement for what is “sorely needed” funding.

“We are very thrilled with the announcement of the funding which we have been working on for 12 months now and we are very grateful,” Mr Darbyshire said.

Mr Darbyshire and the Recreation Reserve Committee had been working closely in negotiating the funding with the DSE and were thankful for its help and support, along with the hard work and determination to secure the funding from Mr Tamblyn.

According to Mr Darbyshire, works have already begun at the Recreation Reserve to have everything up and running in time for the start of the football season.

Mr Weller congratulated the organisers of the Water to Wickets cricket event and said he looked forward to future community events at the Recreation Reserve. 

Two community consultation groups will work with the North Central Catchment Management Authority (CMA) and Goulburn-Murray Water on the Gunbower Forest Watering and Willow management projects following a public meeting in Leitchville this week.

Member for Rodney, Paul Weller chaired the meeting in response to community concerns regarding the projects.

Minister for Water, the Hon. Peter Walsh, North Central CMA Chief Executive, Damian Wells and representatives from Goulburn-Murray Water, and Murray Darling Basin Authority were in attendance and took the opportunity to listen to public concerns and address comments from the audience.

“Over 90 people attended the meeting with plenty of robust discussion”, Mr Weller said.

Mr Wells said the two community consultation groups will be vital in the success of the projects and builds on previous community engagement activities.

“We are looking forward to working with the community groups and encourage interested community members to become involved.  Local knowledge and experience is important.”

For further information or to express an interest in participating in one of the community consultation groups, contact the North Central CMA on (03) 5448 7124.

Nationals Member for Rodney, Paul Weller this week encouraged members of his electorate to “shop around” for flood insurance and wanted to make clear that “there are options available for competitive flood insurance”. 

“Some companies offer you to opt in or out when it comes to flood insurance for your home or property and there are competitive options available – you just need to shop around,” Mr Weller said.

Mr Weller’s comments come on the back of recent meetings at Parliament House with insurance companies and National Party members.

Following last year’s Natural Disaster Insurance Review, the Federal Government proposed mandatory flood insurance with every home insurance policy, but with home owners given the choice to opt out if they do not wish to be covered for floods.

“This review also recommended a standard definition of a flood, something that caused much confusion for many people in my electorate, both during and following last year’s floods,” Mr Weller said.

The definition states a flood is the covering of normally dry land by water that has escaped or been released from the normal confines of any lake or any river, creek or other natural water course, whether or not it has been altered or modified, or from any reservoir, canal or dam.

“It is hoped that this standard definition will remove the confusing debate about riverine flooding versus flash flooding, which has caused grief and confusion for many people, often with neighbours being treated differently by their individual insurance companies,” he said.

Following discussions with insurance companies it appears some still use the one in 100 year flood event rule-of-thumb or have premiums based on post codes or individual risk assessments.

Furthermore, some companies have an ‘opt out’ clause for flood coverage while for others it is a compulsory component of their insurance coverage.

“In terms of opting out, some companies will require the ticking of box to opt out, so it is clear that you have made that choice.”

“It is important to read all the fine print of your insurance policy and I suggest a number of quotes, in writing, so that you can compare and can see the difference,” Mr Weller said.

More than $40,000 of state government funds has been poured into the Rodney Electorate, with Echuca’s Neighbourhood House and Stanhope’s District Development Committee (SDDC) both recipients of much needed information technology grants.

Member for Rodney, Paul Weller announced the funding this week as part of the Coalition Government’s Community Information and Communications (ICT) Technology Skills Grants program.

“Many people living in rural communities often experience ICT exclusion because of their economic status – not everyone can afford a computer or an internet connection - and these funds will help bridge the gap for members of the community with little or no access to computers or ICT training,” he said.

Echuca’s Neighbourhood House has received $25,000 through the Community ICT Skills Grants program to fund the replacement of out-dated computers, upgrade its community website and provide free ICT training to its student community.

“We are wrapped and very happy with the funds… now we can both improve and expand,” Echuca Neighbourhood House Coordinator, Liz O’Byrne said.

“We have plans to upgrade our website, revamp our logo and improve teaching facilities across the board,” she said.

Importantly, the not-for-profit organisation hopes to attract new students and now has the ability to offer support with the cost of transport and child care.

The Stanhope and District Development Committee (SDDC) is thrilled with its funding windfall, according to secretary, Bob Holschier.

The self-funded group has plans to replace and upgrade old computers to provide an improved level of internet access and ICT training to members of the Stanhope community.

The funds will be directly channelled to the Stanhope Business Centre (SBC) to offer an improved standard of ICT facilities.

“The SBC is very much the hub of the community and we are thrilled to be able to upgrade our computers as well as all software and modems,” Mr Holschier said.

The SBC provides services and information based facilities to all members of the Stanhope community, including senior citizens, tradespeople, tourists and backpackers, disadvantaged groups and local businesses.

Member for Rodney, Paul Weller spoke compassionately in parliament last week about the sombre anniversary of the Black Saturday Bushfires.

Mr Weller paid tribute to those who lost their lives and livelihoods in Australia’s worst fire disaster and asked those present to remember the CFA volunteers who risked their lives on this tragic day and continue to do so, especially during the fire season. 

“In our Rodney Electorate we were fortunate to avoid any major effects of this extreme bush-fire day, with the Redesdale fire the only one affecting us, blazing at the southern end of our electorate," Mr Weller said.

“On this third anniversary of the devastating fires it is timely to acknowledge and thank our CFA volunteers who were on constant stand-by on Black Saturday to assist in controlling these terrifying fires,” he said.

Mr Weller said the volunteers in every CFA group within our electorate are all members of our community and give up their precious time to protect both the people and properties of our towns and rural areas.

“All CFA volunteers are at-the-ready every day of the year to come to our aid in the event of a fire and regularly sacrifice important tasks in their homes, businesses or on their farms to ‘drop everything’ and come to our aid in the event of a fire,” he said.

CFA volunteers come from many walks of life in our community, including self-employed business people, mothers at home, students and retirees and all have a common goal – to serve the community in the event of a fire.

“We are thankful so far this bushfire season to not have had the extreme weather conditions of previous years and can feel secure in the fact that our many CFA volunteers are ready to fight fires and protect lives and properties at a minutes notice,” Mr Weller said.

Mr Weller said the anniversary is a timely opportunity to thank our CFA volunteers and to acknowledge that if a situation arose they wouldn’t hesitate to lend a hand to other volunteer fire fighters across Victoria, or indeed Australia - and for this, we should be thankful.

Sporting groups and organisations in the Rodney Electorate continue to benefit from Victorian Coalition Government funds through the announcement of a new sports uniform grant.

Member for Rodney, Paul Weller announced the grant for all sporting clubs and organisations across the electorate and invited them to apply for the $1000 available through the Sporting Uniform Grants Program.

“Our sporting clubs can now put some new life into their club colours and consider other areas of improvement with the funds that might have been spent on new uniforms,” Mr Weller said.

“Many of our local sporting groups and organisations have stretched budgets and this grant allows all those involved with sporting groups to represent their club and region to the best of their ability,” he said.

“Team uniforms are more than just colours; they represent local sporting traditions and community pride.”

Mr Weller said through the Sporting Uniform Grants Program, the Victorian Government aims to reduce the cost of participating in sport for sports club members, families and their children.

The grants provide clubs with an opportunity to replace old uniforms, or purchase a range of uniform related items for members including team tops, shorts, socks and footwear.

“It is hoped the grants will also help to attract and accommodate new clubs members, nurture talent and overcome financial barriers that might prevent some people from being more active, more often,” Mr Weller said.

Applications are now open online and will close on March 1 2012.

For more information or to apply for a grant, please visit www.grantsdpcd.vic.gov.au or contact the Grants Information Line on 1300 366 356 for guidelines and assistance.