Media Releases

The Nationals Member for Rodney Paul Weller has criticised the Brumby Government over a lack of communication with irrigators affected by the Northern Victorian Irrigation Renewal Project (NVIRP).

In State Parliament yesterday, Mr Weller said the government was more interested in wasting money on misleading advertising campaigns about the project, than liaising with farmers.

He said Goulburn-Murray Water irrigators located on non-backbone channels were living in fear that they would not be connected to the reconfigured system.

“Irrigators are becoming increasingly worried about their future due to a lack of communication from NVIRP.

“I have had calls to my office from irrigators located between five, 10 and 15 kilometres from the backbone channels who have not yet been informed by NVIRP how and when they will be connected to the channel system.”

Mr Weller said some of Victoria’s most efficient irrigators were on non-backbone channels, yet they faced being shut down by the Brumby Government.

“If the government had any compassion and respect for these irrigators it would have insisted that NVIRP be out talking to these farmers well before now, discussing options and finding solutions to connect them to the system,” he said.

“Instead, the Brumby Government is wasting valuable resources by spending millions of dollars on misleading advertising.

“The advertisements running right across Victoria at the present time claim that 425 megalitres could be saved through the irrigation upgrades, when in fact last year the system only lost 350 megalitres.

“Using the government’s very own figures, last year the savings across the whole system would only have been 200,000 megalitres.

“Given that savings generated by reconfiguration and the upgrade of Shepparton District and Central Goulburn 1234 were committed well before NVIRP began, the actual savings generated by NVIRP in a year similar to last year would have been only 105,000 megalitres, not 425,000 megalitres.”

Mr Weller said the Brumby Government should be directing money towards working with irrigators on solutions to their channel connections rather than wasting it on dishonest advertising campaigns as it was presently doing.

The Nationals Member for Rodney Paul Weller has raised concerns over the massive rise in management and administration costs at Goulburn Murray Water over the past four years.

Annual reports for the company show management and administration costs have risen from $10,172,000 to $20,848,000 between the 2004/05 and 2008/09 financial years.

Mr Weller said the exorbitant rise was of great concern to irrigators and others looking to invest in irrigation farming in the GMW region.

“I have sought an explanation from the Water Minister as to how these costs could rise so significantly in just four years,” he said.

“CPI rises of 3.5% per year during that period would result in a rise to less than $12 million and these increases are way above and beyond that.”

Mr Weller said he had raised a Question on Notice in State Parliament today requesting an explanation from the Minister to assist irrigators and potential investors to understand the need for such steep rises.

“I have asked for a breakdown of these costs which include board costs, the cost of operating consultative committees, executive staff salaries and related costs, other administrative staff salaries and related costs and consultant’s fees,” he said.

“I have also sought an explanation as to the approximate increase in CPI over the four year period where the expenditure items have increased by more than 10 percent.

“Considering that there will be less water in the GMW region in future due to the Federal Government’s Water buyback and the State Government’s climate change predictions, irrigators have a right to know whether these costs will fall so the management and administration cost per mega-litre doesn’t blow out to levels that will deter further investment in the GMW region.”

The Nationals Member for Rodney Paul Weller has urged the Brumby Government to deliver projects in the Gannawarra Shire that will deliver at least 100 new permanent long-term jobs for the region.

In State Parliament last night Mr Weller said the shire had been hard hit by job losses as a result of the government’s decision to declare Gunbower Forest a national park and yesterday’s announcement by Murray Goulburn Co-operative that it was closing its cheese-making facility at Leitchville.

He said the Bracks and Brumby governments’ environment, water and drought policies had been disastrous for the Gannawarra Shire.

“When the government declared 80 per cent of the Gunbower Forest a national park, it took jobs in the timber and cattle industries away from the region.

“And because the Victorian Labor Government has failed to implement drought support for farmers which will hold the milk flow for northern Victoria at a level that can sustain all the milk factories, Murray Goulburn has been forced to close its Leitchville plant which could result in the loss of a further 80 jobs.”

Mr Weller said the government’s water policies had also taken their toll on the region.

“The dairy industry well knows that last year and the year before losses in the Goulburn Murray Water irrigation district were less than 400,000 megalitres, yet the government continues to insist that it can save 425,000 megalitres through Foodbowl Modernisation,” he said.

“The dairy industry has no confidence that the government can achieve these figures, and the dramatic drop in milk flow has proven that.”

Mr Weller said it was imperative that the Minister for Regional and Rural Development act to promptly return jobs to the Gannawarra area.

“If the Minister fails to act, the outcome for the communities of Gannawarra Shire could be quite disastrous,” he said.

“We all know when jobs are cut you can have flow-on effects that lead to further losses, then services leaving the area which lead to further losses and the downward spiral continues.

“I ask the Minister to instruct Regional Development Victoria to deliver projects that provide 100 full time permanent jobs in the Gannawarra Shire so we do not see communities decimated due to the government’s inaction.”

The Nationals Member for Rodney Paul Weller has blamed poor water policy by the Brumby Labor Government for the closure of Murray Goulburn’s cheese mill factory at Leitchville.

Murray Goulburn announced today that it has been forced to close the Leitchville site due to a severe decline in milk production in northern Victoria over the past eight years.

Approximately 80 staff will be affected by the closure.

Mr Weller said poor water policy by the Brumby Government had failed to give dairy farmers the confidence to invest in the future.

“The government has failed dismally to have policies in place to support agricultural industries in northern Victoria,” he said.

“In 2005, 147 workers at Tongala’s Nestle plant lost their jobs as a result of a major company restructure, last year more than 100 staff at HW Greenham & Sons lost their jobs due to the major reduction in cattle numbers across the region - and now this.

“Premier Brumby is doing nothing to give dairy farmers in northern Victoria the confidence to keep going.”

Mr Weller said milk production in northern Victoria had dropped from 3 billion litres in 2001/02 to a forecast 1.75 billion litres this year.

“That decrease amounts to a 40% drop in eight years,” he said.

“A decrease of that size has to have an impact and now we are seeing the flow-on effect in our manufacturing and agricultural support industries.”

Mr Weller said he had been advised by Murray Goulburn that staff at the Leitchville plant would be offered opportunities at other Murray Goulburn sites and would be assisted with retraining.

He said it was critical that the government play its part in supporting that process.

“The dairy industry crisis in northern Victoria is a direct reflection of the Brumby Government’s inaction during years of prolonged drought and water policies which are giving farmers no confidence to invest in the sector.

“The government has sat on its hands while the dairy industry in northern Victoria has shrunk so let’s hope it does all within its power to assist Murray Goulburn and all affected workers at Leitchville through this difficult time.”

The Nationals Member for Rodney Paul Weller has accused the Brumby Labor Government of a deceitful plan to buy water from northern Victoria to send to Melbourne.

Mr Weller said the recently released Northern Region Sustainable Water Strategy confirmed that the government intended to buy water from the Goulburn Murray Water irrigation district, to classify it as savings, and to pipe it to Melbourne via the north south pipeline.

He said the Brumby Labor Government had been caught red-handed lying to the Victorian public.

“Premier Brumby has repeatedly promised that Melbourne will not be permitted into the Goulburn Murray Water irrigation district to buy water but this report paints an entirely different picture.

“Page 117 of the report refers to a ‘greater range of options in rationalisation’ and states that ‘where channels are identified for closure and entitlement holders no longer wish to irrigate, they can choose to sell their water share or alternatively, can enter a commercial agreement to surrender their water shares, which will be counted towards NVIRP’s water savings’.

“Water obtained through this process is very clearly not savings and should not be counted as such under any circumstances.

“To do so is an act of treachery from a government which has promised that all water diverted through the pipeline to Melbourne will be sourced from savings only.”

Mr Weller said the government intended to split savings from Stage 1 of the Foodbowl Modernisation project in one third equal shares between Melbourne, the environment and irrigators.

He said that meant one third of any water purchased via the process outlined on page 117 of the Northern Region Sustainable Water Strategy would undoubtedly go to Melbourne.

“John Brumby has lied on two counts.

“Firstly that he could save 425 billion litres of water through Foodbowl Modernisation which he quite clearly can not.

“And secondly, that Melbourne would not be allowed to buy water from northern Victoria.

“The Premier can not be trusted by the Victorian public.”

The Nationals Member for Rodney Paul Weller has attacked the Brumby Government for treating innocent Victorians like convicted criminals.

In State Parliament today Mr Weller joined his Coalition colleagues in condemning the government for handing personal police files of law-abiding country Victorians to privately owned companies.

“It has been revealed that northern Victorians who have been protesting about the State Government’s controversial North South pipeline could have become the subject of police files which the government has handed over to private contractors,” he said.

“Apparently, under an agreement with the State Government, police files on the activities of those who have protested against the pipeline, the Wonthaggi desalination plant and other projects have been made available to project developers to ensure the protection of public safety.

“This is an appalling breach of privacy and it has horrified ordinary country Victorians in my electorate who have been exercising their democratic right to protest against Labor Government policies and projects.”

Mr Weller said it was bad enough that innocent people had become the subject of police files in the first place, but to have those files handed to private enterprise was simply unacceptable.

“I am pleased to see the Privacy Commissioner has requested an urgent briefing on the matter and has also called in the Office of Police Integrity and the Commissioner for Law Enforcement Data Security to assist in the investigations,” he said.

“Premier John Brumby and his Government cannot be trusted to protect the privacy of law-abiding country Victorians.”

The Nationals Member for Rodney Paul Weller has condemned Water Minister Tim Holding for continuing to mislead the Victorian public over the Foodbowl Modernisation Project.

In State Parliament yesterday Minister Holding told the Legislative Assembly that the Northern Victorian Irrigation Renewal Project was a “$2 billion project that can generate 425 billion litres of savings in an average year”.

Mr Weller said the claim was misleading and indisputable evidence existed to show that such savings were impossible to achieve.

“The government’s so-called $2 billion project only upgrades three quarters of the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District and the other quarter is upgraded by the Living Murray and Snowy Programs,” he said.

“When the losses in the whole of the GMID were only 350 billion litres last year, the government’s so-called $2 billion program would have been lucky to deliver 150 billion litres of water, which is a long way short of the 425 billion saving the Minister refers to.”

Mr Weller said the government’s savings predictions were based on flawed mathematics.

“Premier Brumby and Mr Holding are kidding themselves if they believe 425 billion litres of savings can be achieved in the GMID every year,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter how many times we highlight the flaws in the figures, the government simply continues to dismiss the truth.”