Community
17 October, 2024
Hitting the road
LOWAN MP Emma Kealy visited Mortlake last week to discuss issues impacting the community, with dry conditions threatening the financial stability of farms at the forefront of her mind.
Mrs Kealy visited Mortlake and Caramut last week hosting a mobile office, offering the community an opportunity to meet with her and share issues which she could help to address.
Speaking with Western District Newspapers, she said one of the key issues the south west was experiencing was the green drought – with unseasonal rainfall levels threatening difficult conditions for the agricultural industry.
“Just last week I had a number of farm visits talking to people in the industry, particularly the dairy industry, who simply won’t have enough surface water to be able to maintain their stock even through this summer,” Mrs Kealy said.
“The numbers I’m hearing is about 25 per cent of dairy farmers will struggle to access enough water to look after their stock.
“It’s mentally annihilating to cart water, which costs a lot of money and it’s a lot of waiting time, a lot of thinking time, and at the end of the day you’re not sure when the light at the end of the tunnel arrives with decent rain to create run off and start filling dams again.”
Mrs Kealy said she feared struggles within the agricultural industry could reverberate across the region to other industries reliant on the economic impact farming brings.
“There is no doubt it’s one of the biggest concerns because we rely on agriculture to drive our economy,” she said.
“It’s not just the farmers, but how the money flows through local businesses and shops, and the wider community.
“We want to maintain a strong and vibrant dairy industry in this part of the state - we’re the number one dairy industry in the state, and we need to make sure that continues into the future by supporting our farmers when they need it.”
Mrs Kealy said another point of concern was the ongoing impact of renewable energy projects, with the Victorian Government last week announcing the Mortlake Energy Hub had been streamlined for approval.
The Opposition has since announced a policy, the Regional Energy Development Policy, which will reinstate the right of appeal to VCAT.
“It is important local people have their say when it comes to this large-scale infrastructure,” Mrs Kealy said.
“Through some of these processes we’re seeing the government makes decisions without talking to the community at all, and the community know and understand the impacts.
“To think they don’t understand it - to say they somehow wouldn’t have anything genuine to offer - is disrespectful to people who live locally.
“We need to make sure we’re looking at the transition from coal to renewables, but to also make sure big companies and the government aren’t riding roughshod over people who have genuine concerns and questions over what the impacts might be to agriculture and the local community who have to live with these things.”
Mrs Kealy said the state of roads had continued to be a cause for concern among residents, which had been the most common issue raised with her during her 10 years in Parliament.
“The State Government needs to deliver the appropriate level of funding so local contractors can do the work that is required rather than just throwing a bag of asphalt on a pothole, which blows out five minutes later when a truck rolls over it,” she said.
“There are extensive delays in awarding a contract and when the money actually flows, then we get to a point a contractor is only funded to do work which was relevant two years ago, but the road has then deteriorated more and they don’t have the funds to do those works.
“We’re not building roads - which meet the traffic and freight in the area, we need roads to last, whether that’s looking at different materials or being more specific about how roads are rebuilt from the base to the seal.
“We need to look at how we reinvigorate and instigate proper roads to make sure our roads are properly waterproofed, that we maintain our culverts so water can escape roadways so we have roads which don’t retain water and don’t fall apart quicker than they should.”
Mrs Kealy said hosting the mobile office was a necessity to better understand the issues impacting locals, in an electorate which makes it difficult to do so.
“Lowan is the biggest electorate in the state, but every electorate only receives funding for one office,” she said.
“It’s unreasonable to expect people who live in Mortlake to drive two hours on our bumpy roads, just to get to Horsham and engage with their local MP.
“A lot of people will get on the phone, or email, or connect through social media, but I think seeing people face-to-face created a different level of conversation and a better connection with the community.
“Meanwhile, I can get out and see what’s happening - you can see first-hand something like a really dangerous pothole, which helps to inform me when I talk in Parliament and try to influence the Labor government on why we need more roads funding rather than more cuts.”