One Gippsland

More progress on works to strengthen the Stirling and Thomson bridges along Myrtlebank-Fulham Road (north-west of Sale)... Over Easter, traffic was flowing freely with some heavy machinery still on site. This road will form part of the Sale Alternate Truck Route and will divert heavy vehicles away from the commercial heart of Sale, keeping people safer and the streetscape more attractive. The new route will also enable freight to reach its destination more safely and efficiently, with fewer delays. We've been advocating for funding for the Sale Alternate Truck Route, together with three other key road projects to improve safety and efficiency across Gippsland's freight network. #EastGippslandShireCouncil #WellingtonShireCouncil #SouthGippslandShireCouncil #BassCoastShireCouncil #LatrobeCityCouncil #BawBawShireCouncil #FoodandFibreGippsland #TafeGippsland #FederationUniversity #DestinationGippsland #GLaWAC #GunaikurnaiLandandWatersAboriginalCorporation #VisitGippsland

News from the federal election campaign trail... The ALP and the Coalition have both pledged $3 million to plan essential road network upgrades for Warragul and Drouin if they win government at the May 3 poll. We have been advocating for government funding for this project as one of our priority projects to improve Gippsland's freight network and boost safety, cut congestion and maximise freight efficiency. You can read more here: https://ow.ly/okI750VFV7Q. #EastGippslandShireCouncil #WellingtonShireCouncil #SouthGippslandShireCouncil #BassCoastShireCouncil #LatrobeCityCouncil #BawBawShireCouncil #FoodandFibreGippsland #TafeGippsland #FederationUniversity #DestinationGippsland #GLaWAC #GunaikurnaiLandandWatersAboriginalCorporation #VisitGippsland

The Federal Election campaign is in full swing and it's getting hard to remember all of the policy and funding commitments made so far. To help keep track of which party has promised what, we've created an Election Tracker that provides a side-by-side comparison of commitments from the major parties across key policy areas, including the cost of living, housing, roads and freight, renewables and new energy, skills and education, infrastructure and small business. We'll keep adding new commitments as they are made up until polling day on May 3. You can take a look here: https://ow.ly/L2Cv50VBkVF. #EastGippslandShireCouncil #WellingtonShireCouncil #SouthGippslandShireCouncil #BassCoastShireCouncil #LatrobeCityCouncil #BawBawShireCouncil #FoodandFibreGippsland #TafeGippsland #FederationUniversity #DestinationGippsland #GLaWAC #GunaikurnaiLandandWatersAboriginalCorporation #VisitGippsland

A significant milestone for TAFE Gippsland today... Minister for Skills and TAFE Gayle Tierney has helped turn the first sods for its Clean Energy Centre in Morwell. The project includes a new building at TAFE Gippsland’s Morwell campus with industry-standard simulation equipment so students can get real-world experience while they're training. The centre is one of five tertiary education projects for which One Gippsland has been advocating for government investment. These projects will allow school leavers and those transitioning away from traditional energy producing industries to take advantage of employment opportunities, including in renewables and offshore wind. The Clean Energy Centre will provide vocational training in clean and sustainable energy technologies, including the expansion and maintenance of wind power to cater for onshore and offshore energy systems, hybrid and electric vehicle servicing and maintenance, and smart grid technology. We need to invest now in training our local workforce so they are ready and first in line when the jobs are advertised. You can read more about our priorities for government investment in education and training here: https://ow.ly/Grkc50Vx5kN. The State Government has committed $5 million to the first stage of the Clean Energy Centre, which is due to be complete early next year. #EastGippslandShireCouncil #WellingtonShireCouncil #SouthGippslandShireCouncil #BassCoastShireCouncil #LatrobeCityCouncil #BawBawShireCouncil #FoodandFibreGippsland #TafeGippsland #FederationUniversity #DestinationGippsland #GLaWAC #GunaikurnaiLandandWatersAboriginalCorporation #VisitGippsland

We were back at Spring Street this week... This time we were there to meet with Minister for Housing and Building, and for Development Victoria and Precincts Harriet Shing, Minister for Environment, Tourism, Sport and Major Events, and Outdoor Recreation Steve Dimopoulos, the Member for Eastern Victoria Tom McIntosh, and the Member for Narracan Wayne Farnham. This was another important opportunity for One Gippsland to discuss in person our funding priorities ahead of the State Budget in May. Thank-you to all for meeting with us during what was a busy sitting week at Spring Street. If you'd like to read about our funding priorities in detail, you can find them here: https://ow.ly/OVwt50VuoZk #EastGippslandShireCouncil #WellingtonShireCouncil #SouthGippslandShireCouncil #BassCoastShireCouncil #LatrobeCityCouncil #BawBawShireCouncil #FoodandFibreGippsland #TafeGippsland #FederationUniversity #DestinationGippsland #GLaWAC #GunaikurnaiLandandWatersAboriginalCorporation #VisitGippsland

What are you hoping to hear from our political leaders during the election campaign? For us, it's a clear plan for Gippsland that maps the path to prosperity, not just transition. We've got a list of funding priorities and, for the past 18 months, we have been advocating for government support and investment. You can read the list in detail here: https://ow.ly/Avhv50VsS6R. #EastGippslandShireCouncil #WellingtonShireCouncil #SouthGippslandShireCouncil #BassCoastShireCouncil #LatrobeCityCouncil #BawBawShireCouncil #FoodandFibreGippsland #TafeGippsland #FederationUniversity #DestinationGippsland #GLaWAC #GunaikurnaiLandandWatersAboriginalCorporation #VisitGippsland #regionaldevelopment #infrastructureinvestment

A new week has begun and so has the first full week of the Federal Election campaign. The Prime Minister called the election the morning after the Opposition Leader delivered his budget reply speech. In case you missed some of the detail amid the election buzz, here are some of the items in Mr Dutton's speech of interest to us: Health: $9.4 billion investment into health, including funding incentivise junior doctors to work as GP and boost Medicare bulk billing; Taxation: $6 billion commitment to halve the fuel excise for 12 months; Housing: $5 billion for essential infrastructure to get stalled housing projects underway; Business: increase the instant asset write-off for small business to $30,000; $12,000 to support the employment of a new apprentice or trainee in critical skills areas; and Energy: $1 billion for a Critical Gas Infrastructure Fund and introduction of an East Coast Gas Reservation to secure more gas for the domestic market. We'll be watching the campaign over the coming five weeks for funding and policy announcements of particular interest to Gippsland and we'll continue to advocate for support for our funding and policy priorities. #EastGippslandShireCouncil #WellingtonShireCouncil #SouthGippslandShireCouncil #BassCoastShireCouncil #LatrobeCityCouncil #BawBawShireCouncil #FoodandFibreGippsland #TafeGippsland #FederationUniversity #DestinationGippsland #GLaWAC #GunaikurnaiLandandWatersAboriginalCorporation #VisitGippsland

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has delivered the Federal Budget for the coming year. Here are some of the items that caught our attention: * $626.9 million over four years to reframe the New Energy Apprenticeships Program as the Key Apprenticeship Program and expand it to capture critical residential construction occupations; * $49.3 million over two years to scale up existing projects for prefabricated and modular housing construction; * $4.9 million over four years to continue the Regional Home Guarantee and Family Home Guarantee streams of the Home Guarantee Scheme; * $0.8 billion in additional investment in the Help to Buy program; * $644.3 million over three years to expand the Medicare Urgent Care Clinics program by an additional 50 clinics, 31 to be in regional, rural and remote areas; * increase capacity across the General Practitioner and Rural Generalist training pipelines with 50 per cent of the additional General Practitioner trainee places to be in regional and rural areas; * $23.8 million over three years from 2025–26 to sponsor agricultural trade events; * $11 million to continue efforts to reduce the economic and environmental burden of established feral animals, pests and weeds; and * $3.5 million over two years from 2025–26 to develop a National Food Security Strategy. Stay tuned for the Budget Reply from Opposition Leader Peter Dutton on Thursday. We'll be on election watch from Friday! #EastGippslandShireCouncil #WellingtonShireCouncil #SouthGippslandShireCouncil #BassCoastShireCouncil #LatrobeCityCouncil #BawBawShireCouncil #FoodandFibreGippsland #TafeGippsland #FederationUniversity #DestinationGippsland #GLaWAC #GunaikurnaiLandandWatersAboriginalCorporation #VisitGippsland

We wrapped up a busy day of advocacy at State Parliament late yesterday afternoon. This was an important day to discuss the detail of our funding priorities as decisions are made ahead of the state budget. Thanks to Attorney-General and Minister for Planning Sonia Kilkenny, Minister for Skills and TAFE, and Water Gayle Tierney and Minister for Local Government Nick Staikos. Thank-you, too, to the Gippsland politicians who met with us away from home: Leader of the Nationals, Deputy Leader of the Opposition and Shadow Minister for Regional Development, and Roads and Road Safety Danny O'Brien, Shadow Minister for Disability, Ageing, Carers and Volunteers, Racing and Veterans' Affairs Tim Bull, Shadow Minister for Public Land Management Melina Bath and Member for Morwell Martin Cameron. #EastGippslandShireCouncil #WellingtonShireCouncil #SouthGippslandShireCouncil #BassCoastShireCouncil #LatrobeCityCouncil #BawBawShireCouncil #FoodandFibreGippsland #TafeGippsland #FederationUniversity #DestinationGippsland #GLaWAC #GunaikurnaiLandandWatersAboriginalCorporation #VisitGippsland

We're at Spring Street today to met with State Government ministers and shadow ministers to discuss One Gippsland's funding priorities ahead of the state budget. It's been a busy day so far with meetings with Minister for Ports and Freight, Minister for Roads and Road Safety Melissa Horne, Minister for Emergency Services and Minister for Natural Disaster Recovery Vicki Ward, Shadow Minister for Planning and Housing Richard Riordan, Shadow Minister for Local Government Bev McArthur and Shadow Minister for Education and Industry and Economic Growth Jess Wilson. #EastGippslandShireCouncil #WellingtonShireCouncil #SouthGippslandShireCouncil #BassCoastShireCouncil #LatrobeCityCouncil #BawBawShireCouncil #FoodandFibreGippsland #TafeGippsland #FederationUniversity #DestinationGippsland #GLaWAC #GunaikurnaiLandandWatersAboriginalCorporation #VisitGippsland