A note for Farm Safety Week
AS Farm Safety Week began on July 19, it’s an important reminder that no harvest, no deadline and no job is worth risking a life.
Across our region, farming isn’t just an industry. It’s a way of life. Our farms are workplaces, but they’re also homes where children grow up, families work side by side and generations build a future together. That’s exactly why safety can’t be treated as an afterthought.
Every year, lives are changed forever by preventable accidents on Australian farms. Whether it’s taking an extra minute to check machinery, managing fatigue during busy periods, wearing the right protective equipment or making sure children stay clear of dangerous work areas, small decisions can make all the difference.
Our farmers already shoulder enough. They battle the weather, rising costs, labour shortages and uncertainty, all while producing the food and fibre that every Australian relies on. They deserve to know that they’ll return home safely to their families at the end of each day.
Farm Safety Week is a chance for all of us to stop, have the important conversations and take a fresh look at the risks around our properties. There is no job so urgent that it can’t be done safely.
To every farming family across the electorate, thank you for everything you do to keep our communities strong.
Let’s all play our part in making sure every person who heads out through the farm gate comes back home again.
Annabelle Cleeland MP
State Member for Euroa
Anger over road conditions
Driving from Tatura last Monday, I have never been so disgusted in the state of our roads, especially in regional areas. I suggested Jacinta Allan and her transport section drive 150 km from Melbourne in daylight and at night and if they say the roads are ok then they should be sacked.
My daughter hit a pothole near Seymour and luckily someone drove from Melbourne with correct tools – flat tyre and metal parts ruined and had to be fixed so they could drive home. Five cars parked next to this pothole.
Maybe everyone should make government pay for any damage no matter what the cost. We urgently need a government that acts immediately on this, not years down the track.
BPJ
Pothole pondering
Last week Jess Wilson pledged that a Liberal-National government will fix 1 million potholes by increasing investment in roads by 25 per cent to $5 billion over four years. We will stop the band-aid, reactive-style management employed by Labor and proactively lift the departmental standards, accountability and resurface maintenance of Victoria’s roads.
Roads are not a luxury – as regional Victorians we rely on them daily. We do not enjoy the metropolitan options of a tram, train or bus to conduct our daily lives. We need only to look at the state of our roads to see how far down the list of priorities we are to a city-centric Victorian Labor Government.
Our commitment to fix our roads is part of the Liberals’ Plan to deliver a fair share for regional Victoria. We represent 25 per cent of the State’s population, and under Labor we’re only receiving 12 per cent of the investment. Our Fair Share Guarantee will deliver 25 per cent of government investment.
Regional Victorians now have a clear choice between getting their fair share or being short-changed. Only our team has a plan to deliver for the regions, change the government and deliver the fresh start our state deserves.
Steve Brooks
Liberal candidate for Northern Victoria
