Mr NORTHE (Morwell) — The shock of Hazelwood power station closing in less than five months continues to bite in the Latrobe Valley community, particularly when the expectation was that a gradual closure would occur, which was the Labor government’s policy. The many workers, contractors and businesses that will be directly or indirectly impacted upon by this…
Mr NORTHE — I want to acknowledge one of our community’s unsung heroes, John Paulet. John has volunteered his time and effort towards the sport of basketball and recently retired from official duties with the Traralgon Amateur Basketball Association. John served as treasurer for 40 consecutive years and quite rightly is a life member of the association. John…
Mr NORTHE (Morwell) — The uncertain future of Hazelwood power station in the Latrobe Valley continues to cause angst for local residents and businesses. The no. 1 priority for our community is jobs, and regretfully we have seen a massive increase in unemployment within Latrobe city since December 2014. It was 7.3 per cent then, and it is 10.7 per…
Mr NORTHE (Morwell) — I rise today to acknowledge Latrobe City Council’s 2016 Senior Citizen of the Year, Max Williamson. Max has an amazing record in terms of community service and has been an office-bearer in many of his roles. His dossier of service is impressive, given his current and previous involvement with a number of worthy…
Mr NORTHE — This Sunday a map launch of the Grand Strzelecki Track will take place, and the member for Gippsland South will be there. The track is located in the Strzelecki Ranges in one of the most serene and beautiful places one could wish to visit. It is a credit to all volunteers for their efforts…
Mr NORTHE (Morwell) — As we get closer to another of the Andrews government’s new public holidays, many businesses within the Morwell electorate again express their dismay at this attack on the business sector. The following quotes are from small business owner-operators in my electorate on their feelings on the grand final parade public holiday: Five per cent…
Mr NORTHE (Morwell) — I rise today to acknowledge the success of a number of Gippsland businesses following the recent 2016 Bendigo Bank Gippsland Business Awards. Businesses within the Morwell electorate performed extremely well, with Applebox Farm/Gippsland Free Range Eggs from Glengarry a finalist in the food and wine production section. In the hospitality section the friendly…
Mr NORTHE (Morwell) — Well, the V/Line saga continues in Gippsland with further disruptions to services, the overcrowding of carriages and the proposal of terminating services at Pakenham again raising its head. Despite the rhetoric of this government, nothing appears to have changed. Gippsland commuters well remember the massive disruption to services earlier in the year, and…
Mr NORTHE — I also want to acknowledge the passing of a local legend in Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Manthos, who came to Australia from Greece in 1953 and worked in various jobs before finally settling in the Latrobe Valley in the mid-1960s. Manny had a number of business ventures, with Manny’s Market being synonymous across many communities to…
Mr NORTHE (Morwell) — The unemployment rate for the Latrobe region continues to be an ongoing concern for our community. The small area labour market figures released last week paint a very disturbing picture. For example, the figures for the Latrobe city area show that in December 2014 the unemployment rate was 7.3 per cent, yet under the…