A big thank you to everyone who bought tickets and turned up to make it such a great success. The money we raised as we all know goes to a great cause and this year we are happy to say that we raised $1256.45.

Thank you all for your support.

LILI GORTER

Pinnacle - Powerhouse

DANIEL Andrews’ decision to back demands from the United Firefighters Union puts Australia’s largest volunteer organisation in jeopardy. The Premier’s support of the union’s bid to take over the Country Fire Authority confirms Daniel Andrews puts the demands of his union mates before the needs of 60,000 selfless volunteers and our rural communities. 

The union’s demands include the ability to veto authority management decisions, handing control of the organisation to the union. The strength of the authority is in its volunteers.

Volunteers willingly sacrifice their time, without hesitation, to be at the front-line of protecting country communities from the devastating effects of bushfire.

It is horrifying to see Daniel Andrews’ bureaucrats urging support for demands that would sell out 60,000 volunteers to his union mates.

The union has made it clear in the past it has no respect for volunteer firefighters.

Daniel Andrews must stop this deal before it decimates Australia’s largest volunteer organisation. The important work of the authority and its thousands of volunteers must not be compromised by this city-centric Labor government. To show your support for the Country Fire Authority, people can sign a petition at www.peterwalsh.org.au/hands_off_the_cfa

PETER WALSH

Victorian Nationals Leader 

THE State Transport Minister has failed to listen to regional communities in the formulation of the Regional Network Development Plan. The government embarked on a state-wide consultation process involving hundreds of hours of meetings, submissions and letters from regional residents and then ignored them and put up what they were planning to do in the first place. 

The much vaunted long term plan may be seen as serving the interests of existing users well but provides for absolutely no extension of the network. The communities of Mildura, Leongatha, Cobram, Hamilton, Horsham and Portland are offered just more of the same, totally under utilised buses. In all of the meetings, the community was united in the desire for proper country rail services but their calls fell upon the deaf ears of the minister for transport and Spring Street.

The urgent need for connection between Bendigo, Maryborough,  Ballarat and Geelong was ignored even though the community meetings strongly put the case for the need for these services.

Public Transport Victoria and Minister Allan refused to listen to those views that did not agree with their preconceived ideas.

Minister Allan has refused to consult with the communities since she has been transport minister. The Rail Revival Alliance has invited the minister to a number of functions over the past 18 months including the opportunity to address two annual general meetings.

These invitations have been refused. She only recently refused to meet with the Mildura Rail Alliance.

When there are announcements in various country areas, the pro-rail organisations are never invited to these announcements, just a handpicked group of supporters.

The Rail Revival Alliance has high hopes that this government would be more inclusive and communicative.

We had hoped that there could have been a genuine dialogue between government and those seeking better public transport in Victoria’s regions. This is clearly not the case.

The transport minister’s Regional Network Plan will be seen for what it is, lacking in depth, content and integrity.

NOEL LAIDLAW

President, Rail Revival Alliance

A TOTAL of 15.68 million people are enrolled to vote in the 2016 federal election.

The electoral roll has increased by over 963,000 since the last federal election.

From the day after the announcement of the election on Sunday, May 8 to the 8pm close of rolls deadline on Monday, May 23 the commission processed more than 132,000 additions to the electoral roll as part of 687,000 enrolment transactions, with the remainder mostly involving the updating of residential address details.

The overall number of people estimated to be missing from the electoral roll has dropped this federal election.

Importantly, the number of people estimated to be missing from the electoral roll has dropped from around 1.21 million at the 2013 federal election to just over 816,000.

The proportion of eligible Australians on the roll has risen from 92.4 per cent at the 2013 election to 95 per cent.

TOM ROGERS

Electoral Commissioner