NEWSLETTER

WELCOME BACK

This is my first update for 2021 – and I hope you all had a happy and restful holiday season.

For many towns and residents, border closures enacted on New Year's Eve created chaos and decimated the peak holiday tourist industry, already under enormous strain.

My thoughts were also with our communities on the anniversary of the devastating bushfires of last summer - the rebuild will take many years and the trauma is still very raw. I hope February will bring a continuation of what has fortunately been a relatively quiet fire season for Victoria to date.

Meanwhile, the courageous #LetUsSpeak campaigner, victim-survivor Grace Tame, was named Australian of the Year. Grace endured horrendous abuse at the hands of a trusted teacher. The offender later bragged about it and Grace fought her way through the system to have the right to speak. I look forward to Grace's journey on this national platform to bring the voices of victims further to the fore. Her collaboration with Nina Funnell has resulted in exceptional outcomes.

State Parliament has resumed and below is some news from the first sitting week. I also had the pleasure in January of catching up with many constituents, councils and stakeholder groups and I look forward to continuing my ongoing advocacy on important issues for Northern Victoria throughout 2021.

- Tania

Australia Day Awards

I attended a number of Australia Day events, including for the Rural City of Wangaratta, attended by the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, His Excellency, General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Rtd), and Mrs Linda Hurley.

Congratulations to award recipients and new citizens who were celebrated at ceremonies across Northern Victoria, including those who received community awards and also those recognised on the Australia Day 2021 Honours List. After the formalities at Wangaratta, I caught up with the Galen College VEX Robotics Team to present them with certificates from JAXA for representing Australia at the Kibo Robotic Programming Challenge at the Japanese Space Agency.

*Graham Colson - Wangaratta Citizen of the Year

*Lachlan Carboon - Wangaratta Youth Citizen of the Year

*Galen VEX Robotics team

WORK IN PARLIAMENT

Early prisoner release during COVID-19

A recent Herald Sun report revealed that around 5,000 convicted criminals have been released from prison early under special COVID-19 ‘emergency management day’ rules. I am concerned that some serious and violent offenders will, on average, have just under a month shaved off their sentence. I asked the Attorney-General whether she would intervene to put a stop to these thousands of early releases, as well as what extra support (if any) the Government has made available to these perpetrators’ victims.

Link to Question

Safe triage for family violence victims

An audit by the Victorian Auditor General’s Office (VAGO), 'Managing Support and Safety Hubs', detailed space limitations in Orange Door hubs that compromise the multidisciplinary approach to cases of family violence, including practitioners working from meeting rooms intended for client engagement. This issue extends to police stations, where victims often report or seek advice in cramped foyer areas with little privacy. I asked the Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence to detail the actions being undertaking to ensure fit-for-purpose and confidential entry points are available for victims seeking assistance.

Link to Statement

Mansfield Autism Statewide Services

Mansfield Autism Statewide Services assist 300 families from across Victoria, providing a ‘wrap-around’ model of care to support children with autism – and I was pleased to talk in Parliament about their work. MASS also has exciting plans to transform a 40-hectare farm just outside of Mansfield into two new schools, accommodation and therapeutic programs.

Fast Track Remand Court

The Fast Track Remand Court (FTRC) operates as part of the Children’s Court of Victoria, to deal in a timely way with the criminal charges of children held on remand and to help organise their engagement in education and other rehabilitation programs. There is currently very little information on the public record about the FTRC’s work and I asked the Attorney-General to outline what detailed independent evaluations or assessments are available in relation to the court.

Link to Adjournment

Link to Question

Long vehicle safety on Black Spur

I raised yet another serious safety incident in relation to the Black Spur road. On 18 January, a long tanker was unable to stay in its lane due to its length and pushed an oncoming vehicle onto the embankment. I asked the Government to consider initiating a maximum length of vehicles permitted on the Black Spur with associated signage and a turnaround area.

Defensive driving 2014 election commitment

A compulsory driver education program for Year 10 students was an election commitment of the Andrews Government back in 2014, but it is hard to determine whether this has actually been delivered. In 2020, 57 of the 211 people who lost their lives in Victoria's roads were aged between 16 and 29, representing 27% of the total road toll. I have regularly raised with the Government issues pertaining to young drivers, most recently as part of my submission to the Inquiry into the Increase in Victoria’s Road Toll, which included a call to increase young driver education programs.

Link to Adjournment

Link to speech

Multi-Purpose Taxi Program release of documents

I support the Transport Matters Party’s call for documents to be released regarding the Commercial Passenger Vehicles Victoria partnership with rideshare companies to deliver a subsidised Multi-Purpose Taxi Program (MPTP). Taxis have satisfactorily delivered the MPTP for years, with drivers undertaking specialised training to ensure their capabilities to transport vulnerable passengers safely and professionally. I am particularly concerned about the potential impact of the new partnership on thousands of families in the taxi and hire car industry in rural and regional Victoria. These families are already struggling to maintain their livelihoods, and their access to MPTP work can often represent the difference between a small community continuing to have a taxi service or not. I also have concerns that rideshare companies, such as Uber, are poised to deliver the MPTP but do not have the same requirements as taxi and hire companies for specialised training, passenger safety or mobility access.

Youth Justice High-Risk Panel

The Government's Youth Justice Strategic Plan 2020-2030 outlines that a Youth Justice High Risk Panel will be established in order "to oversee and support the most complex and high-risk young people in custody and the community”. In Parliament, I asked for an update from the Minister for Youth Justice on whether this panel has been established – and, if so, the nature and results of any work it has undertaken.

Link to Adjournment

Link to Question

Air-conditioning in social housing

Northern Victoria endures some sweltering heatwaves and, last year, I asked the Government to install air-conditioning in social housing properties. I was grateful for the 2020-21 Budget response committing installations in up to 2,000 properties through the Social Housing Energy Efficiency Program. I asked the Minister for Housing to specify, for each town within the Northern Victoria electorate, the proportion of properties without air-conditioning that will be included in the rollout.

Bills debated in the Legislative Council

Consumer and Other Acts Miscellaneous Amendments Bill 2020- PASSED
Public Health and Wellbeing Amendment Bill 2020- PASSED
Change or Suppression (Conversion) Practices Prohibition Bill 2020- PASSED