Thursday, 20 September 2018

Mr D O’BRIEN: Drought is tightening its grip in central and East Gippsland, and it was good to have the Leader of The Nationals, the member for Murray Plains, in the region last week to sit with farmers and hear their concerns firsthand. A number of issues were raised with us, including the need to speed up the approval process for authority to control wildlife permits, as kangaroo numbers get out of hand and eat precious grass, as well as the need for flexibility with groundwater licences to allow farmers to get the water to where it is needed. I again call on the Premier to visit our region to see the issues firsthand and to ensure government is responsive to the moderate requests our farmers are making.