Ovens Valley electorate river management
Tim McCURDY (Ovens Valley) (09:41): I continue to visit properties on the edge of the Ovens and King rivers that have experienced massive washouts from recent high-river events. In many cases the banks are now being washed away and the river course is being altered due to poor government management in the past, removing willow trees that were stabilising banks and placing heavy rock on some areas of the river, which pushes the problem upstream or downstream. Rivers are a community asset and must be maintained by community taxes. We have seen enough of our taxes heading down the Hume Highway to Melbourne while our rivers fall into disrepair. A fairer split of the tax pile would be a great place to start. The Ovens and King rivers are high energy, high volume and fast flowing. We need our fair share of funding in the Ovens Valley before the rivers change their course again for the tenth time in only 20 years. If a farmer neglected their property, the government would be quick to point the finger, but it is a different story when the boots are on the other feet.