General News
24 November, 2022
Ripon candidates have final say
LOUISE STALEY (Liberal)I know how tough people in our community are doing it right now. The health system is in crisis, roads are in disrepair, and the cost of living is out of control. Labor got us into this mess, and they aren’t offering any...
LOUISE STALEY (Liberal)
I know how tough people in our community are doing it right now. The health system is in crisis, roads are in disrepair, and the cost of living is out of control. Labor got us into this mess, and they aren’t offering any real solutions to get us out of it.
Unlike Labor, the Liberals will deliver $1.9m to build a childcare centre at Wedderburn College. We will connect Newbridge to town sewerage and water and deliver a feasibility study into connecting Campbells Forest and district to a secure water supply.
Loddon roads have so deteriorated that they’re downright dangerous. Unlike Daniel Andrews, we won’t just put up a 40kmh sign and ignore the problem. The Liberals will invest $10 billion to fix our roads properly.
By scrapping Labor’s suburban rail loop, the Liberals will fix the health crisis without raising taxes. We will also end the triple zero crisis and slash surgery waitlists.
The Liberals guarantee no new taxes and an end to wasteful government spending. We will halve the cost of V/Line tickets and establish a fuel prices app, saving motorists up to $800 per year.
We will provide free healthy lunches for all public-school kids and make kinder free. We will also scrap the electricity supply charge for the first six months of 2023 to save families up to $235.
With your support, I will deliver real solutions for all Victorians and make things better for the hardworking people who call Loddon home.
MARTHA HAYLETT (Labor)
Over the past eight years, Labor has delivered record investment for rural Victoria. But there’s more to do and only Labor has a plan for our communities.
In the Loddon Shire, Labor has invested $12.89 million into Wedderburn College and $1.86 million into Tarnagulla Primary School. We also delivered a 24-hour ambulance station in Wedderburn - with a brand new one on the way for Inglewood.
I’ve seen first-hand the challenges that young families - particularly mums - face in Loddon. There’s no childcare available for our kids, meaning many new mums are left with few options.
That’s why we will deliver a brand new government-operated low-cost child care centre in Loddon, helping working families in our community. That’s on top of free kinder for all three and four-year-olds from next year.
We know that all roads lead back to roads in Ripon, and I know as well as anyone how bad our roads are at the moment. It is clear that they have taken an absolute beating with the recent rain and floods. This year alone, Labor has invested over $1 billion into our rural and regional roads.
Labor also has a plan to help address the cost of living by bringing back the SEC, a state owned energy company that the Kennett Government privatised, to put control of our energy back in the hands of people and keep power bills down.
We will also deliver the Power Saving Bonus again next year to save families another $250. The alternative under Matthew Guy’s Liberals is an agenda of cuts and closures, and no vision for the future of our state.
Growing up in Central Victoria under the Kennett Government, I know firsthand what cuts mean to our communities. Our towns need investment, not cuts.
If elected, I will work hard to deliver this investment and be a strong, no-nonsense voice in parliament.
WAYNE RIGG (Independent)
As an emergency services worker I’ve spent my career serving communities across Victoria and in recent weeks I have been deployed to the floods to assist.
To continue this service, I have nominated as an independent candidate in Ripon.
I’m sick of the major parties and believe most people think the same. During elections they splash cash around like there is no tomorrow and then disappear and re-emerge during the next election campaign to do the same thing again.
A vote for an independent will break the duopoly of the major parties and elect a representative that will commit the government to engage rather than ramming through issues using their numbers.
Independents can speak freely and vote how they see fit. Ripon deserves as much attention and funding as Melbourne people and it is time we get our fair share.
Flood recovery and infrastructure, particularly roads are high on my agenda along with supporting farming communities.
I don’t pretend to have the answers to all of the issues and I won’t be making any promises, other than to give everyone a fair hearing and you will know where I stand on issues.
I have lived in Ripon for 20-plus years. I served six years on Ballarat City Council, am a JP and was awarded the Australian Fire Service Medal this year for services to firefighting and particularly aerial firefighting.
I live in Sulky with my family and our horses and dogs and I enjoy spending time hunting and fishing with mates.
BERNARD QUINCE
(Independent)
No one likes politics, but everyone opinions that they could do better. I am putting my money where my mouth is and jumping into the mix. I have heard comments against the Liberal and Labor parties. This election is the time for me to step up. The previous state election was decided by 15 votes. The lowest number of votes, being 251 to an independent, who swayed the result with her preferences.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of my father’s death. In his final weeks of Motor Neurone Disease, he was aggravated by the weight of a bed sheet.
His only relief cam from a commercial (low THC and CBD content) hemp hand cream. The internet is full of people suffering with MS, Parkinson’s Disease and MND displaying the effects of medical marijuana on their daily lives and dignity.
Increased rates of gardening, not just marijuana, but also pollination species, fruit trees and vegetables, would create many small steps for each household becoming carbon neutral.
To reduce costs seeds, cuttings and home-produce can be traded, or given away on the ‘shadow economy’, weakening the grip of Big Brother.
As the Hi-Vis Independent for Ripon, my campaign has been mostly on facebook and I have only lost one shift of my day (evening) job to attend a forum.
I have spent less than $25, out of pocket. My call for all other candidates to make a full disclosure of their campaign budgets remains unanswered
LUKE SMITH (Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party)
Luke is a disability worker in Western Victoria whose family has been hunting for many generations.
Having worked for many organisations in the disability sector and as a youth worker for councils he is uniquely attuned to the needs of the helping youth and the disadvantaged in his community.
Luke is very active in supporting the firearms community and is secretary for an active membership organisation, he regularly hunts and loves the outdoors.
Luke is running in Ripon as he wants to see more support for the disability sector, he also wants to keep our public lands open so all members of the public including our disadvantaged can enjoy the bush.
The Loddon Herald has published all responses received by candidates