3 September 2011 A NATIONALS senator has a renewed enthusiasm for the nation’s manufacturing industry after touring Thales in Bendigo. Senator Bridget McKenzie this week met with Thales staff and management and inspected its production line. “I just think it is a great example of everything that is great about manufacturing in regional…
Today’s news that an Australia-bound apple consignment contained disease threats shows the Australian Government should have heeded warnings from Victoria’s apple and pear growers. The Nationals’ Senator for Victoria, Bridget McKenzie, said this after news broke that a consignment of New Zealand apples contained leaf trash and a leaf curling midge. “The Federal Government and…
The Nationals’ newest Senator for Victoria, Bridget McKenzie, says it is up to politicians to show leadership in reaping benefits for the nation from both the two-speed economy and internet technology. Senator McKenzie, 41, took her seat in Federal Parliament on July 1, and formally addressed her Senate colleagues for the first time today. She…
18 August 2011 Julia Gillard’s nod to potentially fire-blighted Kiwi apple imports is appalling, writes BRIDGET McKENZIE THE attitude of the Federal Government when it comes to dealing with the major issues confronting regional Victorians is baffling. The latest in a string of decisions that confound me is the possible green light to the…
Since becoming a Senator for Victoria on July 1 this year, Bridget McKenzie has hit the ground running. She has established her electorate office in Bendigo and is the first Federal Senator in almost two decades to choose the State’s most central city as an operational base. The various enterprises obvious in Bendigo and across…
9 August 2011 COAL seam gas companies have told a Senate hearing they will use their legal rights to force their way on to land where farmers refuse access. The admission is likely to anger thousands of farmers in the Surat and Bowen basins of Queensland who promised to lock their gates against gas and…
Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie has slammed Bendigo East MP Jacinta Allan for politicising the state public service and issuing misleading news releases. For clarification, Senator McKenzie did not attend the opening of the Department of Premier and Cabinet office yesterday, nor as the Premier confirmed were any local MPs invited. “The only one misleading Bendigo…
The Nationals Senate Leader and Shadow Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Water, Senator Barnaby Joyce has commended the initiative of the recently sworn-in Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie in establishing her electorate office in regional Victoria. He made the comment in Bendigo when opening Senator McKenzie’s electorate office. He told around 70 guests that…
The Nationals’ Senator for Victoria, Bridget McKenzie is mustering support from Federal and State politicians of every political stripe for the State’s apple and pear growers. At a weekend meeting with local growers at the Harcourt Co-Op Cool stores, Senator McKenzie was briefed on the risk of fire blight being introduced to Australia by the…
Goulburn Valley apple and pear growers are being treated as second class citizens by the Gillard government, which could result in major financial and job losses in the region. The Nationals Senator for Victoria Bridget McKenzie has met growers and packers at Ardmona to hear their concerns over the importation of New Zealand apples into…