A nationally consistent approach to border closures and quarantine processes is vital in allowing regional and rural communities to function, as we continue to navigate our way through the Covid-19 pandemic. The call comes on the back of an announcement by the Queensland Government that will see exemptions for farmers and agriculture workers to cross…
Wodonga-based Nationals Senate Leader Bridget McKenzie is calling on National Cabinet to deliver a nationally consistent approach to border closures and quarantine processes. While state leaders are engaged in a political game of one-upmanship regional communities, hundreds of kilometres from COVID-19 hotspots, are being torn apart. Protecting the health of the Australian community is the…
Wodonga-based Nationals Senate Leader Bridget McKenzie says the call by NSW Nationals Leader and Deputy Premier John Barilaro for the border permit system to be dismantled is right. The Nationals are putting rural and regional communities first. “Like Barra today, The Nationals have been very vocal in our calls for a practical approach to allow…
Nationals Senate Leader and Senator for Victoria Bridget McKenzie says state government border closures are impacting food production and need to be addressed in days not weeks. “On behalf of regional communities, I call on Liberal and Labor Premiers to intervene. To work with both their state Agriculture Ministers and their Health Ministers to ensure…
The Wodonga Institute of TAFE has been granted $235,760 under Round 5 of the Australian Government’s Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative for a new project aimed at saving lives and reducing road trauma. Nationals Senate Leader and Senator for Victoria Bridget McKenzie said the money would kick-start the TAFE’s Multi-media Advanced Emergency Braking (AEB) project to…
The ACCC Water Market Inquiry Interim report makes it clear, over 542 pages, the current water market in the Murray Darling Basin is not working for irrigated agriculture or our communities. The report justifies and vindicates what irrigators have been saying for many years. Concerns highlighted in the report are not new to those of…
Better water market information and transparency will go a long way to improve the plight of water users in the Southern Murray-Darling Basin after years of uncertainty and frustration. Nationals Senate Leader Bridget McKenzie, NSW Senator Perin Davey, and Member for Mallee Anne Webster MP, said water users across the basin need better information and…
A new study has identified investment opportunities in Victoria’s agricultural, manufacturing, freight and logistic sectors arising from the operation of the Inland Rail. The biggest winners will be food processing, transport logistics and manufacturing facilities – a welcome boost to the future of Victoria’s economy. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional…
The Nationals Senate team has praised the Australian Government’s common sense decision not to appeal the Federal Court’s decision in Brett Cattle Company Pty Ltd v Minister for Agriculture [2020] FCA 732. Attorney General Christian Porter tonight (July 22) confirmed the Australian Government would not appeal this decision. “The Nationals see the decision by Justice…
Regional Victorian communities demand an iron-clad assurance from the Victorian Premier that Melbourne and Mitchell Shire’s Restricted Area lockdown is being enforced. Nationals Senate Leader Bridget McKenzie said mayors from across northern Victorian border communities highlighted a range of issues the state border closure has caused for their communities. However, the most concerning matter facing…