Tom Parry and Stefan Bradley
ONE Gippsland is on the defensive following a scathing assessment from the Member for Gippsland East, Tim Bull.
In a statement released last Wednesday, Mr Bull lambasted the regional advocacy group for “cautiously” welcoming the 2023-24 Victorian Budget.
“The One Gippsland media release confirmed my suspicions that this entity is nonsense, and a long way from the ‘peak advocacy body for the Gippsland region’ that it claims to be,” Mr Bull said.
“They prepared a wish list of projects, to my eye had none funded, and in addition to being ignored, the government cut funding streams important to the regions and announced that one of our key industries is being destroyed with a paltry compensation package, with no forewarning to the impacted families, or consultation – and they welcomed it!
“It is a group that appears to come together for opportunistic benefit and have a brain dump of isolated local projects with a ‘we will support yours if you support ours’ mantra rather than develop a coherent regional strategy.”
Mr Bull’s comments come after the state government handed down the 2023-24 State Budget last Tuesday, May 23.
In its original statement, One Gippsland “cautiously welcomed” the budget, highlighting investments in the new West Gippsland Hospital, upgrades for the Wonthaggi Hospital, a new residential aged care service at Maffra and the establishment of a Clean Energy Centre at TAFE Gippsland’s Morwell Campus.
But chair of One Gippsland and Mayor of East Gippsland Shire, Councillor Mark Reeves, did express his concern about the end of native timber harvesting “10 years ahead of schedule”.
“One Gippsland will be seeking certainty from the government that impacted workers and the broader community will be adequately provided for with transition funds allocated in the budget,” Cr Reeves said.
“Ensuring this support sufficiently meets the need will be a key point of advocacy for One Gippsland in future meetings with the Government.”
Mr Bull – who represents The Nationals in state parliament’s lower house – argues that the budget delivered none of One Gippsland’s key wish list priorities, submitted in March.
He claims that the budget instead cut roads maintenance, agriculture and regional development funding, while also “decimating” the local timber industry.
“All these negatives for our area, and there are plenty more, are ignored and instead One Gippsland plucks out examples of some statewide policies not specific to our region in its support of the State Budget,” Mr Bull said.
“It reads more like a Labor Government media release than that of a regional advocacy group.”
He concluded his statement by saying: “I’d be more than happy for my two councils – East Gippsland and Wellington – to leave this organisation as it clearly does not represent our best interests in eastern Victoria and is not what it claims to be.”
When asked for comment regarding Mr Bull’s statement, Wellington Shire Council Mayor Ian Bye said the original statement issued by One Gippsland was “disappointing”, adding: “it does not support Council’s views on the state budget, one that lacks any kind of support for key projects or maintenance programs throughout the Wellington region.”
“Wellington Shire Council does not plan to leave One Gippsland, acknowledging the importance of Gippsland councils working together to achieve a shared vision, encouraging investment and growth,” Cr Bye said.
“However, we do hope the organisation better represents our community moving forward, and that our views are more adequately represented through future media and advocacy work.”
One Gippsland has itself responded to Mr Bull’s statement, saying it recognises that “Mr Bull’s role in Opposition involves putting forward views that, where relevant, are at odds with the government.”
“We share the deep concern across our region about early closure of native timber harvesting,” the statement read.
“One Gippsland’s immediate focus is to ensure that no one is left behind in light of this decision.
“We would welcome a collaborative, not combative, future relationship with Mr Bull so we can leverage the best outcome for our communities.”
East Gippsland Shire Council was contacted for comment.
