They should make these changes now and use the time to bed them down with any reasonable amendments for startups, etc.
If there were a federal election now, the Nations would be likely to lose many seats to One Nation.
Canavan also says a future Coalition government will scrap VNI West (The Weekly Advertiser, May, 27).
But on a typical broadacre farm of 1000 acres, the actual permanent land loss is tiny – between two and six hectares.
However, a high value horticulture farm of 200 acres is more effected and they will have to be better compensated.
If VNI West and other transmission line projects are scrapped, there are small short-term savings but higher long-term electricity bills and more volatility in prices, especially as most coal power stations will close by 2035.
Renewables cost less and are the way to go.
Robert Blakely
Horsham
Fair share guarantee
Regional Victorians deserve their fair share – and The Nationals will fight to deliver it.
The Nationals have announced our Fair Share Guarantee: a commitment to ensure regional Victoria receives at least 25 per cent of all new government infrastructure spending, reflecting the fact that one in four Victorians live outside Melbourne.
Twenty-five per cent of the population should mean 25 per cent of the funding.
This is not just a promise – it’s a guarantee.
Right now, regional Victorians are getting less than 50 cents in infrastructure investment for every dollar spent in Melbourne, despite our regions contributing enormously to the state’s economy and prosperity.
At the same time, country communities are being asked to pay more while receiving less – with potholed roads, overcrowded hospitals, delayed school upgrades and worsening housing shortages becoming all too common under Labor’s financial mismanagement and soaring debt.
To make matters worse, Labor has imposed more than 60 new or increased taxes on Victorians, including the unfair emergency services tax. That is simply not fair.
The Nationals’ Fair Share Guarantee will ensure regional communities receive the investment they deserve in roads, rail, hospitals, schools and other critical infrastructure.
We will also scrap the emergency services tax and many of Labor’s other unnecessary taxes to help make life more affordable for Victorian families.
It’s time regional Victoria got its fair share.
Danny O’Brien
Leader of The Nationals
The entire June 3, 2026 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!
