Council
8 March, 2024
Member for Wannon listens to C’down
ROADS, cost of living and excessive business regulations were among the biggest issues facing south west residents, according to one MP.
Wannon MP Dan Tehan was in the region this week hosting a mobile office across multiple townships including Camperdown, Mortlake and Caramut.
Speaking with Western District Newspapers, Mr Tehan said the “sub-par condition” of roads remained one of the most common concerns people had raised.
“They’re completely fed up with the lack of action by the Victorian State Government on fixing our roads,” he said.
“People cannot believe the government is spending billions and billions on the suburban rail and yet won’t provide adequate funds to fix our roads.
“They’re just fed up with this.”
Mr Tehan said cost of living concerns made it clear many were hurting – especially at the checkout.
“There are big concerns surrounding the cost of living, especially the price that people are paying for power and at the supermarket - those are the two big complaints,” he said.
“There is also a real frustration around the cost of doing business.
“They are getting whacked with regulation, getting whacked from the Victorian State Labor Government and they’re getting whacked by the Federal Labor Government with regulation.
“It’s making it harder and harder for people to do business.”
Mr Tehan said he believed the high cost of living needed to be a priority for the government which begins with more efficient expenditure.
“That means forgetting about wasteful government spending, the likes of which we saw with $460 million spent on The Voice Referendum - which was, sadly, always going to fail,” he said.
“Spending needs to be focused on addressing the cost of living issues.
“The Albanese Labor Government made a promise before the last election to reduce power bills by $270.
“They need to deliver on that because people are hurting every time they open their power bill. You made the promise, let’s see you deliver on that promise.”
Mr Tehan said the information he collected during his mobile office tour would inform the issues he raises with the government, with driving down costs at the checkout and addressing interest rate rises to be among the issues he is next to voice.
“When it comes to the supermarkets, let’s see you doing everything you can to drive prices down,” he said.
“When it comes to interest rates, we’ve seen 12 interest rate rises and they haven’t even been in power for two years.
“Stop the wasteful spending, stop putting pressure on interest rate rises, because they’re the sort of things people are telling me and then I’m making representations to the government on.”
Mr Tehan has previously toured coastal areas as part of his mobile office and over the past few weeks has dedicated his attention to areas such as Pomonal which have been devastated by bushfires.
“It’s about getting out and about and listening to the community and picking up their views,” he said.