State Member for Ovens Valley Tim McCurdy has accused the Victorian Government of ignoring regional Victorians.
However, the state government says they are going over and above for regional Victoria.
This accusation comes after state Parliament voted down a motion that would have brought both houses of Parliament back to regional Victoria for the first time in close to a decade.
Mr McCurdy said the motion was just another example of the Andrews Government ignoring the regions.
“It’s a decision that surprised no-one, our electorate deserves to have their voices heard yet there hasn’t been a regional sitting for both the upper and lower house since 2014,” he said.
Mr McCurdy believes that holding regular sittings across Victoria would give regional communities the opportunity to see Parliament in action, and highlight issues affecting their community.
The Nationals MP said the lack of parliamentary presence in the regions meant that members could not see for themselves the state’s crumbling roads, the stress of growing household bills and the impact of the health crisis that grips our regional communities.
Mr McCurdy has accused the Premier of running away from the regional people of Victoria.
“It seems Daniel Andrews cannot look regional Victorians in the eye after he’s starved our community of vital services and investment,” he said.
“Parliament must come back to regional Victoria, our communities deserve to have their concerns heard.”
The Victoria Government said that far from ignoring regional Victorians, it had actually invested heavily in the regions.
“We’re doing what matters for people in rural and regional Victoria — investing in the schools, health and transport people deserve,” a spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said the Labour caucus had many regional members who ensured the voices of their electorate were heard and that the government often met and consulted with regional community groups, stakeholders and regional Victorians themselves.