The Victorian Government has responded to criticism from Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh after it announced it would not hold a Legislative Assembly session in flood-affected areas of regional Victoria.
Mr Walsh proposed the relocation of the Legislative Assembly to a flood-affected northern Victoria community in October or November this year.
The aim was to acknowledge the significant impact of the floods.
However, the government opted to keep the proceedings confined to Spring St, Melbourne, instead.
This decision comes after the Andrews Government voted against a joint regional sitting in February.
Mr Walsh’s recent calls to reverse the decision were not heeded.
While the Legislative Council is scheduled to meet in regional Victoria later this year, Mr Walsh believes it is important for the Legislative Assembly to join it.
The Victorian Nationals leader said this would provide an opportunity for the government to gain a better understanding of the experiences and challenges faced by affected communities since the floods occurred.
“The Andrews Labor Government should be ashamed for voting against taking all of the Victorian parliament to the northern Victorian communities affected by last year’s floods,” Mr Walsh said.
He further criticised the fact that the Legislative Assembly had not convened outside Melbourne since Premier Daniel Andrews took office in 2014, contrasting it with the Legislative Council's previous sitting in Bright.
Mr Walsh said there was a need for decision-makers to witness first-hand the emotional, physical and financial consequences of floods in towns such as Rochester.
He believes that experiencing the impacts directly and hearing from local residents are crucial for effective response and recovery efforts.
In response, the government pointed out other ways it was supporting flood-affected regional Victorians.
“We’re doing what matters for people in rural and regional Victoria — investing in the schools, health and transport people deserve, including capping V/Line fares at metro rates, building more childcare centres, recruiting more workers for the health system and bringing back the SEC,” a government spokesperson said.
“We have a record number of regional members in our Labor caucus, who spend time on the ground listening to their communities each and every day, proudly representing the regional Victorians who they serve.
“Regional Victorians know that the only legacy of the Liberal Nationals is cuts. Cuts to education. Cuts to health. Cuts to agriculture. Cuts to road and rail.”
The spokesperson said there was a range of different ways that the voices of communities in regional Victoria contributed to policy, particularly through meetings and consultations.
The government also said it supported the motion for a regional sitting of the Legislative Council last term and in a flood-affected community in central northern Victoria in May this year.