My matter, for the Minister for Child Protection, relates to child reunification issues. As everyone here will know, we debated a Bill a few weeks ago that included some very worthwhile changes – in a COVID-related context – to the normal two-year limits on the arrangements for re-unifying parents with children in out-of-home care.
People living in the community of Robinvale need to undertake a two-hour round trip to access their nearest mental health service, which often includes time off work and repeat travel as well as the costs of treatment. Luke Benham, born and bred in the area, identified that being 100km from services and resources when you’re not feeling yourself is a real barrier to getting help. Luke set about reducing the burden of mental health in Robinvale and established a fundraiser ‘42K for $42k’.
As I said in my inaugural speech nearly two years ago, the one thing above all that drove me into politics was the need for better parliamentary representation of victims of crime. This was on the basis, especially, of my experience with the #ENOUGHISENOUGH campaign, which I co-founded in 2015 after two particularly horrifying cases in Wangaratta of sexual assault and murder.
My question is to the ‘Minister for the Coordination of Health and Human Services: COVID-19’. Many people in my electorate are experiencing difficulty in accessing treatment from dermatologists as a result of the COVID-related border shutdowns.
My question is to the Minister for Agriculture, Minister Symes. Minister, the vital Ouyen Intermodal freight terminal project has the capacity to deliver very significant benefits for farmers and the agricultural industry more broadly in our shared electorate of Northern Victoria
