No answers, no accountability, no regard for regional Victorians
The Nationals Member for Morwell, Martin Cameron, has blasted the Andrews Government in Parliament for shirking its responsibility to answer questions from regional Victorians.
Mr Cameron used his Members Statement last week to highlight the complete lack of acknowledgement, answers, and accountability shown by Labor Ministers in failing to respond to correspondence from Opposition MPs.
“I am appalled and frankly disgusted by the lack of accountability shown by the Andrews Government in failing to answer questions asked by those on this side of the chamber on behalf of our constituents,” Mr Cameron said.
“During my short time as a Member of Parliament, my office has made countless enquiries with Ministers seeking answers for the people of the Latrobe Valley, and I have asked several questions in this House, and not a single response has been received within the required 30-day timeframe – and it’s not even a close call.
“It’s now the end of May, and I asked questions in January that have still not been answered.
“The Friends of the Courthouse – a not-for-profit community group based in Traralgon – applied for a rebate on their water bill more than 14 months ago, and to-date they have had no response from the State Revenue Office.
“We already knew it, but this example is just one of many that shows the Andrews Government has absolutely no regard for regional Victorians and is completely unanswerable to anyone outside of metropolitan Melbourne.
“We are dudded by Ministers who refuse to visit the regions, we are dudded by chronic under-funding, and we are denied any acknowledgement or response. Trying to get answers out of this government is like butting your head against the proverbial brick wall.
“This is not pity point-scoring or grandstanding – this is a very real issue with real ramifications that should sound alarm bells for anyone with a conscience who claims to care about the people who elected them to these positions of privilege.
“As Members of Parliament, we cannot properly represent our constituents when we are being blocked at every turn by a government that is a law unto itself.”