AFTER bouncing in and out of lockdowns in the past 12 months and the frustrations of remote learning and working, we have asked some of our leaders in the Gannawarra, the Mallee and Murray what their visions were for 2022. Today, we invited Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh, Member for Murray Helen Dalton, and Swan Hill police Acting Inspector Brad Bennett to share their top goals and hopes for 2022. Next week as hear from Member for Mallee Anne Webster, Member for Farrer Sussan Ley, Gannawarra Shire Council Mayor Charlie Gillingham and Murray River Council Mayor Chris Bilkey. Member for Murray Plains – Peter Walsh
WHAT do I want for 2022? I want; I suspect, the same as every one of you.
I want a Swan Hill, an electorate of Murray Plains, a state of Victoria and an Australia where life resembles something like we can recall from before the pandemic.
That said, the best three things Swan Hill could see this year are:
– Work started on the new emergency department at the hospital.
– Plans formalised for the new bridge.
– A workable agricultural visa to get huge numbers of international workers here for harvest (picking and packing), pruning and thinning across the industries in the region.
The first two should happen in the coming months but the third one – as the economic fallout has showed – is a must have; is absolutely crucial for 2022 and beyond.
If we cannot support these major, established ag industries, which contribute countless millions to the local economy, we are asking for long-term damage.
Also on my 2022 wish list – now the Andrews Labor Government has finally followed our advice and embraced the rapid antigen test – is to ensure everyone has immediate and free access to RAT kits so we can make sure as many people as possible can get to work and/or can participate in daily life.
And while on the subject of hospitals and health, I want to see the current Victorian Health Department fixed so it will cope with demand, so elective surgeries won’t be delayed for years, so people won’t be turned away and so ambulances won’t be forced to ramp.
Overshadowing all this is the planning for, and management of, mental health. Already a massive challenge as we battle through COVID, it is set to become a long-term issue that must be correctly, sensitively and immediately addressed because demand is still going up. The same applies to domestic violence and the incredibly urgent need for social housing in the immediate future and much better, safer support systems and options.
Finally our young people desperately need stability in their lives.
At home, obviously, after two years of endless lockdowns, home learning and parents in and out of work.
Fundamental to this will be getting our schools open and keeping them that way.Member for Murray – Helen Dalton
IN 2022, governments will no longer be able to use the “we can’t do that because of COVID” excuse for inaction.
Indeed, the New Year presents a perfect opportunity to invest in rural towns that have done it so tough after years of drought, pandemic and government neglect. Many people in Melbourne and Sydney will be looking to move to country communities to escape densely populated big, city life.
That means we really need to invest in social housing, roads, schools and health services to make towns like Balranald more attractive for tree changers.
My big focus will be enhancing the woefully inadequate mental health services across rural NSW.
It’s no longer acceptable to tell someone they need to drive four hours for treatment, or wait four weeks for the next telehealth appointment.
My office is helping to establish a new early intervention youth suicide program in our region – and I’ll be lobbying for inpatient mental health units in our hospitals. There will be a NSW, Victorian and federal election coming up in the next 15 months or so.
That means city-based politicians will finally need focus on country towns – they’ll be doing what you can to buy your vote.
Now is the chance to lobby hard for the services and infrastructure we need and deserve.
After those elections are done, they’ll forget you exist for another four years, so let’s make some noise while they’re paying attention.Swan Hill police Acting Inspector – Brad Bennett
THE whole community has been impacted for the past two years by the pandemic and it has shown in many ways with different people.
What we have seen is the best and worst of people during this time as we all struggle to come to grips with our changing lifestyle.
My vision as we move on in 2022 is to embrace a sense of normality whatever that may look like.
I am not sure we will ever return to life that we knew some years ago, but that also gives us opportunity to look at new ways of enjoying life to the full.
I believe what we have learned during the past two years is how we can care for each other and be there to support not just our own families but the community as a whole. This will be a focus for myself in months to come, seeking ways for further enhance and bring communities together with an emphasis on safety.
Safety on the roads, via education and increased police visibility on all roads.
Safety within our own homes as we drive down family violence and change culture so that family violence in all forms is seen by everyone as not ok, and building a sense of safety to call out and report this abhorrent behaviour.
Ultimately it is all about community, and as it has been said so many times, “we are all in this together”, so let’s do that, and be there for each other.
