Quilty On Tour

Victorian Member of the Legislative Council Tim Quilty toured the region with the Central Murray Floodplain Environment Group on Monday December 15.

On the tour Mr Quilty was shown from Gunbower through to Koondrook. Community members have held numerous concerns over the way current environmental management is being undertaken by a top-down approach, with little transparency or action when it comes to community concerns.

Mr Quilty has recently been in the spotlight for his proposal of a formation of a new state, potentially the Murray State. 

“Rexit,” the regional exit, would see regional New South Wales and Victoria no longer play second fiddle to the metropolitan areas of Melbourne and Sydney.

The Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) has released a report about the key demographic, economic and social statistics of Australia’s newest proposed state. The population of the new state would be greater than Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory combined. 

The new state would take control of the state’s affairs, for example water, forestry, mining, health and policing, country communities running county communities.

What would be possible in addressing community concerns if you did not have to convince the parliamentary majority of metropolitan seats?

Locals were grateful with the time and genuine interest shown by Mr Quilty.

Koondrook residents, Skeeta Verhey and Steve Thomas, both spoke about the Guttrum Floodplain restoration project that forms part of Victoria’s Sustainable Diversion Limit contributions to the Murray Darling Basin Plan.