Peter Hunt

Victoria’s timber towns are set to be stripped of more jobs, as Premier Jacinta Allan prepares to cut 208 staff from her government’s Bushfire and Forest Services Group across 99 regional sites.

Seventeen former native timber harvest and haulage crews, who entered into Victorian Government contracts on July 1 to undertake forest and fire management works, have been sitting idle – while being paid 70 per cent of their monthly rate.

The Victorian Government has extended wild dog control in northeast Victoria and Gippsland until January 1, 2028.

Victorian Opposition leader John Pesutto has promised to “bring back balance to the rollout of renewable energy”, if elected in 2026.

The Allan Government is gutting crucial regional development and jobs spending by almost 80 per cent, as the cost-of-living burden continues weighing down on country communities.

The NSW Government is one step closer to allowing farmers to virtually fence their livestock.

Parks Victoria has almost halved the 111 services it carries out across 4.12 million hectares of public land, cutting rabbit and fox control, rubbish collection and educational programs.

Minyip locals have reported about half of Squadron Energy’s Murra Warra wind turbines are out of action, after their bearings failed just six years after being switched on.

The depths of Victoria’s debt crisis has been exposed with billions of dollars wiped off community, business and regional support.The state government dumped 162 annual reports on parliament in the past week which revealed:

The United Firefighters Union (UFU) is strangling the CFA, leaving it without 20 per cent of the career commanders and assistant chief fire officers it needs, according to Victoria’s Fire Services Implementation Monitor’s latest report.