The decision to close Lindenow South Primary School from the start of term two has rightfully caused anger and upset in the local community, says Gippsland East Nationals MP, Tim Bull.

"It's very disappointing news the community has been told its school will close, despite several reassurances (including recently) from the Department of Education that it would stay open, as it searches for a new principal.

"This news has come as a complete surprise to parents, teachers and staff given the undertakings they received.

"On Friday morning I spoke to the Minister for Education and Deputy Premier, Ben Carroll, advising it is both my strong wish and that of the community that the school remains open, as was committed to on more than one occasion.

"I thank the Deputy Premier for his responsiveness and undertaking to come back to me at Parliament next week.

"It is disappointing the Department of Education did not provide a briefing to either the school community or myself that it’s commitment had changed, or bothered to sound out some recently retired principals to see if they were prepared to assist on a short-term basis, one of whom I have spoken to.

"Before a school with a good number of enrolments is closed, no stone should be left unturned to keep it open. This appears a case where the department has not been as proactive as it could have," he said

"It seems to have forgotten the Minister’s directive (when Meerlieu closed) that no school will be shut without the consent of the local community.

"Lindenow South is also a school that has received two recent funding allocations for upgrades.

Friday, 28 March 2025

Victorian families are being pushed to the brink as Labor’s newest tax grabs force more investment properties out of the rental market, contributing to homelessness through bad policy.

The Nationals State Member for Gippsland East, Tim Bull, said the latest massive increases to the rebranded Fire Services Levy comes on the back of soaring land tax, costly minimum standard upgrades, and an overall hostile approach to rental providers have made it unviable for many "mum and dad" investors to retain their rental properties.

“Under the Allan Labor Government, rental providers are being hit in all directions facing rising costs and impossible decisions, and the changes to the Fire Services Levy is the latest attack,” Mr Bull said.

“What Jacinta Allan is doing here is moving the funding required for services like Triple Zero and the State Emergency Service to this levy.

“These are services that were previously funded out of general revenue and while they certainly need more support, property owners are being hit with new payments of more than $600 million.

“This tax grab just frees up $600 million from general revenue to pay for their soaring interest bill and state debt. They are collecting a new tax for services they previously funded from other taxes.”

Mr Bull said it was all part of the desperate attempt to rein in debt levels headed to $187 billion with interest payments alone of more than $1 million per hour, or $1 billion every six weeks.

“Many investors feel they have no choice but to sell their properties because they simply can’t continue absorbing these rising taxes and expenses - leading to the overall reduction of rental availability.

“And these properties are not being purchased by those on the public housing waiting list, in many cases they are being purchased by those who can afford to pay the increased costs. For tenants, the consequences are dire. If they receive a notice to vacate, they have nowhere to go.

“Families who once had stable homes in the private rental market are now being pushed into crisis accommodation or homelessness – an outcome that is completely avoidable. Not a week goes by when my office hears from impacted families looking down the barrel of eviction with nowhere to go.

“Instead of punishing rental providers, the government should be working on ways to retain private rentals in the market, to ease pressure on the overburdened public housing system.

“Labor’s reckless housing policies are failing both rental providers and tenants. Without urgent action, more properties will disappear, and more families will be left without a home,” Mr Bull warned.

Caption: Gippsland East State Nationals MP, Tim Bull, raises housing security concerns in the Victorian Parliament, citing rising costs like the Fire Services Levy driving private rentals out of the market.

Monday, 24 March 2025

East Gippsland families and businesses will see further increases in electricity prices, despite Energy Minister, Lily D’Ambrosio repeatedly falsely stating prices will go ‘down, down, down’, in the Victorian Parliament.

The Essential Services Commission (ESC) has proposed the new rates for 2025/26 under the Victorian Default Offer.

The Nationals’ State Member for Gippsland East, Tim Bull, said the announcement is a direct result of State Government policy and confirms electricity costs continue to increase, putting further pressure on households during a cost-of-living crisis.

"Families and small businesses are already doing it tough, and these price hikes will only add to the financial strain," Mr Bull said.

Prices will rise by up to $68 for households in some areas, with small businesses facing increases of up to $128.

Electricity prices have surged by almost 30 per cent in recent years and are showing no signs of returning to affordable levels.

Mr Bull encourages locals to do their homework and constantly compare electricity plans to ensure they are getting the best deal.

"Households need to shop around and check what’s available, as some providers may offer better rates. In a cost-of-living crisis, every dollar saved counts," he said.

"Labor’s failure to manage the energy system is costing Victorians, and without a change in approach, power prices will continue to hurt families and businesses."

Caption: State Member for Gippsland East, Tim Bull, has raised concerns in Parliament about rising electricity prices and the impact on local families and businesses.

24 March 2025

The concern over lack of capacity for fisheries officers to respond to high level illegal fishing activities in East Gippsland has been raised in State Parliament.

Gippsland East Nationals MP, Tim Bull, said the recent cuts to staff numbers in Lakes Entrance and Mallacoota had opened the door for illegal activities to occur without any response from authorities.

“When investigating serious matters or conducting surveillance, officers must rightly work ‘two-up’.

“However, with numbers at both offices being cut from four to two, in the periods of the year when one officer is on annual, sick or parental leave etc, there is simply no capacity to respond.

“The Minister’s response has been there will be a major crime unit, but it is four hours away from Lakes Entrance and seven hours from Mallacoota and will not have a presence in East Gippsland. Poachers and those conducting illegal activities will be long gone before they get to Warragul.

“It is clear no thought has been given to this situation, and they have simply removed the positions that were vacant at the time, where they should have been filling them to allow for responses. It is just a short-sighted approach.

“We hear from this government all the time about how good our recreational fishery is. What this has done is left us very vulnerable in the east to illegal activity.

“I have called on the Minister to at the very least, reinstate one officer at each location to allow year-round response capability,” he said.

“We should not be handing out free fishing rods to every Victorian student while we are taking positions out of our local community and imploding the ability of our officers to respond to illegal activities.

“On the back of the recent cuts to Parks Victoria staff, they are removing our front-line services at a time when the public service in Melbourne has doubled over the past 10 years. It is simply not good enough.”

Caption: The Nationals’ State Member for Gippsland East, Tim Bull, warns that cuts to fisheries officers will open the door to illegal fishing and poaching.

Monday, 17 March 2025

The State Government has been asked what it has done to address the pending firewood supply shortage this winter.

Gippsland East Nationals MP, Tim Bull, has accused Environment Minister, Steve Dimopoulos of doing nothing, despite being warned 12 months ago of the predicament.

“There are a range of issues that need to be addressed as a result of the cessation of the timber industry, which was the major supplier of domestic firewood.

“We barely had enough to get through last winter and commercial suppliers are now importing it from interstate, if they can get it, and the price has sky-rocketed to be unaffordable to low-income households.

“The recently opened public collection areas contain nowhere near enough wood to meet demand, but even so, there are many who cannot collect their own including the disabled, frail and elderly.

“They have relied on commercial suppliers who now can no longer get it off the timber industry. When they can access it interstate, the increased haulage costs have seen prices skyrocket to unaffordable levels,” he said.

“When I raised this over 12 months ago, the Minister’s office simply said collection seasons will continue for the public. It is a Minister and a Government that has no idea about this issue and does not seek to understand.

“Sadly, it will likely result in high numbers of illegal collecting as families strive to keep warm.

“The one thing we should never be short of in Victoria is firewood, especially in East Gippsland, but this Government has managed to achieve it.

“With winter only months away, I have asked the Minister to open up more public collection areas and make resource available to commercial operators in this state.

“Because they have done nothing, even timber cut now will be too green for this winter, but they can put some plans in place for next year.

“I encourage locals to think ahead and stockpile as much as they can,” he said.

Caption: Firewood collection areas in East Gippsland are devoid of supply, holding nowhere near the levels required to sustain the region this winter. Gippsland East Nationals MP is calling for more areas to be opened up. Mr Bull is standing in an area mapped as a firewood collection zone.

Monday, 17 March 2025

The State Environment Minister has been asked to ensure the ‘ghost camping’ debacle from the Christmas holiday period, does not continue over Easter.

Gippsland East Nationals MP, Tim Bull, told Parliament the Minister for Environment, Steve Dimopoulos, should now be well aware of the debacle he created at Parks Victoria campsites and asked for it to be fixed before the Easter holidays.

“What occurred as a result of making camping free with no oversights, camp parks that are usually completely full from Boxing Day onwards, were at best two thirds full, meaning thousands less campers in East Gippsland alone.

“Cape Conran which has 135 campsites, I am advised never had more than 100 full,” Mr Bull told Parliament.

“This is not the fault of Parks Victoria staff, who sent reminders to those who had booked, but the bottom line is, it was bad policy that was easily misused, and the Minister was warned about it beforehand by our Shadow Minister for Public Land Use, Melina Bath.

“I had one Parks’ worker tell me that at one location a person booked out areas either side of their site under different family names so as not to have anyone close. Complainants to my office told of other similar instances.

“Parks Victoria workers were sick of being abused for having to turn away overnight campers when they could see a large amount of sites free. They should not be placed in this position.

“At Corringle where 10 of 21 campsites were filled at one stage in peak time, visitors could not book as they were technically occupied.”

Mr Bull said there were several ways this could be remedied.

“Pay half price for peak periods, pay a refundable deposit, or introduce a fine as Queensland has done for those who abuse it.

“Whatever he chooses, the Minister just needs to fix it for Easter,” he said.

Caption: Tim Bull, State Nationals MP for Gippsland East, says ‘ghost camping’ must be stamped out before Easter.

Tuesday, 11 February 2025