The State Minister for Health Infrastructure, Melissa Horne, has been asked to urgently provide a new lift for the Bairnsdale Hospital.
Speaking in State Parliament, Gippsland East Nationals MP, Tim Bull, said it was not good enough the largest hospital in the region did not have a reliable working lift.
“It fails frequently and was inoperable 12 times alone in the 2024/25 reporting period - and being 30 years old, the infrastructure cannot fit a standard sized hospital bed.
“I explained to the Minister the hospital maternity ward is located on the first floor, with the operating theatre on the ground floor. When the lift is out of action, pregnant women in need of an emergency caesarean must be taken down a flight of stairs, while in labour - and I note 91 caesareans were performed there last year.
“Quite rightly, the community wants to know how it is acceptable that there is not a reliable lift at the hospital,” he said.
Mr Bull said he understands a recent funding application under the Regional Health Infrastructure Fund was rejected.
“The frustrating element about this is the application for $1.65 million was rejected due to a criteria issue, as the application stated a new lift was required rather than a replacement.
“It is incredibly disappointing no-one from the Department picked up the phone to assist in amending the application – it was just refused without any interaction.
“Whether it is inside or outside the grants program, the funding allocation needs to be made to address this matter,” he said.
Caption: Local MP Tim Bull says the State Government must urgently fund a new lift at the Bairnsdale Hospital with the current elevator regularly out of action and unable to fit a standard hospital bed.

Thursday, 31 July 2025

The Allan Labor Government is refusing to act on lack of firewood supply in rural and regional Victoria, including East Gippsland. A problem that is very simple to fix.
Gippsland East Nationals MP, Tim Bull, who wrote to the Minister yet again on this matter, said the lack of understanding of the problem was extremely frustrating.
“The one thing we should never run out of in this area is firewood, but it is the Allan Labor Government’s policies and overall lack of understanding of the situation has determined this outcome.
“To make matters worse, the Environment Minister, Steve Dimopoulos’ response states ‘firewood is a limited resource with unpredictable availability and demand can exceed supply.’
“What rubbish. We have record fuel loads in the bush, debris everywhere, but government policy denies it being collected and used,” said Mr Bull.
“The winding up of the timber industry significantly impacted supply as residual timber provided a lot of product to the market, and the government also removed the firewood timber coupes from contractors.
“Combine this with the fact it has not extended public firewood collection periods (which it has the power to do) and we have a perfect storm.
“Some contractors are now bringing in firewood from interstate to meet demand, which is just craziness in a place like East Gippsland.
“The Minister’s response also states, ‘the Victorian Government recognises supply availability is placing additional stress on people who rely on firewood’ – yet he won’t make the simple policy changes to address the matter”.
Mr Bull said there are three simple, practical steps the government can take now to address the issue.
“Announce an extension to the firewood collection periods, open up more collection areas to the public and return firewood coupes back to contractors who hold a commercial firewood licence,” he said.
“Rather than trot out waffle that it is a limited resource (when it is most certainly not) and admit it is placing stress on people - just change the policies to fix the problem.
“This of course is the same Minister we told free camping would not work time and again, which he pushed back before finally backflipping and making the changes we asked for. He needs to do the same here.”

Monday, 28 July 2025

Once upon a time, not too long ago, crossing the border from New South Wales into Victoria meant entering a state with wider, smoother, and safer roads. It is something we could, and did, boast about.

“That is not the case anymore,” says Gippsland East Nationals’ MP, Tim Bull.

“Of recent times we have had just on two kilometres of road repairs right on the border, but 2.2 kilometres away the craters start and between the 44 kilometres from the border to Cann River there are almost 200 areas of broken surface,” he said.

“Many of these are areas that have had temporary fixes that have quickly blown out to being potholes again, as the repairs were simply not done right.

“When I have raised this matter in Parliament, the Roads Minister, Melissa Horne, simply speaks about the miserly two kilometres that have been repaired. Why you would cart all that machinery up there and not fix the worst 10-15 kilometres is the question I would like answered, but in all honesty, we know the answer.

“Clearly it is a case of money and, when you cut roads funding over time and reduce the amount of road surface that is to be treated each year, this is the outcome you get.”

Mr Bull said as soon as you leave the two kilometres of newly treated surface there is a massive crater (see picture) that is the start of a very poor stretch on what is a high use highway.

“Labor’s own budget papers state they will be fixing less road area than they did last year, in a period where we need much more done.

“This is the result of the State’s finances being grossly mismanaged to the stage we are to hit a debt level of $192 billion with interest repayments alone of $28.8 million per day. This is the simple reason we are seeing cuts across the board.

“We need a government that will restore the State’s balance sheet to a respectable level, because under Jacinta Allan it is out of control. Labor cannot manage money and Victoria’s road users are paying the price,” he said.

Caption: Gippsland East MP, Tim Bull, pictured next to one of the road craters on the Monaro Highway. Road works finished just short of this location and marks the start of a very rough stretch that he says is a State embarrassment.

Monday, 28 July 2025

Residents of Lakes Entrance are rightly wondering why the promised upgrade to the intersection at Eastern Beach Road and the Princes Highway has not commenced.

Gippsland East Nationals MP, Tim Bull, said in 2021, the previous Federal Government, via local MP, Darren Chester, provided the funding for the upgrade - which was to include traffic lights.

“That was announced and required a 20 per cent contribution from the State, but neither Darren’s representations to the Federal Government or my own to the State Government have provided any update on details or timelines.

“What we are hearing now is the project cost has blown out significantly and the Federal Government is seeking a higher contribution from the State, but the silence on the project is frustrating.

“I have asked the State Roads Minister, Melissa Horne, three questions:

• When will the project be started and completed;
• What is the State contribution;
• Does the scope still include traffic lights as originally planned?

“Hopefully we get some level of detail in the response so we can inform the community of the current status of this project, but my great concern is the silence is reflective that they may not know,” said Mr Bull.

Caption: Gippsland East Nationals MP, Tim Bull, at the intersection of Eastern Beach Road and the Princes Highway, where intersection upgrade works have not commenced, despite funding being announced four years ago.

Monday, 21 July 2025

Jetties around Mallacoota Inlet, promised to be repaired post the 2019/20 bushfires to support tourism in the region, remain out of action with no work commenced.

Gippsland East Nationals MP, Tim Bull, said it was a disgrace that the landing at Kingfisher Point remained a line of rusted poles and at Goanna Bay the structure still had plastic access restriction tape blowing in the wind from the fire period.

Landings at other locations like Cape Horn and The Narrows are also close to being declare unusable due to the lack of maintenance and declining state of the structures.

Mr Bull has called on the State Government and Minister Dimopoulos to fix the jetties it promised to.

“Back in early 2020 I stood with then Premier Daniel Andrews at a media conference and he said the Government would walk with us every step of the way in the recovery.

“In hindsight what a load of weasel words that was. Five years on we still have no cabins at Cape Conran, the Thurra Bridge is not re-opened and these jetties are still out of action.

“One of the great attractions of Mallacoota is the day boating destinations around the lakes. Tourists love these locations, and they are popular.

“How disappointing five years later to see them still our of action, while others fall into disrepair through lack of basic maintenance.

“We are currently in a situation where not only is infrastructure not being rebuilt, but other areas will also soon be closed if they are not maintained.

“It is time we had the investment we were promised.

“The reason this is occurring is the State’s finances have been grossly mismanaged to the stage we are to hit a debt level of $192 billion with interest repayments alone of $28.8 million per day. This is the simple reason we are seeing cuts across the board.

“We need a government that will restore the State’s balance sheet to a respectable level, because under Jacinta Allen it is out of control. Labor cannot manage money and Victoria’s tourists and boaters are paying the price,” said Mr Bull.

Caption: The jetty at once popular Kingfisher Point is nothing but a line of rusting poles, some with the rotting jetty base remaining. At Goanna Bay the landing is falling apart, as Gippsland East Nationals MP, Tim Bull inspects its poor condition. There are many others at locations like Cape Horn and the Narrows that are not far off being declared unusable without intervention.

21 July 2025

East Gippsland concession card holders relying on alternative energy sources are being left in limbo by the Allan Labor Government's mismanagement of the Non-Mains Energy Concession, with some residents waiting up to five months for reimbursements while facing soaring heating costs.

Gippsland East Nationals’ MP, Tim Bull, said Labor’s handling of the scheme has left families without essential support during the coldest months of the year.

"Families who depend on wood heating, gas bottles and other non-mains energy sources are fed up with the lack of payment and communication.

"On top of seeing reimbursements delayed for up to five months, applications have no confirmation emails and phone enquiries are unanswered before disconnection.

“The overall situation has been exacerbated by the government's decision to shut down the native timber industry, which has left firewood in short supply and driven prices through the roof across the region.

"The Allan Labor Government has created a perfect storm – destroyed the local timber industry without giving thought to the impact on firewood supplies, and then failed to deliver the very concessions designed to help those in need, in a timely manner," Mr Bull said.

The concession allows low-income households, which source non-mains energy for their heating, cooking and hot water, to apply for assistance to help cover their yearly energy costs
"The Allan Government needs to fix this mess immediately. Households shouldn't have to choose between heating their homes and putting food on the table because of government incompetence."

Mr Bull encouraged residents experiencing issues with their applications to contact his office for assistance, while he advocates for improvements to the program.

Monday, 21 July 2025