MITCHELL-STRATHBOGIE EDITION
52 PAGES
AVENEL • BEVERIDGE • BROADFORD • CLONBINANE • DONNYBROOK • EUROA • HEATHCOTE JUNCTION • KILMORE • LONGWOOD NAGAMBIE • PUCKAPUNYAL • SEYMOUR • TALLAROOK • TRAWOOL • VIOLET TOWN • WALLAN • WANDONG
Works underway
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2026
EUROA MP TAKES ON THE PREMIER
■ Strathbogie Shire Council has commenced road safety improvement works on the following roads: ■ Harrys Creek Rd ■ Euroa–Strathbogie Rd ■ Longwood–Ruffy Rd These works are being delivered as part of the TAC Road Safety Program and will include: ■ Improved signage ■ Line marking ■ Curve alignment markers ■ Targeted safety barriers
Tuesday Meeting ■ The first Strathbogie Council meeting for 2026 was due to have taken place at 4pm yesterday (Tues.) at the Euroa Community Centre, as this issue of The Local Paper went to press. Agenda items included: ■ Mayor’s Report, Councillor Report ■ Public Question Time ■ Condolence and commendation Motion, Community recognition and Preparedness - Longwood Berrys Lane Fire ■ Quarterly Plaanning Report ■ Variations and Grants approved under CEO delegation ■ Infrastructure - capital works ■ Final Municipal Monitor Report ■ Memorandum of UnderstandingStrathbogie, Murrindindi, Mansfield and Mitchell Shires Bushfire Recovery ■ ALGA Financial Sustainability Inquiry Submission ■ Prevention and Management of Sexual Harassment Policy ■ Audit and Risk Committee Annual Performance Report ■ Notices of Morion lodged by Crs Clark, Holloway and Halsall.
Inside This Week FREE ADS FOR FIREAFFECTED BUSINESSES
● Annabelle Cleeland, Euroa MLA ■ Euroa MLA Annabelle Cleeland has shortfronted Jacinta Allan in Parliament over the Premier’s claims there had been no cutbacks to Country Fire Authority budgets. Ms Cleeland: My question is to the Premier. Over summer the Premier repeatedly claimed that delays in tabling the CFA annual report were due to delays in the AuditorGeneral process, yet the AuditorGeneral issued a statement categorically disproving the Premier’s claims. Why did the Premier mislead members of the Avenel and Longwood CFA brigades in my electorate by blaming the independent umpire? Ms Allan: In answering the question, I will correct the misinformation that is contained in the member for Euroa’s question. My answer to the tabling of the CFA’s annual report went to the auditing processes, and indeed there was some repeated back and forth between agencies and the Auditor-General’s office that enabled the final tabling of the report a couple of weeks ago. But the substance of the 2024–25 annual report shows that funding has increased to the CFA, so regardless of what date the annual report was tabled the facts that are contained in the annual report are that funding has increased to the CFA. For any mem-
● Jacinta Allan, State Premier
ber of this place to say otherwise would be deceiving those volunteers who over this summer have worked tirelessly to protect us and to protect our communities and do not deserve the misinformation and deception. There has only ever been a funding increase to the CFA that is shown in the 2024– 25 annual report, and today the CFA is better funded, better supported and better resourced because we back them. Ms Cleeland: The Premier referred to cuts to CFA funding as a conspiracy theory, despite the independent budget watchdog confirming three consecutive years of cuts. Isn’t the Premier the only person peddling conspiracy theories in relation to CFA funding? Ms Allan): I am pleased that the member for Euroa has given me an opportunity to comment on the process of how the Parliamentary Budget Office released this information to the opposition. When the fire struck on Janauary 7, 8 and 9, my focus was solely on supporting our emergency services and those fire-affected communities. The Leader of the Opposition’s focus was on soliciting false information from the Parliamentary Budget Office to then peddle to those very same communities. James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, on
relevance, it is entirely out of order for the Premier to be reflecting on the independent Parliamentary Budget Office. That is exactly what you just did – shocking. The Speaker: Order! The member for Brighton is warned. Ms Allan: On the point of order, Speaker, I will not allow the member for Brighton to verbal me by way of a point of order, because it would be nasty for the member for Brighton to do that. I want to be absolutely clear that my issue is with the Leader of the Opposition and the fact that her focus was on politicisation of funding to emergency services, not on supporting fire -affected communities. Danny O’Brien: Further to the point of order, Speaker, the Premier seems to forget what she just said. She said soliciting a false report from the PBO. The Speaker: I do not uphold the point of order. Ms Allan: This behaviour and the response we are seeing in the house today demonstrate why we cannot take this Liberal leader or this Liberal–National coalition seriously. They are all about cuts, not about backing Victoria. Ms Cleeland: On a point of order, the question is to you, Premier, not the Leader of the Opposition.
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