Mr Walsh said two local — and seriously outdated — CFA brigades were snubbed in the budget last week despite a glaring need for bigger station houses in Rochester and Leitchville.
He said both brigades did not have stations big enough to fit their newest, larger trucks.
“In Rochester if the truck is parked inside the shed you can barely fit down its sides; in Leitchville when they park their big unit inside there is no space left for vital equipment,” Mr Walsh said.
“These are your classic CFA crews — people who don’t just protect local communities, many of their members willingly volunteer to join strike teams sent to major bushfires around the sate and around the country.
“Without their selfless efforts, and those of other country fire stations, major bushfire control would be facing an immediate and absolute crisis.
“The men and women in Rochester and Leitchville deserve far more respect and support than they are getting from this government.
“They have been trying for years to get a budget allocation and they keep getting ignored — and it’s got to stop.”
Mr Walsh said Cohuna Secondary College was still seeking funds to complete upgrades at the school.
He said the school needed, and deserved, a substantial budget allocation after years without any form of major investment in its infrastructure.
“I know a lot of schools probably feel the same way, but now we have Swan Hill Specialist School and Kyabram P-12 finally funded,” he said.
“My attention will be on Cohuna and I will be pushing just as hard with the relevant ministers and department heads to make sure this is the last year this town and its school go cap in hand to a government that seems happy to ignore them.”
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