State election highlights Victorian political year

“Hope always beats hate,’’ he told Labor’s faithful on election night, maintaining that ”leadership was about doing the right thing, not the popular thing’’ in a nod to the long COVID-19 lockdowns under his government.

Although the Nationals added three seats to their benches for a total of nine, the Liberals went backwards from 21 seats to just 18, leaving the Coalition with the same number of lower house seats as it won in 2018, just 27.

For Liberal leader Matthew Guy, it was a second successive election loss, prompting him to give up leadership of the party.

“As soon as it is clearer which Liberal Party candidates will form the next parliamentary party room, I will call them together to elect their new leadership team,” he said.

One of the seats the Nationals picked up was Shepparton District, from independent Suzanna Sheed, returning it to conservative hands after two terms.

Former City of Greater Shepparton mayor Kim O’Keeffe held off Ms Sheed and prominent Liberal candidate Cheryl Hammer to win the seat.

“I’m really excited, I’m absolutely thrilled, I’m not going to say shocked because I think we had a really good chance,” Ms O’Keeffe said on the night.

Ms O’Keeffe wasted no time entering the political fray, but her first significant comment took aim at her own National party, not the Labor Government, criticising the federal branch’s decision to oppose the proposed Indigenous Voice to Federal Parliament.

“I was sort of a bit side-swiped by that — obviously I didn’t see it coming,” she said.

Prominent issues raised during the campaign included getting a bypass built around Shepparton, irrigation water buy backs, whether Greater Shepparton needs another public secondary school option, workforce shortages and the region’s housing crisis.

The Nationals retained the seat of Euroa, with Annabelle Cleeland elected to replace the retiring Steph Ryan.

“It is an incredible honour to be in this position and I am fully aware of the responsibility that comes with this role,” Ms Cleeland said.

The Australian Greens were the other winner in the lower house, adding a seat to go from three to four.

History was made in the upper house, with voters in the Northern Victoria region electing a Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Party candidate for the first time in the state.

Invergordon dairy farmer Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell was one of the five candidates elected to represent the region in the Legislative Council, along with Liberal Wendy Lovell for her sixth term, attorney-general Jaclyn Symes for Labor, Gaelle Broad, from the Nationals, and another newcomer, Georgie Purcell, from the Animal Justice Party.

Ms Tyrrell told the News she could represent all people among the region’s diverse population despite the party’s founder, Pauline Hanson, being seen by many as a divisive character due to her past comments on migrants, muslims and First Nations people.

“Absolutely I can represent the region,” she said. “We stand for unity, not division.”

COVID-19’s lingering ‘cough’

COVID-19 continued to dominate state political debate and commentary during 2022, as Victoria, and Melbourne and Shepparton in particular, emerged from some of the world’s toughest lockdowns.

As the region started the new year and restrictions were relaxed, case numbers climbed. This, as GV Health warned of a staff deficit of 150 workers.

Ambulance Victoria was not spared the pressure either, with the News reporting in November that from July to September an average of 132 staff were furloughed in Victoria every day due to COVID-19.

COVID-19, and influenza infections, also impacted a range of businesses, with many sectors struggling to field enough workers.

VLocity trains pull in

On Monday, October 31, seven years after a pyjama protest to Melbourne, the first VLocity train pulled in to Shepparton Station to herald a new era in public transport between the centres.

In 2015, then-state Member for Shepparton Suzanna Sheed and then-mayor Dennis Patterson caught the train to Melbourne, wearing pyjamas.

Along with dozens of other commuters, they wanted improved services between the Goulburn Valley and Melbourne, and the PJs represented how early Shepparton commuters had to rise in order to be in the capital by 9am.

“Next year, once the final stages of the tracks are finished, we will have nine daily weekday return services to and from Shepparton travelling at 130km per hour,” Ms Sheed said.

Historic floods

The October floods hit the Goulburn Valley hard, particularly Rochester, Shepparton, Seymour, Echuca, Bunbartha, Benalla and their surrounding areas.

Having not been seen in the region much for the previous 10 months, Premier Daniel Andrews made multiple visits to Shepparton and Echuca in their aftermath to see the devastation for himself and to announce the state government’s flood recovery measures.

During a visit to Shepparton on Wednesday, October 19, Mr Andrews announced multiple flood relief packages.

They included a $19.5 million initial package for the agricultural sector, $54 million worth of support for small business and $4.4 million to go towards mental health.

“We know that this flood event will have a very significant impact on the mental health and wellbeing of communities right across regional Victoria, particularly in the north,” Mr Andrews said.

The state government also committed $165 million to fix roads destroyed by floods and storms. At one stage in October, more than 350 roads were closed and more than 10,000 potholes reported.

An additional $150 million was made available for the flood clean-up effort across the state, the government made available $500,000 to 24 councils that had experienced the worst impact of the floods, and emergency accommodation was also made available at the Mickleham quarantine facility in Melbourne’s north for people rendered homeless by the flooding.

First Nations milestones

Agreement between the state government and the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria in October on a Treaty Negotiation Framework confirmed one of the final pieces of work for the Assembly in its first term.

The Assembly was established to negotiate with the government a self-determination fund, a Treaty authority and the framework.

All will assist traditional owner groups as they negotiate Treaties with the government, possibly from early 2023.

The Assembly also successfully lobbied the state government for a truth-telling commission, which began hearings in 2022.

The Yoorrook Justice Commission has been hearing harrowing stories of the mistreatment of First Nations people in Victoria, particularly the forcible taking of children from their families.

Greater Shepparton Secondary College

After much debate and a great amount of community adjustment, the Greater Shepparton Secondary College was opened on Friday, February 11.

Victorian Premier Dan Andrews and Education Minister James Merlino helped cut the ribbon to open what they called one of the best schools in the state.

State Member for Shepparton Suzanna Sheed, who was a strong supporter of the creation of the school, principal Barbara O’Brien and the college’s captains also spoke at the opening.

“It’s a proud moment, and something which needed to be done,” Ms Sheed said.

The new facility caters for up to 2700 students and is part of the Victorian Government’s $140 million Shepparton Education Plan.

“We were letting young people down, not getting the student outcomes or the opportunities that they deserve, so we needed to do something different,” Mr Merlino said.

Supporters say the new college, which is the result of merging four local secondary schools into one, provides a greater range of educational options, including the latest technology and methods.

Detractors say it is too big and limits educational choice for students, who may not find their niche at the school.