- Looking after our infrastructure
- Telstra, Snowy Hydro ... what next ?
Country Alliance policy is to oppose the sale of major assets, such as Telstra, Medibank Private and the Snowy Hydro.
Unlike the other major parties, we have opposed the sale of all three from the start because they all provide basic and essential community services.
We elect Governments to manage our assets, not flog them.
Country Alliance believes that the sale of any major asset must not be allowed to happen unless previously approved by referendum. (6.5.06)
- Looking after the well-being of regional communities
- Poker machines
Country Alliance is heartened by Western Australia's position of limiting poker machines to Perth's Burswood Casino and believes Victoria should follow a similar line.
Country Alliance's position is to limit poker machines to existing casinos and racing venues, and for the number of poker machines in those venues to be reviewed having regard to the impact on problem gambling.
We also believe poker machines should not be able to accept $50 notes, in the same way that they were previously limited from accepting $100. (6.5.06)
- Better policy decisions for regional Victoria
- Decentralisation
Country Alliance supports the moving of management and policy staff of state and federal departments whose impact is on regional areas, to those areas.
At state level, Country Alliance supports the relocation of the head office of the Department of Sustainability and Environment to Ballarat, the relocation of the head office of the Department of Primary Industries to Bendigo, the head office of the Department of Infrastructure to Traralgon.
Country Alliance believes central agencies, and others including human services, education and justice have sufficient responsibilities in the metropolitan areas to justify their continued location in Melbourne. (6.5.06)
- Economic development, sustainable environment
- Dept of Agriculture
Country Alliance believes the role of agriculture is of sufficient importance to justify the creation of a Department of Agriculture (currently residing within the Department of Primary Industries) based in Shepparton. (6.5.06)
- Continuation of traditional recreational, cultural and social activities
- Recreational activities
Country Alliance supports the continuation of recreational use of four wheel drive vehicles, rodeos, recreational fishing, recreational shooting and hunting and the opening up of public lands to public access. (6.5.06)
- Recreational motorbike licences
Country Alliance will seek the introduction of a recreational motorbike licence to enable 14 to 18 year olds to work on the land (complying with WorkCover requirements) and participate in recreational motorbike activities, under the supervision of a fully licensed motorbike rider.
Current arrangements do not permit this, and there is a need to fill this void.
The licence would apply only to those areas where 'recreational motorcycle registration' applies, and would not permit the use of motorbikes on signposted public roads. The licence would limit the riding of motorbikes up to 250cc capacity.
The experience gained by the licence proposed by Country Alliance would provide valuable experience for new riders for when they seek their learners permit to ride bikes on public roads when they turn 18. (5.2.08)
- Verifiable and scientifically based environmental decisions
- Parks
Country Alliance supports the positions taken by the two independent Lower House members in opposing the creation of more national parks until the management of existing management parks is assessed as adequate. This assessment should include support the support of local communities and user groups, with genuine consultation.
Country Alliance believes that Governments have obligations to look after the public land they manage. (6.5.06)
- Democracy
- Planning
Country Alliance is of the view that the role of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal is undermining the roles of local government and the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation in managing planning responsibilities. We believe VCAT's ability to rehear planning issues needs to be reigned in so as to only provide reviews based on mistakes of law or fact.
Country Alliance supports the current farming and rural zones recently introduced, however does not support rezoning of farming land for housing, tourism or commercial use without extensive community consultation and agreement.
Country Alliance supports the indefinite extension of government leases over land, where the land is used for community activities (eg: golf courses) where the community is in support of such extension. (6.5.06)
- Looking after the well-being of regional communities
- Health
The two health issues of concern to Country Alliance are the retention of specialist services in hospitals and the attraction of doctors and nurses in and to regional areas.
Country Alliance supports:
- any Government initiative, State or Federal, that will have a positive impact on access to healthcare for regional Victorians;
- the establishment of basic standards for access to medical and dental care within rural Victoria and identification of those communities who do not meet those standards;
- mirroring federal initiatives by offering 20 scholarships per annum, per upper house region for attracting doctors to regional areas.
(6.5.06)
- Economic development, sustainable environment
- Water
Country Alliance will recognise, promote and defend the right of all Victorians to have a fair entitlement to water.
Country Alliances believes:
- water and water infrastructure must remain in public hands;
- existing water entitlements must be honoured;
- full and fair compensation must be provided to any entitlement holder who has that entitlement removed or adjusted by Government;
- environmental water is to be sourced from water delivery infrastructure efficiency upgrades, not from the water market;
- permanent water trade out of existing irrigation districts should be halted, until full social, economic and environmental impact studies are conducted. It should then only re-commenced if the studies find agreed benefits to existing irrigation districts and the Victorian community;
- flouride must not be put into water supplies, or continued to be supplied, without the genuine support of local communities; and
- dams must be able to be constructed for public, private and small commercial use, where it can be demonstrated there are no negative third party impacts.
(6.5.06)
- Economic development, sustainable environment
- Biofuels
Country Alliance supports the application of fuel taxes to examine bio-fuel options for to our current dependence on fossil fuels.
We believe this would help alleviate the high transport and freight costs in country areas which is a direct function of distance.
Country Victorians would therefore reap the greatest benefit from research into alternatives. (6.5.06)
- Verifiable and scientifically based environmental decisions
- VEAC
Country Alliance believes the Victorian Environment Assessment Council should not have the mission to find reasons for governments to declare new parks.
Country Alliance believes VEAC should be abolished on the basis it has not stayed within its own guidelines and because of its failure to engage in effective community consultation. (6.5.06 - modified 2.2.08)
- River Redgum Inquiry
CA supports the move to overturn VEAC's draft proposal for the River Red Gum investigation areas. It supports the values and uses of River Red Gum forests and wetlands remain under sustainable multiple-use management for community wide benefit. (2.2.08)
- Economic development, sustainable environment
- Logging in water catchments
Country Alliance believes that forest management must include water catchment areas, including commercial thinning to open up adjacent canopies. This will maximise water runoff and maintain water quality. (6.5.06)
- Looking after the well-being of regional communities
- Education
Country Alliance supports any Government initiative, State or Federal, that will have a positive impact on access to education for regional Victorians, the establishment of basic standards for access to education services within rural Victoria and identification of those communities who do not meet those standards. (6.5.06)
- Personal responsibility
- Food handling
Country Alliance believes food handling laws provide unnecessary disincentives for non profit bodies (such as the CWA, schools, churches, sporting clubs), from selling food at events such as fetes.
Country Alliance believes food handling accreditation should apply only to commercial vendors.
Our policy is not to subject non profit bodies to the current accreditation processes, provided they comply with appropriate food handling requirements as notified to them by local municipal and health authorities. (6.5.06)
- Ensuring a sustainable environment
- Pest management
Country Alliance believes in the implementation of a pest species management regime in all state lands, to at least the standard required of private landholders. (6.5.06)
- Sustainable environment, personal responsibility
- Waste management - state parks and reserves
Country Alliance believes it is necessary to re-establish adequate waste services for camping grounds in state parks and reserves.
This is because the absence of these services results in 'cost shifting' from the managers of those areas to adjacent municipalities as waste is taken from parks and reserves into nearby towns. (6.5.06)
- Sustainable environment, Looking after the well-being of regional communities
- Firewood collection
Country Alliance supports the simplification of the permit system for the collection of fallen timber from public land. We believe:
- Collection of fallen timber should be allowed within 500 metres of a road or track in national parks and state forests with a permit;
- Owners and occupiers of private properties which adjoin national and state parks should be able to collect fallen timber within 500 metres of their property for domestic use without the need for a permit;
- Persons who do not qualify under b) should be able to collect the same fallen timber provided they have the appropriate permit – and in the case of persons who hold a Victorian Seniors Card, Veteran's Affairs Pensioner Card, Repatriation Health Card or Pensioner Concession Card, that permit should be provided for free;
- Permits should be readily available from local outlets such as service stations, post offices and supermarkets - rather than the current system where they are often available only one day a week from Department of Sustainability and Environment outlets some distance away.
- the Government should find ways to reintroduce commercial firewood operators in order to supply timber to those unable to cut their own firewood. This is because firewood shortages have been further exacerbated in some areas by government encouraging commercial firewood cutters to exit the industry to the detriment of those unable to collect their own firewood.
These measures will not only assist those dependent on firewood for heating, but reduce the fireload for communities exposed to heightened fire risk. They maintain a sensible balance with the need to provide resources to manage our parks, and ensure collections only occur where it is sustainable and safe to do so through a permit system. (6.5.06)
- Personal responsibility
- CFA levy
Country Alliance supports the tying of the Country Fire Authority levy to council rates, as an alternative to tying it to insurance policies.
The current system means that those who take out insurance are effectively pay for CFA services to not only their properties, but those belonging to others who do not take out insurance. (6.5.06)
- Personal responsibility
- Extremist protesters
Country Alliance believes that Government must state its commitment to addressing the actions and consequences of extremist environmental protesters, such as those affecting the forestry industry and others.
Government must clearly and concisely state what actions protestors can lawfully engage in, what actions or activities are illegal and proscribe specific and appropriate penalties for those activities.
Due to the 'serial' nature of some protests, prescribed penalties should be compounded with each subsequent offence.
Government must recognise that some places of protest are places of work (such as protests involving forestry workers, farmers and coal-fired power stations workers), and are subject to workplace safety laws - as are rigorously enforced in other industries.
Government should direct its departments and the police to take timely action to prevent unlawful activity and prosecute wherever it occurs, and stop repeated failures to act against illegal protests such as those against industrial and recreational activities, such as the opening of duck season.
Offends should be held fully liable for all vandalism and damage, as well as all financial losses that arises from their actions. (5.4.08)
In addition, we support the development of 
