CHESTER HITS 100 DAYS ON THE JOB
October 7, 2008
Restoring drought funding, a guarantee on the future of the Traralgon post office and putting pensioner needs on the national agenda are among the highlights of Darren Chester’s first 100 days in public office.
It is 100 days today since Mr Chester was elected as the Federal Member for Gippsland.
He thanked local people for their support and cooperation in his new role.
“It’s been a busy and exciting time and I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to meet with a wide range of community members.
“I’ve been impressed by the way in which local people put their community first and are prepared to commit their time and energy into creating a better Gippsland.
“We’ve been able to celebrate a couple of wins already – with the Rudd Labor Government forced into a backflip and agreeing to extend drought assistance for local farmers; and Australia Post announcing that the Franklin Street post office will remain at its current location.
“All credit is due to the community groups who have worked in partnership with my office to achieve some great results.”
Mr Chester said his first 100 days had provided many opportunities to raise local issues in Federal Parliament.
“I said from the outset that I would be putting locals first,” Mr Chester said.
“I have taken up every opportunity to raise local issues in Parliament and have spoken about the need for increased roads funding, the need to protect local jobs, the impacts of the proposed Emission Trading Scheme and the need to better support local families with children at university.
“With the global economic downturn, one of the biggest issues for me is the need to secure local jobs and provide meaningful education and employment opportunities for young people in Gippsland.
“These are some of the issues I intend to pursue further, however, I want to give local residents every opportunity to provide feedback on the issues that are concerning them most.
“I will be conducting a survey of the Gippsland electorate in the next month to assist in further planning for the remainder of the term.”
Mr Chester said he had also met with several local aged care providers and was continuing to push for more funding to provide high quality aged care opportunities across Gippsland.
“Obviously the pension is a big issue for older Gippslanders and I am continuing to fight for an immediate increase.
“We now have the need for increased pensioner support clearly set on the national agenda and I will keep working to deliver greater Government support for pensioners – including those with disability – and for carers.”