A petition calling on the Victorian Government to fully fund a replacement station for the Lakes Entrance Fire Brigade has been launched, with The Nationals’ candidate for Gippsland East, Gemma Rendell, urging the community to get behind the campaign.
The petition was launched by Ms Rendell alongside State Member for Gippsland East Tim Bull and Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester.
“We have the petition in a number of local businesses and encourage everyone in the community to sign it as we continue to mount the case for this much-needed new station,” Ms Rendell said.
“This is a project Labor said was ‘imminent’ in 2022, but it has done nothing despite the project being the CFA’s number one infrastructure priority in the east of the state.
“It is another classic case of promising and not delivering, just like the Marlo-Conran bike path, the native tree nursery at Nowa Nowa and repairs to jetties at Mallacoota. It sounds good in front of a camera, but they don’t deliver.”
Mr Bull said the petition was about mounting the case to ensure local CFA volunteers have the facilities they need to protect the community, while sending a strong message to the government about the project’s importance to regional safety.
“We have an election approaching, we understand the needs of the Lakes Entrance CFA members and we want to address the matter,” Mr Bull said.
“I know the new site has been identified and the type of station required is known. All that’s left is for the funding to be provided.
“Labor is talking about providing planning money — it’s a joke. That is not what is needed. We know all we need to know; just get on and build it.
“It’s a similar situation at Metung, and we want that community to know we haven’t forgotten about them either.”
Mr Chester said every signature would help strengthen the case when the petition is eventually tabled in State Parliament.
“We need to demonstrate just how strongly the community supports a new Lakes Entrance CFA station,” Mr Chester said.
“A new station isn’t a ‘nice to have’ facility — it’s essential infrastructure for community safety.”
