Nationals Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland will be holding town hall discussions throughout the Strathbogie Shire to hear the personal impact the power outages are having on residents.
Ms Cleeland will be in Euroa, Longwood, and Violet Town on Wednesday, January 24 to give locals an opportunity to share how they’ve been affected. Everyone is welcome to attend.
“It is so important to hear from those impacted by these power outages and understand the very real effect this is having on households and businesses,” Ms Cleeland said.
“The constant power outages impacting our regional communities simply cannot continue.
“These outages are doing more than just keeping residents in the dark, they are hitting people’s pockets at a time when they can least afford it, preventing people from working and forcing many businesses to close.”
Ms Cleeland said she will continue to advocate for the local community and will be bringing attention to the matter when Parliament resumes.
“These outages, and AusNet’s role in them, is something that I have been working on over the course of my time in Parliament, even before the most recent string of power outages.
“I have engaged with AusNet on multiple occasions already regarding the outages and continue to do so to ensure we can resolve these issues.
“When Parliament resumes in February, these outages will be my number one priority to raise.
“This Melbourne-focussed Labor Government must take this issue seriously and prevent further turmoil for our regional communities.”
Together with Shadow Energy Minister David Davis, Ms Cleeland said she hoped the town halls would allow residents to share their personal stories to contribute to the case to call for AusNet to invest in upgrading the infrastructure and deliver a reliable service.
“For residents who can’t attend in person, I encourage you to continue sharing your experiences by emailing me directly,” Ms Cleeland said.
“Your stories contribute to building a comprehensive understanding of the hardships faced by our community, ranging from financial burdens to health and safety concerns.
“Together, we can build a stronger case for necessary action.”
Meeting information:
All meetings are held Wednesday, January 24.
- Longwood Community Centre (9:30am-11am)
- Euroa Band Hall (11:30am-1pm)
- Violet Town Community Hall (2pm-3:30pm)
