Danny O’Brien ready to tackle local and State issues

FEELING honoured to have served communities in his Gippsland South electorate as the sitting member for 12 years, Danny O’Brien is hopeful he and the Coalition get the chance to govern so they can deliver more for locals.

Reducing crime, better roads and lower costs are key issues The Nationals are determined to address, as is delivering a fair share of funding to regional areas of the State.

The party’s Fair Share Guarantee is a commitment to provide 25 per cent of funding to regional areas, matching the percentage of the Victorian population that lives outside the metropolitan area.

Mr O’Brien spoke of the vast sums of money spent on tunnels and railway crossing removals as part of Melbourne’s Big Build, while regional roads aren’t maintained at an acceptable standard.

“That’s probably the biggest frustration I get around the place, is the state of the roads,” he said, also highlighting the need for equitable investment in fire stations, hospitals and other public facilities in country areas.

As for roads, there is a commitment to building them properly the first time, enforcing tough standards to achieve that.

“We’re going to do a full review of the contracts between the Department of Transport and contractors to make sure that we’re getting value for money,” Mr O’Brien said.

He often hears community frustration about new sections of road that don’t last as long as they should leading to extra costs, stressing that while that may indicate a problem with the work contractors did, it might also be a result of the specifications they were given.

Sentinel-Times enquired as to the likely timeframe needed for a comprehensive review and to get things done in terms of fixing the roads.

“We won’t be stopping any works and doing a review,” Mr O’Brien responded, stressing the review and works will happen concurrently.

“I’ve been talking to contractors for some time about how much they can up the ante and we will be, as soon as we get in, ensuring the money is flowing to get more repairs and preventative maintenance done,” he said.

Data provided through the National Transport Research Organisation’s iPAVE technology will inform what roadwork needs doing where, assessing the condition of road pavement and the sub surface.

While potholes need to be filled in the short term for safety reasons, there is a commitment to properly repair failed sections of road, then ensure required resealing is undertaken, with resealing costing far less than having to dig out and rehabilitate the road.

Mr O’Brien acknowledged that delivering a fair share to the regions doesn’t mean the Coalition will be able to suddenly deliver every project community wants, noting Victoria is in a state of financial crisis.

However, he’s adamant the Coalition can get Victoria back in the black through measures such as putting public service recruitment on hold in back-office roles.

“It’s not a freeze on teachers, nurses, police, or any frontline workers,” Mr O’Brien stressed, also promising that those in roles for which recruitment will be frozen won’t lose their jobs.

Scrapping Labor’s Treaty is another cost saving measure, with others to be outlined.

As for reducing crime, Mr O’Brien declared that as well as filling the current 1,400 police vacancies across the State, the Coalition will add a further 1,600.

Asked how that can be achieved, he declared, “We’ll go on a recruiting drive but will be prepared to assist with costs of recruiting officers from the UK, Ireland and New Zealand, which have similar legal systems to ours.”

Recruitment is only part of the focus, with the aim being to better support police so they are motivated to remain in the job.

“You do that by backing them as a Government, giving them the laws that ensure that they’re able to do their job properly and are not facing a revolving door of criminals,” Mr O’Brien said.

That has led to a commitment to measures such as ‘Break Bail, Face Jail’ laws.

“There’s capacity in the system,” Mr O’Brien responded when asked about the availability of suitable facilities and staff to accommodate an influx of people in custody.

If needed, that may include reopening Ravenhall prison.

A $100 million investment for youth crime diversion programs is intended to help steer kids on the periphery of a life of crime in the right direction through education and discipline.

Mr O’Brien spoke of the need to strike a balance between giving kids a chance and having consequences in place if they continue to threaten society with crime.

Key election promises include scrapping Labor’s Emergency Services Tax, returning to the previous Fire Services Property Levy, and reducing Land Tax to 2023 levels that preceded a substantial hike.

After 12 years of Labor Government, Mr O’Brien is adamant there is no quick fix.

“We need people to be patient, but we’ve got a plan and are looking forward to delivering it,” he said.