By Daniela De Martino
It’s been a wild week of wind events.
At the time of writing this on Thursday 29 August over 200 calls for assistance have been made to Emerald SES since Sunday.
These severe weather events are now happening with increasing frequency.
I’m working hard to ensure that resources are in place to help our community throughout these events.
I hope you and yours are all safe and well.
The other week I had the great pleasure of hosting Premier Jacinta Allan and Minister for Small Business Natalie Suleyman across the electorate.
SCHOOL UPGRADES
At Eastern Ranges School in Ferntree Gully, the Premier witnessed the progress of a significant $5.7 million refurbishment.
This project puts into practice our Labor Government’s prioritisation of modernising every government special school in Victoria.
It goes without saying that students with disabilities and special needs deserve great learning environments and this upgrade will deliver just that!
We are also investing in co-located before- and after-school care facilities and NDIS navigators at every special school.
I am beyond pleased that Eastern Ranges’ NDIS Navigator started over a month ago, providing much-needed support and resources for families negotiating the NDIS system.
The Premier and I also visited The Patch Primary School, where a $6.4 million modernisation project will transform the learning environment.
These improvements will create a modern, vibrant space where students can thrive. Whilst a good teacher can teach under a tree, our students excel when they have the best educators working in world-class learning environments.
A visit from the Premier is always a special occasion and I’m looking forward to her next journey to the hills!
SMALL BUSINESS
Minister for Small Business Natalie Suleyman recently joined me at the Ferntree Gully Library for a Small Business Forum.
This roundtable provided a platform for local business owners to share their concerns, priorities, and opportunities directly with the Minister and myself, because good policy comes from listening.
As a former small business owner, I truly understand the challenges and rewards of operating a small business – they play a vital role in our economy and our State Government is committed to providing the support they need. One key initiative is the Small Business Bus, a mobile service offering advice and resources.
The bus’s visit to Tecoma, Emerald and Upwey over the past year was incredibly successful and I look forward to its return.
Another great resource is the Business Victoria website, which offers information on grant opportunities, skills development, and comprehensive human resource materials.
I know only too well that when you have your own business, you are your own HR, finance, marketing, and accounting departments, to name a few.
The support and resources on offer via this website are game-changers for small businesses.
If there is one thing a business owner should do today, is sign up for the emails business.vic.gov.au
You’ll be glad you did!
If you’re interested in attending future events, please contact my office via email.
I look forward to meeting more of our hard-working and enterprising small business owners.
Until next time, please take care.
