Cinyd McLeish, Eildon MLA

Eildon MLA Cindy McLeish says that rural areas of the Nillumbik and Yarra Ranges do not want to be classified as metropolitan communities.

In State Parliament last Thursday (Sep. 17), Ms McLeish addressed a question to Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews: “Parts of Yarra Ranges and Nillumbik councils are very much rural—people live on farms and large blocks and in small towns and hamlets.

“Many are involved in agriculture and horticulture and fight pests such as deer and foxes—the same as those living in regional Victoria.

“Mail delivery is a challenge and non-existent in places. Many communities are over 60 or even 80 kilometres from the CBD.
“Residents in these areas consider that they live in the country, and overwhelmingly they want the Premier to treat them the same as rural and regional Victorians when it comes to COVID restrictions.

“Will you support those living in the non-urban areas of the Yarra Ranges and Nillumbik councils—areas like Powelltown, Warburton, Don Valley, Healesville, Smiths Gully, St Andrews and Panton Hill unfairly swept into the metropolitan classification for COVID-19 restrictions—and reclassify them as regional, not metropolitan, for this purpose?”