February 9, 2018This government has a crazy contagion. It is spreading wire rope barriers across the width and breadth of country Victoria with scant regard for common sense, practicality and the real needs of road safety on our rural roads. In a crazy quest to waste more money in the roads portfolio, hot on the heels of...
Read more February 7, 2018Roads Minister Luke Donnellan must stop making up wild statistics to justify his extravagant, at times dangerous wire rope barrier roll out at the expense of much more urgent road safety measures. Speaking in a unified chorus today in Parliament, country MPs including Member for Polwarth Richard Riordan called to cease the madness of the...
Read more January 29, 2018Special guests, fellow Australians. Australia Day means many things to many people. The one thing Australia Day does do, is encourages us to reflect on who and how we are. Where we have come from and where we want to be. Public debate at this time of year can sometimes focus heavily on the mistakes...
Read more December 11, 2017At 11am on Monday, a rather cool start to the week, and how much energy was Victoria producing? To date Victoria has spent over 5 billion dollars on wind farms, with billions more announced. We have tram commuters feeling warm and fuzzy about the thought of trams powered by renewable energy, and inner urban elites...
Read more November 30, 2017Richard Riordan MP, Member for Polwarth has spoken in Parliament about the Domestic Animals Amendment (Puppy Farms and Pet Shops) Bill 2016, which has been reintroduced into Parliament with a swag of amendments after the government pulled it last year due to a public outcry against its unfair targeting of pet breeders. “As a...
Read more November 23, 2017Member for Polwarth, Richard Riordan MP, has warned Victorians that in this mini heatwave, our lack of baseload is costing Victorian households and businesses. “The Victorian economy has now spent around $5.1 billion on intermittent windfarms which have the capacity to produce 1508MW,” Mr Riordan said. “At 9.30am today our renewables infrastructure supplied energy...
Read more November 21, 2017Member for Polwarth, Richard Riordan MP, has again expressed concerns about our increasing reliance on renewable energy. At 11am today, with temperatures expected to exceed 30 degrees, Victoria is a massive importer of electrical energy and is paying the highest prices in the nation. South Australia is providing both gas and diesel-fired power, while...
Read more November 14, 2017Member for Polwarth, Richard Riordan MP, has again expressed concerns about our increasing reliance on renewable energy. The State Government has today announced that Victoria will need expensive diesel generators to keep the lights on and the air conditioners running this hot summer. At 10:40am 13 November 2017: Wind was producing at...
Read more November 10, 2017Member for Polwarth, Richard Riordan MP, heard evidence about enormous council rate inequities in rural and regional shires at a Joint Parliamentary Investigative Committee in Colac on Friday. Mr Riordan was joined by multi-party parliamentary colleagues on the Environment, Natural Resources and Regional Development Committee (ENRRDC). Representatives from local Polwarth shire councils gave evidence...
Read more November 2, 2017Member for Polwarth, Richard Riordan MP, has raised concerns surrounding Victoria’s energy supply. At 11.30am today (2/11/17) Victoria was a net importer of energy and we had the highest power prices at $97.20. The 657 wind turbines installed in Victoria, which have a stated output of 1450MW, were only producing 28MW. This means the...
Read more