Free the Yarra Ranges from Metro Melbourne

State Liberal Member for Eildon Cindy McLeish and community members are again calling on the Premier to classify non-urban areas of the Yarra Ranges Shire as regional Victoria.

Ms McLeish said, “The Labor Government remains steadfast in keeping the Yarra Ranges as metropolitan Melbourne through every lockdown.”

“Locals are sick of being considered metropolitan Melbourne when they have rolling hills, open spaces, vineyards and livestock surrounding them.”

“This is why I called on the community to support my call to classify the Yarra Valley and Upper Yarra from metro Melbourne to regional Victoria. So far, there have been over 1,600 submissions with an overwhelming 95 per cent agreeing to be rezoned as regional Victoria.”

To have your say on classifying non-urban areas of the Yarra Ranges as regional Victoria, take a minute to fill of Ms McLeish’s survey at www.surveymonkey.com/r/makeyarrarangesregional

The Yarra Ranges Shire Council has also been vocal about the matter and continues to support the push to be classified as regional Victoria.

Ms McLeish was to set raise the issue again in Parliament, however the Premier cancelled the sitting week due to harsher COVID-19 restrictions and the extended lockdown.

Ms McLeish continues, “The Premier needs to stop fobbing off the very real and reasonable concerns of the Yarra Ranges community. The government needs to listen, and the government needs to act.”

“There have been over 300 days with zero active Covid cases in the Yarra Ranges Shire. The Yarra Valley and Upper Yarra are 60km to 80km from the CBD, many people work in horticulture, and there are no train lines. People here live a rural lifestyle and should be classified as such.”

The State Labor Government have contradicted themselves time and time again by referring to the Yarra Valley a regional Victoria when distributing the Regional Travel Vouchers and when unexpected wastewater detections were found in Healesville.

“Labor’s contradictions are confusing for locals who can’t understand why their area is called metropolitan Melbourne in one breath and regional Victoria in the next. The reference made to regional Victoria has not been forgotten.”

“The community are screaming for change. The evidence is there. A whopping 95 per cent of locals agree. Premier, the change needs to be made,” Ms McLeish concludes.