Mr MORRIS (Mornington) (10:20): I rise today to again demand the government declare the Mornington Peninsula to be a regional municipality.
This is not an issue that has appeared from thin air; in fact it has been a concern for a considerable period. But the imposition of the COVID-19 lockdown without regard for caseload has now made this situation untenable.
I wrote to the Premier requesting action on this issue on 20 July and again on 4 September. Neither letter has been acknowledged let alone received a response. At the first opportunity I raised the issue in the Parliament, on 17 September and again on 18 September.
Again, complete silence.
The facts are these: on 7 September, the date the 14-day rolling averages for regional Victoria were first reported, for regional Victoria there were 3.8 new cases compared with 1.5 for the Mornington Peninsula.
As of yesterday the regional figure was 0.4; the peninsula figure was 0.3.
Every day for the last five weeks the rolling average for the peninsula has been lower than that for regional Victoria except on one day, and on that day they were equal. Yet the people of the Mornington Peninsula remain locked in their homes, businesses shuttered, jobs and mental health at risk without any justification.
The Premier must act to give immediate relief to the Mornington Peninsula community.