Times
www.gippslandtimes.com.au
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2021
$1.70 Inc. GST Tel: 5143 9333
& MAFFRA SPECTATOR
PAGE 3
THIS WEEKEND
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DAYLIGHT SAVING TuesdayPartly Mostly sunny - Min: 4 Max: Tuesday cloudy - Min: 4 Max: 21 14
WEATHER
GIPPSLAND’S KOALAS ARE IN
LOW NUMBERS Wednesday Showers - Min: 8 Max: 17
3 Max: 14 22 Thursday Showers increasing - Min: 10 Max:
INSIDE
PropertyGuide GippslandTimes
Chester’s step back
After years of fundraising and working with Wellington Shire Council to secure funding streams, Maffra Lawn Tennis Club’s committee is thrilled the construction tender for its new clubrooms has been awarded to local company, RAL Constructions. Pictured are committee members Kate Laskowski, Julie Foat, treasurer Jake Weir, club captain Mitch Allman and president Terry Flynn. Full story, page 5.
Photo: Sarah Luke
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GIPPSLAND MHR Darren Chester has confirmed he will take a hiatus from The Nationals party and its meetings, over growing frustration with the party’s leadership. Taking to his Facebook page on Sunday evening, Mr Chester said he would be taking “a break from organised meetings, events and activities in The Nationals Federal Parliamentary party room”, and would re-assess his position when federal parliament resumed in October. “To be clear, I continue to support the Coalition government but want some time away from the The Nationals Federal Parliamentary party room to reflect on a number of significant issues,” he said. “My decision follows months of frustration with the repeated failure of the leadership to even attempt to moderate some of the more disrespectful and offensive views expressed by a minority of colleagues. “As I indicated at the time of the leadership spill, I remain committed to the Victorian National Party.” The former infrastructure and transport, then veterans’ affairs minister, was dumped from Cabinet in July, after backing former leader Michael McCormack during a leadership spill. After resigning from the party’s federal leadership in 2018 in the wake of his extra-marital affair with a staffer was exposed and a sexual harassment complaint was filed, which he denies, controversial politician Barnaby Joyce was victorious in his bid for the top job, and was quick to replace Mr Chester with his own supporters for the second time in three years. Now a backbencher, Mr Chester is one of the more progressive Nationals MPs, becoming the party’s first to back same-sex marriage, and has recently publicly cautioned his party for climate change denial. In recent months, Mr Chester has made his disapproval of some of his colleagues’ questionable comments known. He urged Mr Joyce to apologise after he said regional residents “couldn’t really give a shit” about Melbourne’s pandemic challenges during an interview. Mr Chester also slammed his Queenslander colleague Matt Canavan for his tweet which asked if the Taliban would sign up for net zero targets, a comment which Mr Chester labelled as “offensive, disrespectful and totally lacking in any compassion for the 41 brave Australians who lost their lives, the families who grieve for them, the Continued page 5
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