THE behaviour of Plug the Pipe protestors who disrupted the first day of Parliament has been condemned by the Minister for Northern Victoria and Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Development Kaye Darveniza.
Ms Darveniza said that the behaviour of protestors showed disrespect for the people of Victoria and the democratic process of Parliament.
“The Brumby Government supports the democratic right to protest peacefully but the unruly behaviour displayed by the Liberal and National Party-aligned protestors in the Parliamentary gallery was outrageous,” Ms Darveniza said.
The speaker of the Legislative Assembly was forced to clear the gallery after the small group interrupted the Parliament.
“It is one thing to make your point in a dignified and peaceful protest outside Parliament, it is quite another to disrupt democracy and force the gallery to be cleared,” Ms Darveniza said.
Ms Darveniza said that the Sugarloaf Pipeline was a key piece of infastructure of the Brumby Government’s $4.9 million water plan.
“Without the Sugarloaf Pipeline there would not be a $1 billion investment in modernising irrigation infastructure in Northern Victoria to provide 150 billion litres of additional water for irrigators and the environment,” Ms Darveniza said.