The State Government must undertake an immediate further review of inequities in liquor licence fees, The Nationals Member for Murray Valley, Ken Jasper, said today.

Mr Jasper said whilst he welcomed the logical exemptions of bed and breakfast establishments, florists and gift maker businesses from liquor licence fees from 2011, the exemptions do not go far enough in overcoming other licence inequities and discrepancies.

The continued inappropriate level of fees and ongoing inequities is causing anger and frustration for liquor licence holders across Victoria and in my electorate of Murray Valley, he said.

The Nationals longest serving Victorian Parliamentarian, the Member for Murray Valley, Ken Jasper, will attend The Nationals 90^th anniversary Federal Conference, being held in Canberra June 18-20 2010.

The Nationals, Australia’s second oldest political party, has maintained nine decades of unbroken representation in the Federal Parliament since 11 MPs joined together to form an independent political party on January 22 1920.

The 11 MPs, who had been elected in December 1919 supporting the objectives of the Australian Farmers’ Federal Organisation, meet at Parliament House, Melbourne, to form the Australian Country Party, with Tasmanian William McWilliams elected as the first leader.

The Nationals Member for Murray Valley, Ken Jasper, is in a competitive frame of mind as he prepares to front up for his final celebrity grape tread at this year’s Rutherglen Country Fair, held as part of the renowned Winery Walkabout Weekend on the Queen’s Birthday long weekend.

Mr Jasper, who retires as the Member for Murray Valley at the State election in November, is determined to regain his title as grape tread champion at this year’s event, to be held in Rutherglen’s closed Main Street on Sunday, June 13 2010.

It was a disappointing result last year, going down to Gaming and Consumer Affairs Minister, Tony Robinson, and I am sure that I will regain the crown this year, he said.

President of The Nationals Wangaratta Branch and former Chairman of The Nationals Murray Valley Assembly Electorate District Council, Richard Marsh, was presented with a life membership of the Party at the 94^th annual State Conference, held in Wangaratta at the weekend.

Confirming the presentation as a highlight of the conference, The Nationals Member for Murray Valley, Ken Jasper, said Richard Marsh had been a member of firstly The Country Party and later The Nationals for some 60 years, attending his first meetings as a teenager with his parents at Youanmite.

Richard has been deeply involved in the Murray Valley electorate since arriving in Wangaratta more than 30 years ago, served over a decade as Chairman of the District Council and wears his loyalty to The Nationals on his heart, he said.