The Nationals Member for Murray Valley, Ken Jasper, will be ‘on his bike’ on Sunday morning, November 29 2009, joining in the celebrations marking the completion of the $850,000 Wahgunyah to Rutherglen Rail Trail.

Mr Jasper said he was looking forward to taking part in the community event organised by Indigo Shire to celebrate the opening of the 8.8 kilometre section of the rail trail.

Completion of the project, part of the Murray to the Mountains rail trail, will provide a welcome boost to tourism in Rutherglen, Wahgunyah and surrounding areas, he said.

It will include two riverside loops, taking in the Murray River and Lake Moodemere, and will eventually be linked to the trail at North Wangaratta.

The Nationals will pre-select their candidate for the State Seat of Murray Valley at the Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre on Saturday, November 28 2009.

It will be The Nationals first pre-selection for Murray Valley since the selection of sitting Member, Ken Jasper, back in 1975.

Father of the Victorian Parliament, Mr Jasper said today the decision to retire as the Member for Murray Valley at the next State election, on November 27 2010, had not been an easy one.

It has been a great honour to represent the people of Murray Valley for almost 34 years, he said, and, whilst it has been challenging, working with people to achieve results has been stimulating.

There will be no slowing down, no easing into retirement, and with the announcement made that I will retire, I will continue to work in top gear, slipping into overdrive when needed, to achieve results for my electorate, Mr Jasper said.

The Nationals Member for Murray Valley, Ken Jasper, today called for a meeting of all interested stakeholders at Wangaratta to discuss the potential return of greyhound racing to Avian Park.

Mr Jasper was commenting on correspondence from Greyhound Racing Victoria chief executive officer John Stephens to the Rural City of Wangaratta demanding a response and financial commitment toward the redevelopment of the Avian Park facility by November 24 2009.

I discussed the content of the letter from GRV with the RCOW chief executive officer Doug Sharp on November 13, and the concerns the Rural City had with the demands of GRV, the short time frame for a response, and the further statement confirming that trial track racing would only continue at Avian Park until December 31 2009, he said.

Bridget McKenzie, The Nationals Senate Candidate for Victoria, will be the guest speaker at a dinner at The Quality Hotel Wangaratta Gateway on Friday, November 20 2009.

The dinner has been organised by the Wangaratta Women’s Section of The Nationals.

Member for Murray Valley, Ken Jasper, said today he was delighted Ms McKenzie, a passionate advocate for rural and regional Victoria, was visiting Wangaratta.

A former secondary school teacher, Ms McKenzie is a lecturer in social science at Monash University, and strongly believes the youth of rural and regional Victoria are our most precious resource for the future, Mr Jasper said.