G’day folks,

Parliament is on a long sitting break over July, but that has given me the chance to make a few journeys out to the electorate. It is also proving to be a busy time for other members of parliament to visit Barwon. Over the last two weeks we have seen two ministers and an MLC out and about, and there are others due out in coming weeks.

With meetings, committees and paperwork that needs to be done in Sydney and minister’s visits out west, it has meant that I have been dividing my time between Macquarie Street and Barwon. This week I will be with another minister who will be travelling almost the entire length of Barwon from Narrabri to Tibooburra and back. It should be an interesting trip.

Opportunity in renewables 

Bipartisan support in parliament means projects involving renewable energy were not able to be halted or the legislation amended. We therefore need to see Renewable energy projects, like the Renewable Energy Zones (REZs) as opportunities for regional and rural towns. These projects could bring a range of positive infrastructure developments, including upgrades to roads, housing and medical services. There are also opportunities to give local manufacturing a boost and bring jobs and money into regional areas.

However, after the Electricity Infrastructure Investment Act was passed in the last parliament, projects were often launched without much in the way of direction from the department, and many also lacked community consultation. REZs are causing a lot of concern and even conflict in the communities affected.

In the June sitting weeks in Parliament, I introduced the Electricity Infrastructure Investment Amendment (Tender Moratorium) Bill, as a way of introducing a bit more fairness, direction and consistency into the process.

If the bill is passed in parliament, it will freeze tenders for new renewable energy generation projects until a parliamentary committee can hear from farmers, communities, and electricity generators about the problems they are all having. The current process would be subjected to a review and reported on. The review would occur between tender rounds to minimise disruption.

Farmers feel their attempts to discuss unacceptable impacts have been ignored, and communities hear the words of benefiting but need a clear plan. Generators are concerned about being blocked from the best wind resource on the hills.

The bill would provide time to ensure these projects are economically sound, community concerns are heard, and that the benefits are fully known to those on whom the projects will have an impact. This won’t resolve all of the problems, but it will give some agency back to the communities affected by the REZs and dispel some of the sense that they have been unable to have any say in their own future.

Community Consultation Bill

As I said, one of the big problems with many renewable projects is the lack of community consultation. But unfortunately, that problem is not confined to renewables. This has been a common theme across many large projects involving the investment of public money, many of them in Barwon, where there are some of the most disadvantaged communities in New South Wales. Instead of engaging with the public officials often resort to D.A.D. consultation - decide, announce, and defend, where a decision is already made, then announced and the department goes into defending the decision they have made without consultation. 

Poor consultation can lead to some terrible outcomes, including confusion, fear and sometimes even division in the community, so it is vitally important that communities understand what is happening and have a say in things that will affect them.

There also needs to be some accountability if there is a failure to consult with a community. In the June sitting weeks I also introduced the Regional Communities (Consultation Standards) Bill, which will set a prescribed standard for consultation. I will keep you posted.

Minister Jackson visits Wilcannia

Rose Jackson MLC, Minister for water, travelled to Wilcannia recently to meet with members of the community and to listen to what they have to say, primarily about the Wilcannia Weir Replacement Project.

The Minister held an open community forum in Baker Park and around 50 people were able to listen, actively question and provide their solutions and thoughts to the Minister and her team. Later she met with Central Darling Shire council members and other community representatives in a frank meeting at the Council Chambers. One thing was made perfectly clear, that the community is still united in its opinion that the original design, as agreed in August 2022, is still the best choice for the community.

The minister agreed that the way forward is to have an independent inquiry into the factors that lead to the original design being replaced. She has also said “I hope to get out here again,” making a commitment to continue to listen to the Wilcannia community.

There is still a way to go before construction of the weir can get underway, and I will continue to support the community in their desire for the original design.

I want to thank the Minister for taking the time to travel so far and for listening to the community.

Minister Kamper in Walgett

After meeting Minister Jackson in Wilcannia, I had to head to Walgett to meet with Minister Steve Kamper to announce $250,000 funding for the Walgett Memorial Swimming Pool.

This money can be used for the design and planning of the new pool and will help to get this project going. Once design and planning is complete, we can get a new pool built in a subsequent budget year.

We had Walgett Shire Council Mayor Jason Ramien, General Manager Megan Dixon, and a bunch of community members along for the announcement.

This is great news for Walgett.

Minister Jackson in Menindee

While I was in Walgett, the Water Minister, Rose Jackson MLC, was in Menindee to announce a $25 million funding package for rehabilitating the Darling-Baaka following the recommendations made in the Chief Scientist’s report into the mass fish deaths at Menindee last year.

The package includes:

A trial of state-of-the-art temporary fish passage technologies, beginning with a temporary fish passage. Meanwhile a detailed business case for permanent fish passage in the Lower Darling and Menindee Lakes system will be prepared. 

The implementation of a Menindee-specific mass fish death event response sub-plan. 

The installation of new real-time multi-parameter water quality monitoring buoys and data loggers for much improved data collection on the water levels.

Ongoing maintenance and operation of real-time water quality sensors and other water quality monitoring in the weir pool.

A new governance model to coordinate integrated management of land use, water and natural resources.

Strategic planning for on-ground rehabilitation works to improve water quality, ecological and cultural outcomes.

On-the-ground resources in Menindee to support the program and develop a new water quality monitoring framework

I welcome this $25 million in funding, which will be rolled out over four years.

Funding for Coonamble AHS

I was delighted to see that Coonamble Aboriginal Health Service (CAHS) was the recipient of $132,000 in funding, which was recently announced by Health Minister Ryan Park. CAHS does such a great job looking after the health needs of the Coonamble Community but it does so much more. This funding will go particularly towards helping fund their Fair Dinkum Choices program, which helps people make better choices about their personal health. The funding will provide an atmosphere in which community members can feel comfortable to talk freely about matters relating to their health.

Mental Health Unit at Broken Hill

The Minister for Mental Health, Rose Jackson MLC, was in Broken Hill recently to take part in a sod turning for the new Acute Mental Health Inpatient Unit.

This eight-bed facility is part of a $700 million State-wide Mental Health Infrastructure Program.

At the ceremony the minister spoke about the importance of expanding mental health services in remote areas to challenge the tyranny of distance and also to challenge the stigma surrounding mental illness, which cannot be underestimated.

Providing new or upgraded facilities helps attract and retain staff, creates a better and safer environment for health workers, and a much better environment, importantly for patients and their families.

This is a great investment for Barwon.

Funding for Festivals and events in Barwon

Over the last couple of weeks, we have heard some good news about funding in Barwon. Some of it has been for fun events across. I want to congratulate these successful applicants for Street Festival Grants

• Bogan Shire Council, Big Bogan Street Festival, $141,000
• Bourke Shire Council, Back O' Bourke Fiesta, $135,000
• Coonamble Shire Council, Vision Splendid Country Music Extravaganza, $150,000
• Gilgandra Shire Council, Under the Gums + Goin’ to Gil Weekend, $125,000 
• Lachlan Shire Council, Condo Comes Alive, $93,350
• Narrabri Shire Council, Boggabri Business Chamber monthly markets and Narrabri LGA Christmas Activation 2024, $86,017.50 Street Party, $66,000
• Warrumbungle Shire Council, Warrumbungle Shire's Vibrant Street Fests, $150,000

There were also two successful applicants for Regional Event funding:

• Cobar’s Grey Mardi Gras, a festival celebrating music, fashion and fun from the 50s, 60s and 70s.
• Pilliga Ultra, a fun family event that celebrates running and the beauty of the Pilliga Forest