Over the weekend, the Coalition Government released its much anticipated Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper. This White Paper delivers on a key Coalition election commitment and sets the future direction of agricultural policy to drive long-term growth and prosperity across rural and regional Australia. For the first time, Australia has a long-term plan to…
Rural and regional Australia are once again benefiting from significant funding announcements from the Coalition Government. Last week’s Mobile Black Spot Programme announcement was of enormous importance to local residents. Mobile phone coverage is no longer a luxury and this Government is committed to making sure that the people of rural and regional Australia…
The 21st National General Assembly of Local Government (NGA) was held in Canberra last week. At the NGA, the Australian Rural Road Group (ARRG) held its Annual General Meeting. I was pleased to be invited by the ARRG to speak at their meeting. The ARRG is a non-political organisation of over 100 rural…
Last week, I attended the NSW Nationals Annual General Conference in the Hunter Valley. The Nationals have 24 Members in the NSW Parliament. All of these Members attended the conference, including Deputy Premier and Leader of the NSW Nationals, the Hon Troy Grant. The conference was also attended by some of my Federal Nationals…
Renewable energy was on the agenda again in Parliament last week, with the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment Bill up for debate. The proposed legislative amendments contained in the bill restore some balance in the Renewable Energy Target (RET) Scheme. They also bring the RET back to a more achievable level. Renewable energy plays an…
Last week in Canberra, I had the pleasure of meeting the students from the current Indigenous Police Recruitment Our Way Delivery (IPROWD) program. During their visit to Parliament House, the students were treated to a special meeting with Prime Minister, the Hon Tony Abbott MP. The students also met with some of my other…
There has been a significant amount of discussion in the community of late around the growing use of crystal methamphetamine, known as ‘ice’. Last week, Assistant Minister for Health, Senator The Hon Fiona Nash, visited Dubbo where she undertook a community consultation with local professionals and organisations involved with tackling drug and alcohol issues across…
Last week was a big one in Canberra with the Coalition Government handing down its second Budget. This Budget has been carefully considered, is appropriate for our economic times and has been designed to be a real shot in the arm for rural and regional Australia. The people of the Parkes electorate face a…
As we move through the 2015 Federal budget week, I believe it is important to reflect on last year’s budget and consider how this year will be different. Last year’s budget was tough, responding to a lot of hard decisions that needed to be made. As difficult as it was, last year’s budget was also…
This week I had the pleasure of officially opening the new and improved Trangie-Nevertire Irrigation Scheme. The opening took place on the Macquarie River at Gin Gin and represented more than half a decade of hard work by the Scheme board and members. The scheme will provide long-term water efficiency and crop productivity gains for…