Photo Caption: Member for Parkes Mark Coulton with President of Wilcannia Forbes Central Council of St Vincent de Paul Society, Leo Woodman, at St Vincent de Paul in Broken Hill, which will upgrade its Bishop Fox meal facility with more than $336,000 under the Building Better Regions Fund.

Celebrating regions with DPM in town

It was terrific to host the Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack in Dubbo last Friday. With Dubbo Regional Council receiving $42,500 under the Building Better Regions Fund to bring more events to Dubbo, it was opportune to celebrate all things regional. As the DPM says, this Government is working hard to help regional areas forge ahead despite the challenging times, and I believe Dubbo is well-placed to stay ahead of the game when it comes to bringing economic stimulus into the region.

While in town I was pleased the DPM could join me in meetings with Dubbo Regional, Narromine and Gilgandra Shire Councils to address some of their concerns and listen to their challenges. As Minister for Local Government I’m a proud advocate for councils right across my electorate and it’s always beneficial for the DPM to hear firsthand about the progress we are making in the Parkes electorate with local projects, infrastructure, community initiatives and more.

Thank you to Jillian Kilby and the wonderful team at the Exchange who hosted the DPM and I at a regional connectivity roundtable. The Exchange is an excellent example of what forward-thinking members of our community can achieve by empowering regional small businesses to think outside the square and succeed.

I was also thrilled to show the DPM around the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) Visitor Experience at the Dubbo base. This experience is all about getting hands on and exploring the resilience and innovation of the Flying Doctor. The RFDS’ commitment to delivering urgent medical care is astounding – I would urge you to check out the Visitor Experience and see for yourself what makes it so special.

Solid week in the west

It was a busy, productive visit to Broken Hill last week; the first time I’ve been able to return since the commencement of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s always good to be back in Broken Hill and I was pleased to meet with many of my constituents about a range of matters and visit community groups and other organisations which have exciting projects underway.

A highlight was meeting with President of Wilcannia Forbes Central Council of St Vincent de Paul Society, Leo Woodman, at St Vincent de Paul in Broken Hill, which will upgrade its Bishop Fox meal facility with more than $336,000 under the Building Better Regions Fund.

With the help of this grant, the Bishop Fox meal facility will be transformed into a multi-purpose community space in Broken Hill which is integral to providing meals and support to the homeless community.

Respiratory clinics continue to roll out

While in Broken Hill I dropped into the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) base, at which a new respiratory clinic is operational to bolster our local protection against the virus.

While there are no cases locally, I understand that in Broken Hill the general feeling is that there are concerns about the possible return of the virus to the Far West, particularly with lots of travellers and tourists on the road from out of town.

I am confident local health authorities are well-placed to deal with the virus, and with two Federal Government funded respiratory clinics operational in Broken Hill (the other operating at Maari Ma Aboriginal Corporation), there should be no excuse for those who have any respiratory symptoms, even mild in nature, to ring ahead and book in to get tested.

These respiratory clinics are best placed to support people with a fever, cough, sore throat and other respiratory symptoms and help to avoid the risk of infection in our local communities. It’s imperative we each continue our stringent social distancing and hygiene practices and that we download the COVIDSafe app.