Top week out west

I had a top week on the road in the north west of my electorate last week, meeting with councils and community members in Lightning Ridge, Brewarrina, Bourke and Walgett.

It was great to see some of the fantastic projects rolling out across these towns thanks to the popular Local Roads and Community Infrastructure program, while also having the opportunity talk to the local mayors about various issues in their individual communities.

Last week I announced that every council in the electorate will benefit from a pre-payment on next year’s Financial Assistance Grant, so it was a good opportunity to talk to these councils about how they will use the early access to these funds to target their top priorities.

In Lightning Ridge, I caught up with Rebel Black from The Rural Woman Cooperative, which has received $348,740 in funding through the National Careers Institute Partnership grant program to run a project aimed at increasing the number of rural women re-entering the agricultural workforce.

I also paid a visit to the Lightning Ridge Historical Society, one of three organisations to receive a grant under the latest batch of the Culture, Heritage and Arts Regional Tourism (CHART) program. The Lightning Ridge Historical Society has received $2,980 to upgrade its office equipment to improve its promotion of the Heritage Walk, while Gilgandra Shire Council has been awarded $3,000 to construct a perimeter fence around the heritage-listed Corduroy Road Ruins archaeological site, and Connective Indigenous Corporation in Dubbo was granted $3,000 to upgrade its multimedia equipment.

While in Bourke, I visited the team at CatholicCare Wilcannia-Forbes to find out more about the Bourke Youth Van that they are establishing thanks to a $760,000 grant through the Safer Communities Fund. The van will facilitate engagement in cultural and educational activities for up to 200 high-risk young people, diverting them from anti-social and criminal behaviour.

As I travel around the electorate, it’s so heartening to see how our rural and remote communities are benefitting from this Government’s continued investment in our regions. We are committed to continuing to back our regional communities, building a strong economy and a strong future.

Investing in the health of our small communities

Communities in some of the more remote towns in the Parkes electorate will have access to greater health services, thanks to some key announcements made last week.

The Royal Flying Doctor Service will receive $400,000 from the Coalition Government to address health issues in Bourke, Brewarrina and Walgett.

This funding will be used to research, develop and co-design a new multidisciplinary model of primary care to better service patients in these areas. This is a great initiative and will help to plug some of the gaps in primary care services for these communities.

Meanwhile, Lake Cargelligo is now a more appealing location to work for young doctors after the town became a targeted recruitment location under a Coalition Government pilot scheme that provides wage support and supports doctors to gain their GP qualification while living in a rural or remote area.

Doctors who move to Lake Cargelligo will receive a total of $465,000 in income support over the course of their training, which is a win-win for local patients and for the Lake Cargelligo Family Practice.

Supporting agricultural shows

Our local ag shows are events that are looked forward to by communities throughout the Parkes electorate every year, so I’m pleased that the Federal Government has committed $15.4 million for a second round of the Agricultural Shows Development Grant Program.

These grants will provide our regional communities with the opportunity to make showground facilities safe, attractive and accessible for showground users and visitors.

The first round of this program was heavily oversubscribed, so I’m pleased that shows in the Parkes electorate will have an opportunity later this year to apply to the second round of funding.