Mr COULTON (Parkes—Chief Nationals Whip) (10:18): I acknowledge the presence of the Minister for the Environment and Water here today. With regard to her opening remarks, I’m sure her South Australian colleagues are very pleased with the fact that her government is taking productive water that provides employment and amenity from the northern basin in…
DetailsMr COULTON (Parkes—Chief Nationals Whip) (19:40): The Regional Enterprise Development Institute, otherwise known as REDI, are a service and jobs provider to the Indigenous communities in western New South Wales, with a proud 25-year history. They work and they have worked diligently to close the gap for the people that they represent in western New…
DetailsMr COULTON (Parkes—Chief Nationals Whip) (13:30): My admiration for the community of Brewarrina and the leadership shown by Brewarrina Shire Council under the leadership of Mayor Vivian Slack-Smith is well known. Six of the nine councillors of Brewarrina Shire Council are local Indigenous people, and 75 per cent of their workforce is Indigenous, including the…
DetailsMr COULTON (Parkes—Chief Nationals Whip) (12:49): I’m on the committee that helps organise the political exchanges between this parliament and various other countries across the world. I think there are about six or seven other countries that we have regular political exchanges with—generally newer members of parliament or maybe even people who have aspirations to…
DetailsMr COULTON (Parkes—Chief Nationals Whip) (10:00): I’d like to recognise the work of Mr Russell Kinsey, better known as Rusty. Rusty, a cameraman with Prime7 News, was recently made redundant—a decision that I think was very ill considered by the management of 7NEWS. Rusty left the cotton industry 44 years ago and started work as…
DetailsMr COULTON (Parkes—Chief Nationals Whip) (18:08): I think this might be my 16th or 17th budget appropriations speech. I have been listening with interest some of the previous speeches and I just want to start by issuing a warning to the government and my colleagues in the opposition. I won’t be here at the next…
DetailsMr COULTON (Parkes—Chief Nationals Whip) (13:32): Wilcannia is a town in the Parkes electorate. It’s on the banks of the Darling River and it’s a town with a wonderful heritage. The people of Wilcannia have been promised a weir to improve the reliability of their water supply and also the amenity of the town. For…
DetailsMr COULTON (Parkes—Chief Nationals Whip) (16:27): Today I announced to my party room that I would not be contesting the next election. I have been in this place since 2007. I was elected in the Rudd slide of 2007, and by the time the next election comes around, I will have served for 17 years.…
DetailsMr COULTON (Parkes—Chief Nationals Whip) (13:44): At the moment, the people in my electorate are under attack. They’re not under attack from flood or drought or pestilence. They’re under attack from the elected government of this country. At the moment, they are dealing with issues like losing 450 gigalitres of productive water—the very lifeblood that…
DetailsMr COULTON (Parkes—Chief Nationals Whip) (17:04): I rise today to speak on the Agriculture (Biosecurity Protection) Levies Bill 2024. Let me start by saying that biosecurity for this country and the agricultural sector is paramount. We’re an island; that gives us enormous advantages over our competitors, and our clean, green image is second to none…
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