NSW election fast approaching

October is over, and there are only two sitting weeks left in November. That election is drawing ever nearer, and it is becoming more obvious with each passing day.

If the October sitting days are anything to go by, the government will be pushing through a lot of legislation next week and the week after in an attempt to shore up their election chances and to do some of the work they have left undone because of the pandemic, the floods, the numerous suspensions of parliament over their term or through sheer neglect.

I was on the road last week visiting flood-affected areas around Narrabri, Wee Waa, Warren and Nyngan, before visiting an ethanol plant in Nowra.

The coming weeks will be interesting, to say the least.

Census data failing regional areas

People have been refining methods for counting people for thousands of years, the first census is believed to have taken place in ancient Mesopotamia in about 3800 BC.

This is why it is disappointing that in this high tech age, of online censuses and digital data collection, that they still can’t get it right when it comes to regional Australia.

In the last sitting week in October, I presented a Private Members Statement on some of the shortcomings of the 2021 census.

The census figures show the population of Barwon in decline, which doesn’t reflect the recent boom in regional areas because of the good agricultural seasons and the influx of tourism and growth projections that take no account of the numerous mining, infrastructure and other projects coming to Barwon.

There were also problems with how the census data was collected.

My electoral offices heard many stories of people who couldn’t log in to complete the census, others with no access to the internet who never received the paper forms they were supposed to fill out and councils and Regional Development Authorities who say the NSW Planning Portal has inaccurate information, some of it outdated, some based on the poorly collected census data.

Governments are meant to base important decisions on this information, which means they are likely to make bad decisions because of the flawed data.

It is threatening to stifle what could be a great era in regional NSW.

Floods

Last week I drove to some of the flood-affected areas in the northeast of the electorate.

In Narrabri, I witnessed firsthand the situation with floodwaters in the area and was briefed by people on the ground there.

I saw that there was substantial damage to crops and lost opportunities to plant new crops, the extent of which will need to be assessed in the coming weeks.

I also went to congratulate the SES, council, and volunteers for their efforts during this continuing weather event and ask what more needs to be done by the government.

The community and emergency services are working together and drawing on their years of local knowledge of conditions and terrain to keep people and property safe.

I also met with Nigel and Bill Guest to discuss the state of the roads in the eastern areas of the shire.

I have written to the NSW Premier asking for his personal attention to be turned to the disastrous condition of the roads, which will require extraordinary funding and intensive work to repair.

I want to thank Bryce Guest of Northwest Helicopters for flying me around on a road and property inspection, including Wee Waa.

Wee Waa is flood ready. My efforts going forward will be on securing the funding for the levy upgrade and better road access for a town that pulls together with not much assistance.

All councils and residents within Barwon are feeling the pain of extensive road damage.

It’s more than councils are able to deal with without state and federal support. With repeated floods, there is new damage over old damage.

Roads are in a very poor state across the electorate. Many people out of town are dealing with tough access on these damaged roads, many are unable to get on or off their property easily.

Even without the rain the Bureau of Meteorology is still forecasting, the river flows will continue to increase, and it will take a long time for these waters to recede.

Tilpa, Condobolin and Menindee are seeing some flooding, and there are also predictions of other towns being affected as the flood waters move through the river systems. I urge everyone to take precautions, stay safe and keep updated with bulletins from NSW SES.