With 2025 soon coming to a close, this will be my last Roundup until mid-January.
I have spent much of the last two weeks mostly out on the road in the electorate, visiting Mendooran, Gilgandra, Coolah, Warren, Narrabri, Carinda, Walgett, and Collie.
But this week (at the time of writing this) I have back in Parliament, because the year has ended on a tragic note, with the recent terrible events at Bondi Beach. This was an attack on the Australian way of life and there are a multitude of complex causes including racism and extremism.
Parliament was recalled, to make immediate changes to gun laws. I asked the government to take its time and reconsider these changes. We need time for investigations to be completed, and time to reflect properly on what brought about this terrible crime, then we can start looking at better ways to prevent anything like this happening again.
Good policy and sound legislation requires a clear identification and deep understanding of the issues, meaningful consultation with stakeholders from which solutions can be identified and developed, and then it needs to be subject to strong democratic parliamentary processes and scrutiny. I am afraid that we have none of that with this legislation being passed.
While for many it is a time for joy with family and friends, Christmas and New Year can also be a stressful time for some people. This year the Bondi terrorist attack along with cost-of-living pressures, could mean it is more stressful than usual for many, but I hope that you are able to have some time to enjoy Christmas and all that it promises. Stay safe on the roads if you are travelling over the festive break.
Anyone finding it difficult to cope can seek help by calling Lifeline on 13 11 14 or for people 12 to 25 years visit Headspace at headspace.org.au
Pinking Up
You may have noticed me occasionally appearing in public wearing a pink RB Sellars shirt. Over a year ago I reached out to this well-known Australian manufacturer of iconic “Burton” work shirts asking them to partner with the Australian Breast Cancer Foundation to promote breast cancer awareness. I had this crazy idea to get men out in Western NSW to wear pink to show their support. Up to then the company had never made a pink Burton for men, although there was a pink women’s shirt.
So, they made a “one-off” shirt for me last year, which I wore during October for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. But this year they produced more pink shirts. I still have a bunch of them left, which I have sent off to have embroidered.
So, the challenge is still out there for blokes to wear pink and show how much of a man they are and for women to wear pink just because.
If you want to wear a pink Burton, or if you have an event coming up and want a shirt or two to raffle off or something similar, please get in touch with my team, and we will make arrangements. www.roybutler.com.au
Waste Not Want Not
Every day, right across Barwon, people are dropping off bottles and cans at kiosks or other designated return sites. But have you ever wondered what happens to all of that recyclable material?
It is sent to the TOMRA Cleanaway recycling facility in Eastern Creek. Recently I was given a tour.
Some of the statistics are incredible, there have been billions of containers returned and over a million tonnes of material recycled. At the moment about 70% of cans and bottles are recycled; in jurisdictions with higher deposits, the rate is up to 96%.
With landfill becoming an increasing problem, recycling helps to reduce the amount of rubbish going into landfill. Recycling is also a significant employer in the Barwon electorate.
Each empty container is worth 10c. Return sites are normally located in CBDs or near supermarkets. If you haven’t given it a go before, return some containers and get paid!
You can learn more about return and earn points and check for your nearest drop-off place https://returnandearn.org.au/
Mendooran revival
I was back home in Mendooran on this trip and was delighted to see a historic building restored. When I first moved to Mendooran in 2004, the historic S.G. Ellis drapery and general store building had certainly seen better days.
Built over a century ago, the store was deteriorating until, about five years ago when work began on its restoration.
On my recent trip around Barwon, I saw that the old shop had been lovingly given a new lease of life.
Congratulations to the new owners and the Warrumbungle Shire Council Heritage Trust, this project has helped significantly enhance the look of the historic main street.
Mendooran’s murals and its historic buildings are an interesting destination for history buffs and photographers of Australian heritage. I urge you to take a trip there to check out the S.G. Ellis “Drapery, Boots, Grocery and Ironmongery” building, along with everything else the town has to offer.
Hampers bring Christmas cheer
In Gilgandra, recently, I met with the team from the community group Southlake’s Incorporated who were on one of their monthly 1000km round trips to deliver hampers to people in towns across Barwon.
Founded in 2013 and based in the town of Cooranbong near Lake Macquarie, Southlake’s Incorporated has been providing various services to many people in regional NSW who are doing it tough.
Their Christmas hamper provides $100 worth of food and other household necessities and are sold to people for just a $25, to cover some of the costs.
The organisation does some amazing work, bringing toys to 200 children and hampers to 100 families and seniors.
The team of Christine, Hillary and Maureen get around to Dunedoo, Mendooran, Gilgandra, Gulargambone and Merriwa, on their hamper delivering Odysseys. I want to thank them for the amazing work they do for Barwon’s communities.
I am looking forward to getting them a bigger truck, so that they can reach more towns in Barwon.
To find out more about the organisation, to donate or to sign up for a hamper go to https://www.southlakesinc.org/
Civics – Parliament Sitting Days
The Premier’s recalling Parliament to pass gun control legislation in the wake of the Bondi shootings, is unusual but not unprecedented. In 2005, for example, Parliament was recalled in December to grant police emergency powers after riots in Cronulla. More recently it was recalled in 2022 to pass legislation relating to the Federal Government’s plan to cap energy prices.
The NSW Parliament typically meets (sits) for 50-60 days every year, normally sitting for one, two or three weeks, in the months of February, March, May, June, August, September, October and November before “rising” (the term referring to ending a sitting period) for a summer recess in December and January.
That will sometimes vary, for example in an election year when Parliament rises in November and doesn’t sit again until May the next year, after elections have been held.
The recesses in April, July, December and January, are not holidays, they are times when parliamentarians attend to business in their electorate, or attend committee hearings, or, in the case of the government, attend to the business of running the state. These are times when parliamentarians can do things that they can’t do while attending parliament in a sitting week.
During sitting weeks Parliament sits from Tuesday to Thursday, with some reserve Fridays added to the sitting calendar, to make sure that there is time for Private Members Business.
Reserve weeks are also tentatively blocked out in the calendar, to be used if the government needs more time for its legislative program.
During the sitting weeks Parliamentarians need to be physically in parliament. The Standing Orders – which are the rules governing parliament and its procedures – say that “Every Member is bound to attend the service of the House and any committee to which they are appointed unless granted leave of absence by the House.” Members granted leave can organise a “pairing” where a member of the opposing party agrees to not take part in a vote to balance out the numbers.
While not every member needs to be in the chamber all the time while parliament is sitting (which is why you will sometimes see empty seats when a politician delivers a speech) there are rules that say there must be a minimum of twenty members (excluding the Speaker) in the Assembly chamber for official business to be conducted, this is known as a Quorum. Members who notice that there are fewer than twenty are allowed to make a “quorum call”, after which bells are rung until there are enough members in the chamber.
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