Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards entries now open

Entries are open for the 2022 Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards.

The Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards is Australia’s longest-running annual poetry competition for school-aged children. The Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards are based on the literature strand of the Australian Curriculum, and the theme for the 2022 competition is ‘In my opinion’, which will generate some interesting work.

Easing child care costs for families with young children

The Coalition government is boosting the Child Care Subsidy this week to help ease the pressure on the cost of living for many families with young children.

For local families with more than one child aged five or under in child care, this increase in the CCS, means more money in your pocket each week. This is good news for eligible families who will benefit from reduced out-of-pocket child care costs, which also provides an incentive to consider either returning to work or working additional hours.

Local families know that the cost of child care – particularly for families with more than one child in care – can be a barrier to pursuing employment or working additional hours. This is especially so for local mums who may be able to use this to get back into the workforce or to increase their hours in their current job.

Tooraweenah Road upgrade

The Liberal and Nationals government has unlocked $22.96 million in funding for the Tooraweenah Road upgrade, bringing the project another step closer to reality.

The project is fully funded under the government’s Roads of Strategic Importance initiative and will deliver upgrades along approximately 56.8 kilometres of Tooraweenah Road, within Coonamble Shire. These upgrades will improve access, reduce travel times and increase safety for all road users, ensuring motorists get to their destination sooner and safer. the project complements other infrastructure projects currently underway in the region. The Australian gwwovernment has committed about $1.55 billion towards infrastructure projects across the Parkes electorate since 2013.

Our $60 million investment is delivering new overtaking lanes on the Newell Highway in partnership with the NSW government, while a further $12.5 million federal investment is jointly funding the Pooncarie Road to Menindee upgrade. We’ve already delivered further Newell Highway pavement upgrades between Mungle Back Creek and Boggabilla.