Parliament on long sitting break, state ministers on visits to Barwon

Parliament is on a long sitting break over July, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty going on.

This time away from the chamber will spent partly doing committee work, but it will also give me the chance to make a few journeys out to the electorate.

It is proving to be a busy time for other members of parliament to visit Barwon. Over the last two weeks we have seen two ministers and an MLC out and about, and there are others due out in coming weeks, which is good because it means that Barwon is getting attention.

With all of the meetings, committees and paperwork that needs to be done in Sydney and minister’s visits out west, it has meant that I am dividing my time between Macquarie Street and Barwon.

This week I will be with another minister who will be travelling almost the entire length of Barwon from Narrabri to Tibooburra and back. It should be an interesting trip.

Renewable energy bill

Bipartisan support in parliament means that projects involving renewable energy were not able to be halted or the legislation that enabled it amended.

We therefore need to see Renewable energy projects, like the Renewable Energy Zones (REZs) as opportunities for regional and rural towns. These projects could bring a range of positive infrastructure developments, including upgrades to roads, housing and medical services. There are also opportunities to give local manufacturing a boost and bring jobs and money into regional areas.

However, after the Electricity Infrastructure Investment Act was passed in the last parliament, projects were often launched without much in the way of direction from the department, and many also lacked community consultation. REZs are causing a lot of concern and even conflict in the communities affected.

In the June sitting weeks in Parliament I introduced the Electricity Infrastructure Investment Amendment (Tender Moratorium) Bill, as a way of introducing a bit more fairness, direction and consistency into the process.

If the bill is passed in parliament, it will freeze tenders for new renewable energy generation projects until a parliamentary committee can hear from farmers, communities, and electricity generators about the problems they are all having. The current process would be subjected to a review and reported on. The review would occur between tender rounds to minimise disruption.

Farmers feel their attempts to discuss unacceptable impacts have been ignored, and communities hear the words of benefiting but need a clear plan. Generators are concerned about being blocked from the best wind resource on the hills.

The bill would provide time to ensure these projects are economically sound, community concerns are heard, and that the benefits are fully known to those on whom the projects will have an impact.

This won’t resolve all of the problems, but it will give some agency back to the communities affected by the REZs and dispel some of the sense that they have been unable to have any say in their own future.

Community consultation bill

As I said, one of the big problems with many renewable projects is the lack of community consultation. But, unfortunately, that problem is not confined to renewables. This has been a common theme across many large projects involving the investment of public money, many of them in Barwon, where there are some of the most disadvantaged communities in New South Wales.

Instead of engaging with the public officials often resort to D.A.D. consultation – decide, announce and defend, where a decision is already made, then announced and the department goes into defending the decision they have made without consultation.

Poor consultation can lead to some terrible outcomes, including confusion, fear and sometimes even division in the community, so it is vitally important that communities understand what is happening and have a say in things that will affect them.

There also needs to be some accountability if there is a failure to consult with a community. In the June sitting weeks I also introduced the Regional Communities (Consultation Standards) Bill, which will set a prescribed standard for consultation.

Debate was interrupted when I introduced the bill, because we ran out of time, but I will keep you posted when it comes to a vote.

Minister Kamper in Walgett

After meeting Minister Jackson in Wilcannia I had to head to Walgett to meet with Minister Steve Kamper to announce $250,000 funding for the Walgett Memorial Swimming Pool.

This money can be used for the design and planning of the new pool and will help to get this project going. Once design and planning is complete, we can get a new pool built in a subsequent budget year.

We had Walgett Shire Council mayor Jasen Ramien, general manager Megan Dixon, and a bunch of community members along for the announcement.

This is great news for Walgett.