The Legislative Assembly has risen for the year, the final sitting week of the year was last week, but the business of government still goes on.

There are committee hearings, budget estimates and still the business of getting around meeting with constituents, councils, and businesses across the electorate.

I will be heading out to the electorate several times before Christmas, look out for me.

Vale John Collett, Wee Waa’s last World War II veteran

During the last sitting week of the year, I paid tribute to John Collet, Wee Waa’s last surviving WWII veteran, with a Community RecognitionStatement.

John passed away peacefully aged 98 on November 11.

John was born in 1926, so he put up his age by two years to join the army in 1943 (his service records give his birthdate as August 28, 1924). He served in the Citizen Military Forces from June 30, 1943, to August 4, 1943, sent for training to camps near Albury NSW and Chidlow in Western Australia. He then transferred to the Australian Imperial Forces on August 5th, 1943, and went for training in Queensland to prepare him for fighting in the tropical rainforests of New Guinea.

John served 403 days overseas and took part in the Aitape-WeWak campaign, the objective of which was to defeat the last remnants of the Japanese 18th Army in the region.

He was demobilised in 1946 and went back to live in Wee Waa. As with many Servicemen of that era, John returned with the values of fairness for all, values that he fought for in the forests of New Guinea, and for the rest of his life he lived by that.

He married Fay in 1949, and they remained married for 61 years until she passed away in 2010. Over that time, they had three children, seven grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.

John was well-known in the Wee Waa community and is greatly missed. I offer my sincere condolences to John’s family. John’s contribution to his country is very much appreciated. Thank you for your service, John Collett, may you now rest in peace.

Storm in Carinda

A month after the storm that caused a power outage in the Far West, the Central West was hit by its own destructive tempest, leaving many people without power. Carinda, in the Walgett Shire, copped a lot of damage, with several roofs blown off and power poles brought down.

I was in Carinda just last month, for their “Let’s Dance” Festival, dedicated to the music of David Bowie. The Carinda Hotel, which features in Bowie’s clip for his song “Let’s Dance,” was one of the structures damaged, but it was not “destroyed” as one news outlet reported, in fact, it became a base of operations for the post-storm efforts.

We know from the experience of Broken Hill that when these things happen people in remote communities don’t just wait for help, they generally pull together, pitch in and show some of the best of what regional communities can do.

But while they are resilient, it doesn’t mean they don’t need outside help.

From the moment I heard about the storm I was on the phone to find out exactly what had happened and what was happening with relief, cleanup and recovery. I talked to the Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib’s office about further assistance and longer-term recovery efforts and quickly sent off a letter regarding the disaster declaration.

Last weekend a community barbecue was held at the Carinda Hotel to discuss what had happened to date, and next steps as the area moves from the response phase to recovery. We still have some work to do, to make sure people are looked after. But I do want to thank the NSW SES Upper West Area for their tireless work and regular information to me and the community.

Today, a joint federal-state government disaster support declaration was made. Through the jointly funded Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA), support will be available to Walgett Shire Council to help with the costs of cleaning up and restoring damaged essential public assets.

Assistance includes:
• Support for eligible residents to help meet immediate needs like emergency accommodation and replacing essential household contents.
• Support for Walgett Shire Council to help with the costs of cleaning up and restoring damaged essential public assets.

The NSW Reconstruction Authority is working closely with Walgett Shire Council, NSW SES and other recovery partners to provide assistance on the ground.

A Helpline has been set up to support residents in their recovery. People can call (02) 9212 9311 during business hours on weekdays and from 10am to 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays for support.

A Recovery Assistance Point (RAP) will open tomorrow (Tuesday, November 26) at the Carinda Footy Ground from 10am to 4pm where a team will be on hand to answer questions. Impacted residents are encouraged to attend to access household and mental health support, legal and insurance advice and to ask the RAP team about eligibility for disaster relief. The RAP will remain open until Thursday, November 28.

I hope to get out to Carinda soon.

For information on disaster support services, click here, or call the helpline: (02) 9212 9311 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat-Sun 10am-4pm). Further information on disaster assistance can be found on the Australian government’s Disaster Assist website at www.disasterassist.gov.au

Building Resilience into our roads

A lot of time, money and planning has gone into repairs of roads, but more important is to work to make the roads more resilient in times of natural disaster.

A top priority over the last two years, for many local councils and communities, has been ensuring flood-damaged roads are more flood -resistant and able to stay open during flood events.

It’s good to see the Australian and NSW governments listening to our communities and working with councils to build more resilience into our road network.

Recently the government announced that it is funding Lachlan Shire Council to the tune of $3.99 million for pavement overlay and stabilisation, sealing work, additional culverts at various locations, and one culvert/bridge replacement on Lake Cargelligo Road.

Also, pavement overlay and stabilisation, sealing work, increased culvert width and headwalls scour protection on Lachlan Valley Way.

There is also $827,783 for pavement strengthening, overlay and stabilisation, sealing work and increased culvert capacity at various locations on Kiacatoo Road.

Public Interest Debate on Passenger Rail Services

During the sitting weeks in November, my colleague Phil Donato, the Member for Orange, submitted a topic for the Public Interest Debate. These are debates on a motion introduced by a member, the job of introducing the motion is shared between government, opposition and crossbench.

Phil’s topic was one that he has been discussing for some time with his community – reintroducing a regular passenger railway service between Sydney and Orange. Although it is something that does not directly affect my electorate, I spoke on it because of the broader implications of reintroducing rail services in regional areas.

Barwon used to have far more passenger rail services than it does now. I talked about the time when NSW was busy building rail networks across the country.

In the 1930s my grandfather was a lineman on the line that used to run between Nyngan and Bourke, which was often damaged in floods. That line no longer exists because it was severely damaged during the flooding of the Bogan River in 1989, and parts of it had to be destroyed by the army to divert floodwaters.

There are plenty of bus services that are operating, and the government is introducing more all the time – there is a trial of a service being introduced between Broken Hill, Menindee and Mildura for instance – but I have heard many constituents talk about the need to reintroduce passenger rail services.

Phil’s Sydney to Orange line is a bit of a test case that could, hopefully, see more services running across the inland of NSW.

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