Author name: Dugald Saunders

Regional communities across NSW are suffering from a double shortage blow. It’s a catch twenty-two between needing more workers across the board and needing more accommodation to house them. Whichever way you look at it, one problem cannot be fixed without solving the other, especially when housing in regional areas is becoming both unaffordable and unavailable to those on medium to low incomes. Modular housing is one of my big ticket items as NSW Nationals Leader, and it is one of the main solutions we need to look at to stem the regional housing shortage.     It provides a real opportunity […]

The NSW Nationals are calling on the Labor Government to unveil its drought preparedness plan, after small pockets of the state were declared to be back in drought. Nationals Leader Dugald Saunders said parts of the Hunter Valley and areas around Grafton and Casino have been identified as being already impacted by the Department of Primary Industries’ Combined Drought Indicator. “After a dry winter and ahead of the warmer months, drought is now on every farmer’s mind. It is seemingly inevitable, it is coming, and we need to prepare for it”, Mr Saunders said. “The last drought was the worst

Member for the Dubbo electorate Dugald Saunders has urged residents to sign a petition designed to pressure the Labor government into keeping a hugely successful cost-of-living measure aimed towards regional seniors. The Coalition rolled out the $250 Regional Seniors Travel Card in 2019, and more than a million cards have been distributed since. But after cutting off applications for the card in July, Labor on Saturday announced a 4c per litre reduction in fuel for seniors at United service stations. “Labor’s announcement on Saturday is a weak attempt to compensate eligible seniors, and the most genuine sign so far that

Vital community projects in every local government area across regional NSW are under threat, with the Labor government refusing to rule out scrapping the hugely successful Stronger Country Communities Fund (SCCF). Member for the Dubbo electorate Dugald Saunders has urged the Minister for Regional NSW Tara Moriarty to stand up for communities in the bush and roll out the $90 million in funding that had been set aside by the previous government for the next round of the program. “Every day we’re reminded of the success of this program, and how it has made a really meaningful difference to the

Organisations across the region can now apply for funding to support local community projects under the NSW Government’s Infrastructure Grants program. Member for the Dubbo electorate Dugald Saunders said the program provides organisations the opportunity to apply for funding of between $50,000 and $250,000 to cover the cost of construction, alteration, renovation, completion, and fit-out of buildings and community infrastructure that benefits regional communities. “This is a great chance for local organisations to seek funding for a project to provide long-term tangible benefits to the community,” Mr Saunders said. “In previous rounds we’ve funded renovations to the Gulgong RSL to