From my Desk

Just last week I wrote that we had sewage detection of the virus that causes COVID-19 in both Dubbo and Mudgee. I wrote that it was likely this meant someone in our communities had the virus. That night, our worst fears were confirmed with a woman testing positive in Dubbo. By 1pm on Wednesday we were under stay-at-home orders and by 11am on Monday, 16 August, we had a total of 90 active confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Dubbo, with cases also confirmed in Walgett (4) and Mudgee (3). The reality is that we are facing an extremely serious situation […]

Diversions will be in place at the West Dubbo roundabout this weekend as long-awaited work to upgrade the Newell and Mitchell Highway intersection enters the home stretch. diversions ill be in place from 7pm on Friday 13th August, via Baird Street and Young Street, with access blocked through the intersection, until 7am on Monday 16th August. Work will be carried out day and night, with night work planned to minimise the impact to the wider community and the noisiest work to completed prior to midnight. Motorists are advised to follow the direction of all signs and traffic control, including speed

Last week the NSW government took the difficult decision to redirect Pfizer doses from the regions to the COVID-ravaged areas of South West and Western Sydney. About 200-300 doses are set to be redirected from the Western NSW Local Health District. In turn, extra supplies are on the way to the regions in the coming weeks. The biggest threat to our regional communities is the growing outbreak of the Delta strain in Sydney. We currently have no cases in our region and vaccinating young people in the hot spot areas will help to keep it that way. Allowing COVID to

Over the weekend, the NSW Government announced that the Local government elections will be postponed to Saturday, 4 December 2021 This decision has been made in response to the current COVID-19 situation, after extensive consultation and advice from the NSW Electoral Commission and NSW Health. This is about ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our communities, voters, polling staff and candidates. the NSW government has also been working with the Electoral Commission and NSW Health to implement a comprehensive plan to allow voters to cast their ballot safely in person, by post or online. iVote (electronic voting) will also be

Last week the NSW and Commonwealth Governments unveiled more support for businesses and individuals impacted by the current COVID-19 restrictions. Key components of the 2021 COVID-19 package include: Weekly payments of $375 or $600 for employees whose working hours have been cut by 8-20 or 20+ hours per week respectively An extension to the previously announced business grants program. This means eligible businesses within Australian wages below $10 million can claim grants between $7,500 and $15,000 to cover the first three-weeks of restrictions Payroll tax waivers of 25% for businesses with Australian wages of between $1.2 million and $10 million

Households and small business impacted by the mouse plague across NSW can claim the rebate available through the NSW Government’s $150 million Mouse Control Program by visiting the Service NSW website. People have spent significant amounts of money on baits, traps and other things to try and combat the plague. I’ve had to do it myself, and I know of people who have gone to extraordinary lengths and costs to keep the vermin at bay. Eligible customers can make a claim for the household or small business rebate by going to the Service NSW website and uploading their receipts for

It’s a sad reality that parts of our region experience rates of domestic violence almost three times higher than that of the state average, but it’s great to see the NSW Government working with the Federal Government to try and provide options for victim-survivors Last week I announced that frontline services in the electorate will receieve $600,000 in additional funding to ensure a critical help is avaliable. Connecting Community Services, Orana support Services and Housing Plus will leach share in the funding, with a lot of it to go towards providing housing options for those who are unfortunately seeking crisis

As many of you will have heard, I am isolating in Sydney after being declared a close contact of Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall. Thankfully, I have so far tested negative for COVID-19. However, I am still required to isolate until midnight on July 6, and return two more negative results, before I can be cleared to leave isolation and return home to my family in Dubbo. I will continue to work from isolation. Thank you to everyone for their messages of support. As you would be aware, restrictions have been reintroduced for regional areas. If you have been in the

Today NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet will hand down the second NSW Budget since COVID-19 forced us to adopt a new normal. One of the first things we did in response to COVID-19 was to make preschool free, removing a layer of financial pressure for many families. The program supported countless jobs, and kept children learning and engaged through a very tumultuous time. Well, now it’s here to stay, saving families up to $4,000 per year per child in preschool fees, easing cost of living pressures and helping families achieve the work-life balance. The Start Strong Free Preschool program will commence

I’d like to thank the community of Dubbo for its response to the COVID-19 scare that was sent our way last week. Through no fault of our own, our community was given a scare as a result of people travelling through the city and subsequenly being found to have the virus. But as we have done through drought and last year’s COVID restrictions, we rallied and through listening to the advice of experts and getting tested in large numbers, it seems we have dodged a bullet. At the time of writing this column, we have had no positve test results.