Narromine & Trangie

Member for the Dubbo electorate Dugald Saunders has backed an initiative that will see working families and young children in the Dubbo electorate benefit from a year of free preschool. On Sunday, the NSW Government announced a $120 million funding commitment for community preschools in 2021 that will allow more than 44,000 three to five year olds attend community preschool. Mr Saunders said the free preschool program has been supporting families since the beginning of the pandemic and is providing certainty for parents into the future. “Since the initial announcement of our COVID-19 response, the free preschool program has saved […]

Member for the Dubbo electorate Dugald Saunders has backed the return of shows in 2021, saying they play an important role in the psyche of towns and cities in regional NSW. The NSW Government announced on Thursday that shows will be allowed to go ahead, with COVID safe guidelines in place that will allow locals and visitors to enjoy the activities. Mr Saunders said local shows are a proud tradition that communities looks forward to every year and the green light to bring this cherished event back is great news. “Much of our region is in drought recovery for the

As children around NSW begin preparing for their transition to school, the NSW Government has developed new resources to support early childhood educators. The resources will help educators guide children through this critical phase of their learning. Member for the Dubbo electorate Dugald Saunders said the Government is committed to ensuring that all children across the state get the best start they can, especially given this year’s challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic. The resources include a Transition to School Guide for Early Childhood Education that was developed in collaboration with early childhood teachers, primary school principals and kindergarten teachers. It assists

The Dubbo, Narromine and Mid-Western local government areas are set to benefit from the Australian and New South Wales Governments’ commitment to improving local roads and create thousands of local jobs in the regions, with Round 2 of the accelerated Fixing Local Roads program opening today. Member for the Dubbo electorate Dugald Saunders said this much-needed money for local projects will make a huge difference in people’s everyday lives right across the region. “We can already see projects from Round 1 commencing throughout the region and with this injection of funds, even more communities will be able to see the

An initiative to better support families that are navigating the first 2000 days of their child’s life was announced at Dubbo West Preschool today by the NSW Government. Brighter Beginnings aims to ensure children in NSW have the best start in life. Crucial to achieving this goal is simplifying and improving the way families access information and services, through a number of parenting life navigator tools and a whole of government web page. Member for the Dubbo electorate Dugald Saunders joined Minister for Education and Early Childhood Learning Sarah Mitchell at the event, which outlined the government’s one-stop shop of

Education support for drought-impacted communities is continuing with the NSW Government announcing the extension of the Drought Entitlement Maintenance Program to 2023 for local public schools. Member for the Dubbo electorate Dugald Saunders said the NSW government is committed to supporting our communities who have battled through drought and bushfires by locking in staffing numbers at public schools. “This program will assist in keeping our teachers in our local schools, I believe it’s crucial to have this support for the community as we continue to recover from not only drought but also the pandemic,” Mr Saunders said. “With drought, bushfires,

Member for the Dubbo electorate Dugald Saunders has welcomed Deputy Premier John Barilaro’s announcement of a $100 million Regional Jobs Creation Fund. Announced on Sunday, the fund will provide co-funding of between $100,000 and $10 million to help businesses expand production lines and provides incentives for interstate or overseas operations to relocate to regional NSW. “Regional NSW is the backbone of our state, and this fund will help reinvigorate country towns, create jobs and deliver immediate stimulus for the bush,” Mr Saunders said. “We’ve already seen what can be achieved with AMSL Aero using Narromine as a hub for the

Member for the Dubbo electorate Dugald Saunders has welcomed news that the NSW Government will partner with Telstra to deliver a high speed internet upgrade to schools in the region. This $328 million internet upgrade will be delivered to 2000 public schools across NSW, three years ahead of the original aim of 2025. Mr Saunders said the upgrade will resolve problems delivering faster, more reliable internet access along with enhancing existing digital teaching and learning opportunities. “Our schools deserve the best tools for teaching and learning. It’s a s simple as that,” Mr Saunders said. “Upgrading our school internet goes

Member for the Dubbo electorate Dugald Saunders has backed a move from the NSW Government that will target illegal companion animal breeders through a dedicated ‘Puppy Factory Taskforce’. Mr Saunders said that puppy factories are in clear breach of the State’s robust animal protection laws, and the taskforce within RSPCA NSW would allow them to weed out bad operators. “I strongly condemn any acts of cruelty perpetrated against animals, and this Government won’t be shy in going after breeders who put profits first and animals second,” he said. Mr Saunders said that the new taskforce, announced by Agriculture Minister Adam

Domestic violence complainants will have extra protections when giving evidence in court, while jurors will be educated on the complexities of abuse, under proposed court reforms to be introduced in NSW Parliament today. Member for the Dubbo electorate Dugald Saunders said the reforms will allow complainants in domestic violence criminal proceedings to give evidence in closed courts or remotely via audio-visual link. The changes build on existing arrangements for vulnerable witnesses, including child complainants and witnesses, sexual offence victims and those who are cognitively impaired. “Sitting in the witness box under the glare of a defendant would be understandably very