Go Local, Go First Campaign

December 02, 2021

As much as I love being here in Canberra representing my community, I can't wait to head home. I'm told it's nearly Christmas, which I love but haven't had a lot of time to think about yet. The next few weeks will give me a chance to do some Christmas shopping at some of the many local small businesses across my electorate. Ninety-eight point four per cent of all businesses in Australia are small businesses, and the Hawkesbury and Blue Mountai...

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Investment Funds Legislation Amendment Bill 2021 Second Reading

December 01, 2021

I'd like to speak to the amendment relating to schedule 4, the Emergency Response Fund. I have had years of experiencing disasters. Having lived in the Blue Mountains for more than 30 years, I've experienced the fires, including the bushfire that took my own home in 2013. But let's go six years forward from my experience in 2013 to the Gospers Mountain fire in 2019. It was a longer fire. It destroyed more habitat, although fewer homes were los...

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FTTN is an absolute disaster

November 30, 2021

Well, I'd like to see some of the coalition government come and talk to businesses in the Blue Mountains, because what they'll tell you is that fibre to the node has been an absolute disaster for their businesses. Let me tell you the story of Ron. When it rains, his fibre-to-the-node connection stops. There's nothing. And what his customers get is a message telling them that his number doesn't exist. So, there's Ron, running a sound and light...

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Cystic fibrosis and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme

November 30, 2021

Throughout the electorate of Macquarie, which I represent, there are families facing the challenges of cystic fibrosis. They've joined with more than 35,000 people to urge for a speeding-up of negotiations with the maker of a drug called Trikafta so that it can be available under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Trikafta was approved in April by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, but it's not on the PBS.

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The Hawkesbury's Agricultural Roots

November 30, 2021

The Hawkesbury is justifiably proud of its agricultural roots. The first colonial settlers planted crops along the river in 1794, saving the infant colony from starvation—and, of course, First Peoples recognised the bounty of the region long before. Hawkesbury Agricultural College, established in 1891 in Richmond, has been a key part of that agricultural history. The Hawkesbury campus of Western Sydney University has a big role now and going f...

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Hearing the voices of young people

November 29, 2021

I've had wonderful opportunities to be around young people in the last few weeks. On Friday night I joined a group of young women who are part of the EViE Project, which is aimed at ending violence and improving equality, at the Blue Mountains Women's Health and Resource Centre. Supported by Zonta Blue Mountains, there were messages of what coercive control looks like illuminated onto the windows of the Springwood hub by illuminart, as part of...

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