They need a guarantee so they can plan with confidence but have a safety net, should COVID affect their live event. Their upfront costs are huge—venues, sets, staging, marketing—and that's before you get to the people on the stage or those shining a light on them.
Read MoreWill the Prime Minister act on the constructive proposal Labor outlined in the 2020 budget reply and establish an Australian centre for disease control so that Australia adopts international best practice and is much better prepared for future pandemics?
Read MoreOver my five years as the member for Macquarie, I have really come to understand more deeply the unique environment that periurban agriculture is. I have breeders of prize cattle, which of course are showcased at the Hawkesbury show—the biggest agricultural show in New South Wales outside the Sydney show. I have uni students who are hoping to take over their families' farms and I have people who have farmed the land all their lives, like John...
Read MoreIt's been 12 months since Katoomba's headspace opened, for the first time providing easier access for young people in the upper mountains to ask for help. But its establishment has come at a time when record numbers of people, young and old, are reaching out.
Read MoreMr Speaker, parents of high school students are understandably asking questions about where younger teens fit in the government's vaccination rollout. Australia is slow to turn its focus to this group, and delta has made it much more urgent. Canada approved vaccination for 12- to 15-year-olds back in May.
Read MoreWhen I listen to members opposite I wonder what planet they live on. Yes, of course we want to get out of these terrible lockdowns, but people also want to be vaccinated. That isn't easy to do if you live in the Blue Mountains or the Hawkesbury and you're not able to spend hours and days online or phoning GPs to try and get an appointment. Even when you do get one it's typically not until October or November, unless you're lucky—especially in...
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