I rise to support the extension of JobKeeper for another six months because for many of the businesses in my electorate of Macquarie in the Blue Mountains and the Hawkesbury, this is the only thing keeping their heads above water.
Read MoreOne of my constituents, Denise Newton, has summed up where we find ourselves right now. Quoting an academic she'd been listening to on the radio as she drove to meet me and the Leader of the Opposition last week, Denise said, 'COVID has been like an X-ray, showing where all the broken bits are.'
Read MoreMy question is to the Prime Minister. Why did the Prime Minister say, in July, that a complete withdrawal of an aged-care workforce could not be anticipated or foreshadowed
Read MoreResidents in Bowen Mountain have spent nearly a month without a landline or internet connection thanks to a Telstra cable being cut. Their situation was more dire because this is one big mobile black spot. People have had to work from cars on the side of the road to get a bar of signal, kids have missed out on video classes and study for the HSC or uni assignments was near impossible.
Read MoreWe're starting to see music return to small venues like the Avalon in Katoomba and The Church Bar in Windsor, among others, and performances with smaller numbers at bigger venues like The Joan and the Blue Mountains Theatre and Community Hub at Springwood, but it's going to be a long time before we can call it a vibrant music or theatre scene locally.
Read MoreAGMs are not always a source of celebration but the AGM of the Friends of The Australiana Pioneer Village was just that, because, for many of us, it was the first time we could attend an AGM in a COVID-safe environment for a very long time.
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