You can't move on the Bells Line of Road or the Great Western Highway some days, and villages in those areas are packed, but at other times they're dead, and businesses are feeling the fragility of it, knowing that at a moment's notice a hotspot declaration might close the entire area down.
Read MoreNo-one believes that women and men started COVID on an equal economic footing. In January, pre-COVID, Australian women were still retiring with, on average, 47 per cent less super than men, and women over 55 were the fastest-growing group of homeless people.
Read MoreI rise to support this motion moved by the member for Lindsay, who, like me, lives within a world heritage area. But that's probably all we have in common when it comes to the environment, because, while the clean-up projects she referred to are terrific, you can't claim to love the environment and ignore the thing that is having the single biggest impact on the environment in which we live. And of course that would be climate change.
Read MoreThe Queen's birthday honours recognised outstanding members of the electorate of Macquarie.
Read MoreWomen have been the hardest hit though COVID-19. Our participation figures show that 325,000 women have lost their jobs and the women's workforce participation rate has fallen 0.9 percentage points to 58.4 percentage points, and this is partly due to the fact, of course, that women are heavily represented in sectors with sharp decreases in paid work: hospitality, tourism and retail.
Read MoreWhat a disgrace we saw in parliament last night and today, when the government refused to allow debate on the changes to Australia Post that will see letter services slashed to maybe twice a week and posties' jobs gone.
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