Local Government News

Don Page
State Matters

Clean Up Australia Day

This Sunday, March 7, communities around Australia will again take part in Clean Up Australia Day. Clean Up volunteers have removed more than 190,000 tonnes of rubbish since Clean Up Australia Day began 15 years ago.

This years theme is 'Make Australia Shine'. If you are interested in getting involved visit the Clean Up Australia Day site at www.cleanup.com.au and sign on for an activity.

Check the front page story for more details and don't forget your hat, sunscreen, gloves and sturdy shoes!

Funding for Youth Week

Youth Week will again be held from March 27 to April 4. Youth Week gives more than 120,000 young people across the State an opportunity to participate in more than 1200 events and activities, and show the positive side of being a youth.

This years Youth Week project funding in the Ballina Electorate includes;

• $1250 for Ballina Shire Council for Echo in the Chamber - a forum for young people to debate local youth issues,

• $1000 for Byron Shire Council to assist with the Pocket Rocket band competition, Café Lartte art exhibition, and a youth writing competition.

These projects give local youth an opportunity to have some fun, express their views and act on issues that impact on their lives during the busy Youth Week.

Young adults make a valuable contribution to our community, however they are sometimes misunderstood by the wider community. I encourage all young people in the Ballina electorate to get involved in Youth Week activities in their area.

Cross Border Commission Legislation

Last week, I re-introduced into State Parliament a Bill to resolve cross border issues affecting residents of border regions. Communities and businesses along the NSW/Qld border, and other NSW State borders, have been adversely affected by their proximity to bordering states for far too long.

The Cross Border Commission Bill 2004 provides for a formal body with the power to call witnesses, take evidence, make recommendations to the Premier and undertake all other actions necessary to resolve cross border issues. It would also report to the Parliament on its recommendations and whether or not the Government has taken any action. The legislation aims to deliver to the people of NSW a small, strong and stand-alone Commission to solve cross border issues.

Existing arrangements for addressing cross border issues through a couple of officers in the Premiers department are ineffective and under-resourced. In fact, the committees in the Premier's department have not met for five years. The last Community Forum held was on the Tweed in February 1999, a month before the 1999 State election!

Unfortunately, as a result of this inaction, NSW businesses in border regions have to pay higher rates of payroll tax than their interstate competitors, whilst also dealing with issues such as daylight saving, dual workers compensation arrangements and varying licensing requirements.

Local residents must also deal with differing liquor laws and fishing license requirements, a lack of reciprocal ambulance arrangements, variations in educational courses and 1800/1300 telephone numbers failing to work across borders. Cross border issues are costly to NSW businesses and highly inconvenient for border region residents.

The proposal for a Cross Border Commission includes a clause requiring the Commission to be reviewed after five years. In my view the Commission should not have an infinite life, rather it should be a small, smart and effective body which is intent on working itself out of a job when all the significant cross border issues are resolved.

I can be contacted by writing to PO Box 1018, Ballina 2478 or by telephoning my Electorate Office on 6686 7522 or faxing 6686 7470. For those on-line my e-mail address is Don.Page@parliament.nsw.gov.au

Thomas George
Canberra Connection

Liquor store deregulation

The Nationals have opposed the legislation introduced by Premier Carr to allow a significant increase in the number of liquor stores and the number of supermarkets selling liquor throughout NSW.

Deregulation of the industry would seriously jeopardise the outcomes of last year's alcohol summit, the responsible sale and service of alcohol, risk under-age consumption and diminish the importance of the anti drink-driving campaign. The National Competition Council which is driving the so-called competition agenda was created by a Conference of Australian Governments (COAG) in 1995 and was signed by the six State Premiers (Mr Carr being the only Premier still in office), the two Territories and Prime Minister, Paul Keating.

The proliferation of liquor outlets would create too many adverse social impacts; I cannot think of any benefits.

Schools air-conditioning audit

The NSW Nationals have called on the Sydney Labor Government to undertake an urgent audit of all school air conditioning facilities in country and coastal areas. Locally, students have sweltered in recent weeks with temperatures reaching in excess of 40 degrees Celsius.

Around the State many schools have been unable to cope with either no air conditioning or inadequate electrical supplies. This is causing stress and illness for some students and teachers. How can children concentrate and thrive at school when they are baking in their classrooms?

Premier Carr must commence an audit immediately to identify the air conditioning needs of each and every school in country and coastal NSW and ensure our kids are not faced with a repeat of this situation next summer.

Small Business Awards

In its 12th year, the annual Telstra & Australian Governments' Small Business Awards has given hundreds of small businesses the opportunity to achieve national recognition for their work, develop new business relationships, reward hard working staff, as well as share in a national prize pool of $358,000.

Make 2004 a stand out year for your business visit www.smallbusinessawards.telstra.com or call 1800 262 323.

Local Government

The Carr Labor Government has shattered its pre-election promise of no forced amalgamations of local government with the sacking of councils in northern and southern NSW and the forced merger of Sydney City and South Sydney Councils. This puts every Council in NSW on notice.

Labor has made clear that no matter what the cost to our communities it is going to create 'mega councils' across country and coastal NSW. Again Sydney Labor is moving to centralise services with no thought to the impacts it will have on country and coastal communities. The Nationals are committed to keeping the 'local' in Local Government.

Seniors Business Directory

Over the next couple of days, anyone registered with my office as a Seniors Card holder will be receiving the 2004 Local Business Directory, which lists numerous businesses in the North Coast region who participate and provide offers to Senior Card members. Anyone not registered who would like a copy should contact my office.

Country Week

Recently I attended the launch of the Country Week campaign. It aims to get metropolitan industries, companies and individuals to consider a new life in country areas of the State. I encourage everyone from local Councils, businesses and community organisations to get behind the initiative.

There are so many opportunities for this campaign to focus the minds of metropolitan residents and business on life outside the city has the potential to help stem one of the most pressing issues facing the nation - the population drift from the country to the city. The three-day "Country Week" Expo will be held at the Homebush Exhibition Centre on August 13-15. I also encourage people to visit the Country Week website at: www. countrynsw.com.au.

Dairy Roundtable

The NSW Nationals held a Dairy Roundtable in a bid to address the current crisis facing the dairy industry. Drought, deregulation, changing world markets and a strong Australian dollar have all combined to create a situation where farmers are receiving unsustainably low milk prices and rising on-farm costs.

The forum held at Parliament House was chaired by Shadow Agriculture Minister, Duncan Gay, and attended by more than 35 industry players, including producers, processors, retailers and representatives from State and Federal Government.

Items on the agenda included the farm gate milk price and realistic ways to improve it, such as a collective bargaining exemption under the Trade Practices Act. Despite the highly complex nature of the industry's problems, we hope that by bringing the industry together, we can work to find realistic solutions.

I welcome and invite your feedback in relation to any of the above matters, please do not hesitate to contact my office regarding any matters on (ph) 6621 3624, (f) 6622 1403, by writing to PO Box 52 Lismore, e-mail; thomas.george@parliament.nsw.gov.au or www.thomasgeorge.com.au