Local Government News

Larry Anthony
National News

Coalition funds rail line

For nearly four months, with the support of the local community, I have been campaigning to save our local train. We are now closer than ever to forcing the NSW Labor Government to reverse their decision and re-open our train line.

The Australian Government has committed $15 million each year to re-opening the train line. This commitment is not dependent on the outcome of the Federal Election. It is money on the table now and could have the train running in a week.

The NSW State Labor Government has previously told North Coast residents that once the train line was closed it could not be re-opened. However Federal Labor's recent promise to re-open the line if they win Government shows this to be untrue.

The question is, given that Bob Carr and Michael Costa are willing to accept Federal Labor's promise of future funding; will they now cut the political bickering and accept Coalition Government funding? For the sake of our local communities I certainly hope so.

If Costa accepts our offer, NSW Labor can now immediately reinstate our train service, save countless local jobs, and give back to North Coast residents the freedom and convenience of being able to travel by train.

Cheaper health care for seniors

I am very pleased the Australian Government has announced that seniors will recieve significant private health insurance rebates. Seniors aged between 65 and 69 will have their rebate increased from 30% to 35%, while seniors 70 years and older will have their rebate increased to 40%.

People aged 65 and over account for 22.5 per cent of the population of the Tweed Shire compared with the national average of 12.6. We must ensure these seniors have greater access to more affordable health care and by making private health care cheaper we also take pressure off our public system.

I am firmly of the opinion that local seniors, especially those on low to moderate incomes, deserve increased reward for their contributions over the years of private health membership.

Market Electorate Office

Setting up my mobile electorate office at weekend markets for local communities is proving a great success. I have been able to get along to most local markets and I find having a stall at these community events a terrific way of listening to local concerns and ideas as well as assisting locals with specific issues.

Local residents lead busy lives and often don't have time to have their say or enquire about government initiatives such as funding programs and concession cards. By setting up at the markets people have the opportunity to conveniently drop in at their own leisure.

I intend on continuing to visit local markets and encourage people when they see my mobile electorate office to come up and have a chat.

Larry Anthony MP
Federal Member for Richmond
Minister for Children & Youth Affairs
PO Box 6996 Tweed Heads South 2486 ph: 07 5524 2466 fax: 07 5524 9366
www.larry.com.au Toll Free: 1800 812 125 larry.anthony.mp@aph.gov.au

Ian Causley
Canberra Connection

Child support taskforce

A Ministerial Taskforce and Reference Group have been named to examine the child support scheme. Both will be headed by Professor Patrick Parkinson, who chairs the Family Law Council.

The child support scheme was established in 1988 and now has more than one million parents registered with the Child Support Agency. In 2003-04, $2.19 billion in child support was transferred between parents for the benefit of children.

The review follows Prime Minister John Howard's announcement on July 29 of proposals to reform Australia's family law system.

Flipcards for fishers

Waterproof flipcards to help fishers identify protected species are now available for Northern Rivers fishing enthusiasts.

The flipcards will assist both recreational and commercial fishers identify and safeguard the protected species they might come across when out fishing.

The Protected Marine Species Identification Guide features photos and names of marine species which are protected.

It is illegal to intentionally kill, injure, take, trade, keep or move any species listed under the Environment Protection Act without a permit.

The flipcards are funded by the Coalition Government's $3 billion Natural Heritage Trust and are an invaluable resource to help all fishers meet their reporting obligations and avoid breaking the law.

Australia is responsible for a marine area of 14 million square kilometres, home to some of the world's most diverse ecosystems with more than 80 per cent of marine species inhabiting these ecosystems being unique to the region.

The Coalition Government has made significant headway in protecting this precious environment, but it's everyone's responsibility to help protect these animals. By working together, we can have healthy marine ecosystems supporting sustainable commercial and recreational fishing into the future.

To obtain a copy of the Guide please contact my office on 1300 301 735.

Tough on porn

The Coalition Government strongly supports making the Internet a safer place for children and taking action to prevent the spread of offensive content.

The Government has a three-pronged approach of legislating, regulating and educating Australian Internet users about being safe on the net.

In 1999 the Government introduced a comprehensive regulatory scheme which bans X-rated and Restricted Classification (RC) material from being hosted in Australia and requires all R-rated material to be subject to age verification access controls.

At the same time the Coalition established NetAlert (www.netalert.com.au) to help children and families use and enjoy the internet in a safe and responsible way.

NetAlert has received almost $7 million in Government funding to help educate Australians about safe Internet surfing. NetAlert also operates a free internet safety helpline - 1800 880 176 - or internet users can e-mail them at enquiries@netalert.net.au.

This scheme was recently reviewed and was found to be working effectively. Requiring Internet service providers to offer filters for use on a personal computer at or below cost price has also been found to be a very effective way of empowering consumers to regulate their own Internet experience.

For further information please contact my electorate office on 1300 301 735, or send me an email: ian.causley.mp@aph.gov.au.