G’day folks, 

Where has the year gone? Halloween this week, less than two months to Christmas, students will soon be finishing the HSC exams, and only a short time before Parliament rises for the year at the end of November. 

Parliament has just had two consecutive sitting weeks but for the first of those weeks I was in Bougainville, as part of a Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Delegation from the NSW Parliament. It was a two-day trip to get there, but it was a rewarding experience and one that will help to bring us closer together. 

This week I am mostly in Sydney for committee meetings, but I will also be at a meeting (on Tuesday October 28) between the Premier and the mayors of Brewarrina, Bourke, Coonamble and Walgett, to discuss solutions to the problem of youth crime in Barwon.

CPA delegation to Bougainville 

The Autonomous Region of Bougainville is a group of Islands near Papua New Guinea, part of the Solomon Islands Archipelago. With a history of human occupation going back thousands of years, it is Bougainville’s history over the last few decades that resulted in the CPA’s delegation.  

After World War II Australia took over the administration of Papua New Guinea, which gained independence in 1975, with Bougainville as part of that new nation. However, the people of Bougainvillean objected to being under Papuan administration and worked, unsuccessfully, to secede and to be recognised internationally as a separate nation. 

Tensions between Bougainville and Papua became an insurrection in 1988, the catalyst for which was that Bougainville did not receive a fair share of revenues from gold and copper mines on their islands. 

After a long period of conflict, in 2001 a peace agreement was reached allowing Bougainville some autonomy and later independence.

The deadline for independence moved a few times, but earlier this year a new deadline of 1 September 2027, was set. 

Bougainville now needs to develop its parliament, political system and government to be ready for full independence.

That is where the CPA comes in, the organisation offers assistance and expertise to other Commonwealth nations developing their democracy. 

About half of Bougainville’s 45-member parliament are newly elected. My visit involved taking part in several panel discussions at which I shared a bit about my experiences as an MP, my work on committees and how our government works. I also talked about Barwon, its challenges, successes and complexities.

One thing I emphasised was the importance of engagement and communication with a constituency. 

Bougainville is 9318 square kilometres, compared to Barwon being over 356,000 square kilometres. But Bougainville’s lack of roads, transport, and the presence of villages in remote, mountainous areas means they have some similar challenges in communication and engagement. 

I also learnt a lot from the Bougainvilleans and I am grateful for their hospitality. Bougainville is a stunning place. I intend to go back there one day, and I urge others to think about visiting.  

I wish their parliament every success and hope to see them develop into a thriving, independent neighbour. 

After over a decade in administration it is good to finally see the Central Darling Shire has elected three councillors for the first council of its new era. 

I want to congratulate Peter Sullivan (A Ward), Max Bradley (B Ward) and Daniel Fusi (C Ward) on being elected as Councillors for Central Darling Shire. 

The new councillors will help steer the council on its journey of transition out of administration. The names of the three appointed councillors (not announced at the time of writing) should be announced soon. I would like to encourage all the communities of the shire to really get behind their new councillors, and get involved with the council, to help make it as successful as possible.  

Youth Crime Question in Parliament 

Although BOCSAR (Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research) figures show that there has been a drop in youth crime in recent years, many people are concerned about a number of incidents in towns around Western NSW.  

During the sitting week I posed a Question Without Notice to the Premier asking if he would accept a delegation from councils in Walgett, Bourke, Brewarrina and Coonamble, to discuss how to expedite diversionary programs for troubled youth and talk about community-based solutions to reducing youth crime. 

He said he would be ready to accept that delegation (which has not taken place at the time of writing) saying that it is “important to listen to what is happening on the ground” in order to implement that changes necessary to reduce recidivism. 

I will keep you posted about what happens with that meeting. 

To listen to the Premier’s response to my question go to https://www.roybutler.com.au/video_clips 

Get ready for Movember 

November is the time when men around the country and around the world allow their facial hair to run wild. I will be leaving part of my face untouched by a razor for a month as part of Movember, to raise awareness of men’s health issues and to raise money for research and programs that work to keep men healthier - physically and mentally. 

Once again, I will be growing a mo as a member of team Barwon, but I am looking for other stalwart Barwonians to join me, either by growing a mo, or by raising money and awareness by other means. 

I will be providing regular updates of my mo-gress and I hope you will come along for my hairy journey. 

To be part of the team or to donate go to https://au.movember.com/team/2457418  

National Parks Private Members Statement 

In the October sitting weeks I delivered a Private Members Statement about the government’s determination to reserve 30% of the land in NSW as National Parks. In my statement I said that there seems to be no specific reason or rationale for why it has to be nearly a third of the state and there doesn’t seem to be a coherent plan for what will happen with the land acquired to reach that total.  

There also seems to be a bit of a disconnect between the decisions made by the management of national parks and what impact their decisions will have or are having on the ground in the communities where the land has been acquired. 

Since June 2024 thirty properties have been purchased for National Parks, a total of over 113,000 hectares.

These were properties that used to contribute in significant ways financially, and socially, to their local communities – once they are turned into National Parks all of those people who lived or worked on the property are gone and so is the money generated leaving a hole in the local economy and taking away all the people who were part of that community. 

Despite promises that there will be infrastructure created in the parks to generate tourism income to replace the lost income from agriculture, this almost never happens. The parks remain underfunded, invasive species proliferate, fences fall into disrepair, and it becomes a problem for neighbouring properties. 

This is what prompted an iPetition “No More National Parks in NSW” launched by some of my constituents, asking for a more balanced approach in acquisition of land for National Parks. 

In my Private Members Statement, I indicated that I will be attempting to change the systems and processes that currently exist for acquiring land for National Parks. Watch this space.