G’day folks, 

Still a chill in the morning air, but the weather is noticeably warming up, and we are moving into the final quarter of the year. 

After a week in Parliament, I have spent a week out on the road, and this week sees me still out on the road, hosting two ministers in the West. 

That will be followed by a week where I will be out on committee site visits in Narrabri and Bourke, before getting on a plane for Bougainville to work with their new parliament. 

National Parks

In my last newsletter I talked about moving a Notice of Motion and asking the government a question about the negative impacts of national parks on regional communities. It is an issue that I have been trying to keep before parliament, as the government continues creating new national parks, many of which are from pastoral stations in western NSW. 

While I acknowledge that we need to protect endangered species and fragile ecosystems, some national parks are created from thousands of hectares of land, despite only protecting areas that are a small fraction of that land. There are also concerns that little consideration has been given to the impacts on the communities where the land is being purchased to create the parks and a lack of consultation in the process. 

Purchases of grazing land deprive communities of the money that comes from productive agricultural land. When the land is held by primary producers, they hire workers and contractors and put money in the local economy, many also own businesses which are often closed when the landowner sells up. 

Despite promises of replacing this with tourism income there is rarely any investment in infrastructure for tourism and even in cases where the infrastructure has been created the parks don’t generate anywhere near enough economic activity to replace what’s been lost. 

The former stations are often left to become breeding grounds for feral animals, which then invade neighbouring properties through poorly maintained fences. Local councils also take a hit because National Parks don’t pay rates, despite relying on infrastructure that the council has to maintain. 

The government has set a target of setting aside 30% of land for national parks by 2030, which means there are still many more acquisitions to come. That is why I am conducting a survey online. I want to hear from the communities affected about what they have observed with the declaration of national parks and the changes they would like to see. All feedback collected will be used to develop potential solutions.  

The must be ways to get the desired environmental outcomes without contributing to the feral animal population and impacting local economies. 

You can access the survey at this link - https://www.roybutler.com.au/national_parks_survey 

Central Darling Election 

On September 20 an election was held for councillors in the Central Darling Shire. At the time of writing the votes for Ward A and Ward B had not been finalised but Ward C was uncontested as there was only one candidate, Daniel Fusi from Menindee, who becomes the first councillor in the new council. 

The council has spent just over a decade in administration, and this is the first time in 12 years that residents in the shire have been able to elect their councillors. Three more will be appointed, but this is only a temporary arrangement, part of the transition to a fully elected council. I urge people to get behind the new council, to get involved, , to help it through this transition out of administration. 

I want to thank Ron Hoenig, the minister for Local Government, for his work on returning the council to some form of democratic election. 

Dr Joe McGirr’s Rural Health Action Plan 

Back in 2022 the inquiry into Health outcomes and access to health and hospital services in rural, regional and remote New South Wales, handed down its findings. It identified some serious problems with the health system in regional areas, and gave 44 recommendations, some of which have since been implemented, but there is still a long way to go. 

My parliamentary colleague Dr Joe McGirr is chair of the Chair of the NSW Legislative Assembly Committee on Remote, Rural and Regional Health, which has conducted inquiries looking into the ongoing implementation of the recommendations of that report. The inquiries showed that, while some progress has been made, the progress is slow, and NSW Health has shown a “lack of urgency” despite acknowledging the problems with the health system. 

In the September sitting weeks Dr Joe launched his Rural Health Action Plan to move along the stalled process of fixing the health system. It is a commonsense plan that will be focusing on some of the waste under the current system, including the reliance on expensive short-term solutions like fly-in fly-out doctors, which is costing $270 million a year. 

I will be giving the plan my full support. 

There are six main points to Joe’s plan: 

• Every town should have access to a known and trusted GP - flexible, team-based models and train a local workforce, a doctor from a larger town might serve several smaller communities
• Births closer to home - the restoration of rural maternity services 
• More reliance on local staff rather than fly-ins, the millions wasted on locums can be better spent elsewhere
• Local voices local power- better community consultation on local health
• The appointment of a dedicated rural health commissioner 
• One integrated system with medical services working together

To find out more and to pledge your support go to https://joemcgirr.com.au/rhap

Running On Empty Festival 

On any given weekend there are dozens of festivals, openings, or other events happening around Barwon. I can’t get to all of them, but fortunately, sometimes, my schedule allows me to get to an event like the Running on Empty Festival at Cobar. 

As a long-time revhead, this is one festival that is close to my heart. Held every two years since the first one in 2018, it was inspired by the cult 1982 Australian film Running on Empty, starring Terry Serio, Deborah Conway, Richard Moir and Max Cullen. In the 43 years since it premiered it has grown a huge following, particularly among lovers of modified classic cars. 

There was a screening of the film at the Cobar Bowling and Golf Club on the opening night of the festival. Special guests were the director John Clark and Terry Serio. When the film came to an end, the audience was asked if they wanted to watch it again – the answer was a resounding “yes.” 

The centrepiece of the festival was the Show n’ Shine the next day. This was a gathering of cars from all around the country, to be displayed in all their glory. The cars ranged from some vintage masterpieces through to more recent classics. 

I had the honour of selecting a car for a “judge’s choice” award. I gave the prize to a very cool 1968 HK Holden wagon owned by local bloke Luke Griffiths. What I liked about the car was that it had some modern modifications but preserved the patina and the original bodywork. Even better Luke also still drives the car every day. 

The value of events like this cannot be overstated. They bring the community together as well as drawing in people from out of town who spend money at the pubs, cafes and shops, boosting the local economy. 

Congratulations to John De Bruin and his team from Dustbowl Fuel Burners for such a successful event. I look forward to many more to come. 

Amenities block at Warren 

While on the road I had the honour of officially opening the new amenities block at Victoria Park in Warren, representing the Minister for Sport, Steve Kamper MP 

This amenities block is specifically designed to accommodate female sportspeople. Women’s sport is growing all the time in Barwon, so it is good to see the government investing in the future of women’s sport. 

The block was built at a cost of $702,500, paid for partly by a $500,000 grant from the Female Friendly Community Sport Facilities and Lighting Upgrades Program. The new facility is designed to provide dignified inclusion and accessibility for everyone using the local sporting fields, including participants with a disability and first nations people. 

The builder Nathan O’Neill was there on the day as was local artist Peter Mackay, who has decorated the amenities block with vibrant indigenous artworks. This is a facility the community can be proud of and will last a long time. 

I want to thank Warren Shire Council’s Mayor Greg Whiteley, GM Gary Woodman and the Warren community for the invitation to the opening. 

Good news on weirs 

There was some good news announced this week regarding plans for fishways at Louth, Tilpa, Banarway and Calmundi weirs. The government has heard the concerns of the communities of Louth, Tilpa, Walgett and Collarenebri about the potential effects on their water supply and has reviewed their designs for the fishways, so they will now have no impact on local weir heights. 

The work that will be done to install the fishways will also involve repairs that will fix the leaks in the weirs to reduce water loss. 

Memories of the last devastating drought are still fresh in the minds of these communities, and it is understandable that they were concerned about water security. The new plans take into account both water security and the importance of fish passages. 

This is a good example of where the people have voiced their concerns, which I was able to bring to the attention of the Minister for Water, Rose Jackson, and the Minister acted by conducting a series of community consultation sessions to better understand the impact of their original plans. 

I want to thank the minister for taking the time to come out west and meet with concerned residents, producers and businesses in the areas affected and working on a better solution. 

Burren Junction Flower Show

Burren Junction CWA held its Flower Show and Market Day on Sunday September 21 at the Burren Junction School of Arts Hall. I was in another part of the electorate at the time, so I was unable to make it, but two of my team were there and they say that it was a lovely day, there was great weather, it was well attended and there were some stunning displays of flowers, artwork and photography.

Also on display was the Heavy Vehicle Rescue Platform that I donated to the Burren Junction VRA Rescue/Rural Fire Service. The platform will be part of the new rescue truck upgrade that will increase their capabilities during rescue missions.

Events like this really bring people together and provide an opportunity to showcase some of the skills and talents of the local community.

I also want to give my thanks to the CWA for organising the event and to Cam Holcombe of the VRA, Caitlin Taylor of the RFS and Steve Gardiner of the VRA for the great work they do for the region.