The end of Term 3 for students meant many high schools have held their graduations and valedictory ceremonies.

Congratulations to all students who have finished their high school journey and I wish you all the best in the HSC and in the future.

It was great to attend the Armidale Secondary College valedictory last Friday and celebrate all the achievements of outgoing students. Well done to you all!

Funding for Mungindi childcare centre

A $21,384 grant was secured for the Mungindi Community Education Association’s new childcare centre to install a shelter to provide shade for outside activities. This is essential as it allows the kids to get outside and play in a safe environment, particularly during the hot summer months.

The childcare centre opened this year to service the Mungindi community and it excellent to see it going ahead in leaps and bounds.

Police Remembrance Day

NSW Police Remembrance Day was on Monday.

It is dedicated to remembering the sacrifice and bravery of police officers who have fallen in the line of duty. The New England Police District held a service in Inverell.

Bingara visit

I made my way over to Bingara this week to meet with community groups and leaders. Regional Australia Bank held their community partnership presentation which is aimed at providing funds to local groups through customer transactions.

Then I met with Gwydir Shire Council’s mayor Tiff Galvin where she filled me in on some local issues and we walked through the council building which is under construction.

EnergyCo continue to make it up as they go

EnergyCo has again failed to properly engage with landowners, communities, and local MPs, including myself, about their plan to re-route the transmission corridor from Bayswater to Walcha. EnergyCo announced a new three-kilometre-wide corridor in their latest study for their transmission line which will run between the Bayswater Power Station at Muswellbrook and the central south hub near Walcha.

EnergyCo have been working on this for five years but have now decided to announce major changes on the eve of a long weekend to try and bury their policy on the run approach.

There has been a complete lack of consultation, no planning and they haven’t told anyone.

Affected farmers and landowners have been contacting my electorate office since the announcement stating they had less than 24-hours’ notice.

The process has been disgraceful. EnergyCo have liaised via press releases instead of engaging meaningfully with landowners.

EnergyCo is having a series of drop-in sessions and I would also encourage you to provide your feedback. Information can be found at Working with the community: New England Renewable Energy Zone.

Defibrillator grant program open

Local sporting clubs and recreation facilities can apply for a grant of up to $3000 for clubs and facilities across NSW to purchase Automated External Defibrillators.

Cardiac arrest can happen to anyone at any time and it is important sporting organisations are equipped to respond to life-threatening emergencies on and off-the-field.

I encourage clubs and organisations to apply for this funding because you never know when you made need a defibrillator.

Walcha has been included in the list of eligible postcodes so jump on to the Sport NSW website and apply for a grant at Defibrillator Grant Program.

Applications close December 1 or until funding allocation is exhausted.

Road resealing

After meeting with Transport for NSW and the Minister’s office on Tuesday, several highways in the Northern Tablelands electorate have been included in the NSW Government’s 10-month, $37.5 million spray sealing program.

A protective layer of bitumen and aggregate waterproofing will be added to sections of the Gwydir, Carnarvon, Newell, New England and Bruxner Highways.

It is a great result after knocking on doors and advocating for roads in our region. But the hard work isn’t done with council roads in desperate need of funding and safety improvements.

I am committed to continue advocating for more resources to be directed to our region.

Farm firefighting vehicle reform

The NSW Government has made the move to allow farmers and rural landholders to register their Farm Firefighting Vehicles (FFVs) to respond to emergency fires near their property.

FFVs are often used on private property and are not registered for use on public roads but the reform will now allow a low-cost conditional registration of for use on public roads in emergencies outside of private property.

Conditions for registration include:

Vehicle inspections as per the Authorised Inspection Scheme to establish registration, with inspection required every second year and registration to be renewed annually;

Firefighting equipment must be permanently and securely attached to the vehicle;

Vehicles must only be used for emergencies, not regular operations;

May use roads up to 50km away from garaging address east of the Newell Highway, with no distance limit from garaging addresses west of the Newell Highway; and

The initial cost for conditional registration which includes inspection for a light vehicle and a licence plate issued will be a maximum of $209 with the cost dropping after the first year;

The scheme will begin on October 7 and more information can be obtained in person or online at Service NSW.

Double demerits this weekend

Double demerits will be in force from Friday, October 3 until midnight on Monday, October 6.

Double points apply for speeding, using a mobile phone illegally, riding without a helmet, not wearing or incorrectly wearing a seatbelt or carrying passengers not wearing or incorrectly wearing a seatbelt or restraint.

Please stay safe on the roads this long weekend and make it an enjoyable one!

What’s On

Bundarra Cup on Saturday, October 3 at Bundarra racecourse. Bus from St Kilda Hotel, Armidale.

Oktoberfest will be on at the Walcha Road Hotel on October 4 and 5 with a best-dressed competition, and other competitions.

Armidale Drama and Musical Society’s latest production, Noises Off, begins on Friday, October 3 at the TAS Hoskins Centre. It is a comedy featuring local talent. Tickets available at Armidale Drama and Musical Society.

Guyra’s annual TroutFest will be held from Thursday, October 2 through to Monday,  October 6.

School holidays are underway and there’s plenty of activities happening across the Northern Tablelands. Councils, PCYCs, libraries and more have all planned activities.

Jump on to their social pages for more information on what is happening.

Service NSW mobile centres

Service NSW is bringing their mobile service centre to Toomelah, Mungindi and Boggabilla.

The mobile service centre can help with driver knowledge tests, drivers licence applications and renewals, working with children check, birth, death, and marriage certificates, and more.

The mobile service centre will be at Community Centre, Toomelah on Tuesday, October 21 from 9am until 11am.

The mobile service centre will be at Community Health Centre, 74 Merriwa Street, Boggabilla on Tuesday, October 21 from 12pm until 3pm.

The mobile service centre will be at Barwon River Park, 155 George St Mungindi on  Wednesday, October 22 from 10 until 3pm.

Commentary by Brendan Moylan, Member for Northern Tablelands