THE Australian Celtic Festival was again held in Glen Innes from last Friday through to Monday.

It was the year of Scotland at this year’s festival and it was another superb event with singing, dancing, food, reenactments and more.

Congratulations to all the organisers and volunteers who pulled together this fantastic festival. The 2027 Australian Celtic Festival will be held on 29 April until 2 May and it will celebrate Celtic nations Ireland and the Isle of Man.

Armidale Athletics

Funding for Armidale Athletics was secured through the Local Sports Grant Program 2025 to purchase time keeping equipment.

The upgraded equipment will allow for more accurate recording of track times during training sessions – no more manual timing on the phone.

With around 180 members I am sure this new equipment will see plenty of use.

Parliamentary sittings

This week was the first of a huge block of Parliamentary sittings and it was another big week on Macquarie Street.

Community pre-school teachers gathered in Martin Place on Tuesday to again rally for pay parity with their government-employed counterparts.

Pre-school workers have been asking for recognition and support for the work they do for a long time and, in February, the Fair Work Commission made a recommendation to lift their pay.

The Minns Labor Government needs to step up and deliver better pay for these workers who are vital for our communities.

More and more teachers are leaving the profession and taking up work elsewhere due to the current pay conditions. We need to see our preschool workers supported so they can continue in our towns.

The Public Interest Debate on Wednesday was on the understaffing of the NSW Police Force.

Since 2019, police numbers have fallen from 205 officers to 100,000 people to 176 officers to 100,000 people.

In regional New South Wales the situation is even worse with vacancies estimated between 15 and 29 per cent.

Our police do a fantastic job but they already do a lot of overtime and still can’t get to the jobs they want to do.

My Private Members’ Statement and my Notice Of Motion was on the drought affecting the Northern Tablelands.

The region is incredibly dry and dusty with no rain recorded in recent months.

In some cases, conditions are worse than they were in the 2019 drought. My electorate offices have been inundated with phone calls and emails from producers asking if there is any assistance available to them, like there was in 2019 under the previous Coalition Government.

More than half of New South Wales is drought-affected and the long-term forecast is dire.

Winter crop planting won’t happen and stock has been sold off which will then see consequences flow through to the checkout.

Unfortunately, all the Minns Labor Government has offered to producers is loans and mental health support. No one wants to go into more debt.

I have called on the government to offer 50 per cent transport subsidies for carting water, feed and livestock.

I delivered Community Recognition Statements on Walcha Coffee, Seasons of New England, Brian Baldwin, Sunhill Dairy Goats, Vale Don Hall, Inverell’s Dianna Baker OAM, Glen Innes’ Eve Chappell OAM, Mungindi’s Laraine Nolan and Moree’s Kyla-Belle Roberts.

I tabled Questions On Notice on the Moree Special Activation Precinct, the Guyra MPS, funding for a teacher at BackTrack, New England REZ, telecommunications disruptions, the Moree Bail Accommodation facility, telehealth, drought and water for the REZ.

Glen Innes Hospital redevelopment finally begins

The Glen Innes community has been waiting very patiently for work to begin on the redevelopment of their hospital.

The Minns Labor Government has been dragging their feet with this redevelopment and it finally started this week, seven years after the project was announced under the former Coalition Government.

Since being elected in 2024, I have been asking the government to begin the works which will include a new acute services building, a new emergency department, medical imaging, ambulance bays and a new main entry, along with upgrades to the operating theatre and the birthing suite.

I wasn’t invited to the official sod turn at Glen Innes, or the recent hospital sod turn at Moree, despite both projects being announced and funded by a Liberal-Nationals Government.

If fighting for better healthcare and holding the Health Minister to account means missing out on ceremonial sod turns, that’s a price worth paying. The next step is ensuring it is staffed adequately.

New police officers for the region

The New England Police District received six new probationary constables from Class 368 who attested last Friday.

Three of the new probationary constables were placed at Armidale, two at Inverell and one in Moree and their first day on the job was on Monday.

The addition of police officers to our region is great but there’s still a major shortage across the state.

As recently as the 2025 budget estimates, it was revealed the NSW Police Force is short of 4168 officers and we currently have a smaller we did in 2019 which is causing huge operational strain on our police.

New bus routes

New NSW TrainLink bus routes were announced this week including an Armidale to Port Macquarie service.

From July 1, a new route will operate on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays between Armidale and Port Macquarie which will provide a North Coast connection.

The bus will also stop at Wauchope which connects with rail services to and from Coffs Harbour, Grafton, the Northern Rivers, the Gold Coast and Brisbane.

A new Armidale CBD stop at the Central Beardy Street Mall on Faulkner Street has been added for routes 327, 328, 337 and 338 Tenterfield to Armidale and return and Inverell to Armidale and return.

Grant for BackTrack

BackTrack was awarded $2000 for their Disaster Recovery Crews: Youth-Led Community Recovery through the Australia Post’s 2026 People of Post Grants program.

The program provides rapid, practical support to communities impacted by natural disasters while creating paid employment and skills pathways for young people.

The grant will support a four‑person crew for two days deployment to cover essential costs.

Have your say

Armidale Regional Council is undertaking community consultations for the proposed New England Rail Trail.

The engagement aims to document community feedback and address issues raised by landholders, culture and heritage groups, transport advocates, local businesses, and the broader community.

Submissions are invited and must be addressed to the General Manager, Armidale Regional Council, PO Box 75A, Armidale, NSW 2350, or sent by email to [email protected](External link) and marked ‘Proposed New England Rail Trail’.

If you do not include your residential address in your submission, your submission will be marked ‘address unknown’.

Submissions must be received by Monday 1 June 2026.

For more information, visit New England Rail Trail Your Say.

Service NSW mobile centres

Service NSW is bringing their mobile service centre to Gravesend, Pallamallawa, Guyra and Uralla.

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 Moffat Park, Gwydir Highway in Gravesend on Tuesday, May 12 from 9am until 11am.

The mobile service centre will be at near Pally Pub in Pallamallawa Tuesday, May 12 from 12pm until 3pm.

The mobile service centre will be at the public carpark, 119 Bradley Street, Guyra on Tuesday, May 19 from 9am until 3.30pm.

The mobile service centre will be at the Uralla Shire Library carpark, 106 Bridge Street, Uralla on Wednesday, May 20 from 9am until 3pm.

What’s on

May 9: Moree on a Plate at Moree racecourse

May 8-9-10: Warialda Show

May 9: Deepwater Community Expo at the Deepwater School of Arts hall

May 9: Fire and Rescue NSW Open Day, 66 Barney Street from 10am to 2pm

May 16: Big Chill Festival at Armidale

May 16 to 23: Rotary Club of Armidale Central annual book fair at Armidale Jockey Club

Commentary by Brendan Moylan, Member for Northern Tablelands