years of age, hiked 1770 kilometres up the

ENERGY CONCESSIONS FAILING TO REACH LOWINCOME AUSTRALIANS

At least 1 in 5 eligible low-income households in the National Energy Market are not receiving their energy concession, a new report from the Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC) has found. CPRC, CEO, Erin Turner, released the report today and called on state and federal governments to review the concessions system to ensure it works for the people who need it most.

“With the rise in costof-living and electricity prices tipped for a 50 per cent increase over the next two years, energy concessions can offer immediate cost-of-living relief for many low-income Australian consumers.

“We found a significant gap between the number of people eligible for energy concessions and those receiving the concession on their energy bill,” Ms Turner said.

“State and federal governments need to work together to make the system work for people on lowincomes doing it tough, rather than have consumers jump through many hoops to access their entitlements.”

The CPRC report analysed states in the National Energy Market and Victoria, with the largest gap in the ACT, with 41% missing out on their energy concession, followed by 38% of South Australian consumers, 35% of NSW consumers and 29% of Queensland consumers.

In Victoria, which operates under a different regulatory regime, 7% were missing out on energy concession, but more consumers were found to be missing out on critical cost-of-living supports on their water bill (22%) or their gas bill (12%).

“The difference between utilities, different regimes and states is not easily explained - part of the problem is piecemeal reporting about consumer outcomes. Governments and regulators need to bring together better data about the concession system.”

But why are lowincome households not receiving their concession?

“Ultimately, the onus lies with consumers to navigate the administration required from government and energy retailers to get the rebate or discount they’re due.

“There can be low awareness, difficult systems, and sometimes consumers have done the hard yards, and their energy retailer still fails to apply their concession to a bill.

The CPRC report includes six key recommendations to bridge the concession gap – led by a joint review of the concession framework at the different levels of government.

More information, including the full report, Mind the Gap - Identifying the gap between energy concession eligibility and concession received is available at: www.cprc.org.au/ mindthegap

LOCAL PROJECTS BOOST YOUTH WELLBEING

Member for Coffs Harbour Gurmesh Singh at today’s announcement with facilitator of the GREAT program, Sharon Swinton (left), and parent Joanne Swadling. Programs championed by Coffs Coast community organisations are among the latest projects funded by the NSW Government’s Children and Young People Wellbeing Recovery Initiative.

Member for Coffs Harbour Gurmesh Singh said the projects will help support recovery and boost resilience for young people in our region following the impacts of natural disasters and COVID-19.

• GREAT (Girls Resilience-Education Art Time) - Boambee East Community Centre $49,671 • Building Youth Volunteers - Volunteering Coffs Harbour $10,000.

“I’m thrilled to announce support for these projects which will help young people in our community bounce back stronger than ever in the wake of COVID-19 disruptions and natural disasters,” Mr Singh said. “Projects like these are outstanding examples of how we can help young people recover, build resilience and improve wellbeing by providing them with the tools and resources they need.” Other Coffs Coast projects to receive funding from this program in 2022 are:

• Mental Strength and Resilience Building in Young Sporting Athletes – Uniting NSW.ACT $48,749 • Brush n Boost – Coffs Harbour Neighbourhood Centre $10,000.

Minister for Regional Youth Ben Franklin said the $10.3 million Children and Young People Wellbeing Recovery Initiative offers large grants between $10,000 and $50,000 and small grants for up to $10,000. “The large grants fund projects such as community events, peer support groups, cultural connection or partnership programs, while small grants are to enable initiatives like sporting programs and barbecues,” Mr Franklin said. “Our Regional Youth Community Coordinators will help connect young people with the projects that best support their wellbeing and recovery and foster resilience and connection.” The Children and Young People Wellbeing Recovery Initiative is funded through the NSW COVID-19 Economic Recovery Initiative and the co-funded NSW and Australian Governments’ Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements. Visit nsw.gov.au/ YouthWellbeing.

FITCH REAFFIRMS TRIPLEA CREDIT RATING FOR NSW

Global ratings agency Fitch has reaffirmed NSW’s triple-A credit rating with a stable outlook, the latest vote of confidence in the State’s financial management.

NSW is the only state in Australia with two triple-A credit ratings, with Moody’s also assigning a triple-A rating in September. Last month, S&P Global maintained the State’s double-A plus rating with a stable outlook.

Treasurer Matt Kean, who will this week meet with Moody’s in London to discuss the economic outlook and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) risk factors, said the result was proof of the State’s strong fiscal management.

“New South Wales remains the only state in Australia with a Moody’s and Fitch triple-A credit rating,” Mr Kean said.

“The State’s strong financial management has supported our credit rating and enabled the Government to continue to deliver on its record $112.7 billion infrastructure program. NSW remains on track to return to surplus in 2024-25.”

The State’s net debt is projected to stabilise at about 14 per cent of Gross State Product by June 2026, compared with a projected 26.5 per cent for Victoria at 30 June 2026. Mr Kean, in his meeting with Moody’s, will discuss the direction of fiscal policy post-COVID and the most pressing credit risks for NSW.

NEW BRIDGES TO BOOST ACCESS ACROSS LISMORE AND KYOGLE

Two new bridges that are stronger, more resilient to natural disasters and allow more freight to be transported through the region were offcially opened in the Kyogle and Lismore districts today.

Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Sam Farraway said the new bridge replaced an 83-year-old concrete structure that had been operating under a 20-tonne load limit for the past two decades.

“Today we’ve unveiled a brand new bridge which will be able to better withstand future weather events and support the region for years to come,” Mr Farraway said.

“Further effciencies will be realised for local freight including diverting timber, dairy and agricultural products away from the Omagh Road route, saving truck drivers a 10-kilometre detour. The project supported 20 local jobs over the three months construction was carried out, including fve full-time positions.

“This new larger single span concrete structure, founded on steel driven piles, has been designed and constructed to achieve a 100-year design life while improving food

MORE QUALITY HOUSING FOR TEACHERS IN THE BUSH

More public school teachers are being encouraged to move to the bush thanks to a signifcant NSW Government investment to improve the supply and quality of teacher housing.

An additional $23.5 million housing investment has been provided on top of the $174 million key worker housing investment already announced as part of the 2022-23 Budget.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW Paul Toole said providing housing is one of the most tangible ways we can attract and retain workers in the regions.

“We know housing is one of the biggest factors in attracting workers and driving further growth in the regions,” Mr Toole said.

“It is vital that teachers who work in the regions, especially in our more remote and rural schools, have access to comfortable, modern housing close to their workplace.”

Minister for Education and Early Learning Sarah Mitchell said $8.4 million of the additional investment will be spent on new housing in towns including Bellata, Broken Hill, Coolah, Gilgandra and Ivanhoe.

“While we have generous fnancial incentives for teachers to go to a country school, many teachers considering a regional move have told us that housing is just as important a factor in their decision-making, if not more so,” Ms Mitchell said.

“Ensuring teachers have quality housing options available to them will attract and retain quality teachers to some of our more remote schools.”

Construction work on new housing has already started in the State’s north this term.

Teacher housing improvements will include $12.3 million of funding for renovations to approximately 50 Teachers Housing Authority managed properties in areas including Stuart Town, Mumbil, Ellerston, Girilambone and Adaminaby.

Around 100 teacher houses will have new heating and cooling installed, worth almost $2 million, and $800,000 is being invested in increasing housing supply by taking out head leases, with the properties to be occupied by country teachers.

Investment in teacher housing is part of the Government’s delivery against the recommendations of the 2021 Regional and Remote Incentives Review. immunity and safety for local farmers and truck drivers.”

The project received $2.1 million through the NSW Government’s Fixing Country Roads program as well as $300,000 from Kyogle Council and a $212,000 in-kind contribution in materials supplied by Grahams Quarry.

Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Premier Gurmesh Singh said it was fantastic to offcially open the new $2.6 million Cedar Point Bridge with Kyogle Council Mayor Cr Kylie Thomas.

“The Fixing Country Bridges Program is delivering real benefts to regional communities and it is great to be here today to open the bridge alongside Mayor Kylie Thomas,” Mr Singh said.

“After the weather events of this year this new bridge will help build resilience back into this community and ensure our road network remains strong for years to come.”

Cr Thomas said the Cedar Point Bridge was a showcase for what can be achieved through partnership between all tiers of government, the community and industry.

“We’ve been able to achieve an innovative solution, getting the best value for money, increasing the capacity of local contractors, and maximising the beneft to the local economy from external grant funded projects such as this,” Cr Thomas said.

In the Lismore City Council area, a new $517,000 Keerrong Road Bridge at Keerrong was also offcially opened today by Mr Singh and Lismore Mayor, Steve Kreig.

The bridge replaces a food-damaged culvert that washed away in fooding earlier this year and was jointly funded by the NSW and Australian governments under Disaster Assistance Arrangements for the March 2022 food event.

Cr Kreig said the opening of the bridge was great news for the community.

“The new bridge will ensure our farmers can get their produce to markets and improves the connectivity across our whole local government area,” Cr Krieg said.

“Importantly, Council has ‘built back better’ by improving the resilience of the bridge to fooding.

UP TO $5 MILLION TO ASSESS FLOODCONTAMINATED LAND

Northern Rivers residents and small businesses will be able to access food support with a new NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) program supporting the management of contaminated lands following the devastating foods in early 2022.

NSW EPA Chief Executive Offcer Tony Chappel announced the new program in Lismore and said the EPA is committed to doing all it can to help the region recover.

“Our role at the EPA is to protect the community and environment, and this program is about ensuring contaminated land is addressed so people have peace of mind about their land,” Mr Chappel said.

“I cannot begin to imagine how hard it has been for the community to return home after the fooding only to face a painstaking clean-up.

“We want to give Northern Rivers communities who have made that extraordinary effort the certainty that the land they live on is healthy and safe.

“This program will provide free, independent assessments for eligible properties, which will reveal if soils have been contaminated.

“If a property is deemed to be contaminated, we will also provide landholder assistance in cleaning-up soils and returning the environment to the best state possible.

“I want to thank all our EPA offcers who have been working with other agencies to remove waste and debris from across the region.

“The volumes have been enormous and in the past week alone, we have removed 3 cubic metres of debris from our waterways, equal to that of three semi-trailer trucks.

The funding will also support the seven eligible councils (Lismore, Richmond Valley, Ballina, Kyogle, Tweed, Byron, Clarence) to assess any food contamination to public areas as well as providing resources to manage contamination from future natural disasters.

The NSW EPA runs a number of programs to help regions impacted by foods, with the Shoreline Clean-up Program removing more than 17,800 cubic metres of food debris from waterways in an area extending from the Queensland border to the Illawarra.

The Flood Recovery Program for Contaminated Lands is jointly funded by the State and Commonwealth disaster recovery funding agreement (DRFA). Residents can now apply on the Service NSW website website.

The EPA has also launched an interactive visual food debris map which demonstrates the scale and scope of the clean-up effort, as well as sharing stories from the community and EPA offcers.

NEW WILDLIFE CORRIDOR SYSTEM TO OPEN VITAL LINKS FOR NATIVE PLANTS AND ANIMALS

New Wildlife Corridor System to open vital links for native plants and animals

Council has a new draft Wildlife Corridor System that maps out the key links or ‘corridors’ between patches of habitat to help native animals move across the landscape and thrive.

The draft Wildlife Corridor System and interactive maps are on public exhibition and the community is invited to provide feedback by Monday 28 November.

“Byron Shire has high biodiversity so it is important for us to help our native plants and animals to survive and thrive in our increasingly man-made environment,” Byron Shire Council’s Biodiversity Team Leader, Liz Caddick said.

“One of the ways we can do this is to help them move safely between patches of habitat, so that they can find mates, food and seek refuge in times of natural disaster,” she said.

“Council’s new draft Wildlife Corridor System aims to do just that – by mapping out the key links, or ‘corridors’, between patches of wildlife habitat, that allow native wildlife to move across the landscape where they were previously hindered or unable.

“We hope that the map will inspire landholders in the Byron Shire to take steps to help protect or improve wildlife corridors on their property. These steps could include planting trees, restoring degraded habitat or replacing old fences with wildlifefriendly fencing. Even in suburban areas there are many things landholders can do to help, including planting native shrubs, putting up a nest box, keeping pets indoors, or leaving out clean water for wildlife,” Ms Caddick said.

The new Wildlife Corridor System is not an overlay in Councils Local Environment Plan, so it doesn’t impact on existing land use activities. For example, rural and urban land use activities that are permitted under the Local Environment Plan can still occur on land within a wildlife corridor.

“However, we are encouraging landholders to use the Corridor System to help make decisions that can benefit native wildlife on their properties,” Ms Caddick said.

Council has developed a wildlife corridor map and the community is encouraged to get online and have a look at where their property fits in our natural landscape.

“Even if you don’t live in a wildlife corridor, you can still help by being aware of where they are, and driving through them especially carefully between dusk and dawn when wildlife are most active,” Ms Caddick said.

For more information and to have your say on the Wildlife Corridor System, go to Council’s website and provide your comments by 28 November 2022.

MORE WAYS FOR SENIORS TO STAY CONNECTED

Minister for Seniors Mark Coure said 21 programs have been funded with a share of more than $600,000 through the third round of the Reducing Social Isolation for Seniors program.

“Following this round, we have now supported 71 different programs with some $2 million to support seniors and keep them connected with their local communities right across the state,” Mr Coure said.

“Seniors are an integral part of our society and we want to make sure they don’t run the risk of falling into social isolation.

“These programs are about making sure everyone can participate no matter their background, language or abilities.”

Camden Council is one of the local councils receiving funding through the program, which will go towards the running of its Café Connect initiative.

“Camden Council is focused on providing all our residents with the best opportunities to participate and engage in a range of local activities,” Camden Council Mayor Therese Fedeli said.

“This funding goes a long way in assisting Council to continue providing our Café Connect program, which provides our local seniors with the opportunity to participate and receive information about health, social and service provisions, lifelong learning and wellbeing activities and the opportunity to socially connect on a regular basis.”

North Shoalhaven Meals on Wheels also received funding to help expand its Meals Together program.

“The past few years have been extremely challenging for many members of our community, with some feeling lonely or isolated. With this funding from the NSW Government, North Shoalhaven Meals on Wheels is excited to expand Meals Together to better engage and support these members of our community,” North Shoalhaven Meals on Wheels Director and Deputy Chair Luke Sikora said.

Funding of up to $50,000 was on offer in the third round of the Reducing Social Isolation for Seniors Grants program. Projects must run through 20222023.

For more information on the grants program, visit: www.dcj.nsw.gov. au/rsis

Fundraiser for the Cancer Council THE SUMMER 2023 SH!TBOX RALLY

Russell Wilson has been the local mechanic in town with Dunoon Automotive for close to 14 years now, he’s founded Nut Capital Motors Incorporated, a not-for-proft historic car club that was pivotal in getting the Dunoon Village Blues back on its feet after an over 3-year hiatus after a 13-year history of successful events, due to the bushfres, Covid and foods killing off all public events, even our 150th village anniversary party last year.

We’ve frantically tried to get public funding from bushfre and Covid recovery funds as well as local grants earlier in the year, sadly and bizarrely all to no avail, so the decision was made to fund the event ourselves, through villagers donating their money, time, expertise and work to bring the show back and they sure managed, even paying the musos, who all have had such a particularly hard time during Covid.

The Dunoon Village Blues, a free, familyfriendly all day outdoor music event at the Dunoon Sports Grounds & Club will now be a regular annual event in late October again and we’re always looking out for sponsors and offcial funding, but that is another story for another time...

The little red car was centrepiece in the Village Blues roadshow, the classic car show out back and we managed to rustle up a few gold coin donations as well as some big donors, most of all of course we managed to raise awareness, which is the whole reason for us to do this rally - to

support people and their loved ones going through cancer and raise awareness for their plight, their suffering, encourage open talk and camaraderie, supporting them through their hardest ride with showing that we’re prepared to ride for them and with them, in a crappy car, in rough conditions, but nowhere near the rough journey that this illness puts one through.

Russ has friends and family affected by cancer, the urge to support cancer research and give emotional support for the ones going through it, their friends and families and the ones left behind

come natural to a bloke who’s always looking after others as witnessed in his workshop I’ve worked in the health system for 30 years and have accompanied many patients on their journey, witnessing the solitude and isolation that often comes with such a diagnosis and treatment, something that I want to address more than anything with taking part in this Shitbox Rally.

Sometimes life hands out a real shitbox of a ride and nobody asks us whether we want to ride it yet having to ride it on your own is what breaks people - knowing that you’ve got a co-pilot, a support crew, followers, and a team of 250 other riders or people to talk to, that often is the difference between hardship and despair.

Having a fun adventure in the middle of whatever drama might be happening can shift the focus from looking at the pain to seeing the community rallying behind a good cause, be that the Village Blues after the bushfres, Covid and the foods having taken such a toll on us, or be that the Shitbox, with cancer and illness taking such a toll on people’s lives.

We’re hoping to provide a bit

of happiness and laughter riding the 1989 Holden Barina, our Red Roadrunner, from Dunoon up to Rockhampton QLD where the Rally starts, then down the dirt tracks of the outback via Tambo, Eulo, (both QLD), Cobar, Tooleybuc (both NSW), through VIC via Bass Strait to Strahan (Tas) ending in Hobart.

The car has been sitting dead by the side of the road in our village for 6 years, in accordance with Shitbox rules cars cannot cost or accrue repair bills of more than $1500, we bought it for $1, Russell managed to bring the motor back to life and it’s in need of quite a few spare parts and repairs yet but it’s already running on all 4 cylinders and local Country Punk legend and artist Jimmy Willing added a bit of extra horse power and a horse with no name for our ride through the desert, hence and we’re cautiously optimistic that we’ll not only get it from to Rocky and all the way to Hobart on the iconic rally, but that we’ll manage to even drive it back, watch this space.

The Holden 1989 model, identical to the Suzuki Swift and actually made in Japan, happened to be my frst ever car which I bought when I had only just arrived in Australia as a junior doctor in 2002 - in the big cities where I grew up, studied and trained I never needed a car because I could cycle, walk, take the tube or bus or public transport of whatever kind. So, it’s going full circle for me...

The team name ‘Dunoon’s Nut Cap City Limits’ is born out of Dunoon being offcially called the ‘Nut Capital’ of Australia on our village signs (Macadamias), add to

that a bit of Nutbush, City Limits by Tina Turner, and the nuts, bolts and hubcaps of a mechanics workshop at the end of the world and you’ve got the gist of a small town having a laugh at its own insignifcance, which is all we can say about our own lives in the end, right?

Some sponsors have already taken us under their wings, you are being the top one, there’s Thunderpants from New Zealand, a small local organic fairtrade cotton undies & shirts company, we’ve got a verbal thumbs up from Two Mates Brewery, Lismore, and Tyrepower Lismore has come on board sponsoring us with 6 brand new tyres (as we need 2 spares for the rough roads), We’ve also received a very generous donation from Rocky Creek Designs, a local motorbike accessory designer and inventor and a pledge of sponsorship from Jonathan Pickering of Ecosparx, a local electrician that specializes in Solar and off-grid for domestic and commercial customers, and we’ve written to quite a few other local, Australian, and international companies last week, currently awaiting response.

We’re looking predominantly for local sponsors of high-quality wares or products that we’re using and happy to endorse ourselves, doesn’t have to be big money, but needs to be a company that has proven itself to be fair to customers and staff, that supports the region and that has fair work practices - no Aussie companies that have transferred their production to sweatshops in dictatorships need apply if you catch my drift...

If you would like to donate and help Russ and Ulf on their treck and help them raise money for the Cancer Council Scan the QR Code below. If you would like to sponsor the boys you can email Ulf on ulfsteinvorth@ hotmail.com

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