Warren Star 20.11.2024

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Warren

Wednesday, November 20, 2024

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New Council flood Missed opportunity: Cynthia Ruth study aims to reduce regions miss free online Patterson insurance costs PAGE 3 workshop for driving PAGE 4 Remembered PAGE 6 Warren groups receive FRRR funding for unique projects TWO community groups in Warren will benefit from the latest round of funding announced by the Foundation for Rural Regional Renewal (FRRR). The Warren Chamber Music Festival and the Warren Rotary Club will each receive $10,000 from FRRR for two very different projects that will bring great benefit to the local community. The Warren Chamber Music Festival will receive its grant to present ‘Be Inspired’, designed to inspire Warren Shire residents through immersive performances, workshops and school tours, fostering inclusion of older community members and community cohesion. The Warren ‘Turn Right for a Night’ tourism sign project is the brainchild of Warren Rotary Club. The project will install signage at key locations to encourage drivers to visit Warren, promoting tourism and boosting the local economy to support the local community. FRRR Place Portfolio Lead, Jill Karena, said the foundation is committed to empowering local groups and organisations to develop and lead projects that will best meet the needs of their community. It does this through the Foundation’s flagship grants program, Strengthening Rural Communities (SRC). “We know that for every state, region and town, priorities will be different, and we are here to work with local groups to help them address their needs and strive to celebrate their vibrancy and acknowledge their tenacity,” Ms Karena said. Continued page 7

Local nursing staff demand a fair go By TESS VAN LUBECK LOCAL nurses walked off the job last week as part of a 24hour statewide dispute over pay and working conditions in NSW. The industrial action was taken following the failure of negotiations between the NSW government and NSW Nurses and Midwives Association (NSWNMA) to come to an agreement over a proposed 15 per cent pay rise. Warren nurses took to the streets with placards to bring the issue into the local consciousness. President of the Warren district branch for NSWNMA, Sarah Webb said it was a “kick in the guts”. “[With] rural nursing it’s already hard enough to get people out here and now its going to get harder,” she said. NSW nurses are the lowest paid in the country by a long shot, according to the union, with the average hourly rate sitting at around $65 in most other states, while NSW nurses take home $45.54 per hour. The NSWNMA was granted a removal of the wage cap 12 months ago but wages have remained unchanged and now in recent talks they have been fighting to bring wages into line with other states. “NSW nurses are leaving for better wages and condi-

Maree Sharp, Christine Brenda, Jisha Jose, Kate Waterford, Sarah Webb and Zoe Rose.

PHOTO: CONTRIBUTED.

tions in other states like Victoria and Queensland with 18 per cent higher wages, with eight out of 10 NSW nurses considering moving interstate in the next five years. “If we don’t start to have better pay we’ll have no nurses - they are all moving,” said

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Ms Webb. Furthermore, the government has given NSW teachers paramedics, and now the police pay rises, with the police recently awarded a 40 per cent wage increase. Ms Webb concluded by saying “They’ve (the govern-

87A Dubbo St, Warren NSW 2824 (02) 6847 4898

ment) cut our last life line. They think the [staffing situation in] rural nursing is bad right now, if the government doesn’t give us this 15 per cent well, watch this space because it’s going to be devastating and lives will be lost.”

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