may 2013 country labor dialogue

7/28/2019 May 2013 Country Labor Dialogue

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Country Labor diaLogue

C C g C u y C u J u 2 0 1 3

ats reclaim orthern ablelands

he ational Part reclaimed their

traditional heartland seat with a

similar marin to the conservative(ationals and hooters parties)

2011 Leislative Concil vote.

The National Party ran a highly

resourced campaign including

four different television ads on high

rotation, newspaper advertising and

plenty of campaign material.

Country Labor ran a low-budget

localised campaign, with assistancefrom the Leaders ofce and the State

Parliamentary Party. Thanks especially

to our great local candidate Herman

Beyersdorf, and to the campaign team

led by Steve Whan, Mick Veitch, Tony

Ramsay, Josephine Hillard, CourtneyRoche, Joel Anderson, Josh McIntosh

and Amber Jacobus.

Thanks to Young Labor who put in a

huge effort to travel from Sydney to

help staff the booths on Election Day,

led by Dom Ofner, and assisted by

Josephine Hillard and David Dobson.

The Country Labor campaign

strongly focused on free local media,consistently getting at least one TV

story per week and coverage across

all of the local newspapers.

Country Labors primary vote was only

9.8%, however this almost tripled the

result at the 2011 State Election.It was disappointing that both Labor-

leaning independents (who took votes

away from Country Labor) decided not

to preference Country Labor.

The local branch put in a huge

effort, led by Tony Ramsay and

Josephine Hillard. The campaign

has reinvigorated the local branch,

bringing people back to the Party and

recruited several new members.

Cortne ocheNSW CONTRY ORANISER

k vywho helped ot ontheContrLaborcampaignfororthernablelands.

he orthern ablelands b-election was held on atrda 25 a 2013.


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Liberals & ationals fail to spport contr workers

o protection for

ener workers

he Farrell government has refsed to spport

protections for hndreds of rral and reional

workers in the ener sector. an staff now face

an ncertain ftre.

The Government rejected an Opposition amendment

to protect rural and regional staff of Ausgrid, EndeavourEnergy and Essential Energy.

Under changes passed through the lower house of

Parliament the States three electricity distributors

are being merged into one with hundreds of jobs

under threat.

The NSW Oppositions amendment would ensure

that jobs in rural centres were maintained at current

levels for ve years.

The Treasurer has put the rural

employees of Ausgrid, EndeavourEnergy and Essential Energy on notice,

Shadow Energy Minister Ron Hoenig said.

By rejecting this amendment the Treasurer has

opened the door to hundreds or perhaps thousands

of job losses across rural and regional NSW.

Faced with a clear choice to give certainty, these

now vulnerable employees deserve to know the

Government voted down an amendment to protect

their jobs.

This uncertainty is going to loom large over theemployees, their families and the communities they call

home. The Treasurer needs to guarantee that no jobs

will be targeted and that no jobs will be lost on the back

of these changes.

More hospital beds close

Shadow Health Minister Dr Andrew McDonald said this

decision will hurt the local community and conrms

that the Health Minister is putting cost-cutting ahead of

patient care.

We know that the OFarrell Government is cutting an

unprecedented $3 billion from the public health system

and sacking 3800 health and hospital workers.

This decision will only hurt the local community by

further reducing the services available at Bathurst

Hospital.

The Health Minister cant claim hospital patients have

never had it so good when she is cutting millions and

closing beds from hospitals right across the State.

I fear we will see longer waiting times and delays to

surgery, unclean wards and patients left unattended

for hours on end because of the hospital budget cuts.The closure of the beds at Bathurst Hospital should be

reversed immediately, Dr McDonald said.

The Australian Workers Union believes that National

Parks play an important role in regional economies.

They are places where families can enjoy the great

Australian outdoors. They are also workplaces for the

NSW Parks and Wildlife Service.

People who work and visit our National Parks

should never be put at risk of being shot or injured.

Please support the AWUs campaign by visiting

www.aw.net.a/parks.

he Farrell government

has been caht cttin

more beds from or hospital

sstem this time closin

ve beds at Bathrst ospital.

he W government has decided to

allow nspervised hntin inside ational

Parks. he claim amater hnters will

help to control feral animals and pests.

pport the Wuscampain to stop hntinin W ational Parks

ie kell andtheu W ecretar teeBtler

in Coomatalingtoworersfromssential nerg

andnowdroabotthethreatofpriatisation.


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The Federal Labor overnment

provided almost $5 million to the

facility with contributions from Tweed

Shire Council, Tennis Australia and

the Tweed Netball Association.

High quality sports infrastructure

strengthens local communities. The

new Centre will be a big boost tothe region and will include a new

high performance tennis centre and

a regional netball facility, Anthony

Albanese said.

The combination of quality facilities

and proximity to old Coast

International Airport will make it an

excellent support and training facility

for the 2018 Commonwealth ames.

The project will deliver signicant

local economic benets, including

an estimated 60 jobs during

construction.

Better infrastructure for the region

will increase sports participation by

families, increase the involvement

of school students in these sportsand the capability of schools in the

region, Justine Elliot said.

It is estimated that on completion,

the Arkinstall Park Regional Sports

Centre will be used by more than

1,300 local sporting participants

from netball, tennis and soccer

associations every year.

ational plan forstralias food ftre

Constrction ofrkinstallPark ports Centre kicks off

inister for eional Development and Local government, nthon lbanese

and ichmond P, Jstine lliot trned the rst sod on the rkinstall Park

eional ports Centre, which will cater for the reions sportin reqirements

for the next ten ears.

Federal inisterforgricltre, Fisheries

and Forestr, JoeLdwig(centre)

lanchingtheational Food Plan.

Justine lliot andnthonylbaneseturning the rstsod onanew regional

sports centreforweedeads.

With the release of the ational Food Plan, stralias food bsinesses

and consmers have a road map for the ftre.

Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries

and Forestry, Joe Ludwig,

launched the Plan and announced

new initiatives to create newopportunities for the future of

our food from paddock to plate.

Australia produces more than

twice the food we consume and

we need to remain focused on

nding new markets for our high

quality exports.

Our food supply chain has a

strong foundation, with high levels

of food security and hard workingproducers. Like others around

the world, there are challenges

including climate change,

population growth, diet-related

health issues, and competition

for resources. There are alsoenormous opportunities, including

the rise of Asia.

The National Food Plan is

underpinned by the four key

themes of growing exports,

a thriving industry, people

and sustainability.

For more information on the

National Food Plan, visit

www.daff.ov.a/

nationalfoodplan.


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may 2013 country labor dialogue

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