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C o n n e C t i n g C o u n t ry C o m m u n i t i e s m ay 2 0 1 2

NSW Labor has just launched the Chifley Forum. As a country member you can join for just $100.

Join the Chifley Forum as a country member

message from the Country organiser

recently, the Coalition and the greens teamed up to pass a law to ban donations from everyone other than individuals on the electoral roll. This means that unions and community organisations, who have traditionally supported Labor, are no longer able to participate in the political process. Under these laws, the Your Rights at Work campaign would be illegal unions cant pool funds and run political campaigns. We need your help. We need lots of small donations to counteract the Liberals and Nationals wealthy donor base. You can join the Chifley Forum as a Country Member for just $100 today and your donation will help us raise the $200,000 we need for our Fighting Fund. Thank you for all that you do.

The Chifley Forum offers you an opportunity to be part of the progressive community. By joining the Chifley Forum as a country member, you will be able to: Network with other progressive people in government, business and the community; enjoy exclusive access to an online live stream of two events including

the launch with Bob Hawke; and share comments online with other supporters across NsW. as part of your $100 membership you will also receive a welcome pack including a membership card and key ring and a regular newsletter. For more information phone amanda on (02) 9207 2000 or email chifleyforum@nswalp.com

Courtney roche
CoUNTRY oRgaNiseR

oFarrell government attacks farmers concerned about Csg

Planning Minister Brad Hazzard has launched an extraordinary attack on farmers across NSW claiming the Farmers Association is irrelevant because of their opposition to Coal Seam Gas and his strategic land use policy.
shadow Planning Minister, Linda Burney said. The Planning Minister can hardly criticise the people of regional NsW for highlighting a series of broken election promises in his strategic land use policy. The Planning Minister has shown no respect for his own consultation process with his attack on the farmers who disagree with his policy.
d not be allowed John robertson says Coal seam gas mining shoul tory framework is in place based on until a water-tight regula nce. independent scientific research and conclusive evide

Planning Minister Brad Hazzard has launched an extraordinary attack on farmers across NsW claiming the Farmers association is irrelevant because of their opposition to Coal seam gas and his strategic land use policy. Hazard told the aBC news that

farmers, should buy relevance and get back in the process instead of just sniping from the sidelines. Farmers have every right to be angry the strategic land use policy delivered by the oFarrell government couldnt be further from what they were promised by the Premier prior to the election,

The contribution of all stakeholders needs to be considered. NsW cannot have a senior oFarrell government Minister attacking one side of the equation just because he doesnt like what they have to say. Recently the National Party was forced to make a submission opposing its own government policy because it is such a resounding departure from its election commitments.

threat to DPi jobs in orange

speaking in orange, Labor shadow minister for Primary industries, steve Whan demanded the oFarrell government and nationals member andrew gee keep their promise to retain all jobs at the local Department of Primary industries office. on at least two occasions the NsW Primary industries Minister has refused to confirm that she and the oFarrell government will keep their promise, steve Whan said. During the election campaign, andrew gee was unequivocal there would be no jobs cuts at the DPi in orange under an oFarrell government. The question is why is he backing away from this promise now and calling on his own government to keep to this commitment? This is hardly the sign of a local member valued and respected by his coalition colleagues, steve Whan said.

Source: Central Western Daily 27.04.12

DeveLoPing eFFeCtive regionaL PoLiCy

oFarrell government silent on radioactive Pacific Highway site

serious questions need to be answered after suspected radioactive material was unearthed by the Pacific Highway, north of Port macquarie. Road workers were hospitalised after coming into contact with the material. The NsW Labor opposition revealed the tender documents for the Pacific Highway at Herons Creek included a requirement to remove contaminated waste from the site. Why did the oFarrell government fail to get it removed before it was unearthed by road workers? it is now clear why it took the Minister more than two weeks to come clean about the incident and announce an investigation he didnt want anyone to find out that the oFarrell government knew about the contaminated waste all along, John Robertson said. Roads Minister Duncan gay knows a whole lot more about this issue than he is letting on.

steve Whan writes

i had the pleasure of spending a couple of days recently at the sustaining rural Communities conference in narrabri. The key questions we need to think about are what are we trying to achieve? Are we trying for the grand vision, overcoming the imbalance of population that sees our coastal areas overwhelmed with a difficult infrastructure task? Or are we just trying to ensure our small country towns are still there and that there is someone there to produce our food and minerals in a few years time? Its really only the Whitlam Government that has gone anywhere even close to the first, with regional growth centres and the Department of Urban and Regional Development. Personally I admire that sort of vision, but Im not confident that we will see anything like that in the next decade. How much should governments intervene? Obviously there are limits. We wont see good results if we encourage a culture of blaming government for perceived problems and expecting government to fix it. A community that sits angrily waiting for the government to fix their problem will probably end up disappearing. What works are communities who come up with and drive their own solutions, they

leverage whatever government assistance and advice is available and they usually have great feedback on how to improve the delivery of government services. NSW Labor made a start on that with the Building the Country program a few years ago but I accept that it needed to be developed further. Our Labor colleagues in the Bracks and Brumby Governments did it in a much more comprehensive way with their blueprint policy for regional Victoria. The OFarrell Government has, so far, gone nowhere near the ideal with a series of one-liners like the decade of decentralisation that have no cohesive policy detail. Our challenge is to make regional policy something that is properly thought through and produces long-term results. this is a condensed version of steves blog. to read the full version visit www.countrylabor.com.au.

G u l G o N G

l A B o r

P A r t y

louisa lawson was the driving force behind the suffragette movement in Australia.
louisa established The Dawn, a journal to wind out audibly the whispers, pleadings and demands of the sisterhood. It advised on womens issues, including divorce, the age of consent, and womens right to vote. louisa was also Henry lawsons mother.

saturday 28 July 2012 6pm for 6.30 start

GulGonG opera House Mayne street, GulGonG
guest speaker Ged Kearney, President ACTU Louisa Lawson introduCtion Chris Cooke Henry Lawson Society, Gulgong tiCkets $65 waged. $60 concession Includes 3 course meal (BYO) Tickets are limited to 100 Book early to avoid disappointment rsVp: No later than 15 June 2012 to Margaret on (02) 6374 1615 or Alex on 0428 330 338 or by email to countrylaborgulgong@gmail.com
in louisa lawsonrk hut, Gulgong. front of her ba

Please make out cheques to Gulgong Labor Party and send to Gulgong Labor Party, PO Box 240, Gulgong NSW 2852. To pay direct via Net Banking phone above numbers to request Bank details.

Payment

Ged Kearney

visit www.gulgong.net.au or www.visitmudgeeregion.com.au

aCCommodation

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