Andrew Gee
Calare · Independent · Australia
“She also plans to engage medical, nursing and allied health students, giving them a unique opportunity to assist local patients while gaining invaluable 'community credits' for their participation. This initiative proves once again that the spirit of community care is alive and well in Bathurst.”
“There just aren't as many providers in country areas, and participants and providers often have to travel long distances in order to meet and get those services delivered—and to help country Australians on the ground. So I will be supporting these amendments. I think they are very important for the modern Australia that we live in.”
“I wish to support the amendments moved by the member for Fowler. They are important amendments not only for the member for Fowler's electorate but for all electorates across this country.”
“I rise today to celebrate a wonderful new community initiative in the Central West, the official launch of the Friends of Bathurst Hospital. Hospitals can be daunting, confusing and stressful places for anyone to navigate.”
“I want to say a big thank you to outgoing Rotary Club of Bathurst Daybreak president, Craig Ronan, for his leadership over the past 12 months and offer my congratulations to incoming president Erik Mol.”
“Volunteer coordinator Sylvia Gore so beautifully put it: Our health service and its staff do such important work caring for our community every single day, and the Friends of Bathurst Hospital is an opportunity for people to support that work but also help look after one another too.”
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“There are changes also affecting the way that a lot of young people invest through crypto and exchange traded funds and microinvesting apps. All of these hit young people in significant measure, and these are the very people the government says that it is trying to help through its tax changes. Well, put them to the people. What could be more simple than that? Don't try to hide it as you run into an election and then hit everyone with it afterwards. This is a huge issue for people of all ages—not just young people, not just older people but all Australians. There is real anger out there, including amongst the business community. They're very worried they're going to be hit with this new capital gains tax.”
“These are vulnerable people in our community who are now going to have to choose between buying groceries and keeping their health cover. If seniors are forced to drop their private health cover, it will have a massive impact on our hospital system, which is already overstretched. Let's talk about the capital gains tax and changes to trusts and negative gearing. If government wanted to bring in changes to the tax system, it should have had the courage of its convictions and put it to the Australian people at a general election. It chose not to do that, and it's why people lose faith and trust in politics and government institutions and political parties—because governments aren't upfront and honest with them.”
“Coming right after the steep 4.41 per cent average premium hike on 1 April, the government has now quietly axed the extra age based rebate for seniors. Starting from April 2027, the enhanced rebate for over 65 will be slashed to a flat 24 per cent, treating retirees on fixed pensions the same as younger earners and directly hitting over three million older Australians. It will be a real kick for our fixed income seniors. While the government hides behind averages, a 4.41 per cent premium rise adds roughly $167 a year for individuals and $330 a year for families on gold cover, with some major funds hiking prices by up to six per cent. For our regional seniors who need comprehensive care, the data shows that gold policies often jump by 11 per cent to 12 per cent when insurers restructure.”
“In 2019, I secured $10 million to kickstart the new conservatorium, and there is nothing worse than seeing hard-won funding frittered away through mismanagement and defective work. We cannot have a repeat of the debacle that is the Orange Regional Sporting Precinct. I believe an independent inquiry is needed to get to the bottom of what's gone on there. I won't go into detail in this contribution, but I may well do so in a further contribution to this House. What is happening at the Orange Regional Sporting Precinct is not acceptable, and there needs to be some transparency and accountability with what's going on out at this Bloomfield project. When it comes to changes to private health premiums, this budget hits older Australians and regional families.”
“Our veterans have put their lives and their welfare on the line for us, and that has been ignored and overlooked. It has to be the highest priority for our country and also our region. I ask the Minister for Veterans' Affairs to have a look at what's happened with the funding for the veterans' and families' wellbeing hubs and to get some more funding going. They're not asking for much, but it needs to start. In the federal budget, $6 million was allocated towards the construction of the Orange Planetarium and Conservatorium, including teaching spaces. While this is a positive outcome, it also comes with a warning: it is my hope that council uses this funding in a productive, open and transparent manner.”
“I have a lot of respect for the Minister for Veterans' Affairs. He's been out to Bathurst and met with members of the Bathurst RSL sub-branch, so he knows the issues. He knows how much this means to our local veterans. The Bathurst RSL sub-branch is also willing to co-fund part of this veterans and families wellbeing centre—they're going to pay for some of it—but we just don't seem to be able to shake any money out of the federal government. I would like to meet with the Minister for Veterans' Affairs about it, and I would like him to meet with our local veterans, again, to explain to them what's going on with the funding here, because there can be no argument that our local veterans need this funding to support the growing cohort of veterans in our region. There's hardly any support for them west of the Great Dividing Range.”
“The New South Wales white paper on the Great Western Highway was a joke. There was nothing in there; it was empty. There are no ideas, no funding commitments—nothing. They knew that this convict bridge was going to fail, but they kicked the can down the road, chose to spend the money elsewhere and just thought, 'We'll monitor it until it fails.' Well, it's failed. They knew it was going to happen—total and utter negligence. I was also very disappointed that the budget didn't deliver funding for any new veterans and families wellbeing centres. Working with our local veterans, we have submitted a proposal for stage 1 of a Central West veterans and families centre at Bathurst. There was no funding in the budget for it at all. Has our country not learned the tragic lessons from the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide?”
“This was a glaring oversight in the federal budget. And it's very galling for our communities to think that, just over the eastern side of the sandstone curtain, they can open gleaming new expressways to the new Sydney airport. We can open multibillion dollar expressways up the North Coast and down the South Coast. But, when it comes to the western side of the Great Dividing Range or the sandstone curtain, they expect us to make do with a patch-up job of a bridge built by a convict chain gang in 1832. It is completely and utterly unacceptable. We are being treated as second-class citizens. No wonder there is such anger and resentment in regional communities at the moment, when we are being treated like this. There was no plan or funding in the budget for further high-speed access in and out of the Central West. There's no plan.”
“I'm just very worried that I'm not even going to have a job in a week.' We've got business owners selling homes because of this closure. I think that if this were happening in a city seat, they'd be moving heaven and earth to help. But because it's out in the country, just 65 kays over the other side of the sandstone curtain, we're being ignored. The business support package that the NSW government has put on offer does not even cover Lithgow. Lithgow businesses are going broke as well. Local residents aren't able to patronise their own businesses because they're too hard to get to; it's just gridlock. There are over 12,000 extra vehicle movements a day in Lithgow at the moment. It's hell. I don't think the state and federal governments are doing enough. It's plain and simple: they're not doing enough.”
“About a week ago we had the announcement of a NSW government support package, which amounted to a one-off $10,000 payment for businesses only in the reasonably small Hartley area. Quite frankly, that announcement has been met with extreme disappointment right across the region, particularly in the areas most affected by this unbelievably negligent closure that is the fault of governments who have kicked this can down the road for many, many years. When I spoke to business owners about it last week, they said $10,000 wouldn't even cover the wages bill for a week—or, in one case, a fuel bill. I was at one local business and, while I was waiting for the business owner to come, the employee said: 'You know what?”
“I would like to add some observations on a few different aspects of this budget that have great relevance and are also of great concern to the communities of central western New South Wales and Calare. Firstly, I was bitterly disappointed that there was nothing in the budget to help our businesses being smashed to pieces by the indefinite closure of the Great Western Highway. In question time, the Prime Minister has already conceded that the failure of the convict bridge at Victoria Pass was the fault of successive governments—that all governments have to share in the blame for this debacle. So, that being the case, it's the responsibility of his government to put down some serious money to help our businesses going broke because of government negligence.”
“The state and federal governments are going to be hearing a lot more from our communities because the sandstone curtain will not stop our voices. We will not be quiet. We will not be bought off with token gestures. We demand meaningful financial support to all areas affected, and ultimately the delivery of the genuine high-speed access in and out of the Central West that we deserve. Get on with it, federal government. Do your jobs and deliver it.”
“Worse still, the package deliberately excludes businesses in Lithgow and further west. And why? The answer is simple: to save money. This closure has disrupted the entire western New South Wales supply chain, sending freight costs through the roof. Yet those businesses get zero support. It also completely ignores our larger employers, whose staff are now at immediate risk of being laid off because of this debacle. To add insult to injury, the support offered to our local councils is equally pathetic. This package is an insult to the hardworking residents suffering through this government-made disaster. Our business owners are literally selling their homes to get through it. It's an outrage caused by governments.”
“It wouldn't even cover the fuel bill, let alone the overheads we are racking up just trying to keep the doors open. It's absolutely disappointing. Ange Richardson, the manager of Hartley House Cafe, who employs up to eight workers, put it even more bluntly: It's not really a support package. I'm not sure how ten thousand dollars is really going to help us at all. We needed it weeks ago and it needs to be ongoing. We'll have to keep scrimping to survive. It's a joke. This package is totally and utterly inadequate. It highlights a government completely out of touch with what's happening on the western side of the sandstone curtain. Governments are supposed to serve the people they represent, not wreck their businesses and insult them with pathetic token gestures while families struggle to put food on the table.”
“But instead of fixing it, Macquarie Street chose to monitor the decay while prioritising billion-dollar vanity projects in Sydney, including $2 billion for a new expressway to the airport. Our local economies are being smashed by their neglect, yet all they can offer is a paltry $10,000 grant. That doesn't even cover businesses in Lithgow or further west. To a small family business in Little Hartley, 10 grand is only a drop in the ocean for what they really need. I've been out on the ground with locals who are living this nightmare every single day, and I can tell you that the pain is real. I spoke with Shannon Kus, local father and owner of Erins Quality Outdoor Power Centre. He rightly pointed out: Ten thousand dollars wouldn't even cover a week's wages for a lot of businesses.”
“I rise today to give voice to the deep anger, frustration and sense of betrayal gripping the communities of the Central West. The business support package recently announced by the New South Wales government for those impacted by the indefinite closure of the Great Western Highway at Victoria Pass is an absolute disgrace. If governments believe they can drop some small change on our area, wash their hands of it—and us—and walk away, they had better think again. Cheap talk and token gestures don't cut it when livelihoods are on the line. This crisis was not an act of God; it was caused by the outright negligence of successive governments. They well knew that a bridge built by a convict chain gang in 1832 would fail.”
“I support the NDIS, but reform needs to be properly thought through and properly planned. I urge the government to listen to those most affected and act on their concerns. Don't let genuine NDIS participants fall through the cracks of reform.”
“Nicole says: … I am deeply concerned about the practical implementation risks associated with the current reform and procurement environment, particularly if experienced private paediatric providers are excluded or significantly reduced within the broader ecosystem supports. … … … … many children over the age of 9 may also lose access to continuity of care and broader therapeutic supports. These concerns are very real. Reform can't be at the expense of our constituents and our community members who genuinely rely on this scheme and are gaining life-changing benefit from it. It can't be at the expense of those who are doing the right thing. There needs to be genuine consultation, and the government needs to listen to those whose lives they are affecting.”
“Children may lose long-standing therapeutic relationships with clinicians who understand their communication styles, sensory needs, behavioural presentation, developmental history and family context. Families who have spent years navigating fragmented systems may once again find themselves without clear pathways to support. In regional communities, the impacts may be even more pronounced. There are already significant workforce shortages across allied health, disability and paediatric services. Smaller regional providers often operate with narrow financial margins while carrying substantial travel, workforce and operational costs. Procurement models that favour large-scale metropolitan structures or unrealistic delivery expectations risk unintentionally destabilising the very providers currently holding regional service systems together.”
“… With NDIS supports, I have been able to start attending board game groups to meet new people and access therapies that have greatly improved my quality of life. I have learned more about my disabilities and been able to start engaging with the disabled community. I have no friends and no healthy family supports, so my only supports are NDIS-funded—my therapists and support workers. Without NDIS, I would have no support. … The current proposed NDIS cuts would impact me significantly, reducing my quality of life and negatively impacting my mental health. Nicole, who is the director of Health Works NSW, which is a longstanding regional allied health organisation, has said of these proposed changes: The greatest impact will ultimately fall on children and families.”
“But they have also made something remarkable possible: I have been able to re-enter the paid workforce and contribute through volunteering. She says: The proposed changes … risk causing serious, even irreversible harm, particularly in regional/rural areas such as ours. I am fortunate— she says— to have the capacity to advocate for myself, but I think constantly of those who cannot: people with cognitive disabilities, people … in supported accommodation, and people without family or friends to fight for them. For these Australians, the withdrawal of NDIS support is not an inconvenience, it is a threat to their safety, their health, and in some cases their lives. Kathryn says: I am a young adult Autistic NDIS participant with high support needs.”
“The new changes will only make my situation, and thousands more, more dire. I am pleading that you advocate for: I am afraid for my future and afraid for the vulnerable people like me. Cheryl lives in Kelso and she says: I am writing to you as one of your constituents and as a person living with disability, to express my deep concern about the proposed changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme. She says: I rely on my NDIS supports for the most fundamental aspects of daily life: personal care routines, eating meals safely, moving around my home, mobilising in the community, going shopping, and attending medical and other appointments. These are not luxuries. They are the supports that allow me to exist with dignity and safety in the way that you and other Australians do.”
“They do not see that the following night, I am at risk of falling onto the hot stovetop while preparing food as my body can not properly circulate blood. They do not see that I have had to quit mainstream school despite my exceptional academic performance because the mere environment induced violent seizures and extreme fatigue where I could not even lift my head without excruciating pain. She goes on to write: If access to NDIS support is restricted, people like me who suffer from poorly understood but very real dynamic disabilities will be failed. We will not be able to manage daily life, let alone participate in the community, build capacity, and advocate for ourselves. I am already financially struggling with the NDIS chunk funding. I can not afford the support work that I need.”
“ME/CFS, as well as many other conditions, are dynamic disabilities. This means that while a disabled person can seem functional and capable one day, they can be severely impaired and unable to complete basic tasks the next day. What do you think would happen if an assessor deemed someone with a dynamic disability "functional" one week, and the next, they aren't able to use the bathroom on their own? That cycle may repeat for years, if not decades, and they will be denied help. Victoria goes on to state: A standardised assessor may see that and tell me that I am functional and do not need NDIS funding. But what they fail to see is that the next day, I am in so much physical pain that I can not move, breathe, or swallow.”
“Victoria writes: I am a sixteen year old, wheelchair bound constituent writing to express my concern about the proposed NDIS reform, specifically the shift toward strict functional impairment assessments and away from flexibility and personalisation. In 2020, I developed Myalgic Encephalomyelitis after contracting Covid-19. I live with many other multiple, complex and debilitating conditions, including but not limited to Functional Neurological Disorder, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, fibromyalgia, and Autism Spectrum Disorder. To say that I live in a constant state of pain would be an understatement. The NDIS has saved my life. The funding that I receive is how I am able to get out of bed and do something meaningful with my life. The proposed changes to the NDIS risk that.”
“Under one of the changes 'using capacity not diagnosis to determine support' will be disastrous for someone like me because the NDIS considers me independent and able to function. This is not the case because what you and everyone sees outside my house is me putting a face on, because you know what disability is hard … what your capacity will be like day to day is hard enough to deal with, without having to prove that life sucks. I would honestly give back the membership card if it meant being accepted in society as not the bad guy, or having to prove every single day that I have a disability. This is not hypothetical. This is my reality. I ask that you take that into account when considering these changes, and that you bring the lived experience of people with disability into the centre of these decisions.”
“They deserve to be heard, and they don't feel that they are being sufficiently listened to at the moment. I want to take some time to give voice to my constituents who've raised these concerns. Skye is a constituent in the Calare electorate, and I have known her for many years. She has written to me and said: I live with Spina Bifida and a lower limb amputation. These are lifelong conditions that already require ongoing management, adaptation, and support to maintain my independence and safety. Skye says: I understand the need for the NDIS to be sustainable. But sustainability cannot be achieved by reducing support for the people who rely on it to function. Because when support is reduced: Right now, I am already experiencing what it looks like when capacity is reduced and support becomes critical.”
“The NDIS has been a game changer for constituents of our Calare electorate and communities around Australia. It needs to be supported and it needs to be sustainable. Everyone wants the rorters and the wrongdoers identified, weeded out and dealt with. In fact, I am concerned that there is not enough focus on that in the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026. This is taxpayer funding we're talking about, and every dollar that is dishonestly taken by the unscrupulous is a dollar that doesn't go to those in need and that undermines public confidence and faith in the whole scheme. The proposed changes have, however, raised serious concerns amongst many local participants. These are great local community members.”
“As a testament to Councillor Ruddy's unwavering, selfless service and many achievements, she was voted "Community Hero of the Year", an award recognised by hundreds of locals in the Central West. Councillor Marea Ruddy remains an exceptional role model for the next generation of young leaders in Orange and an influential community figure within the Central West. I look forward to her future contributions to the City of Orange. Those are the words and observations of Milo. It's inspiring to see our local community through the eyes of a passionate year 12 student. It gives me great confidence in the future of our region. Thank you for that tribute, Milo. Thank you, Councillor Ruddy, and thank you to Regional Development Australia Central West for investing in the next generation of regional leaders just like Milo.”
“Last June, Cr Ruddy pioneered Orange's vital "She Matters" mural, which highlights the countless tragedies of domestic violence within Australia. In raising crucial awareness of this unfortunately prevalent issue within our communities, Cr Ruddy hosted several events, campaigning against domestic violence, including her "Am I Next?" initiative, and helped stage a powerful 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence, two years in a row. It's such ardent persistence in serving the people of Orange honestly, and transparently, that proves Cr Ruddy's dedication to representing and supporting the perspectives of locals, undoubtedly making Orange a better and more inclusive place for all.”
“Undeniably, the incredible contributions of recently elected Councillor Marea Ruddy have actively created meaningful change and bettered the lives of those who call Orange home. Councillor Ruddy, as a mother, community-orientated leader, founder of Access Life Support Services and a public volunteer, has always strived to benefit the Orange community. This includes initiatives in gender equality, affordable housing, enhancing community safety, liveability, sustainability, inclusivity, and improved infrastructure. Last year, Cr Ruddy created previously non-existent menstrual equity initiatives, was instrumental in ensuring the success of Rainbow Fest and continues to advocate for the installation of much-needed indoor play spaces for infants.”
“I rise today to share some words from the next generation of leaders in the Central West. Last year, as part of Regional Development Australia's Central West TEN4TEN Leadership Dialogue, I had the privilege of mentoring Milo Majes, an outstanding young man from Kinross Wolaroi School in Orange. As part of his leadership journey, I gave Milo a challenge: to write a parliamentary speech about any local figure or organisation he believed was worthy of honouring. It's more important than ever that we listen to our young people. I promised Milo that I would deliver his written tribute, ensuring his words were formally recorded in the Hansard of our parliament. The following are the words of Milo: I address you today in commendation of the unsung efforts of an outstanding Orange City councillor.”
“My question is to the Prime Minister. ACEREZ, EnergyCo and the New South Wales government have just completely obliterated a Wiradjuri cultural site as they put in transmission lines for the Central West-Orana Renewable Energy Zone. It's a disgrace and an outrage. When I previously raised issues of grievous environmental destruction with the federal minister for the environment and water, investigations did not result in any action being taken. This could have been prevented. What's it going to take to bring these vandals to heel, and where is the accountability here?”
“How many families need to be unable to put food on the table? Tell us how many it will take. What is so wrong with political parties and governments today that you can't even help the very people whose lives and livelihoods you're wrecking through your negligence? If this debacle were unfolding in one of your precious city seats, the state and federal governments would have support in place in a heartbeat. Your cruel indifference and inaction damns you, and we have had enough.”
“Our local businesses are going broke because of the indefinite closure of the Great Western Highway at Victoria Pass. There was not one dollar of support for them in the budget. This is as appalling and heartless as it is disgraceful. Successive governments always knew that this 200-year-old bridge built by convicts was going to fail, but they did nothing about it except watch it crumble and continually kick the can down the road to save money. It seems that, for some people in power, this is just a political game that's out of sight and out of mind. But the livelihoods of our business owners and their families is not a game. What's it going to take? How many businesses need to bleed out and die before governments take action? How many lives need to be destroyed? How many people need to be out of work?”
“My question is to the Prime Minister. The Great Western Highway at Victoria Pass has now been closed for two months. Our businesses are desperate. They're going broke because of the negligence of successive governments. It's a debacle, and the response by state and federal governments has not been good enough. You announced plans for a tunnel under Victoria Pass in 2010. Will you now put some serious money down for a business support package and also high-speed road access to the Central West?”
“My question is to the Prime Minister. The Great Western Highway is closed indefinitely, and two days ago a car accident on Chifley Road shut down all access in and out of the Central West. Ian Fitzgerald, who operates ICF Haulage, has 14 permanent employees. He's about to start laying them off because this closure is sending the business broke. Last week in question time you said: The truth is that all governments, state and federal … should have done something about this … It's true. So will your government now lead on delivering a support package for our local businesses being smashed up by this closure?”
“It's time for the government to actually have our backs and invest in a 21st-century solution we all deserve. We've had a gutful of the empty words and the empty promises. Action is needed, and I call on this government to step up and lead.”
“Where was the National Party then? The tunnel was then totally killed off by the Minns government. And then you had the current federal government making off with $2 billion in federal funding that had been committed to the highway. It was an epic funding snatch and grab, so there is plenty of blame to go around. In question time last week, the Prime Minister said: The truth is that all governments, state and federal, probably should have done something about this … He's right. The Prime Minister is right—they should have. But, with state and federal government failures having caused this, those governments now need to proactively get in there and help with a support package and a longer term solution. I'm sorry, but you cannot keep kicking this can down the road any longer, because the road can't handle it anymore.”
“When the Prime Minister was the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, in 2010 he put out a press release which said that a corridor for sections—including 'a tunnel as part of a bypass of the township of Mount Victoria and Victoria Pass'—'will be preserved so work on them could proceed when additional funding becomes available'. Here's the release. That's what he said. He was talking about a tunnel in 2010 and saying that a corridor had been preserved for one. Plans and announcements have been going on for decades. The National Party turned the first sod on the Bells Line of Road expressway in 2007. It never happened. Then we had the tunnel, which the Perrottet government refused to commit any funding for and which, in June 2022, they effectively mothballed and walked away from because they said it wasn't a priority.”
“They need certainty—not forever roadworks. They need real financial support, and they need it now. I'm calling on the government to stop treating the people of the Central West like second-class citizens and deliver on these two demands. One, we need an immediate business support package that will provide direct financial relief for the local families and business owners who are being smashed by this highway closure. Governments created this disaster and they now have to step in and clean it up and fix it. Two, we need the federal government to commit significant and substantial funding in the upcoming budget for improved access between the Central West and Sydney. Surely it's not too much to ask. The government know what the issues are. They really do.”
“If our farmers can't sow because of fuel shortages and our businesses can't move goods because of a crumbling antique bridge then the whole nation will suffer. We need direct financial relief—emergency assistance for those businesses smashed by the highway closure. This is not a handout. It's a survival kit for a crisis that government neglect has created. We are done with the white papers and the planning studies. We need a genuine commitment in the upcoming budget for a long-term solution that doesn't depend on convict engineering from 1832. This must be designated a national infrastructure priority as a matter of urgency. You cannot fix a major artery with a bandaid. You need a permanent high-speed connection to Sydney. The most terrifying word for our business owners right now is 'indefinite'.”
“But what really gets us, what really infuriates us, is that we see billions being poured into gold-plated tunnels under Sydney and world-class expressways to the north and south coasts. Yet our region is treated as an afterthought. We've just seen $2 billion dropped on the expressway to the new Sydney airport. We see announcements about high-speed rail to the Hunter, which will cost about $93 billion. But all we get out west is cheap words and small change and a patched-up convict bridge built in 1832. It is disgusting. The people of our region are disgusted. Words cannot convey the depth of anger and disgust that our residents feel over this issue. We produce the food that feeds the cities and we do the mining that underpins the economy.”
“This is what he has told me: To send our trucks around through Lithgow, Chifley Road and the Darling Causeway adds around two hours per trip. Add to this the current fuel price, and we are going broke. We will be laying off staff within the next week or so unless we can get some sort of support. For transport operators, including Ian and others like Ken Muldoon from Mully's Transport, it's twice the cost for twice the time for half the profit. That's what they have told me. The pain is being felt across many sectors, from hospitality and tourism providers to retail and transport. For the Central West, Easter and the autumn period is peak season for tourism. You don't get these months back. Once a small business closes its doors, it often stays closed.”
“We now have an extra 12,000 vehicles a day being forced onto a detour that was never designed for this volume. Our local roads are being pounded into the dust. Little Hartley, which used to be a bustling tourism and trade corridor, is now a ghost town. I've stood on the ground with local business owners—people like Margaret and Alan Jackson from Maple Springs Nursery. They've had their income cut to one-tenth of what it was. Shannon Kus, a father of six and owner of Erin's Quality Outdoor Power Centre, has a 20-minute commute which has blown out to 70 minutes. His customer numbers are at zero and he has warned that, without government assistance, his business—his family's livelihood—will fold. Ian Fitzgerald operates ICF Haulage, running trucks from Hartley to Sydney multiple times a day. He employs 14 permanent staff members.”
“The people of the Central West are done playing the fool for governments that have been neglecting our region for decades. Our region isn't facing just one disaster and emergency. We are being choked by a dual failure of infrastructure and essential fuel supply. I speak of the indefinite closure of the Great Western Highway because a bridge built by a convict chain gang in 1832 has, unsurprisingly, failed. You cannot make this up. The urgency of this matter was clearly brought home only two days ago when a single-vehicle crash on Chifley Road proved how precarious our situation is. When one vehicle can shut down the only remaining route between the Central West and Sydney, the system hasn't just failed; it has collapsed. There was no access in and out of the Central West at all.”
“I move: That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Member from Calare moving the following motion—That this House: (1) notes that: (a) all the major parties have let the residents and communities of Central Western New South Wales down with broken promises, empty announcements and funding cuts with respect to the Bells Line of Road and Great Western Highway; (b) the people of the Central West see expressways and tunnels being built all over Sydney, the north coast and south coast, yet are told to make do with a bridge built by a convict chain gang in 1832 as their main access road in and out of Sydney; and (c) the indefinite closure of the Great Western Highway demonstrates that the people of the Central West are being short-changed and ripped off when it comes to the funding of a decent access road to Sydney; and (2) calls on: (a) the Australian and New South Wales governments to introduce a support package for businesses in the Central West being devastated by the indefinite closure of the Great Western Highway; and (b) the Australian Government to commit significant and substantial funding in the upcoming budget for improved road access between the Central West and Sydney Today is April Fools' Day, and the current state of the Great Western Highway is an appalling joke.”
“The price gouging continues, and we all know it is. The bill that we are discussing today is a step in the right direction, but it can't be the end of the story or the last word. In this fuel crisis, profit is being put ahead of people, the very people who work in our hospitals, teach our children or put food on supermarket shelves and tables. I would urge the government to support my Fair Fuel Price Bill and bring prices back to reality. (Time expired)”
“In regional areas, this often involves significant travel distances. He worries that their ability to carry out those vital services are heavily impacted by this fuel crisis, and he wants funeral services classed as an essential service. Those are just a few stories from the Central West of New South Wales, and that is why action is needed on the double. What the government has put forward is a start, but it simply does not go far enough. My Fair Fuel Price Bill 2026 provides a tangible and effective solution. It brings in price controls and allows the federal government to set prices on fuel, just as it did in the Second World War. Until we have the courage to step in and regulate these prices during this extraordinary period of war and disruption, the national interest will continue to be ignored in favour of fuel company margins.”
“Jules is absolutely correct. It is extremely concerning. Liz Hammond has written to me. She lives in the Cargo area between Orange and Canowindra. She says: As someone who lives out of town and has a child attending school, reliable access to diesel is not a convenience but a necessity. Daily travel for school drop-offs, work, and essential errands depends on being able to obtain fuel when needed. The current situation is making this increasingly difficult and stressful, particularly when supply becomes uncertain. Tom Brownjohn from Godfrey Smith Funerals writes in basically on behalf of the funeral industry and says: Our operations rely heavily on transport, particularly diesel-powered vehicles, to attend places of death, transfer the deceased into care, and conduct funeral services across multiple locations.”