Cessnock Advertiser

Tuesday, 10 May 2011

Last Thursday I officially opened multiple projects, which were funded through the Labor Government’s Economic Stimulus Plan.

The Government provided $40,000 to upgrade facilities at Bluey Frame Park and Weston Memorial Park, $138,000 for the construction of Disabled Access Facilities at bus stops in Cessnock, $88,000 to upgrade the Tourism Signage System and $123,000 for construction of a playground at Slack’s Park in Wollombi – as part of our investment to support jobs in the local economy, and deliver long-lasting benefits to the local community.  Many more projects were funded in earlier rounds of the scheme.

This funding was delivered to Cessnock City Council from the $1.1 billion Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program – a key part of our Economic Stimulus Plan and the largest one-off investment in local infrastructure in Australia’s history.

Congratulations to Cessnock City Council and the local community for getting behind these important projects. Thanks also to Councillors Main, McCudden and Hawkins for coming along to help us celebrate the completion of the projects. 

I mentioned one of the projects we visited last week was the upgrade of Bluey Frame Park and it seems an appropriate time to remind readers who Bluey was.  Edward John “Bluey” Frame was a volunteer fireman for the Weston volunteer Fire Brigade from 1913 to 1965. In 1942 he was appointed captain and engine keeper, a position he held until his retirement.  Another great Australian!

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I recently spent two weeks in Africa leading a delegation of Members and Senators from the Parliament's Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee.

From Western Australia, Africa is no further from our Continent as our key Asian partners and a continent full of both challenges and opportunities. In South Africa, Zimbabwe, Ghana and Ethiopia we saw nature's beauty, pockets of wealth and of course, shocking poverty. We met with Ministers, Ambassadors, aid organisations, Australian companies and of course, Australians devoting parts if not all of their lives to assisting those less fortunate.

The Delegation's findings will inform the Australian Government's efforts to strengthen Australia's relationship with African nations. It's an effort based in both benevolence and opportunity - making sure our aid and other efforts are well placed and effective and that Australia is well placed to enjoy trade opportunities in what will hopefully be a more stable, peaceful and prosperous Africa in future years.

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National Volunteer Week (NVW) is the largest celebration of volunteers and volunteerism in Australia, and provides an opportunity to highlight the role of volunteers in our communities and to say thank you to the more than 5 million Australians who volunteer.

Australian volunteers are essential to society, and many charities would struggle to survive without the support of their volunteers. Australian volunteers contribute more than 700 million hours of community service to so many areas of society, including community health care, heritage and arts, environment conservation, emergency services, education, social justice and sports. NVW provides a platform to pay tribute to these volunteers who donate their time and energy to help others.

The NVW website will provide you with all the information you need to celebrate NVW whether you are a volunteer, volunteer organisation, or a corporate organisation seeking ways to help recognise and thank employees who are also volunteers.

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