School Maintenance Allocations

I recently enjoyed the opportunity to visit and speak with residents in the Federal village. This time was valuable in being available to meet with constituents who might not otherwise contact me. I plan to visit the village again in the near future and should any resident wish to be advised of this date, please do not hesitate to contact my office on 6621 3624.

School Maintenance Allocations

A total of $795,896 will be spent on school maintenance in the Electorate under the current round of funding as follows:

Albert Park
Barkers Vale
Bexhill
Bonalbo

Casino High
Casino
Grevillia
Kadina
Kyogle High

Kyogle
Lismore High


Lismore South
Lismore
Nimbin Central
Richmond River High
Woodenbong Central
Wyrallah Road

Telephone system replacement
Telephone system replacement
Toilet upgrade
Telephone system replacement, Floor coverings replacement, roofing replacement works
School Security - additional security fencing
Roofing replacement
Toilet upgrade
Painting
Floor coverings replacement, painting and roofing replacement
Floor coverings replacement and toilet upgrade
Floor coverings replacement, joint funding covered outdoor learning area, security improvements and telephone system replacement
Security alarm
Floor coverings and telephone system replacements
Telephone system and tractor replacement
Roofing replacement works
Floor coverings replacement and painting
Floor covering and roofing replacement works

$5,000
5,000
50,000
30,000

10,000
50,000
35,000
100,000
170,000

13,000
121,896


40,000
55,000
23,000
25,000
28,000
35,000

Congratulations to those schools that have been successful in gaining this funding.

Doctor Vacancies

I received a copy of the latest Rural Doctors Network vacancy booklet recently that lists advertisements for doctors in various towns. In the Electorate I found no less than 5 advertisements seeking doctors to join a practice at the following towns: Casino, Lismore, and Nimbin. I would welcome any inquiry from any doctor interested and would be pleased to meet anyone at Parliament House in Sydney or elsewhere. Any interested doctors can consult the Internet at www.nswrdn.com.au for full particulars.

Home Owners Warranty Insurance

For builders with problems with this type of insurance, I have become aware of a third player in this field called Reward Insurance. This will be another alternative in the market and Reward Insurance is a Melbourne based company. I have contact details available and I encourage any builder with problems in this regard, to contact my office.

Mental Health Inquiry

The Legislative Council Select Committee on Mental Health is calling for submissions on mental health services in NSW. Written submissions must be received by 4 April 2002 with terms of reference and further particulars available upon request.

Public Liability Insurance

Official data, available since last year, foreshadowed the looming crisis in public liability insurance costs and coverage. Claims have leapt from 58,000 to 88,000 in the last two years, while premium revenues of around $880 million have fallen short of pay outs of around $1.2 billion. The result has been the closure or downsizing of businesses, and threats to community events that have been part of our Australian culture. I welcome the Commonwealth announcement that it will facilitate a meeting of State and Territory governments to find some solutions, and establish some cross-jurisdictional consistency, however, this is a State issue. We are all looking to the Premier, on behalf of NSW, to put some clear proposals to the meeting, which should aim to ensure that any public liability insurance scheme should be fair and affordable, should properly look after genuinely injured people, should include proper incentives for those who reduce risks, and should wind back the terrible `blame game' culture that has crept up on us in the last decade. Any clumsy or unclear state legislation that creates unnecessary insurance requirements or costs should be reviewed.

Heritage Incentives Program

Proposals are being invite for projects to conserve or present heritage items listed on Local or Regional Environmental Plans and/or on the State Heritage Register. Imaginative proposals are also sought for studies, education and promotion projects including publications and videos. Full details and application forms are available from www.heritage.nsw.gov.au, applications close 22 March 2002.