Nick Farr- Jones Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast

Nick Farr- Jones Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast

About 150 local guests and I had the pleasure this week of attending a Prayer Breakfast with guest speaker former Wallabies Captain, Nick Farr-Jones at the Lismore Workers Club.

Nick Farr-Jones spoke about the challenges of public life and the value of prayer in dealing with life's trials. Thank you to Nick Farr-Jones, the Lismore Workers Club and those who attended on making the Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast such a successful event.

Six Weeks Left for Justices of the Peace to Apply for Reappointment

Today marks six weeks until the deadline closes for Justices of the Peace to send in applications for reappointment.

The Attorney-General's Department are accepting reappointment applications until 31 August 2006. After this date, the Department is unable to guarantee that applications received will be processed before the December 8 deadline when JP appointments lapse.

To date approximately 34,000 Justices of the Peace have been reappointed under the Justices of the Peace Act 2002. Copies of the reappointment form are available from my office.

YMCA Youth Parliament

In the last column I congratulated Ashleigh Foley and Alyson Hewett of Kadina High School and Jessica Webb of Lismore High School who were chosen to represent their schools at the YMCA's Youth Parliament in Sydney. The students have now attended the Parliament and I was impressed by their involvement in the day. It was a great opportunity for Ashleigh, Alyson and Jessica to see how the Parliament works and for Members of Parliament to listen to the concerns of students from across the State. The Far North Coast's future is in great hands.

Grants For Regional Sports Facilities

Is your organisation looking for funding to upgrade existing sporting facilities or build a new facility? Grants of between $30,000 and $200,000 are now available for eligible projects under the 2006-07 Regional Sports Facilities Program.

Projects should be open for use by the general public, be used primarily for sport or physical activity and require a maximum contribution by NSW Sport and Recreation of 50 per cent of the net project cost. Applications can be made by Local Councils or not-for-profit incorporated sport and recreation organisations whose primary objective is sport and recreation. Local government authorities must submit applications on behalf of committees or advisory bodies. Organisations interested in applying for the Regional Sports Facilities grants can pick up an application form from my office.

Warning About Telephone Scams

There have been reports recently of a new telephone scam built around returning missed calls. A person who receives a `missed call' into their telephone register from certain numbers is then stung $100 when they return the call.

The lines that are used are `premium service' lines which were designed for services such as ringing up for legal advice and talking to a lawyer for a certain rate per minute. However these lines are now being used more for sex line calls and now telephone scams.

It is hoped that service providers will act and close down the lines, however in the interim if you receive `missed calls' from the following numbers the call should not be returned. The phone numbers are;

03 8102 9565
03 8102 9573
03 8558 0556
03 8558 1442
03 8558 1443
03 8558 1444
03 8558 1445
03 8558 1446
03 8558 1447
03 9855 2913
03 9540 2950
03 9540 5100
03 9540 5101
03 9540 5187
03 9540 5189

 

02 8219 0500
02 8303 8321
02 8303 8320
02 8404 2201
02 8404 2203
02 8404 2213
02 8404 2215
02 8404 2235
02 8404 2236
02 8404 2245
02 8404 2296
02 8404 2298

2006 Justice Awards

The Law and Justice Foundation of NSW is seeking nominations for the 2006 Justice Awards. The Awards recognise the contributions that individuals and organisations have made to improving access to justice in NSW.

Nominations can be made in the following categories; Justice Medal- for improving access to justice in NSW
The Aboriginal Justice Award- to an Aboriginal individual or group who have demonstrated outstanding commitment to improving justice for Aboriginal people in NSW
The Pro Bono Partnership Award- for an outstanding pro bono legal assistance partnership
Law and Justice Volunteer Award- for outstanding commitment to improving access to justice in NSW, particularly for socially and economically disadvantaged people.

Nominations can be made on-line at www.lawfoundation.net.au/justice_awards or by obtaining a form from my office. The closing date is 14 August 2006.