Standing tall with Dubbo teens

About 2,300 school students and over 200 teachers flocked to the Dubbo Showgrounds today for the second leg of the inaugural Stand Tall Regional Tour, supported by the NSW Nationals in the state government. Tailored for high school students, the event brings together inspirational speakers like Olympic high jump silver medallist Nicola Olysagers, The Voice…

Crucial program changing the lives of regional patients

More than 4,500 new patients have taken advantage of the increased financial assistance available to people in regional communities who need to travel long distances to receive specialist care. Nationals Minister for Regional Health Bronnie Taylor said more than 1,000 additional patients per month have lodged claims under the Isolated Patients Travel and Accommodation Assistance…

$290,000 for Prince Alfred Bridge memorial

The NSW Nationals in the state government will provide $290,000 to develop a memorial for the former Prince Alfred Bridge timber road viaduct at Gundagai. Nationals Member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke said the memorial would include two locations with tourist features to pay tribute to the former local landmark. “The 711-metre timber bridge first built…

Local projects boost youth wellbeing

Programs championed by Coffs Coast community organisations are among the latest to be funded by the NSW Government’s Children and Young People Wellbeing Recovery Initiative. Nationals Member for Coffs Harbour Gurmesh Singh said the projects will help support recovery and boost resilience for young people in our region following the impacts of natural disasters and…

Rewarding excellence in teaching

Options for rewarding excellent teachers with higher pay and enhanced status have been unveiled in a new paper from the NSW Government. Under the options released for consultation, classroom teachers who are assessed as ‘expert teachers’ under the Rewarding Excellence in Teaching program could attract salaries of up to $147,000 a year, or beyond, in…

$4.5-million Taree headspace officially opened

The new Taree headspace office has been officially opened. The new service, located at 1 Pulteney Street, Unit 101A (First Floor) was part of the Federal Coalition Government’s investment of $873.2 million in headspace, as part of the single largest expansion of the network to deliver 164 services across Australia by 2025-26. Federal Nationals Member…

NSW students above the national average, but more to do

Students in NSW continue to perform above the national average according to the latest NAPLAN results. Nationals Minister for Education and Early Learning Sarah Mitchell congratulated the 400,000 NSW students, their teachers and schools that took part in NAPLAN online this year, and noted their results confirmed the government’s focus on regional education and the…