Dear Bugle Readers,

I recently attended a morning tea to celebrate the wonderful work of Meals on Wheels.

A huge shout out to all the people that support this great local service and a special mention to Ann Dawes who was there when Kiama Meals on Wheels kicked off 53 years ago.

Parliament will be sitting next week, and the first State Budget of the Minns Labor Government will be delivered the week after.

As always, I will be using the Parliamentary sittings to take up important issues on behalf of our local community.

FIGHTING AGAINST MORE REGIONAL CUTS

Unfortunately, the Premier Chris Minns has once again been caught again out cutting even more funding to regional NSW. We know about cuts to the Regional Seniors Travel Card, the Active Kids Rebate, the Creative Kids Rebate, the First Lap Voucher, and the Regional Student Travel Card. Now – they’ve cutting regional tourism grants programs that help generate jobs and investment in our community.

The Regional Event Fund identifies and supports events in regional NSW which act as a cornerstone for flagship tourism events by attracting overnight visitation and delivering long-term benefits for regional areas like Kiama.

The NSW Regional Business Event Development Fund is designed to help stakeholders create, attract and support exciting business events for regional NSW and to support new business event initiatives. The Fund aims to enrich these business events with opportunities offered by iconic towns and regions like ours.

Despite the desperate pleas of local small business tourism operators who have raised their genuine concerns directly with me as their local MP, the NSW Minns Labor Government have ignored these concerns and cut both of these important funding programs which is a very disappointing outcome for local tourism businesses.

I will be raising these matters in Parliament next week.

NSW SMALL BUSINESS MONTH

NSW Small Business Month is next month. This month was created for small businesses across New South Wales to attend events aligned to their individual business interests.

Coordinated by the NSW Small Business Commission, NSW Small Business Month brings together small businesses with local business chambers, industry associations, other not-for-profits, large businesses, and all levels of government.

It’s an important reminder to shop local and support local jobs, local families, and local businesses.

Have a great week!

Gareth.