Growing the Community since 1876 AND WESTERN DISTRICTS ADVERTISER
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THURSDAY 31 March 2022
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Sheep Dog trial Champion
Celebrating 102 years
INSIDE
Railway Action Council Plans Town Talk Cumnock Show Sheep dog Trials
PLUS
Barry Knight of Toowoomba and 'Fiesta Henry' are the proud winners of the 2022 NSW Dogpro Plus State Sheep Dog Championships which were held in Molong last week. They were presented with the A.E. Evers Memorial Perpetual Trophy.
Celebrating 102 years of the Carroll family @ 'Redank' (401 Garra Road, Molong) is a jolly good reason for Margie and Bill Carroll to open their farm gates to local residents. See P.9 (Above) Margie and Bill at 'Redbank' homestead with their best 'mate' Neddy and Myrtle the chook who loves being nursed!
Lots of News & Features
Andrew Gee's gutsy stand
Paul Mullins Well, it was gutsy, especially if you are a Minister in the current Commonwealth government facing an election in a few weeks. But that's Andrew Gee, who resigned from his state seat of Orange to contest the federal election in 2016. Last Saturday morning, just before duty called him to attend a local commitment, the Cumnock Show, the Federal Member for Calare and Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Andrew held a press conference outside his Orange office to announce something quite extraordinary - and certainly more than "local". Mr Gee announced that he had threatened to quit his Cabinet post over the continuing failure of the government to fund some $96 million to help process a backlog of 60,000 compensation claims by veterans, a situation he labelled "a national disgrace". The forthcoming budget had provided nowhere for this amount and the problem would go on - "kicking the can down the road" Mr Gee called Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce on Saturday morning, with the media alerted outside his office in Orange, to say that he would be resigning over the issue. One Mr Gee's first moves when he took the portfolio last year was to to find ways to reduce the waiting times for processing veterans claims and entitlements. As Mr Gee Said on Saturday: "One of the problems, one of the serious problems, is the massive backlog of unprocessed ADF and veteran compensation claims, which in the middle of last year reached 55,000 and which currently stands at almost 60,000. Some veterans have been waiting years to get their claims processed and finalised. This is simply not good enough. In fact, it is a national disgrace. Because behind those 60,000 claims are people, and they are
not just any people, they’re people, Australians, who put their lives on the line for our country. And many of them are hurting, and many of them are suffering. Speak to the veterans and they will tell you, speak to the families and they will tell you, speak to the exhausted and burntout advocates who fight for them and they will tell you – ending this claims backlog needs to be a bipartisan, national mission." Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce responded to Mr Gee's plea quite quickly on Saturday morning - indicating that the funds would be forthcoming. Mr Gee's threat to resign, and his public description of it, were extraordinary. Mr Gee said that in warning Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce he would walk, after getting nowhere in trying to arrange the full funding, the government promised to provide the $96 million. And with that Mr Gee headed off to the Cumnock Show. We leave you with Mr Gee's own words on Saturday: "With the honour of holding the offices that I do, as Member for Calare and Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Defence Personnel, comes a heavy responsibility to stand up and speak out when their interests are compromised or put at risk. And for the men and women who have put their lives on the line for our country, nothing less could be expected of their Minister, to stand up and fight for them when they need it. I believe that today and now is such a time. "The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, which I support, and numerous reports have highlighted that there are serious problems in the portfolio of Veterans’ Affairs that have been building for years. The Productivity Commission found that the current system is not working in the best interest of veterans, families or the Australian community."
ABC photo
"It’s all been a little bit dramatic and a little bit shocking for a country MP, but as I said I just couldn’t have lived with myself. "I couldn’t have lived with myself and I couldn’t look veterans in the eye. I think, with any political career, the goal should be to do your best for the people you represent, in this case it’s the people of Calare and ADF personnel, veterans and their families. "And you should aim to have no regrets. And I came to the view that had I not done this then I would have had regrets and I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself and that’s really the bottom line. "Personal integrity counts. It has to count in politics. "As I said, in politics you have to believe in something higher than winning elections. So let’s start with veterans. "That should be an important part of any government’s priorities, to elevate them and elevate their needs."