By PHILIP DONATO MP
STATE MEMBER FOR ORANGE
TWO YEARS ON
14th November marked the second anniversary of the devastating floods that hit central-western NSW.
The towns of Molong, Canowindra, Cudal, Forbes, Parkes and Eugowra were all significantly impacted by the event. Tragically, two local lives were lost in Eugowra on that fateful day.
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More than 80 per cent of homes and businesses in Eugowra were damaged by the floods. One-third of the township, or approximately 150 people, had to be rescued and airlifted from their roofs due to the rising flood waters.
Seeing fellow citizens in need, spontaneous volunteers risked their own lives to rescue others. Truly remarkable stories of heroism and bravery have come from that fateful morning.
Stories of people being stranded on rooftops, scrambling up trees and holding on to anything they could to secure themselves to escape the inland tsunami that came through that morning are real stories of survival. It was reported as one of the largest air rescue operations in Australian history.
Two years on and where are things up to? The State and Federal governments $100 million support package for the four local government areas affected by the floods, being Cabonne, Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan was broken down to $28 million for Community Assets, $32 million for transport infrastructure and $40 million for the Resilient Homes Program.
Since February this year I have been the Chair of the Central West Community Leaders Forum, along with the four mayors and Federal MPs, to look at the distribution and rollout of that funding.
On behalf of the community leaders forum and mayors, I thank the State and Federal governments for that funding commitment. But, without sounding ungrateful, I fear it will not be enough, especially the Resilient Homes Program.
Applications are now open for that program and to date, 116 applications have been received. The program will consider potential buybacks, retrofits and rise-ups of flood impacted homes.
However, my concern is that it will be oversubscribed and some people will miss out. I have sought consideration from both State and Federal governments for additional financial support to complement the homes package.
I know the assessment of flood-impacted homes will commence shortly, which will be most welcome. The opportunity for experts to attend the properties and discuss resilience home measures with owners is certainly welcome.
However, time is of the essence so we must push on with those stages ASAP. Two years is a long time for people to wait. We still have 100 or so pods housing flood-impacted residents who cannot go back to their homes while they are waiting on repairs, and it’s taking its toll. I am acutely aware that those delays add a level of stress and anxiety on many of those people.
Critical water assets to the value of about $20 million belonging to Parkes Shire Council were damaged in the flood. They are not eligible for any funding. I have been lobbying the Government to fund repair of this essential infrastructure, and will continue to until there is a solution.
REVIEW OF TRIBUNAL
I appreciate Minister Rose Jackson’s prompt response to the recent publicised incident relating to a forensic patient’s leave and access to social media.
I welcome the Minister’s decision to introduce proposed legislation to reform aspects of the Mental Health Review Tribunal, which will ensure judicial officers are the ones making important judicial decisions, and patients’ access to social media, which better reflect community expectation and providing additional measures to community safety.
Orange has a long association with the provision of mental health care at the Bloomfield Hospital. Forensic patients from across NSW continue to be treated at this facility, so these proposed reforms are highly relevant to our community, and important for community safety.
I had the honour of meeting Shirley Wardle and Kristy Smith, relatives of murder victim Emerald Wardle, who were in Parliament last week to witness Minister Jackson introduce the new legislation. It was also great to catch up with Clare and Alice Collins from Advocacy Australia who have been pushing for reform of the Mental Health Review Tribunal, on behalf of the family of Biddy Porter. It’s anticipated the bill will arrive in the Legislative Assembly in early 2025, which I will support - and propose to strengthen this legislation even further.
ROBOTIC SURGERY FOR ORANGE ?
Last week I addressed the NSW Parliament to recognise the many of benefits robotic surgery provides surgeons and their patients. Sydney-based patients and surgeons already have access to these innovative surgical instruments in some of their hospitals, so I’ve been lobbying government to install a da Vinci surgical robot here at the Orange Health Service, to support surgical services provided to our hospital’s patient catchment across Central and Western NSW.
Robotic surgery has many benefits, including greater surgical precision and control, minimally invasive procedures, faster recovery times and reduced hospital stay, reduced risk of complications – including blood loss and infections. State-of-the-art medical equipment and infrastructure has other benefits, too - such as attracting medical professionals to our healthcare facilities, which is important to increasing local access to specialist healthcare.
GRACE’S PLACE
Last week I joined the Member for Blacktown Stephen Bali MP for a visit to Grace’s Place - a world first trauma recovery centre, supporting a children affected by homicide. This centre is named after Grace Lynch, mother of homicide victim Anita Cobby and a founder of the Homicide Victim’s Support Group – which now manages the centre.
Tenacious advocate Martha Jabour OAM successfully lobbied for the funding, turning an idea into the reality that is now Grace’s Place - which opened in 2023.
I also learned that they have now incorporated support services for families of road trauma.
I applaud Martha and her team, along with Stephen Bali and his government for delivering this important service for the living customs of homicide, and road trauma.
