• North East health and water lobby Parliament
• Call for guaranteed funding for Multipurpose Services
• NDIS rolls out across Victoria
• “No freeze” on ADF’s public service employment
• School participation promotes democracy

 North East lobbies Canberra this week

Wangaratta’s North East Health visited Canberra this week. Cathy facilitated meetings with key MPs and Senators to lobby for funding for the organisation’s 2015-2020 Strategic Plan. Presentations – including to Senators Nash, Muir, Madigan and Xenophon, Catherine King and Senator Di Natale’s office – argued for regionally-targeted funding to support the unique needs of rural areas. Cathy also met with representatives of North East Catchment Management Authority and Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority and acknowledged them in the House. (pictured: Cathy with NHW CEO Marg Bennett, Assistant Minister for Health Senator Fiona Nash and NHW board chair Brendan Schutt)

MPSs: critical community services for Towong and Alpine

Cathy called on Parliament this week for the reinstatement of funding for multipurpose services (MPSs) in Towong and Alpine Shires. Upper Murray Health and Community Services and Alpine Health offer broad services around health, community and aged care, geared to smaller rural communities. Established in Victoria in the early 1990s, these aggregated service providers are threatened by new federal funding models.

 Kevin Andrews: “no freeze” on hiring

Defence Minister Andrews’ response to Cathy’s Question without Notice this week acknowledged continuing public service vacancies at Bonegilla and Bandiana defence bases. He said that while “there is some stabilisation of the employment trends in Defence at the present time … it is important to ensure that places like Bonegilla and Bandiana continue to have the Defence Force personnel which are required, and we are committed to that.” Cathy has responded by calling for these vacancies to be filled, noting the importance of this employment to both ensuring the effective functioning of the Army and to rural areas as well.

Baranduda, Rutherglen and Melrose Primary Schools visit APH

Cathy always welcomes Indi’s schools to visit Canberra and this is taken up widely. This week Cathy welcomed students and teachers and showed them how Parliament works. There was also a visit this week from Mt Beauty Secondary College’s Global Politics class, accompanied by teacher Jodee Betheras and parent Rose Sexton.

 Parliamentary Speeches

• A more humane asylum seeker policy – petition
• Army Aboriginal Community Assistance Program - report
• Catholic College Wodonga – ‘Romeo and Julz’
• Indi Summit – calling all young people
• Mount Beauty Secondary College Global Politics class – welcome speech
• Multi-Purpose Services, the Upper Murray Community Health Service and Alpine Health – call to reinstate funding
• Wangaratta Urban Landcare Group and Rural City of Wangaratta - congratulations
• Marriage Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 - speech
• North East Health Wangaratta - speech

 Legislation passed by the House of Representatives this week:

• Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2015 Measures No. 4)
• Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (Better Targeting the Income Tax Transparency Laws)
• Aged Care Amendment
• Civil Law and Justice (Omnibus Amendments) 2015
• Social Security Legislation Amendment (Debit Card Trial)
• Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Legislation Amendment
• Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Fees Imposition
• Register of Foreign Ownership of Agricultural Land

See this week’s Hansard legislation here

 Get involved!

• Agricultural Innovation Inquiry – submissions until September 25
• Murray-Darling Basin Plan (MDBP) – submissions until September 25
• Parliamentary entitlements – submissions until October 21

 Cathy’s diary highlights

• Benalla Business Awards – BPACC – September 18, 6:00 p.m.
• Factory visit – Visy Board, Wodonga – September 22, 1:30 p.m.
• Official Opening – new logistics precinct, Wadsworth Barracks, Bandiana – September 23, 9:30 a.m.

 Media Releases

• National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
• Spirit of Anzac Centenary Exhibition (SACE)