THERE’S been a bit of media coverage about parking at the Orange Health Service lately.
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I’d like to assure everyone that there are discussions taking place between Orange City Council, Health Infrastructure and the Western NSW Local Health District about the issue.
I’m hopeful that we can get something locked down in the not too distant future.
Opening up the back entrance to the hospital (Huntley Rd) will obviously greatly help the situation as well.
When this work is done, some better signage letting people know where they can park (particularly for out-of-towners) wouldn’t go astray either.
I’M still working on the issue of payroll tax rebates for firms that hire workers that have been made redundant from large-scale operations (like Electrolux).
There is $5000 available generally and an extra $1000 for taking on a worker from a large-scale redundancy. At issue is the fact that as things stand the rebate is scheduled to cut out at June 30 next year (before the Electrolux wind down).
The Labor Party has put a payroll tax proposal on the table that is being closely assessed by the Treasurer to see if it passes muster.
In the meantime, I have been very actively engaged with ministers on the issue for quite a while.
I can assure the community that everyone from the Premier down is acutely aware of the situation in Orange and I’ll keep everyone posted of developments.
THERE was great news for local orchardists this week with the announcement that the Flying Fox Netting Program has been extended to all NSW growers who are experiencing damage from flying foxes.
There is over $4 million in funding available for both throw netting as well as fully secured netting.
Fruit bats impact on regional communities in different ways. Here in Orange the bats infest orchards and cause hundreds of thousands of dollars’ damage. Our orchardists do it tough enough without having to deal with this added burden
I have been working closely with the Office of Environment and Heritage, local growers and NSW Farmers’ representatives in order to find a solution for local growers and I’m delighted we’ve achieved this positive outcome.