Last week, the NSW Parliament sat for the first time since the March 2023 election. This might seem like a long delay but it really isn’t. It does take time to finalise all votes in all centres and at all levels; it also takes time to have departing MPs move out of their offices and for the new MPs to move in; and of course, the Government and Ministers have to get set up as well as the Opposition and Shadow Ministers. Anyway, as of last week we were back at it and we will be sitting for 3 weeks in May.
Personally, I want to thank the community of the Cessnock Electorate for putting your trust in me for another 4 years. I also want to thank and acknowledge all of the other Candidates that put their hand up and did the incredibly hard work of running their own campaigns. Each of those Candidates had to put together a small army of people around them, working thousands of seen and unseen hours, and more often than not the helpers are family and friends that might have little interest in the politics of it all.
As readers will be aware, I am a Labor MP. My side of politics and my ideology has been in Opposition for the past 12 years. But we have just recently formed Government and I look forward to that chance to make change – changes that will sit better with not only my beliefs but also the beliefs of the majority of voters in our Electorate.
But if I could offer one observation from Opposition that many people don’t think exists – there were many pieces of Legislation that went through during the past 12 years that I, and we as Labor, agreed with and voted to support. Yes, it is true, that on many occasions all sides of politics agree and we all vote together. I simply make the point because I often hear people say to me “can’t you at least agree when a good idea is put forward?”. Yes, we can. And we do. I hope that the coming years will be the same.
Personally, I am very happy to have been appointed to the Rural and Regional Health Committee. The role of this Committee is to monitor the introduction of 44 new measures intended to improve the quality of health care in our regions.
And finally, I have also been added to the list of Speakers in the Parliament. The Speaker is essentially the referee/umpire of the room, making sure that MPs are behaving appropriately and that the rules of Parliament are being delivered properly.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
For enquiries regarding the State Government or its departments, or to put you in contact with someone who can help, please contact my office. My office can be contacted by phoning 4991-1466, by email to cessnock@parliament.nsw.gov.au or call into 118 Vincent Street (PO Box 242), Cessnock 2325.
You can also follow me on my Facebook page “www.facebook.com/claytonbarrmp”, follow me on Instagram at “claytonbarrmp“ or check out my website at www.claytonbarr.com.au