A Festive and Hopefully Restful Time of the Year
I do hope that many of you get the chance to have a lovely and relaxing time over the coming weeks. The year 2025 is pretty much behind us and a large part of the community get to have some time off to celebrate Christmas as well as a holiday of some sorts with a mixture of public holidays and annual leave.
I also recognise that some people will get no time off because their work requires them to turn up regardless of the season – this includes some of our wonderful public services like our Police, our Paramedics, our Firefighters, our medical workers in hospitals and aged care, our cleaners, our food preparation teams, our corrections workers, etc. Our society cannot function without each of these wonderful people and others that I haven’t listed above.
Whatever lies ahead of you in the coming weeks I do hope that our society just slows down and relaxes somewhat so that even those that are still working will be under less pressure than normal and for those on holidays I hope that time passes slowly for you.
I have great hopes that 2026 can be a year with more joy and peace and patience and tolerance and empathy and compassion. I hope that it is a year where we might turn to our kinder hearts in helping others that need help, that we value each other’s right to exist even if that existence is something different to yours, that we pay less attention to those voices in our media and politics that encourage us to hate and that we pay heed to the reality that we are all sharing this moment and this planet equally.
It has been one of the great experiences of my life to grow up in this little part of the world that we all call home. I have had access to great schools, great healthcare, incredible volunteers that run our sports and community organisations, a fantastic and healthy environment, incredible spaces to roam and explore, a community that really looked out for each other and clean running water to drink. But let’s face it – all of that was a complete lottery at birth.
I still see all of those great qualities in our society. Now in my 50’s I better recognise how precious all of those elements are. And none of it came easy or without toil. People that could work worked hard, they volunteered to fight wars, they signed up to be public servants to build our core needs, they started businesses and employed others, they built co-operative stores long before supermarkets existed, they paid taxes, they donated from their own pockets to build hospitals and PCYC centres and ANZAC memorials and community halls, they gave each other a lift to the shops or they shared telephones or TVs when some had them and others didn’t and in simple terms they did whatever it took to make a way through life not just for themselves but for the greater good of all.
We are a wonderful people, living in a wonderful society with wonderful opportunities. We are not perfect but we are striving every day for a better tomorrow.
Electorate Office Houres Over Christmas-New Year Period
The Cessnock Electorate Office is always ready to assist with State matters and special celebrations but even we need a break.
The office will close from Friday 19th December and re-open on Monday 12th January.
On behalf of my Electorate Office Team I wish you all the very best this festive season and I look forward to an even better 2026.