INTERVIEW WITH RICHARD SPENCE 1350 2LF YOUNG

Wednesday, 23 April 2025

Subjects: Prescribed Wetland Mapping, Road Funding, Tresillian, Safe Shooting Program, Boys to the Bush, ANZAC Day

Richard Spence: Good morning. Yes, Rich Spence, with you. It's 10 minutes past eight as I welcome to the studio Member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke, good morning. Steph.

Steph Cooke: good morning. Rich, it’s great to be with you on what has been a really busy 10 days or so of the school holiday.

Richard Spence: certainly, has and Easter, of course, that's behind us, but we've got a short week, three-day week for many of us. Anzac Day, of course, on Friday, we'll talk about that a little bit later on, but I've got some information from your office about some topics we can talk about and starting with the prescribed wetland mapping. Now, what's this one all about?

Steph Cooke: Yeah, so this is a situation where the New South Wales government released mapping proposing wetlands, to prescribe and Gazette wetlands right across rural and regional New South Wales, there were in in excess of 1000

potential wetlands, if you like, identified through this mapping. And the problem is that the maps were wrong. They were wrong at the outset, and it affected a lot of land holders right across New South Wales and in our part of the world along the Lachlan, and so we had a situation where land holders were having wetlands identified on their property, when it could have been a table drain next to a road, or it could have been the shared roof on their shearing shed was suddenly mapped by the government as actually being a wetland, and it just wasn't the case.

And what was adding to the angst around all of this was a lack of consultation by the department itself, this idea that governments will sit at a desk and undertake desktop mapping exercises without actually getting out onto properties and walking the land and seeing for themselves, as you can clearly see when you're there, oh, that's not a wetland. That's a shed or that's a table drain, or that's a depression in the landscape. It's not actually a wetland, and so after months and months of advocacy and attending meetings and bringing to the government specific cases like Lake Centenary in Temora, which was a manmade lake in the 80s, it had been identified as a future wetland, and these were just inaccurate and inappropriate cases. And so, after months of advocacy, the government has changed their views on a lot of this mapping. They've acknowledged that there are significant problems with the mapping, and a lot of those wetlands that were initially identified have now been removed from that list.

However, there are still some that remain on the mapping, and we continue to press the point with the government that prescribing those areas as wetlands, which 18 out of 20 years are actually cropped. There's no water there whatsoever. It's inappropriate for that to be identified as a wetland. So, this advocacy continues. It's good to see the government acknowledge some shortcomings, but fundamentally Rich. What we need to see more of is an is interaction and meaningful interaction and consultation and talking with farmers, because whether it's in the area of land management or water resources, it's really important that the government understand our way of life, understand, what we do and the contribution that we make, not just to the local region, but the state and the country, and come to a position where both the objectives of the government can be met without impeding our farmers ability and their right, their fundamental right to farm.

Richard Spence: Yeah, it's important to get this accurate, this mapping, so that, as you say, the farmers can continue the farm. They're not impeded by these inaccuracies. So, yeah, that's very important there. Now the completion of the Greenethorpe Koorawatha road is a very important link across the region.

Steph Cooke: This is really exciting, Rich. So, we have now formally opened a really significant road between Greenethorpe and Koorawatha. This was a just eight kilometres. It doesn't sound like a lot, but to that community, it's a big deal, and it was delivered because of the former government that I was very proud to be part of. We had a particular funding program called fixing local roads, and under round three of that program, the Weddin Shire Council received $2.94 million to undertake this work. That work has now been completed, and we welcomed the Minister for roads, last week to really come out and formally open that road. It's a critical link across this part of the region, and we often have heavy vehicle movements with either stock or with grain on that road, and it shares with passengers and, importantly, with the school bus. So now that that's been upgraded, I think everyone there will notice a huge difference as they move across that part of the world.

Richard Spence: Yeah, so that includes resurfacing, widening, where appropriate, and side road markings as well. Yeah, absolutely, and I think you raise a really important point, and one that we've been talking to the Minister about at length with all of our Councils, and that is that whilst we may have seen our roads resurfaced over the years, from time to time, the pavement that sits below that road surface, in some cases, hasn't been upgraded for 70 or 80 years, when we used to get around either on bikes or horse and sulky or horseback, and now, of course, we have large heavy vehicles on a lot of our road network, and the underlying pavement is just not up to the constant usage by heavy vehicles and other vehicles.

And so we're trying to impress upon the government the importance of continued road funding, because we need to make sure that our roads everywhere are fit for purpose and where they're taking those large, heavy vehicles, that they can really stand up to the task, and in the aftermath of a lot of rain or a natural disaster, the situation gets even worse. So, this is a really good example of what can be achieved for a small amount of money but makes a huge difference. Yeah, so this is a really good example of what can be achieved for a small amount of money. That makes a huge difference.

Richard Spence: Certainly does. It reminds me of a meme I saw several months ago that we must get road worthy certificates for our vehicles. But shouldn't the roads be vehicle worthy?

Steph Cooke: Absolutely, and this is something that both Councils and constituents road users raise with me a lot, and when they are they experience actual damage to their cars, whether it be flat tires or other mechanical issues because of our roads. That's really unacceptable in this day and age, but it needs to be recognised that local government, on their own, cannot fund their road networks to that extent, and that's where we really need to see funding from both the federal government and the state government to support the local Councils to deliver this. But bearing in mind that it's our people and our communities at the end of the day that either benefit or are disadvantaged by the condition of our road network.

Richard Spence: Yeah, and the coalition, should they get into government, they've committed to some serious road funding for the region as well,

Steph Cooke: exactly. And we are starting to see some of those commitments made, and for my part, I will continue to advocate for all of our Shires and for anyone who's listening this morning, if there is a particular road that you're aware of that's in really bad or poor condition, don't hesitate to reach out to my office, because we will make sure that we make the representations that are required to get it on the radar for future upgrade.

Richard Spence: for sure, and we've been talking in the past about the reduction or removal of health services across regional New South Wales. It's not good for the community, but there is some good news regarding Cowra. There's more support with Gidget house.

Steph Cooke: That's right. So Gidget, the Gidget Foundation, in teaming up with Tresillian in Cowra, are now able to, between them, offer this fantastic wraparound service for young families or families with little ones who have got some early challenges in life, whether it be with sleeping and settling or their general health and wellbeing, there is now this extra layer of support that's available for families in Cowra. This is a really good news story. It comes off the back of again, the government that I was part of that put a real focus on that first 2000 days for children and their families.

We had around about a $12 million investment for Tresillian that allowed for Tresillian to set up shop in Cowra, which is absolutely fantastic. I must say that I am a little bit worried as we head towards the state budget, because the government has not made any commitment around further funding for Tresillian Beyond June, and that's just around the corner. So, we continue to advocate on behalf of Tresillian, but in relation to this particular initiative and their partnership with Gidget, this is really good news for local families.

Richard Spence: It certainly is, and it's good to know that support for not only young families, but during pregnancy as well, and not only for new mothers, but expectant fathers as well.

Steph Cooke: Absolutely it is. It is all about that focus on the family, on the little one, and really helping families to navigate what is a really uncertain time for some parents, and even for parents that have already had a family and they've got, perhaps a couple of older ones, every child, as we know, is different, and they have different needs at different times in their lives. And so, making sure that we've got services that are close to home, that parents don't have to travel to access because we also know that with the cost-of-living pressures, the cost of fuel, families will think twice about what they're doing and where they're going to access the support they need. So, when it's really here, close to home, that's a good thing for our communities.

Richard Spence: It certainly is, and this is an interesting topic, funding for local gun clubs of safe shooting program, so tell me more about this one.

Steph Cooke: Yeah, so this is another. This is another program that was really important during the last coalition government that I was part of, and we've seen under this safe shooting grant program, many, many gun clubs across the Cootamundra electorate receive funding of some kind over the years, and the New South Wales Labor Government has continued that funding program, which I'm very pleased about, and as a result, the Ungarie rifle club and the Cootamundra rifle club in the latest round have received funding.

And so what we will see in those two clubs is an improvement to the facilities and the ability to do more events, run their events more safely, and that will welcome both new members to their clubs and for shooters that are located in other areas around New South Wales or even Australia, they will come into our communities and enjoy and benefit from upgraded facilities in these two locations. So, I've been out and visited both clubs. There's a fair amount of excitement now the heavy lifting starts while they get on and get that work completed, and I'll certainly have updates on that in the future,

Richard Spence: and there may be gun clubs around the region too that will seek funding as well.

Steph Cooke: Yeah, absolutely. So if there's anyone listening at the moment and you are part of a gun club, or you're aware that a gun club exists in your community, this program opens up annually, and please reach out to my office if you want some more information, if you'd like a letter of support or advocacy to go with that, I'm all for making sure that our clubs get their fair share of funding.

Richard Cooke: And an important local charity in the in the area, Boys to the Bush, who received more fundraising through a ride to give initiative.

Steph Cooke: Oh, this was another fantastic event. There's a lot of good stuff happening in our electorate Rich, and this was another fantastic event. It's called ‘Ride to Give’, and this year, Boys to the Bush, who have been established here in Young for a few years now, again, I was really proud to see that initiative come to our electorate in 2019, 2020, they are an amazing organization that literally changes the lives of young men who are in a vulnerable situation and their lives are at that that fork in the road where they can go on and really reach their full potential, or they can head down a path that we really would prefer they didn't head down, but they always need fundraising these organisations, and they need funds to continue doing their good work.

And so they were able to raise through this ride to give, which was this huge bike ride that sort of started in Dubbo and went right out to Leeton, but it went right through our electorate, they stopped at the Bribbaree school, which we now know is going to stay open, which was really exciting for them, but they went to Temora, Ardlethan, Barellan, and they've raised full I spoke to someone about that earlier in the month, of course, up in Grenfell, I knew I'd missed a community, and that's the problem of having so many Rich but overall that that ride raised in excess of $500,000 for what a great effort.

And having had the opportunity to join those riders into Temora at the Aviation Museum, we had a fantastic dinner one of the nights to act as a bit of a recovery for them that they'd been riding for days and days, you cannot help but be inspired by these riders who are who have taken annual leave, put their lives on hold, and are doing everything they can to raise this money for such a good cause.

So, to the corporate sponsors, thank you so much, to everyone who gave a little bit or a lot, thank you so much, and to the riders who make this possible, well done on a fantastic achievement, and we just want to see Boys to the Bush go from strength to strength in our community.

Richard Spence: which I'm sure they will and a great service. It is Boys to the Bush. And finally, of course, Anzac Day coming up this Friday, and Wombat local, Neil Barry, will there'll be a tribute to him.

Steph Cooke: Yeah, that's right, oh, Rich, this is a, not an easy topic for me to talk about, but Neil was a very dear friend of mine, long before I came into to politics, and I came to know Neil as a florist, and because I would do the Anzac wreaths that he ordered on behalf of the community for Wombat many, many years ago, and for many years. Once I became the member for Cootamundra, Neil approached me in a different capacity and asked me whether I would deliver a speech, if you like, at their dawn service. And I gave an undertaking to Neil that while ever he was involved in this really, really important and significant service, and he has organised it for years and years. I would turn up every single year at the dawn and support him, support the community, and commemorate alongside the community, to recognise those who have served and sacrificed so much for the freedoms that we enjoy today.

Neil sadly passed away at late last year, and so this will be the first dawn service in Wombat that he will not have organised and led on the day. And so, I had a chat with the community leaders in Wombat, and I didn't know whether they would still, you know, want me to be a part of it, but they do, and I'm very humbled by that, and so this year, I won't just be making an address about Anzac and the importance of it, although that is the key feature of it. There will also be a short tribute to Neil, recognising his contribution to that community over his lifetime.

Richard Spence: Yeah, okay, so that's at Wombat and the dawn service, and there's a lot of services of commemoration right across the region for Anzac Day, and you can find out on the local government websites, I believe, for that.

Steph Cooke: That's right, and also for those people that are aware of my website or our Facebook page, all of the services are listed in both of those locations for the entire electorate, just in case there are people traveling to other communities, there are 50 services this year just. Just in the Cootamundra electorate alone, I will make it to three of those services, and starting, as I mentioned, in Wombat I'll do the main service in Cowra, and I'll also be attending the Stockinbingal service in the afternoon.

So, I would encourage everyone, particularly our younger generations. Please do not forget the service and the sacrifice that those that have gone before us have paid to ensure that we have the freedoms that we have today, and just get out and support one of those services. It doesn't take long to attend. It shouldn't be an incursion on your day. It should be an opportunity to get out and pay respects to those who have served.

Richard Spence: well said. Steph, thanks for joining me this morning, and we'll catch up with you again another time very soon.

Steph Cooke: Sounds great. Thanks, Rich.