Friday, 15 December 2023
Subjects: End-of-year school presentations, the National Cherry Festival, opening of new local infrastructure, Tresillian beds in Cowra, road safety, shopping locally for Christmas, preparing for bushfire season.
E&OE…
Rich Spence: Welcome to the studio Steph Cooke.
Steph Cooke: It's great to be with you this morning.
Rich Spence: You've been out and about to a lot of schools over recent weeks?
Steph Cooke: Absolutely; it's that time of the year. Plenty going on, particularly in our schools. And I've had the great honour and privilege of attending many, many school presentations right across the electorate, north, south, east, and west. The final one for me today is Murrumburrah High School and I'm looking forward to catching-up with that school community this afternoon.
Our students have had an amazing year, and getting out and seeing and listening to all that they've achieved, seeing them perform across music and the arts, listening to their sporting achievements, we really punch well above our weight, particularly given that many of our schools are small schools, but our teachers are so passionate about their classes and their students.
The P&Cs; wow. Huge shout-out to them. They do an amazing job. They fundraise to allow kids those extra opportunities throughout the year. Hearing from them and all of those activities that have gone on right across our communities; it's extraordinary. We have so much to be proud of.
Rich Spence: We certainly do. And we were just chatting off-air about the NAPLAN results and the school rankings and that you said there's how many schools in the Cootamundra electorate?
Steph Cooke: There are 82 schools in the Cootamundra electorate. So for those of your listeners that like to keep across these things, it takes me four years to get to a school presentation once in every school. So, I do on average about 20 schools a year, and this year's no different. And so it takes me four years to get around them all. So if I haven't quite got to your school yet, I promise you it's on the list. It just takes me a while to get around to them all.
Rich Spence: And new enrolments for next year, very exciting as well?
Steph Cooke: Oh, absolutely. I'm really confident about our schools coming into 2024. We've got kindergartens coming through, of course, and even in our smaller communities, I had the opportunity to meet some of the pre-schoolers, which we know will come into kindergarten next year. And that ensures the viability of so many of our schools.
So it's been really lovely. And of course, we've got year 6 students moving into year 7, and sometimes that requires a change of school, so it'll be a new opportunity and experience for them to thrive. So just feeling really, really good as we wrap-up the year and head into another one, despite how busy everything is.
Rich Spence: Of course. And I think Wallendbeen School has been actively promoting on the radio station here on 2LF for enrolments as well.
Steph Cooke: Absolutely. It's a tiny little school, but it's in a really central location, and I'd encourage anyone from that area that's eligible within that school zone, to go along to the school; it's beautiful. I had the opportunity, actually, digressing slightly, but on Saturday night I was at the Cootamundra Lions Christmas Festival and I was doing face painting with the kids from Cootamundra – I love face painting, I could talk about it until the cows come home – and one of the teachers there, Sarah, is from the Stockinbingal School, and they too are a small school. And we were talking about just how amazing our small schools are. So whether it's Stockinbingal or Wallendbeen or any of our other smaller locations, just know that you've got huge fans in our communities, me included, and we'll do everything that we can to make sure they thrive and do the best job they can.
Rich Spence: Yes, of course. And a great lot of community events in recent months and, most recently, a couple of weeks ago, the Cherry Festival in Young; a great event and a lot of visitors and locals getting involved with that.
Steph Cooke: It was absolutely sensational. Each year I wonder whether it can continue to get better over time, and each year my expectations are exceeded. And this year was no different. To see so many visitors, particularly in our region, so many number plates from Victoria, from Canberra. I mean, this has become a real destination event, and people that I spoke to had a wonderful time.
I was out and about for all three days of the festival and had the opportunity to talk to a lot of locals who just love to come out and support the event. And then of course, welcoming all of our visitors. So well done to the committee.
Again, they are a volunteer committee and they step-up year after year and do a magnificent job. To everyone that participated in the parade, how fantastic. I happened to be in the back of one of our fire and rescue vehicles, 513 Brigade. They do a magnificent job, but all of the emergency services participated. It was just so great to see everybody come out, and we had great weather under the circumstances. The storm threatened there for a little while, but we managed to scrape through with the parade and wow, it was just great.
Rich Spence: Great lot of entertainment at Anderson Park, and a great sideshow alley atmosphere as well.
Steph Cooke: Oh, absolutely. And the markets on over that weekend, the big breakfast on the Sunday – that's become such a feature of the event. I mean, it was all just fantastic.
Rich Spence: And the Carnival of Cups on the Friday night as well was very complimentary to the whole weekend.
Steph Cooke: Absolutely. It brought extra people to the region. I think there was some concern leading-up to it about whether one would take from the other, but it all ended-up just being a wonderful weekend of celebration of everything that this region has to offer.
Rich Spence: And there's been some funding provided by the government to revitalise amenities, particularly at Gooloogong.
Steph Cooke: So this was a really great project funded by the former NSW Coalition Government a couple of years ago, with $70,000 invested in a new amenities block at the Memorial Park in Gooloogong. And we know that Gooloogong is one of those towns that is really central. And whether you're going east-west or north-south, a lot of people pass through Gooloogong. And I think just as in any community, having good amenities for people to be able to stop, it's a necessity.
Rich Spence: Just to break up the drive, yes.
Steph Cooke: Absolutely. And as we were just talking about, with so many visitors coming into our region, for good reason, you need to be able to provide good amenities. And so the amenities are now complete, and we had the opening in the last week or so.
It was a wonderful event and the community came together; we had a barbecue, we had cake – that's always an attraction for me – and it was just a great opportunity for us all to get together and have a yarn and celebrate yet another project being completed in our electorate, which is great.
Rich Spence: And it doesn't stop there. You were in Temora yesterday?
Steph Cooke: People in Temora know Bob Aldridge Park very, very well. It's been the home of so many of our sporting teams, especially football for a number of years. And so again the former NSW Coalition Government, through the Stronger Country Communities Fund, got some funding for them a couple of years ago, half a million dollars. And now they, too, have a brand new amenities block.
It's a fantastic project, and to see all the kids come together, they love it. It's now at the stage in Temora where some of their football codes almost have a 50/50 split between the boys and the girls, so having dedicated amenities for the girls is absolutely fabulous. And it was a great event.
Rich Spence: And we can't thank you enough for all that you do, Steph Cooke, as our local member, to fight for all the funding to get these things happening right across the towns. It's very much appreciated and it's never ending for you, as we can see.
Steph Cooke: Oh, Rich I love it. And I say as often as I can, our communities are absolutely worth fighting for. We have so many clubs and organisations that are doing so much for their members, especially the little ones, to provide them with more opportunities than we had growing up.
And so to be able to get in and back them in, I think I have the best job as the Member for Cootamundra. And to see these projects completed, as I always say, it's one thing to deliver the funding – and we fight very, very hard for it – but it's another thing to actually build and deliver the project on time, on budget; that takes a lot of work by a lot of people, and particularly the volunteers. So, yet another project ticked-off, we just continue to knock these things over and it's really, really great to see.
Rich Spence: And just on that, with the funding and building and getting things done on time, just a question without notice, is there any update on Tresillian in Cowra after that was knocked back?
Steph Cooke: We are still seeking a meeting with Health Minister Park to go through that issue. It's a real worry to me; not a day goes by when I don't think about that issue. It's so important to families across our region to have access to the care they need close to where they live. We've never had that (in-patient) with Tresillian; we don't have it west of the divide.
And this is two beds in a brand new hospital build; it's already built into the capital expenditure budget. To have the health district team-up with Health Infrastructure and pull a pin on those two beds, as I've said around the place, talking to people, there is widespread concern about this; no question.
And as I say to people, we are not talking about a dedicated 20 bed facility that's millions and millions of dollars, well over budget and not on time and whatnot. We are talking about two beds in a brand new hospital build that's got to occur anyway; it just doesn't make any sense. Our families need these beds, and that's what I will be saying to the Health Minister. I'm hopeful of a meeting, likely not this side of Christmas, but into the New Year. I won't stop fighting for this, Rich. It's too important.
Rich Spence: It certainly is. And hopefully there will be some positive news to come out of that early into next year, which is not that far away, 2024, as we go into the holidays. Of course, we've got to be mindful on the roads. There'll be more traffic through the area, take care, be more vigilant and double demerits I think kick in as of midnight next Thursday, going through to midnight on the 1st of January.
Steph Cooke: I just ask everyone across our region to take care over the holiday period, as you say, there'll be more cars and other vehicles on our roads. There'll be people taking holidays, people that will be coming through our region that perhaps haven't done so before. They might not be entirely familiar with our landscape, so I'm really asking everyone just to pay extra attention. The last thing we want to see are tragedies, especially at any time of the year, but especially at this time of the year. And I think if we are all respectful and do the best job that we can, then we should all be able to get through this time without anything bad happening.
Rich Spence: Just have patience, be courteous and avoid those distractions and avoid alcohol completely if you're getting behind the wheel.
Steph Cooke: Oh, absolutely. And look, as we move around our towns, obviously over the next week or so, there's going to be more and more locals scurrying about, finishing up their shopping, getting things done. We just need to be patient as we're moving around our towns as well, particularly if we have drivers who are elderly and trying to park their car and just
everybody, let's just take a deep breath and make sure that we get through to Christmas and beyond without anything going wrong.
Rich Spence: And trucks, they don't take a holiday, so they'll be still going right through the holiday period.
Steph Cooke: Absolutely. That freight's really important so that we can get the goods that we need into our region so other towns can also get theirs. And a shout-out to, not just our truckies, but our emergency services workers. They will continue to work right through this period. They'll be rostered on even on Christmas Day, New Year's Day, et cetera. There are people that are keeping the show on the road, so to speak, and thank you so much to them for all that they do all year ‘round, but particularly at this time of the year.
Rich Spence: And you mentioned parking here in Young, and I'm sure the other towns as well. It's great to see that it’s very busy downtown in the main street.
Steph Cooke: Oh, definitely. And it's another opportunity, because I never miss it, to encourage people to shop local. It's really, really important. Our retailers have had a tough few years for one reason or another. And so anything that we can do to make sure that our local businesses thrive during this period – because they too, will have those quieter periods, particularly towards the back end of January when people are away on holidays and then into that new school year where people are focused on getting back to work and getting back to school – so everything that our retailers in particular draw in during this time will get them through those leaner times. And we need our businesses here all year ‘round. So if there's an opportunity for people to spend locally, please, please do so.
Rich Spence: And support your local bank branches as well. Go in and get some cash over the counter; we want to keep cash alive as well.
Steph Cooke: Absolutely. That too, is really important.
Rich Spence: And you mentioned the emergency services of course, the hot dry weather over summer for the next few months, preparing for the fire season.
Steph Cooke: Yes. We are really in the thick of summer now, and I know that we've had some good rain in parts of the electorate, but that's not the case everywhere. And we do know that even after you've had good rain, that things dry out pretty quickly when you've got heat and you've got hot winds, particularly those winds from the west. So I’m really encouraging people today to make sure they are prepared; that their houses are prepared, that they are prepared
to leave in the event of an emergency at the last minute, and always pay particular attention to the messaging sent out by our emergency services agencies.
The ‘Hazards Near Me’ app, it's a wonderful resource. It was probably one of my greatest achievements as minister, ensuring that we had an app that would respond to all emergencies, so please make sure you've got the most recent version of that app. It covers storms, it covers fires, floods, if there's some flash flooding that comes through as a result of a storm in our area. There are things that we can all do to work in together; it's a shared responsibility and I'm encouraging people to really take that seriously.
Rich Spence: Certainly. As for the bushfire danger and being prepared, and that's something that I find a lot of people overlook, is the condition of the gutters and the debris that are in their household gutters.
Steph Cooke: I know this is probably the last thing that people want to be thinking about as they head into Christmas, but most certainly, if you've got debris either built up in your gutters or around the immediacy of your home, that does present a risk, particularly in the event of a fire. So, spare a couple of minutes and have a look at that job and get it done; it'll mean that you and your family are safer.
Rich Spence: And Christmas isn't that far away.
Steph Cooke: Hasn't this year just gone so quickly, Rich?
Rich Spence: It certainly has.
Steph Cooke: Everyone I talk to can't quite believe how quickly this year has gone, and I think each year tends to pick up pace. So, from my perspective, it's been lovely to spend some time with you each month, Rich. Thank you so much for all that you do for our community. You really back-in this community and all of its organisations and events so strongly. And you are one of the reasons why this community thrives the way that it does. So thank you for all that you've done throughout the year. It's been wonderful to have the opportunity to update the community on various things as we've gone along, and I'm really looking forward to 2024.
Rich Spence: It's going to be great. And thank you very much for your kind words. And I just wouldn't have this program if it wasn't for the likes of yourself and all of the local community and the volunteers and all the segments we have advising people of what's happening around the towns. So it's absolutely terrific. And to yourself Steph, and your staff, and your partner, and everybody right across the community, I wish you all a very happy Christmas and a safe New Year. We'll chat into 2024.
Steph Cooke: I'll look forward to it, Rich. And the same to you and your family and, of course, to your listeners. Wishing everyone a wonderful, safe, Merry Christmas and a happy New Year. I'm not going away anywhere, so if you see me around, by all means, bump into me and have a chat.
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