Visiting Knox Grammar Prep and Lindfield East Public School

Fri, 27 Nov 2020

For many students in Years 5 and 6, the Canberra trip is a highlight of their studies in civics and citizenship. Sadly, the COVID-19 pandemic made it impossible for some schools to visit Canberra this year.

To make up for this missed opportunity, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Hon. Tony Smith MP, travelled to Bradfield to join me in speaking with Year 6 at Knox Grammar Prep School and Year 5 and 6 at Lindfield East Public School. It was great to answer questions from students about Australia’s parliament, and my responsibilities as the Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts.

Virtual Meeting with Travel Agencies

Thu, 26 Nov 2020

Speaking to travel agents from the Bradfield electorate to hear first-hand about the impact of COVID-19 on the travel and tourism industry.

Catch Up with Michelle from LBDF

Thu, 19 Nov 2020

Great to catch up with Michelle from Little Blue Dinosaur, which does fantastic work advocating for child pedestrian safety. We chatted about the upcoming release of Tom’s Holiday, a story about the importance of looking out for kids on the roads.

Tom’s Holiday is out this week, in time for National Road Safety Week – an important reminder as we approach the holiday period. I encourage parents to pick up a copy to include on your children’s bookshelves.

Visit littlebluedinosaur.org to learn more.

You can watch the video of myself and Michelle here.

Pymble Community Meeting

Wed, 18 Nov 2020

Glad to host a community meeting in Pymble this week - the first since Covid hit.

Thanks to those who attended and for adapting to our new, covid safe format. Some interesting questions were raised and we were able to discuss the Government's plan for economic recovery.

Visit to Bayer

Tue, 10 Nov 2020

The Australian offices of global pharmaceutical company Bayer are in Pymble, in my electorate. It was great to visit Bayer last week, to meet with staff and learn more about the company’s latest accomplishments.

Bare Creek Train Run

Sun, 08 Nov 2020

Great to be back in the Bare Creek Trail Run, which runs through the beautiful Garigal National Park in St Ives. This run is the first to be back up and running in NSW after COVID, with social distancing in place.

Visit to Sydney Grammar School

Fri, 06 Nov 2020

It was great to discuss Australia’s system of government with the boys from Sydney Grammar Preparatory School in St Ives today. Some very insightful questions as always!

Meeting with Dr Michael Fullilove AM

Wed, 04 Nov 2020

This evening I joined Dr Michael Fullilove AM, executive director of the Lowy Institute to discuss the US-Australia relationship, and what the next administration (potentially only hours away from being announced) will mean for Australia.

Thank you Dr Fullilove for the stimulating conversation. You brought a deep level of expertise to the subject and were able to share a lot of insight into a particularly topical area.

Opening of NorthConnex

Fri, 30 Oct 2020

NorthConnex is officially open to motorists this weekend. Sydney-siders will be able to bypass 21 sets of traffic lights between the M1 and M2 motorways, completing the long-awaited ‘missing link’ in the National Highway network.

This $3 billion project saw $412.3 million from the Australian Government and $577.3 million from the NSW Government, with $2 billion from Transurban and its private sector partners.

For locals, the tunnel will mean reduced traffic congestion, improved air quality and a safer route for pedestrians and cyclists. For commuters, this means a faster journey to and from work, and 5,000 trucks a day taken off Pennant Hills Road.

You can watch a video about the NorthConnex here.

2020 Bradfield Prize Winner

Thu, 01 Oct 2020

It was great to catch up with committee members of the Ku ring gai Art Society, along with Mr Tony MacLure, local artist and winner of this years’ Member for Bradfield Prize. His painting ‘Jacarandas in Bloom at Eryldene’ features on my 2020 calendar, for the whole of the electorate to enjoy. Congratulations Tony!

JobKeeper, Supporting Small Businesses

Wed, 23 Sep 2020

It has been a tough few months for small businesses across Australia. The Morrison Government has responded with support through the JobKeeper program and cash flow boost for small businesses. Australia wide, more than 900,000 businesses have been supported by JobKeeper, while around 790,000 businesses have benefitted from the cash flow boost, to a value of approximately $25.6 billion.

I visited businesses across my electorate to hear their stories about how JobKeeper and the cash flow boost have supported them through this difficult time. You can watch this video here.

Visit to West Pennant Hills Public School

Wed, 16 Sep 2020

I joined NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance MP to meet with parents and students from West Pennant Hills Public School - to better understand what the coming opening of NorthConnex will mean for our local community. The students told us about the traffic noise they hear every day at school; and about not being able to walk to school because it is simply too dangerous to walk near such a busy road. All that is set to change. This new motorway tunnel running between the M1 at Wahroonga and the M2 at Pennant Hills will remove large amounts of traffic - including up to 5,000 trucks per day - from Pennant Hills Road. For everyone who lives, works or studies along or near Pennant Hills Road, you can look forward to less traffic noise, a safer environment and better community amenity. When we came to government in 2013 we promised a $400 million investment for this project, alongside the NSW government and private sector investors. It is great to see the project almost complete - and the benefits it will bring our community.