2020 has not been the year we expected. It's been a year of challenges.
No one has felt this more than rural and regional NSW and in suburban areas like St George and the Sutherland Shire. Whether it's bushfires or floods, droughts or a pandemic, 2020 has been a year that won't be forgotten.
Throughout all this, the regions and St George and the Shire have soldiered on as they always do.
And in the fight against COVID-19, they're succeeding.
It's been six months since the Far West recorded a locally acquired case. According to the Government's own weekly figures, by late last week it had been been 158 days on the Mid North Coast and 63 days in the rest of Northern NSW. The Hunter and New England were at 51 days, and down in Southern NSW it was 47 days.
It makes you scratch your head that 40,000 people are allowed at the footy in Sydney yet one bloke can't drink a beer standing at a pub in Walgett.
You've got to ask yourself, should we take another look at this?
We're seeing unemployment at 10.7 per cent on the north coast and 9 per cent in New England. It's not a question of can we afford to do this, it's can we afford not to?
I grew up in the country and I'll always be a country girl at heart. If there's one thing I know it's that country people are tough, they get on with job. So let's get out of the way.
Communities are desperate to get back to work and we've got the handbrake on.
The regions deserve a break. And I think it's time we gave them one.
We're not proposing anything radical, just making things a little bit easier for communities and business.
Of course keep testing rates high, monitor closely and support Councils and businesses to be COVID-safe. But with transmission so low, we can protect communities and protect jobs too.
Why not take a look at whether a few more people can go to the local café or make a booking in town? If we can do it safely at the footy, why not Forster or Forbes?
The news is good and the situation has changed. So our restrictions need to change too.
It's time we took a serious look at relaxing restrictions in the regions and kick-starting economic recovery across the state.
Throughout this pandemic my party and I have sought to be constructive. We've backed decisions based on health advice. I'm proud we got the big calls right, on hotel quarantine, on the border and on lockdown.
But a once-size-fits-all approach can only last so long. Every day the Government makes the regions wait to re-open, is a missed opportunity. It's time to act, it's time to let our regions recover.
