Unique approach for candidates

My understanding of the NSW Nationals Constitution is that somebody standing for the position must have been a member of the party for at least 12 months.

But I guess, with so many members leaving their branches after the Party turned it back on the electorate of Murray, the behaviour of National Party politicians of late and clearly no suitable candidates remaining as a member, desperate times call for desperate measures.

Our 2022 Music Muster is over for another year and has been very successful again, as all our musters have been. Our muster started on April 26 to May 1, we had over 250 caravans attend, 500 plus patrons each day on Saturday and Sunday.

It exceeded our expectations and everyone commented on how great it was. We had a great line up of artists booked but in unforeseen circumstances, two of our artists had to pull out due to medical issues, but the other artists filled in, which we were very grateful for.

Our walk-up artists started on Tuesday and continued till Friday lunch time, hosted by Trudy Hintz. There were 33 walk-up artists. Friday after lunch we had a camp oven damper competition which everyone had a lot of fun making dampers. Friday night had a party night hosted by Trudy Hintz again.

Saturday the artists performed 9am til 9pm, then again on Sunday starting with the poet's breakfast and continuing with the artists until 3pm, finishing with our finale.

We would like to thank all that helped to make our muster the success it was, especially our wonderful Griffith sponsors; Tyrepower/ARB - Griffith City Smash 4x4, Town and Country Tyres, Steve Fattore Sound and Install, Lifestyle Living, Bunnings, Collier and Miller, Riverina Hunting and Fishing, Mia Casa, Betta Electrical, Warburn Estate Winery and Steggles Chicken Shop.

Thankyou to everyone who supported our muster again.

I am writing to express my heartfelt appreciation to everyone across NSW who supported the Smith Family's 2022 winter appeal. At a time when Australians continue to face COVID challenges and ongoing economic instability, we've been humbled by their tremendous generosity.

This show of support could not have come at a better time, with the fallout from COVID still impacting children's education, particularly those experiencing poverty.

We know that financial disadvantage creates barriers for learning, and our recent family survey found parents and carers continued to be worried about their children falling behind at school, amidst ongoing disruptions and the after-effects of extended periods of home learning. With the donations received, the Smith Family will provide extra learning and mentoring support to an additional 5,302 children and young people in NSW during terms three and four.

These include an out-of-school reading program and our after-school learning clubs. We know these evidence-based programs work because we measure the progress of students to ensure they are benefitting.

Parents, students and teachers tell us that our programs are helping children to be more confident and engaged at school, improve their learning outcomes, and become more aware of study and career opportunities post-school.

In the last year, our programs reached around 180,000 children and young people nationally. And with more young Australians in need of support than ever before, we want to extend this reach to 250,000 in the next five years. So, to everyone who generously contributed to our appeal, I say a great big thank you.

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