Michael Regan MP: Autumn update

I hope you got a chance to catch your breath over the summer holidays. Personally I loved watching our women and men’s cricket teams win their respective series and I even got a few jobs done around the house. My favourite thing though is being out and about in our community, seeing old friends and meeting new ones, asking questions, gathering information, to help me do a better job. 

The parliamentary year has begun in earnest, and my team and I are back on the field, batting for Wakehurst. Transport, schools, health, planning and more – we are working hard on the issues that matter.      

Actually, getting to work is the first step. I am betting that most of you have had to wait in a long queue for a bus or check the transport app, only to see every third bus is cancelled? Me too! I share your frustration. Then the NSW Government tells us we should accept more housing density while this is unresolved. Crazy. I am speaking directly with the Transport Minister and Premier to pause density reforms and urgently invest in more buses and drivers to fix this mess. 

In good news, together with the Minister for Youth and Mental Health, I was pleased to announce $4.5 million for a new Youth Mental Health Hub in Brookvale. In addition, working with high school principals, we have also secured a boost for student engagement and vocational pathway programs for our local public high schools. 

The Lizard Rock/ Patyegarang rezoning proposal in Belrose will be decided soon. At every opportunity, I have highlighted the recklessness of allowing hundreds of new homes on bushfire prone land. Surely the shocking LA fires in January remind us of why we should abandon these proposals. 

Northern Beaches Hospital has again been in the news, for all the wrong reasons. Hearing stories like these is why I initiated the performance audit of Northern Beaches Hospital by the independent NSW Auditor General last year. Their report will be released soon and I am sure it will make compelling reading. 

Thank you to all who made submissions. It will make a difference. Recent shocking events only strengthen my resolve to keep the pressure on private operator Healthscope to put people before profit, including increasing nurse-patient ratios and pay. 

Finally, I am proud to announce that the incredible Samantha Neaves is this year’s Local Woman of the Year for Wakehurst. Sam is well known and much beloved in our community as the force behind the StageArtz. 

StageArtz annual charity shows have raised over $300,000 for the Children’s Hospital at Westmead. This is a deeply meaningful achievement that has made a difference to the lives of sick kids and their families and has come to be because of Sam’s phenomenal drive and leadership. Thank you and congratulations Samantha!