Community & Business
6 February, 2026
Roy's Round Up - February 5, 2026
All the news from member for Barwon, Roy Butler MP
The Big Shout - national appeal
Alcoholism can be a real problem in country areas. This week saw the launch of “The Big Shout” a national appeal by grassroots bush charity Sober In the Country (SITC) to raise awareness of the issue.
SITC was founded by Narrabri local Shanna Whan AM, winner of the 2022 Australian of the Year Local Hero award.
The Big Shout flips the classic Aussie tradition of shouting a mate a beer and turns it into a 'virtual shout' with real and serious impact.
The goal is to help this small organisation that's created a massive national social impact expand their life-saving work supporting remote and isolated Australians who simply need a hand, and not another drink in their hand.
Shanna has supported countless people from this electorate in the past decade through SITC’s peer support network, and their extremely user-friendly message that when communities simply make it #OK2SAYNO (to booze) and cater for everyone, whether they're drinkers, non-drinkers, or sometimes drinkers - lives are saved and changed.
Shan and her very small team have always been clear that the charity doesn’t preach prohibition. Instead, they show how mateship, respect, and personal choice can be powerful for those choosing to cut back or quit alcohol for health, mental health, or personal reasons.
Given how much this organisation has done for so many, I want everyone in Barwon to pitch in and show it some support. Let’s help them grow, spread and continue doing the work that’s already making such a profound difference.
Submissions needed for Service Review
One of the things I pushed hard for, as Chair of the Industry, Investment and Regional Development (IIRD) committee, was a review into service delivery standards of government services, including those outsourced by the government, provided to country areas. I am pleased to say that the review is now underway, but to make it successful it needs your input. Submissions are open until February 15. The committee will investigate issues such as:
current performance measurements, accountability mechanisms, monitoring metrics, and reporting frameworks for services in regional NSW outsourced to third-party providers;
differences in government service delivery standards between metropolitan and regional areas;
options to improve monitoring, evaluation and reporting of the delivery of government funded services in regional NSW, with reference to the social justice and community sector; and
the need to reform and develop legislative frameworks to improve government service delivery standards in regional NSW .
Visit to Broken Hill
Last week I visited Broken Hill, where I attended several events, including their Australia Day celebrations. I was at a dinner hosted by Broken Hill City Council at which the Australia Day Ambassador, journalist and TV personality Liz Deep-Jones, spoke.
Although the day means different things to different people, my hope is that it makes us think about how we can move towards our future united and striving to make this country a better place for everyone.
One of the best aspects of Australia Day is the chance to give recognition to people who have striven for excellence and done great things in their communities. Congratulations to all those who got a gong in the Australia Day honours list, but also a big congratulations to all those who earnt an award locally.
I was also privileged to be part of a special event, the burying of a time capsule, which has taken place every 25 years since 1975. It was fascinating to hear what was going on a quarter of a century ago as some of the letters in the time capsule were read out.
I hope to be around for the next time in 2050.
Save the greyhound tracks
The future of greyhound racing in Barwon is under threat. Recently after my trip to Broken Hill, I went to South Australia to meet with the chief executive officer of Greyhound Racing SA, Brenton Scott, to discuss their capacity to take on Broken Hill participants following GRNSW's announcement that Broken Hill and the Coonamble track will cease operations in June.
There are several reasons why I don't want Broken Hill participants to go to South Australia. There are economic benefits and social connections that come from greyhound racing that will be lost from Broken Hill, two aspects that are being overlooked in the decision to close the track.
While the meeting went well, and there is no doubt that SA have great facilities and the ability to take on the participants from Broken Hill, I will still push for a parliamentary inquiry in the context of track closures. I will also seek to amend the objectives of GRNSW and that GRNSW allow the Broken Hill and Coonamble tracks to produce an operating model that meets the requirements of GRNSW and will permit them to keep racing.
