General News
30 November, 2025
Roy's Round Up - November 24, 2025
News from the member for Barwon, Roy Butler MP
G’day folks, apart from a sitting day on Friday, November 28 (to deal with legislation passing through the Legislative Council) the Legislative Assembly has risen for the year. It won’t sit again until February next year, which will be only 13 months out from the next election. That should change the character of parliament next year, particularly with new people leading the Liberals and the Nationals. I want to congratulate Kellie Sloane (Liberals) and Gurmesh Singh (Nationals) on gaining the leadership roles and I look forward to working with them.
Over the next few weeks, I have meetings planned with federal ministers, committee meetings, as well as meetings and events around Barwon.
As we head toward summer and Christmas, things will tend to wind down for most people, and there will be plenty of socialising. I hope that everyone enjoys the festive season, but I want to urge everyone to take it easy on the roads over this time.
Bill to protect Police Memorials
Still on the subject of remembrance, in the first sitting week of November I introduced a bill to make police memorials protected places on a par with war memorials.
In this country we protect sacred spaces whether they be places of worship, cemeteries, sites of historical or cultural significance or memorials. These are places where people can go to pay their respects, pray, spend a moment in contemplation or gather for ceremonies and commemorations.
While most people recognise the sacred nature of these spaces and know how to act when they are in them, around them or near them, there are people who deface, damage or defile these spaces, or behave in ways that show disrespect.
This is why we have laws to deter people from damaging these public spaces or from behaving inappropriately in them. Laws were recently passed to protect war memorials and so it seems only fair that the same should be done for police memorials.
Like people who serve in the military, the Police have earnt our respect. Police serve and protect the public daily. Most people will have some engagement with police on a regular basis, many people will receive their assistance, many know someone who is a police officer. Police are often called on to put their lives on the line, and some pay the ultimate price, losing their life in the line of duty.
All those who serve, whether in the military or in the police, deserve our respect. It is important that we make it clear that memorials to their service are off limits in any partisan debates or to be misused in activist campaigns.
The protection the bill gives to the memorials means that a judge can rule that defiling, defacing, damaging or disrespecting a Police Memorial is something more than just mindless destruction of public property, or a random act of bad behaviour, and that it could or should attract a higher penalty.
To see my second reading speech for the bill go to my website.
Service Delivery Standards Inquiry
An area that has been a major concern to me, since even before I was first elected, is the number of “ghost services” in regional NSW. These are services, particularly youth services, that have government funding but don’t have meaningful impact on, or presence in, the communities where they are meant to operate. If you ask people in the communities where they are based, they’ll tell you that they were never consulted and have no idea whether the service still, or ever did, operate.
We have heard stories about funded programs that pay for a person to turn up, open the doors, wait for people to turn up, then close and go home after a few hours.
That is why I have pushed hard to have a review of service delivery standards in government programs in regional areas. As chair of the Investment, Industry and Regional Development Committee I have been able to get the inquiry up and running.
Submissions are now open at the NSW Parliament website.
Notice of Motion on Drought
When I was first elected as the member for Barwon, the electorate was in the grip of the worst drought in the history of European presence in this country. The government of the day was slow to assist those who were affected by that natural disaster, because they were lacking a structured approach to drought.
I began calling for the government to develop such an approach, but after the drought broke and the countryside experience some good wet seasons, it seemed the idea of developing a structured drought policy was not viewed with any sense of urgency.
However, we have seen signs recently that parts of NSW may be going into drought. So, I moved at notice of motion during the November sitting weeks calling on the government to note that parts of the state are drying and the impact that is having on agriculture, small businesses and regional economies.
Also to be concerned about the lack of a structured approach to drought to assist with recognising when to assist farmers and to help them recover from it. To work with the federal government on defining responsibilities and to ensure that NSW is not left without a plan for the next drought.
To see video of the Notice of Motion go to my website.
Notice of Motion on Rail Crossing Safety
Recently, a terrible accident resulted in the death of a young child at a level crossing at Baan Baa. It highlighted the dangerous nature of rail crossings in regional areas. During the November sitting weeks I introduced a notice of motion that the government:
(1) Notes there are 1360 public level crossings in New South Wales.
(2) Expresses concern that only 434, or just under 32 per cent of these crossings have active traffic controls.
(3) Sadly, acknowledges each year we have deaths involving people, vehicles, and rail.
(4) Urges this parliament to be more united in putting active traffic controls in place on level crossings, using a risk-based priority system.
More needs to be done to make these crossings safer, before another fatality occurs.
Storm Damage Assistance
There have been some terrible storms recently, with high winds up to 110 km/h and hailstorms, that have damaged crops and impacted primary producers across Barwon, including Burren Junction, Piliga, and Walgett.
People are uncertain about the availability of support, but the good news is that people find out what assistance they might be eligible for through the Primary Industries Natural Disaster Damage Assessment (PiNDDA).
The survey helps government agencies to gather information to gauge the extent of the damage to draw up plans for recovery. So, I am urging all producers to complete a damage assessment through the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) to access targeted assistance and resources.
It’s a simple process that can be completed on a home computer or smartphone at any time.
The PiNDDA survey helps government agencies, industry organisations, and communities understand the scale and regional distribution of a disaster’s impact on agriculture and plan for recovery.
To complete the survey, producers will need:
- Estimated areas of crop affected.
- Kilometres of fencing damaged.
- Number of animals deceased.
- The estimated cost of damage to specialised equipment and infrastructure.
Local Land Services (LLS) or DPI officers are available to assist with completing the survey.
