Senator Matt Thistlethwaite debates Cowper MP on the Government's Clean Energy Future Package
Click below to listen to the full debate
ABC's Heywire Competition is back for 2012
.jpg/?width=242&height=129) |
What is Heywire?
HEYWIRE is an annual competition for young people from regional Australia. It's also a place to share your stories and opinions about the news that affects you.
|
The Heywire competition calls for stories about you and the community where you live.
Anyone can upload stories to the website, but you have to be aged between 16 and 22, and live outside Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide or Perth, to be eligible to win the annual Heywire Competition.
The winning entrants (roughly 40) get the chance to go to the Heywire Regional Youth Summit in Canberra in February - all expenses paid!
You can enter as many times as you like and can submit your story in any form of media: text, video, photography, audio or a song. Entries close in September, 2012.
For more details about the competition, click here.
Support a Celebration of NSW - Change the Queen's Birthday Public Holiday
Senator Matt Thistlethwaite has called for the Queen’s Birthday public holiday to be scrapped in NSW in favour of a day that celebrates who we are and where we are heading as a nation.
He spoke at the NSW Young Labor Conference in Sydney, saying that getting rid of the archaic holiday was the first symbolic step in beginning a new discussion about constitutional change in Australia with the ultimate goal of becoming a republic.
Medibank Community Fund Community Grants
.png/?width=200&height=128)
The Medibank Community Fund (MCF) Community Grants program is designed to assist local communities to deliver grassroots programs that help people live longer in good health through a state based grants program. Community Grants support local community initiatives to promote healthy eating and community connectedness.
Eligibility
1. The project or program must:
a. Encourage members of a community to adopt a healthy eating lifestyle; and/or
b. Encourage community connectedness for better individual health
2. The organisation seeking the funds must operate on a not-for-profit basis, or the project must be fully orientated towards the community and not designed to deliver a profit.
3. The program or project must operate within a State (i.e. is not a national program)
4. The program must include an opportunity for Medibank employees to be involved (e.g. volunteering/ participation)
5. The maximum level of support is set by the maximum budget for the State. The minimum level of support is $5,000
6. Programs may be supported for up to two years
You can find out more about the initiative and how your community can apply here: http://www.medibankcf.com.au/
Senator 'Myths Busted' - The Facts about Australian aid
The Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) has released a report titled, 'Myths Busted' which supports the Australian Government's aid contribution to developing countries.
The report 'busts' 10 myths about Australia's aid program and seeks to explain how Australia has the capacity to play a crucial role in improving the lifestyles of our neighbours near and far.
To read the report click here. 
Senator Telstra Connected Seniors' Grant
Thursday, 27 October 2011
The Telstra Connected Seniors® Grant has begun. The initiatve invites local community groups to apply for grants worth up to $50,000 to help seniors learn about staying connected with new-age communications technology such as mobile phones and the internet.
Telstra Connected Seniors® workshops are conducted in a friendly and inviting environment where seniors can learn skills at their own pace alongside friends and neighbours.
The Telstra Connected Seniors® workshops are a great way to equip older Australians with the skills to engage online and make use of technology, and help seniors overcome social isolation.
I urge not-for-profit community organisations with a primary membership base of people aged more than 60 to consider applying at www.telstraseniors.com.au.
John Cobb's Scare Campaign hits a new low
John Cobb, Member for Calare, Central Western Daily October, 11 2011
Thursday, 20 October 2011
For weeks we’ve seen Tony Abbott travel around Australia drumming up fear in working Australians.
It’s unfortunate then that John Cobb has decided to indulge in the Opposition Leader’s fondness for misinformation.
Reading John’s recent piece in the Central West Daily, I found it pretty rich for him to claim that a carbon price will mean the end is nigh for working families in Calare, that the council will blow out rates, and that the Bathurst 1000 could shut down!
Let’s get the facts straight on this one. Continue Reading.
Senator Matt Thistlethwaite delivers surf and rock fishing safety message to non-English speaking communities
Wednesday, 19 October 2011
NSW Senator Matt Thistlethwaite is using his surf life saving experience to deliver a safety message to Sydney’s non-English speaking communities ahead of what is shaping up as a dangerous summer along the coast.
The former President of Maroubra Surf Club visited Chinese media outlets TVB, Sing Tao & Australian Chinese Daily recently to convey his deep concern regarding the overrepresentation of non-English speaking communities among this country’s drowning deaths and to deliver a message of safety.
“People from non-English speaking background communities have suffered greatly from the ocean’s power and unpredictability. That’s why I’m determined to utilise my surf life saving experience to spread the message of surf and rock fishing safety to these communities ahead of summer,” Senator Thistlethwaite said.
Click here for information about staying safe along the coast this summer.