Few people can go to work and say they saved the lives of 33 children. And today, Member for Kiama Gareth Ward recognised local school bus driver, Gary, for his quick thinking that saved lives as part of the bus fire on 28th November 2024.
Member for Kiama Gareth Ward has today condemned local Illawarra and South Coast Labor MPs for their failure to deliver a single sod on a roads project they promised our local community at the last Federal and State elections.
Member for Kiama Gareth Ward has today promoted the 2025 STEM Student Competition Sponsorship Program, calling it an essential step toward nurturing the next generation of innovative minds. The program, funded under the Research Attraction and Acceleration Program (RAAP), offers grants of up to $10,000 per team, supporting NSW students to participate in domestic and international STEM competitions.
The sponsorship program focuses on funding research-related expenses, including lab consumables and research materials to allow students to fully engage in their projects.
WARD CALLS FOR BIPARTISAN SUPPORT FOR
ILLAWARRA DRUG COURT
Member for Kiama Gareth Ward has called for all political parties to unite and back calls from lawyers, social services, judicial officers and psychologists to establish a drug court in the Illawarra.
Mr Ward said the statistics speak for themselves with Bureau of Crime Statistics and Reporting data making the case clearer than ever.
With the NSW Drug Summit underway, Mr Ward said that a Drug Court was an important piece of the puzzle in getting people off drugs and turning lives around.
“If you have been addicted, or you know someone who has, you would know and appreciate the devastating impacts drugs can have on individuals, families, and communities. Drug Courts work, and it makes absolutely no sense that other regions have Drug Courts and the Illawarra doesn’t,” Mr Ward said.
“BOCSR statistics show that 37% of people receiving treatment through a Drug Court program are less likely to be convicted of an offence. 65% are less likely to be convicted of an offence against a person, 35% are less likely to be convicted of a property offence and 58% are less likely to be reconvicted of a drug offence. What more does this government need than its very own data?
Member for Kiama Gareth Ward has slammed Premier Chris Minns’s ‘Look at me, look at me’ visit to the Illawarra, with no new funding, no new projects or no real engagement with the local community.
Member for Kiama Gareth Ward said that tomorrow 3rd December is International Day of People with Disability (IDPwD).
Member for Kiama Gareth Ward has joined local Illawarra residents in calling on the NSW Government to urgently address the worsening traffic congestion on the M1 Motorway by adding an extra lane in both directions between Yallah and West Wollongong.
Member for Kiama Gareth Ward has today delivered his Second Reading Speech on the Health Services Amendment (Hospital Helipads) Bill 2024, aimed at ensuring the inclusion of a helipad in new or redeveloped hospitals with have emergency departments.
The proposal comes in the wake of the scandal-plagued delivery of the new Shellharbour Hospital which has a cycleway strategy but no helipad to be built and operational on day one. This is in spite of the existing Shellharbour Hospital having a helipad.
Member for Kiama Gareth Ward has given notice of a Private Members Bill that will require all new or renovated hospitals with an emergency department to have a helipad as part of the build.
Mr Ward’s moves come amidst the scandal-plagued development of the Shellharbour Hospital which will not have a helipad when the hospital opens on day one of operation.
Member for Kiama Gareth Ward has slammed the NSW Labor Government for voting against keeping David Berry Hospital in public hands. The David Berry Hospital Amendment (Prohibition of Sale) Bill 2024 aimed to protect David Berry Hospital from privatisation and keep it within the public health system.
Whist the NSW Labor Government had said they would support keeping David Berry Hospital in public hands, every Labor Party Member voted to do the opposite.