Your Federal Member's Community Update

November 5, 2026

OBERON BEATS THE BELLS

The division bells were ringing non-stop during a recent visit to Parliament, and the students from Oberon Public School were lucky enough to see Parliament voting on some important bills.

While they were waiting for the voting to end - the students were busy brainstorming what they would do if they were Prime Minister for a day.

I heard there were some brilliant (and very popular!) ideas floating around - including shorter school hours, extra holidays, and fuel relief!

Luckily, I was able to catch up with Oberon kids and they certainly didn't hold back with some top-notch questions!

Some of the questions included:

Why do you vote yes or no to certain things - what influences your decisions?
What made you become a politician?
How long have you been an MP, and how long do you plan to be one?
What is the best part of the job, and what is the most challenging?

A huge thank you to all the students, teachers and parents from Oberon for making the trip and their patience while we were voting in the chamber.

I hope you all enjoyed the rest of your Canberra excursion!

FLAWED GUN BUYBACK BEGINS

The state and federal gun buyback scheme is now underway, and it is an absolute insult to law-abiding gun owners across our region and the state.

Taxpayers are being slugged a billion dollars for this scheme, while law-abiding gun owners are only being paid cents on the dollar.

Meanwhile, every other state and territory knows how bad and flawed this scheme is and don't want to touch it with a barge pole - leaving the ACT as the only other place signing up for it.

Every other day we hear about another drive by in Sydney. The streets are awash with illegal guns. Go after them.

Law abiding citizens are being made scapegoats to divert from the glaring government failures around the horrific Bondi attacks.

The scheme runs for 12 months.

My advice?

Don't hand in your guns just yet.

There's a state election coming up in March, and a pretty strong political message could be sent!

STOP TAXING OUR SMALL BUSINESSES DRY!

In Parliament recently, I spoke out against the government’s latest wave of new taxes. They are enterprise and initiative destroyers that penalise our hardworking small businesses and entrepreneurs!

Small business is supposed to be the engine room of our economy, yet this government treats them like an ATM to prop up government spending.

They should be supporting those small businesses thrive, to take risks, employ our locals and keep our communities afloat. Instead they’re strangled with endless tax after tax and reams of red tape.

If you’re going to impose these massive financial burdens, the Government should have the courage to take them to an election and get a mandate!

It’s simple: stop making life harder for the people building our future.

Bin these taxes, start respecting our business owners, and give them a fair go!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

It was a wet start to Lithgow Halloween 2026, but when the clouds cleared, a massive crowd of ghosts, superheroes, pirates, skeletons and witches came out to join the fun!

After going as The Hulk last year, I switched to an astronaut theme for 2026.

Lithgow Halloween is now one of the biggest regional Halloween events in Australia, bringing the community together for a whole lot of Halloween fun.

PM ASKED TO BACK THE TRACK & UPGRADE MT PANORAMA

Recently in Question Time, I asked the Prime Minister whether his government will step up and deliver the vital funding needed to upgrade and repair the iconic Mount Panorama motor racing circuit!

This follows a meeting I recently had with the Prime Minister at Parliament House in which I raised this exact issue.

Just weeks ago, a crowd of 204,000 passionate fans made it the biggest Bathurst 1000 since 2018!

It is a world-class event that puts our region on the global stage, driving millions of dollars into our local economy.

However, as millions of viewers saw on live television during the race broadcast, the track surface is deteriorating under the immense strain and showing its age.

Mount Panorama is the physical and spiritual home of Australian motorsport.

If we want to keep it as Australia’s premier motor racing venue, and crucially, ensure it maintains its racing accreditation, both state and federal governments need to dig deep and deliver serious funding.

During Question Time, I put the challenge straight to the Prime Minister: Will you back Bathurst, and will you back the track?

While the Prime Minister did not commit to paying for the upgrades, he did point to the Growing Regions grants program which is opening soon, as a possible source of funding.

Paying for the track upgrades out of Council’s existing federal road repair programs isn’t going to cut it. All that would mean is that needy local roads miss out on repair.

Dedicated track funding is needed!

Rest assured I’ll continue pushing the Prime Minister and both the state and federal governments until we get the funding secured. It's time to back Bathurst, back the track, and make these upgrades happen!

The drivers love the Mountain, the fans love it, and our region relies on it. It’s time for state and federal governments to open their wallets and show Mount Panorama the love it deserves.

They need to back the track!

Authorised by Andrew Gee, MP, Suite 1/179A Anson Street, Orange NSW 2800