Author Archives: wendytuckerman

On the 24th February 2023, Member for Goulburn The Hon. Wendy Tuckerman opened the Tresillian in Goulburn, on Bradley Street. The new Tresillian facility is a win for families and will see local support available to new parents across the region.

The Centre is located at 92 Bradley Street and operates Monday to Friday, providing families with much needed access to specialist support on early parenting issues including breastfeeding and bottle-feeding, infant settling, toddler behaviour and peri-natal anxiety and depression.

Mrs Tuckerman welcomed the service and highlighted the importance of the integrated care approach provided to families at Tresillian that includes practical advice from Tresillian Nurses around issues relating to baby, along with the option for counselling. Gidget House perinatal mental health counselling services will also be co-located in this facility very soon.

“As well as providing face-to-face consultations in the Centre, telehealth is also offered for families in other parts in the Goulburn region. I know how difficult it can be adjusting to life with a new baby and having services available close to home. These new Tresillian services will be life-changing for regional families.”

“Sometimes we forget that it can be a stressful and overwhelming time caring for a baby. This is all about helping families in need and services like Tresillian have a positive impact on the wider community” Mrs Tuckerman said.

Tresillian’s CEO, Rob Mills said, “Since June 2022, the Tresillian team have delivered over 300 occasions of service to local families by providing them with home visiting and virtual support, along with in person consultations from temporary accommodation. We’re extremely delighted that this new Tresillian Centre at 92 Bradley Street will open to families in coming weeks.”

He added ‘Parents in the Goulburn region can either self-refer to Tresillian in Southern, Goulburn by completing a short online contact form on the Tresillian website at www.tresillian.org.au or ask their local GP or Child & Family Health Nurse for a referral. Consultations are generally two hours long’.

Tresillian is the largest early parenting service in Australia, providing advice, support and evidence-based programs to families in the early years as well as leadership to local child and family health professionals.

Rob Mills said ‘Tresillian’s services have transformed the lives of thousands of Australian families. We’re thrilled to be working in partnership with the NSW Government, Southern NSW Local Health District and Gidget Foundation Australia to ensure every child has the best start in life’.

A re-elected NSW Liberal and Nationals Government will deliver a brand new, multi-million-dollar hall at Moss Vale High School.

Premier Dominic Perrottet and Member for Goulburn Wendy Tuckerman visited the school today to share the news with the local school community.

“We know the important role a school hall can play not just for the school but also the broader community in offering a natural gathering point. This will be a great new state-of-the-art addition to Moss Vale High School,” Mr Perrottet said.

“The NSW Liberal and Nationals Government has the long-term economic plan and the strong track-record of delivery to ensure that upgrades to schools can be delivered for students and families across NSW”.

Member for Goulburn Wendy Tuckerman said she welcomed the investment and was looking forward to the project getting underway.

“I am so pleased that we are able to make this commitment, ensuring that students at Moss Vale High School will benefit from our ongoing investment in public education infrastructure,” Mrs Tuckerman said.

“I know how much this will mean to the school having met with local families and raised the need for this project with the Minister for Education.”

Minister for Education and Early Learning Sarah Mitchell said the NSW Liberal and Nationals have continued to prioritise investing in school infrastructure, including in Goulburn.

“In the last few years, we have delivered a new hall at Yass High School building on our multi-million-dollar upgrade. In addition, the first cohort of students are learning at the brand new Murrumbateman Public School which opened its doors for the start of this school year,” Ms Mitchell said.

“Right across NSW, families are seeing our investment in their local schools and Moss Vale is just another to benefit from our record investment.”

The NSW Liberal and Nationals Government investing $8.6 billion in school infrastructure over the next four years, continuing its program to deliver 160 new and upgraded schools to support communities across NSW. This builds on the more than $9.1 billion invested in projects delivered since 2017, a program of $17.7 billion in public education infrastructure.

Construction of the new hall at Moss Vale High School will commence in 2024 if the Liberal and Nationals are re-elected.

Regional apprentices and trainees in Goulburn can now apply for the NSW Liberal and Nationals Government’s $250 Regional Apprentice and University Student Travel Card.

Member for Goulburn Wendy Tuckerman said Regional Apprentice and University Travel Card is a budget-boosting initiative to help ease cost of living pressures in the bush where young people face long distances to get to and from work or training.

“I’m pleased to announce from today that more than 51,000 regional apprentices and trainees, aged between 16 and 66, can save apply to save $250 on fuel and public transport to help with the cost of traveling to work or study,” Mrs Tuckerman said.

“Since the NSW Liberals and Nationals Government announced this initiative last year my office has been inundated with calls on when applications open.
“Well from today, if you’re an apprentice or trainee you can get down to your local Service NSW centre and apply for the $250 Regional Apprentice and University Travel Card and it will be sent to you within weeks.

“If you’re a parent or partner of an apprentice or trainee and you take them to their work or study, still encourage them to apply to help towards fuel costs.”

“Our government built a strong economy so we can roll out budget boosting initiatives when they’re needed. Supporting country people with the rising cost of living will keep our state moving.”

Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW Paul Toole said the card was a win for apprentices and trainees hard at work in restaurants, childcare centres and on farms and construction sites across regional NSW.

“It’s a $250 boost that will ease the cost of filling up the tank or catching transport to work or class for thousands of people working towards their future career,” Mr Toole said.

“This is not just an investment that is putting fuel in the tank of apprentices and trainees now. This is an investment that is fuelling the training of the workforce our regional businesses need for the future.

“Our Regional Seniors Travel Card has proven successful, delivering more than one million cards and injecting $196 million into regional economies since its launch in 2019, and we believe this card will be just as successful.”

Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Sam Farraway said eligible apprentices and trainees who apply will receive a $250 prepaid debit card within weeks.

“The NSW Liberal and Nationals Government wants to get this $250 in the back pockets of our apprentices and trainees to help lower the costs of travel and boost their budgets,” Mr Farraway said.

“Last month we launched a pilot of the card in Dubbo which allowed us to finetune the application process ahead of today.

“Our Government has built a strong economy so we can roll out budget boosting initiatives just like this, supporting country people with the rising cost of living will keep our state moving.”

Applications for university students will open from the end of April when enrolments are confirmed. Apprentices and trainees have until 30 November to apply for the 2023 card.

The initiative will run as a two-year trial until the end of 2024.

More details about eligibility and how to apply can be found at:
http://www.service.nsw.gov.au/regional-apprentice-and-university-student-travel-card.

NSW will be the first state in Australia to allow pharmacists to renew prescriptions for the contraceptive pill as part of a fast-tracked plan to make it easier for women to access important medications and treatments.

Member for Goulburn Wendy Tuckerman has announced that under a re-elected NSW Liberal and Nationals Government it will be more convenient and cheaper for women to visit their pharmacist, with consultations related to the contraceptive pill and UTI treatments to be free for a 12 month trial period.

“The Liberals and Nationals’ pharmacy plan will transform health care, with local women able to beat the queues at the GP and instead walk into their local pharmacy to get the care they need, when they need it,” Mrs Tuckerman said.

“We are making it easier and quicker for the community to access prescription medications and treatments that typically cannot wait for the amount of time it currently takes to see a GP.”

“NSW is not going to sit back and wait for changes to be made at a federal level to help our GPs – we are getting on with the job and ensuring our communities get the access to care that they need now.”

Under our pharmacy plan, the NSW Liberal and Nationals will:

• Cover the cost of the patient consultation fee for the treatment of UTI and the contraceptive pill;
• Commence the prescribing trial for the treatment of UTIs on 1 April 2023; and
• Accelerate the commencement of the trial for the renewal of oral contraceptive pill prescriptions to 1 July 2023 and allow pharmacists to extend an original script issued by a GP or nurse practitioner in the past 2 years

Mrs Tuckerman said the Australian-first pharmacy plan would extend the scope of what many pharmacists can already prescribe, enhancing their role in providing direct care to community.

“We all know and appreciate the vital role our community pharmacists play in providing healthcare, and they will now be in a position to help ease the pressure on other areas of the health system, including primary care providers and hospitals,” Mrs Tuckerman said.

“This reform will ease the pressure on primary care and ensure locals are able to access the care they need, when they need it.”

NSW Health will work with participating pharmacists who will be required to undertake additional training for these specific conditions to ensure safe prescribing practices.

The NSW Government has partnered with the University of Newcastle to design and implement the clinical trial.

Data gathered from the clinical trial will be used to inform any future changes to the role of pharmacists in the healthcare system.

Under the NSW Government’s pharmacy reforms, residents of NSW have also been able to access additional vaccinations from pharmacists since November 2022.

The NSW Government’s commitment to completing the Yass Water Project remains firm – but a Liberal Government will ensure that the project is delivered without fears of cost blowouts, underestimates or wastage.  

Let’s be clear. At the last election, Yass Valley Council said it was going to take $10 million to fix the problem. As the local Member, I secured this funding, and Stage One of the project has already been completed. 

However, for an investment decision to be made by the NSW Government a robust business case is required, and this involves properly evaluating the options and the costs associated. This work is now underway and early indications are that the project costs will exceed the initial $10 million that Council estimated at the time of the election by more than 200% 

Put simply, the NSW Government cannot make a funding allocation until this work is completed, and that is why we are working with Council on that Final Business Case.  In the presence of the water minister last week Council staff told me it is going to take them 9 months to complete the final business case, a business case that the NSW Government has funded.  As a Local member I will not be caught out again making a funding announcement that will not get the job done. 

As the Local Member, I have ensured that $3.7 million of the allocated funds were immediately unlocked for improvements to the existing plant, to provide improvements to Yass residents in the short term. If it was not for my hard work in getting NSW Water and Yass Council together to agree on implementation of Stage 1 – a year after being awarded the money from the election commitment – we would not have seen ANY progress.  

Council also has a pipe network contributing to a substandard delivery (and discolouration) of the water, yet, I have not seen any commitment from Yass Councillors to gain an understanding of where the source of the problem is coming from and their plans to replace and maintain this pipe network. 

There have been plenty of funding opportunities for Councils (for instance the Accelerated Infrastructure Fund with successful projects for Round 3 announced just this week).  Yass Valley Council did not apply for the expansion of Yass water treatment plant. Council has not applied for funding to replace the aging pipe network.    

The community is being continually let down by the lack of planning on this and other issues. There has been no shortage of funds that council can apply for and please note Council still have $6.3M from the last commitment that hasn’t been spent.  

Other Councils in my electorate have done the work and their communities are benefiting.