State Matters – A Weekly Bulletin from Dave Layzell MP

Member for Upper Hunter – 23 February 2026

FIREFIGHTERS WANTED – DUNGOG is one of the Upper Hunter Electorate brigades hoping to secure new recruits from a Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) campaign to bolster the ranks of on- call firefighters.

The “Become an On-Call Firefighter” drive urges people to join FRNSW to help their communities and learn new skills, while being paid an hourly rate to supplement their income.

FRNSW Commissioner, Jeremy Fewtrell, is rolling out the welcome mat to potential recruits describing on-call as a terrific opportunity for people across the state with Fire and Rescue willing to  work around your availability to welcome you into a close-knit team.

Men and women from all walks of life are urged to visit the FRNSW website for more information: https://careers.fire.nsw.gov.au/on-call-firefighting

ESL UPDATE – A NSW parliamentary inquiry will consider the Minns Labor Government’s options to remove the Emergency Services Levy (ESL).

While emergency services benefit everyone, most of the funding comes from a levy not everyone pays.

Currently, the payment of the ESL is only placed on those who take out property insurance.

To inform the inquiry process, the Government will release an options paper which includes five levy model options.

The options have been developed following the comprehensive collection of property level insurance policy data and land classifications performed by local councils under legislative amendments.

WATER GRANTS – Applications are now open for Lower Hunter organisations to lodge their bid for a share of the annual Hunter Water Love Water Grants.

One-off financial contributions up to $10,000 are available to support water conservation and sustainability initiatives. 

Community groups, schools and other not-for-profit organisations, are encouraged to put forward their ideas that help save water or improve environmental outcomes.

Applications will be accepted until Sunday 15 March with more details at: www.hunterwater.com.au/about/community/community-support/love-water-grants

MODIFICATION ON DISPLAY – MACH Energy’s application to modify the development consent for the Mount Pleasant open cut coal mine, near Muswellbrook, is currently on public  exhibition until 9 March.

The proposed modification involves an extension of time for mining operations until the end of December 2032 and an increase to the approved coal extraction rate from 10.5 Million tonnes per  annum (Mtpa) to 12.5 Mtpa.

During the period of the Modification, operational employment would be up to a maximum of 575 personnel.

The modification application and associated environmental assessment documents are available at: www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/major-projects/projects/mod-8-extension-mine-life

All public submissions must be made online through the NSW Planning Portal, with assistance available to make a submission or call Service NSW on 1300 305 695.

DRIVER FATIGUE – Fatigue is one of the leading causes for crash deaths on NSW roads, with the vast majority of fatigue-related crashes happening on regional roads.

With that stark reality in focus, National Driver Fatigue Week is currently underway trying to reduce one of the most persistent and preventable causes of serious injury and death on Australian  roads.

Every road user will face the onset of driver fatigue at some point and fatigue is not solved by willpower.

For decades, the well-intentioned message to Australian motorists has been “get a good night’s sleep” and “take regular breaks.”

However, the science is clear that the only solution for fatigue is sleep.

National Driver Fatigue Week promotes the Power Nap message encouraging drivers to stop and take a short, planned nap of 15-to-20 minutes when fatigue first appears.

For more on this simple, evidence-based, real-time safety intervention while drivers are on the road, visit: https://powernap.org.au/national-driver-fatigue-week/

TELSTRA UPGRADE – Telstra mobile services in the Obanvale area on the northern outskirts of Singleton will be temporarily affected next week while network upgrade works are undertaken.

The Obanvale mobile base station will need to be switched off during daytime hours on Monday and Tuesday, 2-3 March, with a partial outage on Wednesday and Thursday, 4-5 March.

The works will not impact landline services, NBN, satellite internet services, or mobile coverage from other providers.

Any calls to Triple Zero from a Telstra mobile when the site is off air will automatically connect to another mobile network, if available, for connection to emergency services.

Telstra customers can continue to make calls and send texts during the disruption to mobile services by switching on Wi-Fi Calling.

Business owners are encouraged to talk to their bank about connecting their EFTPOS terminals to their NBN or Wi-Fi connection to prevent delays in processing transactions.

Keep up to date with the Obanvale outage at: https://www.telstra.com.au/outages

OMBUDSMAN UPDATE – New data from the Telecommunication Industry Ombudsman (TIO) shows complaints about having no telephone or internet jumped by 41.6 per cent between  September and December 2025.

Australians made 14,017 complaints with residential consumers contributing 89.8 per cent of the complaints and 10.2 per cent came from small businesses.

TIO posted record high digital platform complaints last year, up 20 per cent, with the Ombudsman calling for stronger protections so people can get issues sorted quickly and fairly.

Account access issues, including blocks and hacking, remain the most common digital complaint.

Despite receiving 1,780 digital platform complaints since 2023, the TIO doesn’t yet have the power to resolve digital platform complaints – no one does.

Ombudsman Cynthia Gebert argues when people experience problems online they deserve to be heard with the growing volume of complaints showing how deeply integrated social media and  other online services are with how we live, work and stay connected.

To contact the Ombudsman go to: www.tio.com.au

HOME BIRTH SERVICE – Maitland and Hunter Valley women and families can now access public home birth services with a new pilot program at Maitland Hospital.

The public home birthing service operates as part of the Maitland Midwifery Group Practice (MGP), offering planned home birth for eligible low-risk women.

Maitland Hospital has developed the new home birth pilot program in close collaboration with the Women’s Health and Maternity (WHAM) Network and following extensive consultation with the  community to ensure it is safe, sustainable and meets the needs of the community.

The model of care is in line with the NSW Health Guideline for Public Homebirth Services and will have strict oversight and eligibility criteria requirements governed by Hunter New England  Local Health District.

SENIORS FESTIVAL! – The tempo is building ahead of this year’s NSW Seniors Festival which is being celebrated from 2-15 March.

A limited number of additional Premiers Gala Concerts tickets will be available to book on Tuesday, 24 February, from 9am.

Secure your tickets by either calling 02 9215 7500 Monday–Friday, 9am–3pm, or online through the official Ticketek link: https://hotshow2.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx?sh=PREMGALA26

Alternatively, watch the Premier’s Gala Concerts livestream online on Thursday 12 March, 2.45–4.15pm, by registering at: https://events.humanitix.com/premier-s-gala-concerts-2026-live-stream

Among the events is the NSW Seniors Festival Expo on Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 March, at the International Convention Centre Sydney, Darling Harbour.

Singleton Civic Centre is the venue on Wednesday 11 March for the annual free Seniors Luncheon and Expo with free tickets available from: www.singleton.nsw.gov.au/seniors

Maitland and East Maitland Aquatic Centres have free access as part of Seniors Festival Monday to Sunday, 2-15 March, with more details at: www.facebook.com/maitlandcitycouncil

To find out what is happening near you, visit the What’s On webpage for more information: www.nsw.gov.au/arts-and-culture/seniors-festival/whats-on

ENGINEERING SCHOLARSHIPS – Applications close on 5 March for session three applications of Transgrid’s Charles Sturt University (CSU) Engineering Scholarship.

One hundred CSU engineering students will be supported over a four-year period with $5,000 per year to put towards the cost of their study.

Since 2023, three cohorts of students have been supported by Transgrid’s multi-focused scholarship, which is open to domestic commencing students undertaking a Bachelor of Engineering  (Honours) at CSU.

Transgrid is committed to supporting the pipeline of regional engineering talent, including where critical energy infrastructure is being planned or built.

Further information, including a link to apply, can be found at: www.csu.edu.au/scholarships/scholarships-grants/find-scholarship/equity/transgrid-scholarship

BOOTS ON FUNDRAISER! – Wear your boots on Wednesday 11 March and participate in a fundraiser to give rural and regional students a fair go at further education.

The Country Education Foundation (CEF) of Australia is staging ‘Boot Bash’ to overcome the barriers that shouldn't be limiting rural and regional youth from their dreams of education, training and future careers. 

Everyday young people across rural and regional Australia face challenges that make pursuing further education harder – higher education costs, limited local options and few support services.

So, register yourself, organisation or event on the CEF Boot Bash website, promote it to your family, friends, colleagues and on social media #CEFBootBash and help bridge the education gap:  www.cefbootbash.org.au

CLEAN UP TIME! – Scone, Singleton and Clarence Town are some of the Upper Hunter Electorate locations that will glove-up and clean up this Sunday, 1 March, on Clean Up Australia Day.

The Elizabeth Park BBQ shelter, Scone is the muster point, 9-11.30am, with the community asked to join in the effort with the local Scout and Guides groups for the community event.

Singleton is asked to bring hat, gloves and enclosed shoes to Townhead Park, 9am-12pm, with a sausage sizzle and free family fun including a colouring-in competition, inflatable and water play, to  follow the clean up. 

And, the Lions Club is calling for extra hands to show pride in Clarence Town from 8am with Lions Park, near the Caravan Park entrance, the gathering point for participants, who will be thanked  with a post-event free BBQ sausage sizzle and a drink.

Register this week to be part of Sunday’s clean up and receive your free kit of materials, alternatively register and complete a Clean Up event any time throughout March or the remainder of this  year: www.cleanup.org.au

COMMUNITY EFFORT! – I want to acknowledge the community effort going into Gloucester’s new fenced off-leash dog park.

MidCoast Council is about to begin construction, with completion expected by the end of March, weather permitting.

Gloucester Lions Club has worked closely with Council to develop the concept, identify the site, muster feedback from local dog owners and will be working with Gloucester Men's Shed on the construction of the dog agility equipment and other facilities in the park. 

The new facility will sit within the existing offleash area at Gloucester District Park with separate zones for large and small dogs, along with water stations, and shade trees for comfort.

Duralie Community Infrastructure Contributions program has provided funding towards the project. 

THE FINALISTS ARE … – Congratulations and good luck to the finalists for the 2026 Muswellbrook Art Prize.

This year’s selection panel of ceramicist Simon Reece, artist and creative producer Suzannah Jones, and Director of the Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre, Elissa Emerson, have shortlisted the  works ahead of next month’s winners’ announcement.

Muswellbrook Art Prize is one of Australia’s richest and most prestigious art awards with a total prize pool of $70,000 across the three acquisitive categories of Painting, Works on Paper, and  Ceramics.

The finalists & exhibition will be displayed from 19 March until 23 May at Muswellbrook Regional Gallery, Bridge Street Muswellbrook, Monday to Saturday, 10am-4pm.

The exhibition launch and winners’ announcement will take place from 4pm on Saturday 21 March: https://artgallery.muswellbrook.nsw.gov.au

Contact:

Email address: upperhunter@parliament.nsw.gov.au; 

New Address: 94 John Street Singleton 2330 

Postal Address: PO Box 60 Singleton NSW 2330

Ph: 6543 1065

www.davelayzell.com.au/news/categories/state-matters