Member for Orange Phil Donato MP has re­sponded with strong criticism of Transport for NSW following the agency’s announced indefinite closure of the Great Western Highway at Victoria Pass. The independent MP has called on the NSW Government for urgent action to address the fragility of the transport corridor linking Sydney to West­ern NSW.

The closure is already disrupting freight movements, businesses and regional com­munities that rely on the highway as the primary east–west connection to the state’s capital.

The MP has warned that the problem will only worsen as freight volumes grow with projects such as the Inland Rail and the ex­pansion of the Parkes freight hub.

“If we don’t start planning long-term solu­tions now, this corridor will become one of the biggest freight bottlenecks in Australia,” Mr Donato said.

“For decades we’ve seen massive in­frastructure investment in Sydney — pro­jects like WestConnex and NorthConnex — while regional transport corridors are left struggling with ageing infrastructure.”

“Regional communities contribute enor­mously to the state’s economy, particularly through agriculture and mining, yet we are still relying on a single vulnerable corridor to move goods and people between West­ern NSW and Sydney,” said Mr Donato.

Joanne Coster has been a member of the Royal Far West for 15 years and President of the Trundle Royal Far West Branch for around 10 years. Royal Far West is a spe­cialist child development service providing vital support to improve the health and well­being of children in rural and remote areas.

Her voluntary role involves overseeing the branch, running branch meetings, or­ganising events and fundraisers, and over­seeing the manager in the Op Shop.

Jo has four children and her second eldest child, Chelsea, needed some or­thodontic work when she was 14, back in 2010. Chelsea received a referral from the school’s visiting dentist, to see the Royal Far West Orthodontist at Manly, Sydney. Jo and Chelsea visited Manly every six weeks and stayed in Royal Far West’s Drummond House.

Jo was inspired to become a volunteer with Royal Far West after this positive ex­perience and can’t imagine not doing it now. In fact, there are some members in her branch that have been volunteers for around 50 years.

“In Trundle, we’re only a community of 350, but we have lots of little communities around us – Bogan Gate, Condoblin, Tul­lamore, Peak Hill, Parkes – and their com­munities come out for our events.”

“Coming up, we have a High Tea in July, and it’s our Debutante Ball in September for girls aged 15 years and over. I’ve been running the Deb Ball since 2008. We usual­ly have around eight girls for the Deb Ball, and it’s become a tradition. We also have Christmas bingo.”

Royal Far West’s mission is to improve the health and wellbeing of children who live in rural and remote communities, so when you support the Royal Far West Op Shop you support local children. Come have a browse and a chat at Shop 7, 22 Forbes Street, Trundle.

In response to the NSW Government’s in­troduction of new social media age restric­tions, Forbes Shire Council has refreshed its youth communication channels to ensure young people and their families continue to receive timely, accessible and age‐appropri­ate information.

The current Forbes Youth Action Team (FYAT) social media pages have undergone a “glow up”, relaunching as the Forbes Chil­dren & Youth Hub. The rebrand is designed to create a central, family‐friendly hub that keeps parents up to date with local oppor­tunities, services and initiatives for children and young people.

While the Facebook and Instagram pag­es will continue to share updates from the FYAT, its purpose will expand to offer a broader range of community information.

The newly branded Hub will now provide:

• Child and youth‐related events and school‐holiday activities happening across the Forbes community.

• Updates on programs, workshops and initiatives.

• News and announcements relevant to families, organisations and service pro­viders.

• Information on local support services, in­cluding wellbeing, recreation and educa­tional opportunities.

• Parent‐focused messaging to help fami­lies stay connected to what’s available for young people in town.

Council is committed to ensuring young people remain engaged and supported while complying with state‐wide changes to social media access for under‐16s. The Forbes Children & Youth Hub will serve as a trusted source of information for parents and carers who want to stay across local opportunities for their children.

Forbes Shire Mayor Phyllis Miller OAM said “The new Forbes Children & Youth Hub will make it easier for parents to find child and youth‐related information in one place, while still giving our Youth Committee a plat­form to share their work, achievements and ideas.”

Tuesday 10 March was Safer Internet Day – a reminder that it’s never too early to help children start developing digital literacy and safe online habits. In regonition of this, the Federal Minister for Edu­cation, the Hon. Jason Clare MP joined Healthy Harold to launch a new module for the early years, Harold’s Safe Screen Time.

“According to the eSafety Commission, many toddlers can swipe on devices before they can even speak, and 81 per cent of Austral­ian parents report that their 2 to 5-year-old uses the internet,” said Karen Robertson, CEO at Life Ed Australia.

“This is confronting, but not a surprise when we look at the world that our children are growing up in. It’s more complex, more con­nected. We need to meet them where they are and support them with our most powerful tool; education.”

This is the purpose of Harold’s Safe Screen Time. It aims to initiate important conversations about online safety with our littlest learners.

It addresses critical topics with children aged three to five, such as:

early warning signs when something feels unsafe, help-seeking be­haviours, screen time management, autonomy and consent.

Like all of Life Ed’s early years modules, Harold’s Safe Screen Time is presented in an age-appropriate way. It uses the power of storytelling, through a specially crafted Healthy Harold Big Book, to explore basic concepts and encourage discussions that spark curi­osity, joy and a love for learning.

“We all have a responsibility to work together to keep children safe and to prepare them for the world – online and in real-time,” continued Ms Robertson.

Available nationally, bookings are open now at lifeed.org.au/har­oldssafescreentime