Cathy McGowan (Indi, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Our regional newspapers are community institutions as well as products of public companies and private enterprise. Our newspapers are, at their best, much more than the front and back page. In my community, papers such as The Border Mail enable the community voice to be heard, transactions to take place, and people to hatch, match and be dispatched. They enable innovation to be shared. And particularly The Border Mail, which advocates for such services as headspace. The Border Mail allows us to see ourselves. Decisions by organisations such as Fairfax have a huge impact on my electorate and other people's electorates.

Today in this House I call on my community: let's stand up; let's tell Fairfax. They have asked us for our opinion. Let's tell them how much our community newspapers mean for us, and, at their best, what they can do for us. The email address is acm@fairfax.com.au.

On Friday, at the invitation of The Border Mail, I am going to be meeting the 23 staff who will lose their jobs because of this decentralisation move, and I am going to be working with my community to make The Border Mail even more relevant to our local community and even more of a community institution.