Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The New South Wales government's plan to dump a modern concrete bridge in Windsor's historic Thompson Square is about to claim another heritage victim. On Sunday, I stood in front of a cross-section of Telford paving—a type of early-19th-century road construction named after a Scottish engineer, which was a leap forward in road building in the world. In the one other known place in Australia where there is Telford paving, near North Sydney, the structure is heritage-listed and preserved. The New South Wales government's own tender documents for the Windsor development reveal that it is likely the Telford paving used in the early roads runs all the way through historic Thompson Square.

This whole area is about to be ripped apart, as work to remove Aboriginal and colonial archaeological artefacts begins. This is vandalism of yet another piece of the history of Australia's settlement and expansion—against the advice of the New South Wales government's own heritage office and the National Trust, at a key colonial site—that the environment minister has the power to stop. But he refuses to act. The community is begging that the federal environment minister exercise his powers to emergency-list this Georgian square to preserve the remains of the early settlement, and the aeolian sands and the treasures they hold.

Meals on Wheels has been a service that Australians have taken for granted for decades. In the Hawkesbury region of my electorate of Macquarie, Meals on Wheels has been operating for 50 years. This achievement was celebrated at a big birthday bash at the Hawkesbury Race Club, and was a chance to reflect on the changes the organisation has seen and the milestones it has achieved. In New South Wales, most Meals on Wheels services receive Australian government funding from the Department of Health to help cover administrative costs. That support is crucial, and must continue.

But we all know that the heart of Meals on Wheels is the enormous contribution of the volunteers. In the Hawkesbury, you have to travel 72 kilometres at the furthest point to deliver a meal to a client—north to Wisemans Ferry, west to Mountain Lagoon. Volunteers drive a really long way. We know that there are not just the benefits of a nutritionally balanced meal but also flow-on benefits, like the opportunity for early intervention, and the sense of connection that the delivery of meals provides. The volunteers tell me they get as much out of it as the clients do. It's a service that really respects the contribution an elderly person has to make, by allowing time for a natter—the sort of thing I remember doing with my grandmother.

The Hawkesbury service was started by Windsor Rotary 50 years ago. They're still supporting it, as is Kurrajong North Richmond Rotary. Many volunteers received recognition for their services, including Shirley Smith, who leads the team, and Margaret Elder. They all deserve congratulations.