Rick Wilson (O'Connor, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If a local newspaper is the heartbeat of a town then communities like Collie and Esperance, in my electorate, have been on bypass for the last five months. These towns' only newspapers closed at the start of the COVID pandemic, causing distress to many locals. People died, babies were born, grand finals were won and lost and no-one knew. Thankfully, there's been a transplant and the towns' hearts are pulsing again. A group of hardworking volunteers in Collie have started a new, locally owned and run newspaper, the Collie River Valley Bulletin. This fantastic weekly publication is being well supported by the community and businesses alike, featuring all of the news and events that people were missing. 'The Bulletin', as it's now colloquially known, is being run by previous employees of town's former newspaper, The Collie Mail. Their aim is for the paper to be the record of the life and achievements of the Collie community.

The Esperance Express newspaper also closed earlier this year, but the owners of the Albany based newspaper Great Southern Weekender are looking to expand and launch a new paper, called the Esperence Weekender. Earlier this year, the Great Southern Weekender was fortunate to receive support from the government's $50 million Public Interest News Gathering Fund. I sincerely hope the Esperance Weekender gets off the ground so it can keep people updated on the local news in the region. A new online news publication also commenced earlier this year in Bridgetown, run by locals Mark Schneider and Jarad Basterfield. The Bridgetown Star aims to become the voice of Bridgetown and fulfil the vital role of providing local news to the community. These three publications are proof that regional newspapers are valued by their communities and have a long future ahead of them.