Member for Wagga Wagga Dr Joe McGirr. Photo: Dr Joe McGirr Facebook.
As the year ends, our thoughts turn to the holiday season – Christmas with loved ones, lots of great food and conversations, relaxing at favourite destinations, and long sunny days in which to keep busy or do nothing at all.
It is also a great time to take stock of the year just gone and look ahead to the year to come.
In the Wagga Wagga electorate, 2024 has been a busy time and I am pleased to have helped deliver positive changes to our community through a range of new laws, service improvements, and infrastructure enhancements to keep our electorate thriving.
Among my personal highlights in 2024 were the removal of out-of-pocket costs for cancer care, enhancements to domestic violence prevention and support, new laws to tackle crime, and the securing of millions of dollars for game-changing roadworks and infrastructure projects that will power economic growth in the decades to come.
Major priorities next year will include ongoing advocacy for a new high school in the northern suburbs of Wagga Wagga, a second river crossing to meet the needs of the future, the ongoing rejuvenation of our housing stock through the Tolland Renewal Project and a host of works and services to improve towns and villages across the electorate.
Big ticket items naturally get the headlines but as always, ordinary people do extraordinary things, and it has been wonderful to celebrate the people and places that make the Wagga Wagga electorate such a great place to live and work.
Once again, we showcased our local champions, those unsung heroes who do so much to improve the lives of others. It was my pleasure throughout the year to honour those whose dedication was publicly recognised and those who flew under the radar.
And, as always, our young people showed the future is in good hands, not least through the sterling efforts of the leaders of the future at the Bicentenary Roadshow in July and August.
The community has led the way in identifying needs and discovering solutions and I would like to thank everyone for their passion, drive and can-do attitude.
Whether it was lobbying for major projects or working quietly behind the scenes to help others less fortunate, the people of Wagga Wagga, Snowy Valleys and Lockhart Shire once again pulled together for the greater good and I am very proud to have been part of that amazing collective effort.
Congratulations and thank you to all. With 2025 just around the corner, I know we’ll soon be busy working together on a host of improvements such as better health services, smoother, safer roads, new infrastructure, enhanced social services, expanded housing supplies and much more.
I’m excited by the opportunities that lie ahead but now, with the festive season upon us, it is time to take that well-earned break and relax with loved ones.
For all its delights, summer can also be a time of risk, so I urge everyone to be sun-safe, to take care near water and on the roads.
And at a time when we seem to be driven to consume and spend, or nurse grievances and hurts, it is important to recognise that Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ and to spare a thought for those less fortunate, look out for each other and lend a hand when it’s needed, especially for those who can find the season a lonely or difficult time.
From my family to yours, I wish everyone a joyous Christmas and a new year that brings all you hope for.
Thank you to everyone for doing so much throughout a sometimes challenging year and I look forward to working together in 2025 to make our electorate an even better place to call home.
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