Parra News March 14 2023
March 14 2023 edition of Parra News.
March 14 2023 edition of Parra News.
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Issue 115<br />
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Published by: Western Sydney Publishing Group<br />
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Editor’s Note<br />
troy.dodds@parranews.com.au<br />
Index<br />
Troy Dodds<br />
@troydodds<br />
Life bans not the answer to racism<br />
Now that emotions have been tempered a<br />
little in the wake of last week’s racism drama<br />
surrounding South Sydney star Latrell Mitchell<br />
at Penrith, can we accept that banning a<br />
teenage boy from rugby league games for life<br />
would be over the top in the extreme?<br />
There is no place for racism in rugby league,<br />
or in any area of life for that matter. It continues<br />
to baffle me that we deal with such matters<br />
in <strong>2023</strong>, yet here we are.<br />
Indeed, Mitchell should not come to Penrith<br />
and be subjected to what is alleged to have<br />
happened last Thursday night. That, surely, we<br />
can all agree on.<br />
And it is understandable that emotions were<br />
Guest Columnist<br />
Liberal Candidate for <strong>Parra</strong>matta<br />
My name is Katie Mullens and I’m the local<br />
Liberal Candidate for the state seat of <strong>Parra</strong>matta.<br />
I have lived in <strong>Parra</strong>matta most of my adult<br />
life.<br />
<strong>Parra</strong>matta is my home and I am passionate<br />
about this electorate.<br />
I am the first person in my family to get a<br />
university degree. I grew up in a small country<br />
town and moved to <strong>Parra</strong>matta to study law<br />
at our local university and build my future.<br />
Since graduating, I have worked as a lawyer<br />
at a North <strong>Parra</strong>matta firm, helping local residents,<br />
families, and small businesses. Working<br />
to help the local community has been<br />
really inspiring, and helped motivate me to<br />
put my hand up as the Liberal candidate for<br />
<strong>Parra</strong>matta.<br />
My desire is to be a true advocate and representative<br />
for the community. Working as a<br />
lawyer has given me a lived grass roots experience<br />
in the community and I know this will<br />
translate well to representing the community<br />
on as broader scale.<br />
<strong>Parra</strong>matta is a wonderful place to live and I<br />
have seen the transformation of this city and<br />
electorate since it became a Liberal held seat<br />
in 2011. Our current local Member Geoff Lee<br />
through the NSW Liberal Party has delivered<br />
<strong>News</strong>...........................................................1-<strong>14</strong><br />
Business.......................................................15<br />
Travel........................................................16-17<br />
high in the 24 hours that followed the incident<br />
at the foot of the Mountains.<br />
On the night, Souths coach Jason Demetriou<br />
erupted in support of his player, and called<br />
for a life ban for the individual who allegedly<br />
made the remark.<br />
The next day, NRL CEO Andrew Abdo labelled<br />
the incident unacceptable and said action<br />
would be taken.<br />
The rugby league fan base, and the wider<br />
community, also piled on, with this ‘life ban’<br />
term continually thrown about.<br />
A ‘life ban’ is the easy way out of the scenario<br />
and a robotic response to dealing with such<br />
issues.<br />
Katie Mullens<br />
record billions of dollars in transformative<br />
projects and infrastructure to <strong>Parra</strong>matta,<br />
including things like the Stadium which is<br />
bringing crowds and business to <strong>Parra</strong>matta.<br />
The Liberal Party continues to deliver to the<br />
community in an exciting and innovative way.<br />
There are so many works in the pipeline that<br />
I am excited to see completed, such as <strong>Parra</strong>matta<br />
Light Rail Stages 1 and 2, the Metro,<br />
Powerhouse, investment into Westmead Hospital,<br />
upgrades to the Riverside Theatres and<br />
more.<br />
One of the greatest things about <strong>Parra</strong>matta<br />
is our community. It’s warm and welcoming,<br />
embracing so many who come here from all<br />
over Australia and the world. Our diversity is<br />
something to be celebrated and a re-elected<br />
Liberal government will be doing just that. We<br />
have announced $10 million dollars in additional<br />
security for places of worship, schools<br />
and other buildings that display religious<br />
icons. We will invest $5 million to assist the<br />
Maronite community by supporting the continued<br />
refurbishment and upgrade of Our<br />
Lady of Lebanon Co-Cathedral precinct! We<br />
will invest into the Maronite College will also<br />
receive an additional $100,000 for the installation<br />
of solar panels.<br />
A re-elected NSW Liberal Government will<br />
Horoscopes..............................................18<br />
Entertainment................................19-29<br />
Business Directory.....................30-31<br />
This is a sport that welcomes back into its<br />
fold convicted criminals, and bans drug users<br />
who impact the integrity of the sport for just a<br />
few years, not life.<br />
It would be hypocritical then, surely, to issue<br />
a life ban to a spectator for a remark he allegedly<br />
made; a remark that is disgraceful in the<br />
extreme, but certainly not up there with some<br />
rugby league ‘crimes’ of the past.<br />
Rugby league is a sport that prides itself on<br />
education and second chances.<br />
Just because a ‘life ban’ sounds like the right<br />
language to use to make it loud and clear<br />
you’re against what happened, does not mean<br />
it’s the right course of action.<br />
Why you should give me a chance<br />
work to recognise and revitalise Little India<br />
Harris Park as a cultural precinct through a<br />
$1 million investment. As part of this commitment<br />
a NSW Government application will be<br />
made to the Geographical Names Board to officially<br />
recognise Marion Street, Wigram Street<br />
and Station Street East as ‘Little India’ in the<br />
first month of a new term. I am excited to be<br />
part of a team that places value on our multicultural<br />
society and invests in it.<br />
The top issue that comes up most of the time<br />
when I’m out in the community is people’s<br />
worries about their economic security. Increasing<br />
rates, inflation and global economic<br />
uncertainty is having an impact on our businesses<br />
and family budgets. This is why I think<br />
one of the most important challenges facing<br />
the Government is steering our economy and<br />
keeping it strong. The Perrottet Government<br />
has introduced a range of practical support<br />
to ease pressure on family’s budgets, including<br />
Toll Relief, Back to School vouchers and<br />
an energy saver scheme that will reduce your<br />
electricity bill by $250.<br />
On <strong>March</strong> 25 <strong>2023</strong> I seek your support to give<br />
me the opportunity to continue the good work<br />
of Geoff Lee, and also to be a new strong advocate<br />
for the community. Give me a chance – I<br />
will not let you down.<br />
Sport..............................................................32<br />
Whatever you are looking for you will find it at<br />
WENTWORTHVILLE SHOPPING PLAZA . . .<br />
At the Plaza you can shop for groceries,<br />
fruit & vegetables and enjoy the café and<br />
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and BWS both are situated in the Plaza<br />
providing our local public easy access<br />
to daily needs. We have hair & beauty<br />
salons as well in the Plaza. We<br />
also have a mobile phone shop<br />
operating at our centre.<br />
The Plaza also accommodates a<br />
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car space in the car park and under cover parking<br />
available with easy access to the shops!<br />
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TAYLORING<br />
OPEN 7 DAYS<br />
7:00AM TO 12:00AM<br />
wentworthvilleshoppingplaza.com.au<br />
49934<br />
336 GREAT WESTERN HIGHWAY, WENTWORTHVILLE<br />
WW49934<br />
4 parra news » Tuesday, <strong>March</strong> <strong>14</strong>, <strong>2023</strong>