The Hon Michael McCormack MP

Deputy Prime Minister

Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development

Leader of The Nationals

Federal Member for Riverina

Senator John Williams

Senator for New South Wales

26 February 2019

Residents of the Richmond electorate have received a major road safety boost today with the Federal  Government announcing it will invest more than $300,000 toward s two projects under the 2019–20 Black Spot Program.

Senator for New South Wales John Williams said road intersections at Main Arm and Nunderi will be made safer thanks to the Government’s investment.

Senator Williams said the projects are –

Senator WILLIAMS (New South Wales—Nationals Whip in the Senate) (17:01): I have been fortunate in my life to have three honours bestowed on me. The first was to be made a life member of the Apex clubs of Sapphire City in Inverell. Sadly, Apex is waning throughout Australia. The second honour bestowed on me was back in 2006, when the New South Wales National Party Central Council preselected me as No. 1 on their Senate ticket. Hence, at the 2007 election, I was the 532nd Australian elected to the Senate since 1901. The third honour bestowed on me was to have a cricket ground in Perth named after me called the WACA! Well, it's worth a try. I'll check with Peter Taylor later on.

I'm glad to have contributed almost 11 years of my time here. When I first started, we received a $4,800 a year increase to our electoral allowance. I thought I could live without it, so each year I have donated it to a rural dental scholarship, for someone from a regional area who is going to do a first year dentistry degree, in the hope that they will return to regional areas and increase the number of dentists out there. It has been a very successful program. Each and every one of those who have come forward for the scholarship have done very well. Something like six or seven of them have completed their degrees and are now practising dentistry in regional Australia. Can I thank the National Rural Health Alliance for their management of that scholarship. Geri Malone is here today. I went to school with Geri in the early 1960s in Jamestown.

Senator John Williams

Senator for NSW

The Hon. Greg Hunt MP

Minister for Health

MEDIA RELEASE

30 January 2019  

The Australian Government is making a significant investment of $36.8 million for Parkinson’s medical research through the Garvan Institute’s Australian Parkinson Mission and in Parkinson’s nurses to improve the life of people living with the disease and ultimately to find a cure for this devastating condition.

Senator for New South Wales John Williams said Parkinson’s disease is recognised as the second most common neurodegenerative disorder in Australia.

“More than 100,000 Australians including me endure its progressive and debilitating symptoms – and without a medical breakthrough, this number is expected to double in 15 years,”  

Communities in Richmond are being encouraged to contribute to the Australian War Memorial initiative Places of Pride.

The Nationals Senator for New South Wales John Williams says Places of Pride is an online national register of war memorials that will record the locations and images of every publicly accessible memorial in Australia.

He is suggesting that RSL’s, local councils, community groups and individuals take a photograph of the war memorial in their town or village and upload it to the register which will be the basis of a new display in the proposed expanded galleries of the War Memorial.

“Ultimately visitors will be able to log in the name of their town on the website and see their memorial come to life.

This is an extremely important program which will connect all Australians, united by pride and loss, with memorials from the Boer War to Afghanistan”, Senator Williams said.

Further details can be found at www.placesofpride.awm.gov.au

Dairy farmers, processors and representative organisations are encouraged to have their say to help shape Australia's first mandatory dairy code in Bega on Monday the 19th of November.

Senator for New South Wales John Williams is urging local farmers and stakeholders to take part and help improve contracts between farmers and processors.

“We need farmers and processors in the Eden-Monaro region to have their say and make sure the code will work for them and our local region,” Senator Williams said.

“The code will aim to make contracts fairer, more transparent and enforce a dispute resolution process.

The Nationals Senator for New South Wales John Williams has welcomed the establishment of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) which opened for business today.

The new one-stop shop will deliver free, fast and binding service for all financial complaints, whether they relate to banks, credit providers, insurance companies or superannuation funds.

Senator Williams has been a long-time advocate for the new body and was involved in numerous discussions with industry and consumer groups as to its framework and powers.

He pushed for the higher monetary limits and compensation caps that had not been available under the old Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) and Credit and Investments Ombudsman (CIO), saying any new organisation would need “more teeth” so the public could have confidence in it.

“For example, FOS and CIO could only deal with consumer complaints where the value of the dispute was up to $500,000.