Maggi Barnard

There’s been some confusion over how the new bin system will work, so here is the information in a nutshell. Parkes Shire Council now have a new waste collection service that will recover more recyclables and organic material from entering landfill, helping you waste less, recycle more and keep the environment happy. All material from the green lid bin (food and organics) will be processed into mulch. The recycled material (yellow) will also be processed
and manufactured into new products.

The new bins will enable increased capacity for recycling (yellow lid bin) and food and garden waste (green lid bin) while still providing a garbage waste bin (red lid bin). The three bin collection service will begin the week of the 4th April 2016, so keep using your current bins until 4th April! After April 4th the new bins will be good to go
when a new truck with a different lifting system will be able to pick them up and clean them out. Also, if your old bins are put out after April 4th, they won’t be picked up so make sure you don’t throw away the
wrong bin!

The old bins will be collected on 26th April which will be a once off event so please remember to put your old bin
our by the evening of the 25th April. Chris Foley, Waste Service Officer, says; “If anyone hasn’t received the info pack attached to the bins you can phone the Council on 1300 725 415.” The information packs include a fridge calendar that is colour coded so you know when to put out which bin. Cr Alan Ward, Chair of Parkes Shire Council’s Waste Committee said the new service will provide a much improved environmental outcome and allow Council to meet the State government’s goal of achieving 70% diversion of domestic waste going to landfill.

Member for Calare John Cobb has paid tribute to Parkes after announcing his retirement from politics last Saturday. Mr Cobb, aged 66, was first elected into the federal parliament in 2001 and due to boundary changes, the shires of Forbes and Parkes have been the only two shires to remain in his electorate for his entire time as member for Calare.

Ironically, this changed on February 25th when the new federal electorate boundaries of NSW were updated, with
Forbes and Parkes now being a part of the Riverina electorate. Mr Cobb will continue to represent Forbes and Parkes until he officially retires three weeks before the election, which is yet to be announced. He said he would be sad to leave the representation of Forbes and Parkes, as they have been with him throughout his career. “Forbes and Parkes
have been absolutely phenomenal. I look them as my security blanket in politics, the place that I know I will hear what I need to hear, without fear or favour.”

In his 15 years overseeing Calare, Mr Cobb said a personal highlight was the way the Coalition dealt with the 10-year drought throughout the start of the 2000s. “In 2007 I got John Howard [then Prime Minister] and John Anderson [then Deputy Prime Minister] to a station just west of Forbes,” he said; “There was a big gathering there and Mr Howard was in high demand and I remember saying to him, ‘there’s a couple here who want to talk to you, John, about family and the mental side of drought. They lost a son and they lost a neighbour’ and he said, ‘absolutely’ and I took him away and introduced them to him and I can still see him walking under a tree with them, with his arm around both of them, and he gave them 15 minutes. That’s a long time for a Prime Minister, and after that he introduced a mental health package for drought affected farmers.”

Mr Cobb was also happy with the aged care infrastructure he has been able to bring and hopes to see a new dam in the Central West built before he retires. “It has been an incredible opportunity and I’d like to thank Calare for their generosity, hospitality and patience, my family for their support and my National party colleagues for their hard work.” If it is a big thing to enter the Australian Federal Parliament, it is also a big thing to leave it and we wish
John all the best with the future.

Last Wednesday staff at Parkes Hospital gathered together to sign a special Patient Pledge and share a barbecue. The pledge is aimed to sooth patients’ fears and empower them with the knowledge of what to expect from care provided at the hospital.

Parkes Health Service General Manager, Liz Mitchell, said staff have been invited to sign the pledge to show their commitment to providing care to patients in a respectful, caring and timely way. “Our patients need to be at the very heart of everything that we do and every decision that we make,” she said; “the pledge sets expectations of our staff behaviour and demonstrates our commitment to patient centred care.”

Beth Masling, Manager of Living Well Together and Corporate Leadership, who was also present at the signing said; “For us it’s exciting to showcase care we’re proud to provide and demonstrate our vow of care to the public.” The signing is part of a broader strategy for the Health District called ‘living well together’. Western NSW LHD Chief Executive, Scott McLachlan, said that the living well together strategy aims to engage staff to achieve excellent patient care and improve the patient experience.

“The pledge will confirm to patients that their caregiver is committed to taking wonderful care of them which helps
reduce their anxiety. Their family is also comforted to know that their loved ones are in good hands” he said, “From our staff perspective, signing the pledge sets the standard of care that is expected of themalways.

It demonstrates the difference that making a commitment like this makes in the work that they do every day.” Patients will have access to the pledge at their bedside and are encouraged to speak to the person in charge of the unit if they are concerned about their care.