The NSW Advocate for Children and Young People, Zoë Robinson, will embark on a tour of NSW to join children and young people in their communities.

“This is an opportunity to get back out into the community and thank the children and young people of NSW for sharing their voice and ideas,” said Ms Robinson.

The Advocate is dedicated to making this year a memorable one, as it marks the cul­mination of her impactful five-year term as the Advocate for Children and Young Peo­ple in NSW.

“Across this year, the ACYP team and I will sit with and listen to children and young people and hear what they have to say about issues that impact them,” said Ms Robinson.

In total, ninety-five requests were submit­ted from schools, organisations and youth advisory groups asking the Advocate to participate in a range of activities.

“This is a chance for me to sit with the community and hear from them, and also to thank them. It’s crucial for those in gov­ernment and leadership roles to immerse themselves in the community, to truly un­derstand and appreciate the voices of our future,” added Ms Robinson.

Seven small arts projects across the NSW Central West will share $17,000 in funding from the annual Country Arts Support Program (CASP).

“The volume of applications demonstrates not only the crunch on budgets and rising costs of making art happen, but the demand for small, accessible, seed grants for regional arts activities and ideas,” said Arts OutWest executive director Kylie Shead.

There were 40 applications for the 2023 round asking for just over $105,000 in funding, a 40% increase from the previous round and around a 16% success rate.

“The activities proposed in all 40 applications are exciting, thoughtful, creative and worthy,” said Ms Shead. “There just isn’t the money to fund all of them.”

Funded activities in 2025 include: An artist-led community post­card art project in Cowra, Music making workshops with young women with disability in Bathurst, Puppetry and movement work­shops in Lithgow, Kandos and Mudgee, A mural in Gulgong to commemorate Henry Lawson, Art making for a community veggie garden in Orange, Fibre arts workshops in Parkes, Youth podcast­ing training in Lithgow.

“These seven projects offer exciting opportunities to communi­ties, arts makers and audiences in the region. They provide em­ployment opportunities to artists and arts workers. We also know from the history of this funding that it often seeds the first steps of potentially bigger arts projects or collaborations,” Ms Shead said.

Arts OutWest is the regional arts development organisation for Central West NSW, servicing the 12 local government areas of Ba­thurst Region, Blayney, Cabonne, Cowra, Forbes, Lachlan, Lith­gow, Mid-Western Region, Oberon, Orange, Parkes and Weddin.

An upgrade of Kiewa Street in Manildra will deliver safer, smoother journeys for all mo­torists driving on the main street of the small Central West town.

Transport for NSW will remove and re­place the existing road surface right through the centre of town, starting on the western side of the Mandagery Creek Bridge and stretching to 50 metres west of the intersec­tion with Boree Street.

Work will get under way on Friday 28 Feb­ruary with crews starting at the eastern end of the project, tying into the asphalt installed in June 2024 as part of the Mandagery Creek Bridge replacement project.

“We expect the $2.5 million of road re­surfacing work to take five weeks in total, weather permitting, with a mix of day, night and weekend shifts planned to limit the im­pact on motorists, businesses and residents in what is a very busy area in Manildra,” Transport for NSW Acting Regional Director West Holly Davies said.

“Kiewa Street not only provides access to businesses and services in the Manildra town centre, but also acts as an important regional thoroughfare linking Orange and Parkes for tourists and freight operators travelling around the Central West.

“However, those high traffic volumes – including many heavy vehicle movements – have left the existing road surface badly damaged in some areas and a complete re­moval and replacement of the main street through Manidra will be welcomed by all motorists.”

The first section of work between the Mandagery Creek Bridge and Goimbla Street, which takes in most of the business­es in Kiewa Street, will be done at night be­tween 6pm and 6am from Monday to Friday, with some weekend work also required.

Crews will then revert to day shifts be­tween 7am and 6pm from Monday to Satur­day for the section of work between Goim­bla Street and Boree Street to avoid noise keeping nearby residents awake at night.

Changed traffic conditions including a re­duced 40 km/h speed limit and single lane closures will be in place during work hours, with two-way traffic flow in place outside of work hours.

The northern side of the Duff Street, De­rowie Street, Goimbla Street and Boree Street intersections will be closed during work shifts where each intersection is di­rectly impacted, and there will be temporary restrictions to vehicle and pedestrian ac­cess to properties while work is carried out in front of the business or home.

Vehicles will need to be parked off-street by 6pm on evenings when night work is planned.

The youth crime crisis is escalating across parts of regional NSW, with the Minns La­bor Government’s limited bail reforms prov­ing unsuccessful at keeping communities safe.

Shadow Minister for Police Paul Toole said a lack of leadership and action has led to a law and order breakdown.

“Youth violence and street crime contin­ues to wreak havoc and it’s hard to ignore the growing chaos in NSW. The police are stretched thin and it seems the Minns Gov­ernment isn’t prioritising public safety,” Mr Toole said.

“Recent incidents highlight just how out of control things are. Public spaces and homes aren’t as safe as they used to be, leaving people questioning if enough is being done to address young reoffenders racking up rap sheets similar to hardened criminals.

“Our regional communities have had a gutful. Residents tell me they are scared and crime has never been as bad as it is right now under a weak Labor Govern­ment. How many more innocent lives will be turned upside down?“Community safety should be the num­ber one priority – not the criminals.

The Opposition will continue to fight for stronger laws and interventions to protect communities.