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Collapse Issue 496:<br />15 Jun 2020<br />_____________Issue 496:
15 Jun 2020
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Collapse  NEWS NEWS
On-demand commuter bus service stops abruptly
Council resists campaign for soap in public toilets
Keep coral trees, says shade tree group
Ownership mistake discovered
Registered clubs re-open to limited numbers of patrons
Her own teeth, a sense of humour and an able body
Landcare group seeks answers about damaged trees
Parking meters removed from implementation plan
Proposed swimming pool removal prompts action
Hardy's Bay hall re-roofed
Closing date extended for comment on facilities policy
'Play space' strategy online soon
Library offers select and collect service
Economic strategy to be open for public comment
Holstein elected to fire management committees
Local picnic spots miss out on Council listing
Safety concerns recorded for Peninsula schools
John Della Bosca honoured for service to public health
Friendship led to career seeking social justice
Peninsula more vulnerable than average to job losses
Check for unclaimed money, says Crouch
Council and national park campsites reopen
Umina PCYC plans to resume classes
Coronavirus puts damper on 70th birthday celebrations
Designs wanted
Peninsula records low rainfall in wettest month
Collapse  FORUM FORUM
Mutu St upgrade was needed
Exhaust all public transport and current parking options
Council's parking essay must make us all tremble
Planning Statement raises two queries
Issues keep circulating on planner merry-go-round
Planning vacuum fails to consider flooding
Collapse  EDUCATION EDUCATION
Principal asks that children wear helmets
Woy Woy school is yet to reopen to parents and carers
New plan for Year 5 opportunity class
Collapse  SPORT SPORT
Digital scoreboard installed at Woy Woy oval
Roosters expect to field three teams this season
Netball association frustrated by lack of clear guidelines
Charity bowls expected to resume soon
Leisure Centre re-opens for exercise
Pretty Beach tennis court reopens
Collapse  HISTORY HISTORY
Real estate interest led to local development

John Della Bosca honoured for service to public health

The thing John Della Bosca of Woy Woy Bay is most proud of from his time serving in State Parliament are two disability packages he was involved in formulating which led to the eventual establishment of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

Mr Della Bosca was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the Queen's Birthday Honours List on June 8.

He received his AM for significant service to public health, particularly in the disability and drug support sectors, and to the Parliament of NSW.

A prominent political figure from 1999-2010, Mr Della Bosca held a variety of Ministerial positions during his time in parliament and was Leader of the Labor Party in the NSW Legislative Council and vice-president of the Executive Council from 2005-2009.

But it was his time as Minister for Disability Services, from 2005-2007, which he said made the most lasting impact.

"I don't really miss politics but a political life can be good because you can do lots of things you can't do through other forms of activism," he said.

"You can effect change in a different way.

"As the Minister, I saw things through a whole new set of eyes and made a resolution to use whatever skills I had to change things."

Now working at the Whitlam Institute at Western Sydney Uni, Mr Della Bosca has continued working for the disabled and for drug prevention.

He was National Campaign Director for the Every Australian Counts campaign from 2010-2017.

The grassroots campaign, which fought for the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, was a big achievement.

"It is so many times better than the scheme it replaced," he said.

"I basically led the campaign but there were thousands involved.

"It was a big collective effort and very important.

"It made a lot of things better for many disabled people."

Mr Della Bosca is former chair of the National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre and current chair of Family Drug Support Australia.

"When I was first elected to parliament there was a lot of concern around drugs - chiefly about people injecting heroin and other drugs," he said.

"I became involved in a drug summit and helped put together a lot of changes, some of which have stood the test of time.

"Since then, the drug problem has been important to me.

"I think people tend to write others off when they have a drug problem but everyone deserves a second chance and sometimes they can turn their life around."

Mr Della Bosca, who lives with his wife at Woy Woy Bay, has two children.

He said he was "delighted" to be honoured.




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