The Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, today announced 1,010,700 New South Wales homes and businesses will have access to National Broadband Network (NBN) fibre services under NBN Co’s first three year fibre rollout plan.

NSW Highlights

1. 1,010,700 homes and businesses in the three year NBN rollout

2. Construction to begin between 1 April 2012 and 30 June 2015

NBN fibre already under construction to 67,900 NSW premises.

The indicative three year rollout plan lists the New South Wales locations where construction of the national fibre network will begin between 1 April 2012 and 30 June 2015.

The closest town to Wilcannia included in the list where work will begin before 30th June 2015 is Dubbo.

RFDS DOCTOR Wilcannia

Wednesday 4th: Dr. Mike Hill

Good Friday—No clinic

Easter Monday —No clinic

Wednesday 11th: Dr Fabian Schwartz

Friday 13th: Dr. Fabian Schwartz

Monday 16th: Dr. Fabian Schwartz

Wednesday 18th: Dr. Naomi Watts

Friday 20th: Dr. Malcolm Moore

Monday 23rd: Dr. Fabian Schwartz

Anzac Day: No Clinic

Friday 27th: Dr. Naomi Watts

Monday 30th: Dr. Fabian Schwart

RFDS DENTIST—WILCANNIA

Monday 16th: Lyn Mayne

NSW Water Commissioner, David Harriss, today asked communities throughout the Murray-Darling Basin to put on their thinking caps to help come up with water saving measures.

The ideas are sought to help offset the social and economic impacts of the proposed Basin Plan.

David Harriss said that he is asking Basin communities for ideas that could save water for the environment or improve the delivery of environmental water to assist in meeting the new sustainable diversion limits under the Plan. These water savings ideas will form part of the NSW Murray-Darling Basin Environmental Works and Measures Feasibility Project.

The project is funded by the Commonwealth Government and will look at eight proposals already nominated by the NSW Government, as well as provide $1.2 million to assist Basin communities to identify viable local water savings and efficiency measures.

In 2007, Western CMA and NSW Department of Primary Industries undertook a collaborative project to assess the condition of instream and riparian habitat in the Darling River from Murtee to Ten Mile Rocks. This project produced a Habitat Management Plan that identified and prioritised actions to address the degradation of instream and riparian habitat and enhance aquatic ecosystems and the species within them.

During the community consultation phase of this project, some Aboriginal Elders of the Wilcannia community expressed concern that young people of Wilcannia were losing their cultural fishing knowledge, and that too many fish were being taken from the river. There was a desire within the local Aboriginal community to encourage sustainable fishing practices and to see the old ways and the old rules of the Paakantji promoted.