It is such an amazing and magical day for our kids to experience every year. Everything is so beautiful, from the yummy food and treats, fun and entertainment, and most of all the acceptance and understanding from all involved. For many children with disabilities, and their parents, it is often hard to be involved in community events and to have a special day for our kids means the world to us all.

Thank you to everyone that contributed to such a wonderful day.

When the same-sex marriage issue goes before Parliament for debate, the member for Riverina Michael McCormack has stated that  he “will respect the will of the people and vote accordingly”.

I believe that is very commendable on his part to support and respect the will of the electorate. This is what all politicians should be doing. He is putting his electorate’s views ahead of his own because we all know what his true feelings are on homosexuality. He realises that it was the electorate that voted him into office and not the Liberal-National Party.

Speaking of the will of the people, this reminds me of the situation that we are now faced with in Cootamundra. Our local member Steph Cooke should take a leaf out of Mr McCormack’s book. She knows full well that the vast majority of the citizens of Cootamundra and Gundagai are against the forced amalgamation of their towns.

However she, unlike Mr McCormack, is not respecting the will of the people who are strongly opposed to forced council mergers. She also knows that the Court of Appeal has ruled that a number of councils, including both Cootamundra and Gundagai, were denied procedural fairness.

Yet Ms Cooke is turning a blind eye by ignoring the will of the electorate and apparently condones the shabby and unfair treatment being handed out by her government.

By her actions she evidently doesn’t believe in democracy and is supporting a dictatorship. My message to “stay-away Steph” is this: unless you have a dose of reality and do the right thing by your constituents, then you will be setting a new record.

Come the elections in 2019, you undoubtedly, will have served the shortest term of any previous member that we have ever had who has represented us in this electorate.

Why is it that the Australia government is not appearing to do anything about Saudia Arabia blockading humanitarian aid into Yemen, allowing people to die? It is a tragedy what is happening in Yemen and I have now seen two programs where aid workers in Yemen cannot get much-needed medical equipment to help the people of Yemen, because of the blockade by Saudia Arabia.

I call on the Australian government to condemn Saudia Arabia for the blockade and get United Nations medical supplies into Yemen to assist the people and stop deaths that can be prevented. Action needs to taken now. Perhaps the Senate and Parliament could start this process this week and restore Australia as a passionate and supporting society, which has been sadly lacking in recent years.