20 | Mid-Western Living | AUTUMN 2026 107 George Street, Bathurst NSW 2795 PO Box 54, Bathurst NSW 2795 (02) 6331 0524 andrew.gee.mp@aph.gov.au www.andrewgeemp.com.au @andrewgeecalare Authorised by Andrew Gee MP, Suite 1/179a Anson Street Orange NSW 2800 BATHURST ELECTORATE OFFICE Andrew GEE MP INDEPENDENT FEDERAL MEMBER FOR CALARE On Tuesday 20th January, I voted against the Federal Government’s rushed gun laws legislation. The Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Firearms and Customs Laws) Bill 2026 was a political response to the evil crime committed at Bondi. Many people in the Central West were alarmed that the Government’s first reaction to this atrocity was to call for tighter gun controls rather than a Royal Commission that will shine a light on exactly what happened on 14 December. This caused widespread anger amongst law-abiding gun owners in our region who believe that the Government has unfairly targeted and penalised them. In Calare, we have more than 17,000 firearm license holders. The Government rushed the gun reforms through without giving our regional Australians the chance to have their say. Unfortunately, the legislation has now passed into law following the Government and the Greens combining to pass the bill through the Senate. Everyone in our region supports genuine measures to make our communities safer, but we needed a response based on evidence and facts, and not politics. I will continue to stand up for law-abiding gun owners in the Central West, and I will continue to hold the Government to account on this issue. STANDING UP FOR LAW-ABIDING GUN OWNERS We united as a community and honoured the victims and those impacted in the Bondi terrorist attack during last Thursday’s National Day of Mourning. Members of the Jewish community in our area are extremely appreciative of the outpouring of support, compassion and solidarity shown across our region. Recently, Parliament was recalled for an emergency two-day session to respond to the atrocity. On the Monday the House of Representatives moved a condolence motion to the Australian Jewish community and the loved ones and friends of those whose lives were taken in such a horrific way. On behalf of the Calare electorate, I offered our sincere and heartfelt condolences, and the sympathy, support, solidarity and love of our region to all those still recovering. While the perpetrators of this atrocity represent the worst in humanity, those brave first responders and bystanders who risked their lives to help the wounded, save others, or disarm the gunman surely represent the best. These terrorists wanted us to give in to hatred, to live in fear, and to divide. But we are Australians, and we are doing what we always have done when our country has faced tragedy, trauma, and challenge: we unite. CENTRAL WEST SENDS CONDOLENCES FOR BONDI TERRORIST ATTACK In Parliament recently I voted in favour of deporting and banning radical Islamists and their supporters, and also Neo-Nazis. One of these groups is Hizb ut-Tahrir. ASIO has identified it as a security threat. One of their leaders has advocated for raising a Muslim army in Australia and imposing Sharia law. The Lindt Café terrorist attended a number of their events before committing that atrocity in 2014. We often hear calls for people and groups who do not share our free and democratic values to be turfed out of the country. There’s no use in just talking about it. After the Bondi terrorist attack it can’t be just words. We have to give the Government the tools to actually do it. It’s the same with the Neo-Nazis. In the Second World War, what were Australians doing at places such as Tobruk, El Alamein, Greece, Crete, and the Battle of Britain? Fighting against Nazis. To my way of thinking, if the radical and militant Islamists and Neo-Nazis oppose theses new laws, that’s a pretty good reason to vote in favour of them. And so I did. DEPORTING AND BANNING RADICAL ISLAMISTS AND NEO-NAZIS Image by AUSPIC, Department of Parliamentary Services Iam very disappointed in the NSW Government’s White Paper on the Great Western Highway. The dream of a tunnel is now dead and buried under the NSW Government. First the Bells Line of Road Expressway was killed off by the Federal Coalition and now the NSW Labor Government has walked away from the tunnel and any major upgrades to the highway. It’s a heartbreaker. This report doesn’t grasp how vital this link is for the people of the Central West. No real plan to cut travel times. No vision for a genuine expressway to Sydney. And because the White Paper is so unambitious, it lets the Federal Government off the hook too. How is it that expressways get built all over NSW — except out here? At one point we were paying $53 million a kilometre for the Pacific Highway. We would’ve loved even a fraction of that investment. Despite everything the Central West contributes to this state and nation, all we get is cheap talk and spare change. What a joke. Decades of hype, sod turnings, broken promises — and the traffic jams are worse than ever. No wonder people are turning away from the major parties. GREAT WESTERN HIGHWAY WHITE PAPER A JOKE Your True Country Independent
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