The $1.3 million project will see two timber bridges replaced by reinforced concrete culvert structures designed and built to Inland Rail engineering specifications for longer, heavier and more efficient trains.

As well as improving part of the existing rail line that connects the national interstate rail networks, these new bridges will be part of the Inland Rail route when it is constructed. The Inland Rail project will provide a rail freight connection between Melbourne and Brisbane, connecting regional Australia with global markets. The Parkes Electorate will play a major role in the delivery of Inland Rail, with the Central West region set to see $480 million in economic benefits from the nationally significant rail project.

One Inland Rail train will support the movement of approximately 2,500 tonnes of freight in a single trip, equivalent to taking 110 B-double trucks off the roads.

The Parkes to Narromine section of the Inland Rail project involves upgrading the existing 107 kilometres of track.Overall, the Inland Rail project takes advantage of 1200km of existing rail corridor and will involve the construction of around 600km of new track. For more information on the Inland Rail project visit www.inlandrail.artc.com.au.

The National’s Deputy Leader, Senator Fiona Nash announced in a speech to the National Press Club last week (April 19) that rural and remote Australians would for the first time have access to psychologists through teleconferencing paid for by Medicare. Mental Health is a serious issue for many rural, regional and remote Australians and many mental health issues in the bush go untreated due to impracticality or impossibility in attending age to face psychology.

The boundaries used to define this proposed service will be the modified Monash model zones 4-7, which broadly means towns of 15,000 or less will receive this important assistance. Senator Nash’s speech also reinforced The Nationals policy to vigorously pursue decentralisation moves, for the benefit of all Australians. She said regional people deserved the benefits of government departments and the careers and flow-on benefits they bring just as much as city people do.

In fact she said Australia's bureaucratic departments are currently far more centralised than those in the US and UK. Senator Nash pledged her Department will build a template for Government Ministers to assess which Departments are suitable for further decentralization by this Coalition Government. Departments will need to either indicate that they're suitable to move to the regions or justify why all or part of their operation is unsuitable. All portfolio Ministers will report back to Cabinet by August on which of their departments are suitable to be moved to regional Australia, and relevant Ministers will report to Cabinet with robust business cases for decentralisation by December.

The Parkes Electorate community has helped make Australia more cyber secure as the Government last week marked the one year anniversary of launching Australia’s Cyber Security Strategy. According to the Australia’s Cyber Security Strategy first annual update, 59 per cent of organisations in Australia detected a business-interrupting security breach at least once a month in 2016.

Individuals, families and small businesses that want to know more about improving their cyber security should visit the Stay Smart Online www.staysmartonline.gov.au/ or the Children’s eSafety Commissioner www.esafety.gov.au/.​