Latest news with #SueLines
Perth Now
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Perth Now
Freshman politicians go to first day of 'Senate school'
Fresh-faced senators have attended their first day of orientation ahead of parliament's first sitting. The politicians will get to know the ins and outs of the upper chamber through a three-day crash course often referred to as "Senate school". Senate President Sue Lines, wearing in a suit that matched the chamber's colours, welcomed the new cohort on Wednesday while impressing the importance of punctuality. "Standing up and saying 'I'm really sorry I was late' is not going to cut it," she told them from the Senate floor. "You're probably going to cop a lot of jeering." But she also encouraged the Senate newbies to ask questions, repeating the old adage "there is no such thing as a dumb question". For some, like Australia's youngest-ever senator Charlotte Walker, there will be a lot to learn. The 21-year-old was not expected to win a Senate seat after she was pre-selected in the usually unwinnable third spot on Labor's South Australian ticket. However, the strength of Labor's landslide win in May propelled her into the upper chamber and she showed up dressed for the part in a pink silk suit jacket and an eagerness to take it all in. For others, like Liberal Leah Blyth who filled a vacated Senate seat earlier in 2025, the program would allow her to become even more familiar with parliamentary procedure. Meanwhile, Labor politician Michelle Ananda-Rajah will have to learn a whole new set of rules after she switched from the House of Representatives to the Senate following the abolishment of her electorate. Unlike the lower house, the government does not have a clear majority and the chamber president cannot eject members, which means the Senate can get rowdier and more chaotic than the House of Representatives. Senator Lines also welcomed Tyron Whitten, Warwick Stacey, Corinne Mulholland, Ellie Whiteaker, Jessica Collins, Richard Dowling to the chamber. Parliament will resume sitting on July 22.
Leader Live
29-05-2025
- Business
- Leader Live
MS shares importance of towns across North East Wales
MS for Delyn Last week in the Senedd the Welsh Government announced a consultation on cutting business rates for smaller retail shops – a move that could benefit around 13,000 businesses across Wales. Shops with a rateable value under £51,000 would pay less – helping level the playing field with the growth of online retailers, which is great news for the smaller shops that are at the centre of many of our high streets and our communities. Larger properties may pay a little more, but vital public services like schools and hospitals will be protected from any increase. The consultation is open until August 12 – have your say at I've been talking about our high streets here in North East Wales a lot recently, following my visit to Cracked Coffee, the newest addition to Mold's high street. Our towns matter, they matter to me and they matter to many people – they are part of who we are and where we come from. That's why I not only support our town centres on a local level and how I live my own life, but why back in 2020 I set up the Welsh Government's Transforming Towns initiative – a programme and an approach to breathe new life into town centres across Wales. The scheme has seen investment in a number of town centres in our corner of the country and works in collaboration with local authority partners – Flintshire alone has been in receipt of £853,000 for projects to revamp town centres and previously received support to re-open Holywell high street. It was recently announced that the programme is to be extended with an extra £31.5m of funding for towns across Wales, which is great news. Ahead of the bank holiday weekend, the Welsh Government unveiled ambitious plans for Network North Wales, a 'metro'-style transport system linking the Dee and Mersey hubs and bringing together trains and buses into one timetable – the plan is a cross-border approach to transforming public transport in North Wales, including metro style services on the North Wales mainline and a new, direct rail link between Wrexham and Liverpool. Network North Wales is a hugely ambitious and transformative programme of work to better connect communities, with more rail and bus services, new stations, new transport routes, new trains, new buses and new technology. Transport is such an important issue for our communities so I'll be keeping a close eye on developments – the plan is that from next year, pay-as-you-go 'metro' services will start in North East Wales, much like they have in the south. It was great to recently welcome Senator Sue Lines, President of the Australian Senate, to the Senedd recently. We discussed my work as Chair of the Standards of Conduct Committee and restoring trust and transparency in our political system and we also shared insights on the recent Australian elections and looked ahead to the next Senedd elections. There are lots of common challenges and opportunities to learn from each other and it's always great to share experiences with people from other nations. During Mental Health Awareness Week recently, the Welsh Government announced a new initiative in which every football club in Wales will be able to access one of nearly 1,000 mental health awareness training places. The e-learning course from Mind Cymru and UK Coaching will be delivered to football clubs with the support of the FAW and the courses will provide coaches with the knowledge and confidence to support people living with mental health problems. I've said many times before that looking after our mental health is important, but it's also vital that support is there for everyone if and when it's needed, so this is great for football clubs in our corner of North Wales. On the football theme, a new exhibition has opened in Mold Museum which celebrates the history of Mold Alexandra FC, one of the oldest football clubs in Wales, formed in 1929. I'm proud to be a club sponsor and I think the new exhibition will be interesting for anyone who loves sport in the town.
