HILLS INDEPENDENT HILLS 126 December 2025 | Seite 23

POLITICS

Ray Williams MP

Member for Kellyville
Suite 202, 10-14 Market Lane, Rouse Hill NSW 2155 8882-9555 kellyville @ parliament. nsw. gov. au www. raywilliamsmp. com. au
As your State MP, I am here to:
• Help you with any State matters.
• Provide Justice of the Peace services.
• Arrange congratulatory messages.
• Assist in accessing NSW Government services, assistance or grants.
Authorised by Ray Williams MP. Funded using Parliamentary Entitlements.
with Ray Williams MP Member for Kellyville
Merry Christmas!
As the holiday season fast approaches, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May 2026 bring you and your family health, happiness and prosperity. Rememberance Day I was honoured to attend two wonderful Remembrance Day ceremonies this year. One ceremony was coordinated by the Balcombe Heights Estate 355 Management Committee which was both beautiful and moving, and I met the local Anzac Ambassadors Ella Dickson( Crestwood High), Harry McMahon( Rouse Hill High), Isaac Browne( Castle Hill High) and Ashlyn Kumar( Oakhill College) who
represented their peers with great pride and respect.
On Remembrance Day itself, the Castle Hill & District RSL Sub-Branch held a solemn service at the Club’ s Porte
Cochere. As always, the ceremony was deeply poignant and profound, followed by a morning tea where members of The Hills community came together in shared reflection and remembrance.
I extend my congratulations to both the Castle Hill & District RSL Sub-Branch and the Balcombe Heights Committee under the leadership of Connie Keith for upholding this important tradition and making it so special.
Return & Earn Depot now in Rouse Hill
The new Return and Earn Depot at Hare Place, Rouse Hill is a large-format facility that residents can use for large or small volumes of containers, and is conveniently open from 7am to 6pm, seven days a week.
Return and Earn has since grown into Australia’ s most successful litter-reduction
program, outperforming all other environmental initiatives nationwide. The results speak for themselves: more than 14.6 billion containers returned, a 73 % drop in drink-container litter, 83 % community participation, and over 1.2 million tonnes of materials recycled. The scheme has also delivered an impressive $ 82 million to charities and community organisations through donations and handling fees.
Charity Christmas cakes and puddings
The Kellyville Lions Club is selling their delicious 1kg cakes and 900g puddings again this year and can be ordered directly through Wayne Kedward on 0412 465 021. Both cakes and puddings are $ 16 per item. Congratulations: Josephine Camilleri – 90 th Birthday Nancy Evans – 90 th Birthday

Primary student’ s big idea to support mental health

with Julian Leeser MP Federal Member for Berowra
Sometimes the best ideas come from the youngest people in our community. Recently, I received a letter from Ashleigh Dewhurst, who noticed that some children feel too shy or uncertain to tell a teacher when something is troubling them.
Ashleigh wanted to do something about it.
Her idea was for a“ voice letterbox” at school, where students could write or draw what’ s on their mind and post it privately. Teachers and principals could then read those notes and make sure no child’ s concern goes unheard.
I subsequently wrote to our local Men’ s Sheds about building these boxes for schools in our area, in addition to reaching out to our local schools to encourage them to take up the initiative.
The response has been overwhelmingly positive so far with Kenthurst, Hornsby-Berowra, North Epping, Hornsby Woodworking and Wisemans Ferry Men’ s Sheds committing to building the letterboxes.
I was proud to share Ashleigh’ s idea in the Australian Parliament and help bring the community together to begin bringing her idea to life. It’ s a reminder that real change can begin with our youngest voices.
THE HILLS INDEPENDENT theindependentmagazine. com. au MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY HOLIDAYS! ISSUE 126 // DECEMBER 2025 23