with Ray Williams MP Member for Kellyville

NETBALL THRIVING AT THE HART SENIOR STATE TITLES

It was a privilege to attend the Opening Ceremony of the 2026 HART Senior State Titles weekend together

with the Hills Shire Mayor Dr Michelle Byrne and Deputy Mayor Clr Frank De Masi.

The HART Senior State Titles is a premier event in the Netball NSW pathway. The tournament highlights grassroots netball, bringing together players from across the state to compete in the game they love.

Over three thrilling days and two locations( Kellyville & Penrith), 241 teams took to the court, contesting more than 2,000 matches and collectively scoring in excess of 65,000 goals- an outstanding showcase of the passion, talent, and spirit that defines community netball.

140 YEARS OF EMMANUEL ANGLICAN CHURCH, GLENHAVEN

I was honoured to be invited by Senior Minister Hayden Smith to Emmanuel Anglican Church, Glenhaven, to celebrate the church’ s 140th anniversary.

Since first opening its doors in 1886, much has changed, yet the church has remained a strong and constant presence-serving the local community and providing a place for worshippers to gather, celebrate, and connect.

The celebrations were truly wonderful, and I sincerely thank the Minister for including me in such a significant and historic occasion.

THUGS & BULLIES- WE ARE COMING FOR YOU

After seeing some of the most harrowing violent crimes in our area, including the murder of a teenager

and shootings of people’ s homes, I 100 % welcome the Opposition Leader’ s approach to stand up against the thugs, bullies and their puppet masters.

These dodgy middlemen that broker the kill cars, the hit vehicles, that recruit the kids on our streets are hiding in a black web of deceit, outsourcing the dirty work so that someone else takes the blame.

Enticing our children with money and infamy.

Organised crime is out of control in Sydney. Our suburbs are becoming battlegrounds, and this is happening on Labor’ s watch. They introduced laws that we supported recently, but they did not go tough enough.

We want to increase penalties to a maximum of 20-years if they’ re targeting kids, and there’ ll be a range of penalties leading up to that. When they are targeting kids, we should expect nothing less that the toughest laws that can be applied.

by Belinda Mangroo

Under bright blue skies along the banks of Cattai Creek, community members came together to help restore habitat for one of Australia’ s most iconic and elusive animals- the platypus.

Did you know that platypus live in Cattai Creek? Excitingly, researchers from Western Sydney University with the support of community from Cattai Hills Environment Network have confirmed their presence. By carefully trapping individuals to assess their health and using advanced environmental DNA( eDNA) testing of water samples, scientists have gathered strong evidence that these shy creatures call the creek home- even though they are notoriously difficult to spot.

Cattai Creek is an important waterway within the Hawkesbury – Nepean River catchment. It plays a vital role in

supporting biodiversity, managing tidal flows, and providing opportunities for recreation and cultural connection. The creek winds its way from Castle Hill through Annangrove and Maraylya before joining the Hawkesbury River.

Equally important as the water itself is the land along the creek’ s edge, known as the riparian zone. Healthy and diverse native vegetation in this area provides platypus with shade and shelter, stabilises creek banks for their burrows, and supports the good water quality, insects and small aquatic creatures they rely on for food.

Last weekend, local residents and platypus enthusiasts travelled from near and far to take part in a planting day at Mitchell Park in Cattai National Park, Maraylya. Volunteers of all ages- from young children to experienced bushcare volunteers- rolled up their sleeves to help. The Member for Macquarie, Susan Templeman MP, also joined in, showing her support for a project she has championed in the area.

The day was not only productive but also fun and educational. Volunteers learned fascinating facts about platypus- including that they are egg-laying mammals, must regularly come to the surface to breathe, and that males have

a venomous spur on their hind legs.

The 200 trees and shrubs planted were native species typical of the local rainforest. By restoring vegetation in a previously cleared picnic area, the project is helping to rebuild a healthy riparian habitat that will support platypus and other wildlife well into the future.

However, platypus in urban waterways like Cattai Creek still face many threats. As a community, we can all play a part in protecting them by:

• Reducing litter and preventing pollutants from entering stormwater drains

• Never leaving fishing line in or near waterways

• Avoiding the use of illegal enclosed yabby traps( opera traps)

• Reporting runoff from building sites entering drains

• Helping control invasive weeds in your gardens

By taking these simple steps, we can help ensure that platypus continue to thrive in our local waterways for

generations to come. This community education and planting day was hosted as part of the Resilient Rivers for Resilient Hawkesbury Platypus Populations Project. This project is funded by the Australian Government’ s Urban Rivers and Catchments Program and delivered by Western Sydney University in partnership with the Hawkesbury Nepean Waterkeeper Alliance( https:// www. westernsydney. edu. au / harwest). Greater Sydney Local Land Services are also supporting these efforts to restore the native ecosystem along Cattai Creek.

Generative AI was used as a writing support tool in preparing this article. The author reviewed and verified the content, and all analysis, conclusions and final editorial decisions are the author’ s own.