MEMBER for Hume Angus Taylor was humbled yesterday when he was officially sworn into office Governor General Quentin Bryce.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
As the 44th Parliament opened Mr Taylor declared his allegiance to the Crown and promised to drive policy change that would directly benefit his constituents.
“As their new representative in Canberra I will be working hard… to achieve changes to infrastructure funding so that major works like the Barton Highway can be completed in a staged and achievable manner,” he said.
“Improved mobile phone services and infrastructure for the benefit of all residents; better health care for Hume - more doctors and more mental health services; and fair and sensible outcomes for regional Australia on agriculture policy, on policy affecting small business and in relation to the Renewable Energy Target (RET).
“These are important goals of mine for the next three years, but they are by no means my only focus.
I am here to represent all residents of Hume, on all relevant issues.”
Mr Taylor was proud his father had been in the public gallery for the ceremony saying his career in agricultural politics had always been a strong source of motivation. He also thanked his wife and children for their “tremendous support”.
Last week, the Hume MP finalised the majority of staffing arrangements for both his Goulburn and Cowra offices, appointing five electorate officers.
Vanessa Toparis (who served former Member for Hume John Sharp) will join Sarah Bucknell (a former journalist with more than 20 years’ experience in both media and public relations) and Nancy Roberts (a Taylor campaign supporter and a former employee of ex-Member for Gilmore Jo Gash) in Auburn St.
Alby Schultz’s team in Cowra – Frances Douch and Maree Ireland – will continue to work in that office.
He currently has one more position to fill.
The MP says his staff will hit the ground running. Thanks to the disruptions caused by the election and changing of the guard, there is no shortage of work to catch up on but he and his team will work tirelessly to get back on track.
“We are dealing with a backlog of issues, so, we ask people to be patient while we do that,” he said.
“I look forward to people contacting me in whatever way suites them, either in person, by phone, by email, or via Facebook.
“We have a great team with lots of energy and experience. We also have a large electorate to cover and we want all of our constituents to know we’ll be looking after each and every one of them.”
