Merry Christmas!

Welcome to the Birak (December) edition of the Albany Update!

I take this opportunity to thank my constituents - the people of Albany - and my parliamentary colleagues and electorate staff, for a terrific, busy and successful year. It is an honour and privilege to serve as your local member in the Western Australian Parliament.

Much progressive legislation was passed this year to help improve the lives of Western Australians and I took every opportunity to advocate on behalf of Albany to further drive our city's economic, social and cultural growth in the lead up to the Bicentenary.

Christmas is such a special time of year! I wish you and your loved ones a safe and happy festive season and wish you all the very best for 2023.

In the lead-up to Christmas, my team and I have been busy supporting our amazing local community in a variety of ways, including:

Donating $200 IGA - York St vouchers to support Fishability Albany for their end of year barbecue;
Attending the Albany Community Care Centre Christmas lunch;
Informing our local community of the McGowan Labor Government's fee-free TAFE qualifications and short courses in 2023 in partnership with the Albanese Government in order for key industries to meet demand for skilled workers;
Providing a donation to FoodBank to support people in need over the festive period;
Announcing the successful recipients of the 2022 REDS Grants for the Great Southern region, with my parliamentary colleague, the Hon Alannah MacTiernan (see Alannah's page for more information);
Presenting Pivot Support Services with $50,000 on behalf of Lotterywest to go towards emergency and crisis relief to support people experiencing hardship in Albany and surrounding areas;
Hosting the final Albany Chamber of Commerce & Industry Coffee and Connect for 2022;
Hosting an intimate book event with Paperbark Merchants to review and discuss Julia Gillard's book, Not Now, Not Ever and Grace Tame's book, The Ninth Life of a Diamond Miner;
Attending the annual Albany & Regional Volunteer Service Thank-A-Volunteer Day to celebrate and publicly acknowledge our wonderful local volunteers;
Joining the volunteers from Cycling Without Age - Albany to greet the new trishaw that arrived in The City of Albany after its long journey from Copenhagen, Denmark; and
Presenting The City of Albany with $45,000 funding from Lotterywest for its Summer events programme.

I give thanks to my friend, mentor and parliamentary colleague, the Hon Alannah MacTiernan MLC, Member for the SW region, who has been a guiding light and immense support to me in my first term of parliament as the Member for Albany, and wish her all the best for her coming adventures!

The Electorate Office is closed from 23 December to 3 January 2023 inclusive, re-opening on 4 January. Should you require assistance, please email rebecca.stephens@mp.wa.gov.au

Rebecca Stephens MLA | Member for Albany

Albany Update

Your Voice for Albany

Birak: Issue 6, 2022 · 22 Dec 2022

In this issue