Long waits for cars and trailers at Parkes Tip on free day

‘Cause council waived their stinkin’ fees,

shoulda packed a nice big lunch

‘Cause desk-bound boffins do believe.

Sundays aren’t for wife and kids,

Hang’n with mates or an arvo kip.

No. Sundays are for idling for

An hour. To get. In. To. The. Tip.

‘Free weekend!’ the advert said.

I’ll tell you now, this ain’t no lie,

Wello prison ain’t as hard

To get a bit of stuff inside.

Boom gates shout, ‘how dare you try’.

Wait your turn while we scan and weigh,

‘What type of rubbish do you have?’

‘Garbage. Just some rubbish’, I obey.

Some may say, ‘Bugger that for a joke’.

And soon enough we'll all be graced, 

not with glorious crops and fields but

garbage. Farcical. Such a waste.

The number seven for our Parkes history seems always to be a progressive one, from 1867 to our present day 2017 is no different and we celebrate this number.

The Parkes Historical Society will be having its Commemorative Heritage Service at Goobang Church Sunday, November 19.

This year the 2PK/ROK FM’s 80th birthday, Henry Parkes Museum’s 50th birthday, Country Music’s 50th birthday, Emmanuel family’s 50th and the 1917 battles in France and Beersheba are all events with which our community has been involved.

2017 in our history, there has been other community events which we have all taken part in – but the commencement of the Narromine section of the Inland Rail, new sewerage works and water treatment plan have again proved the number seven is Parkes’ lucky number.

The Society would love people to come to our little church at the Museum on Sunday, November 19 at 3pm.

Reverend Ron Spindler will be officiating.

Today's "yes" vote is a momentous statement for LGBTIQ Australians – that we are accepted for who we are. That we, too, belong. That our love is equal.

Australians have recognised that our relationships have as much worth and commitment as everyone else's relationships. 

For those of us fighting for equality, this has been a deeply personal debate. 

The stubborn legislative discrimination excluding us from the institution of marriage was a clear statement about how our relationships were regarded.

This has been a very hard time for our community, the LGBTIQ community across Australia. The worth of our relationships has been questioned. Our love and commitment to our children has been questioned. Our identity has been denigrated.

And when a part of our community is diminished in this way, whether it on the basis of ethnicity, language, religion, sexuality or other attribute, we are all diminished.

[On Wednesday] those attitudes have been resoundingly rejected.

So this campaign wasn't just important for LGBTIQ Australians. It's important for all Australians.

Thank you to the millions of Australians who stood up for fairness. Thank you for standing up for gay and lesbian Australians, the LGBTIQ community everywhere. Thank you for standing up for my family and for all our families. We have now seen an outpouring of love and support from our fellow Australians. I hope we can all take from this a message of solidarity, of support, of decency from our fellow Australians.

All of us have been lifted by the support from unions, from business leaders, from farmers, miners and professionals; from the ordinary working men and women of Australia; from the national sporting clubs and their leading stars to the local clubs in towns and cities across Australia.

The "yes" vote is not just a statement for the LGBTIQ community: it's a statement about the kind of nation we are.

A nation where the values of fairness and equality grow ever stronger.

A nation where acceptance and respect mean that all members of our community are made to feel safe and welcome.

Australians have voted for equality. They have done their part.

Now it is time for us to do ours.

The bill we will now debate is the 23rd marriage equality bill to be introduced into the Australian Parliament. And it is the first I have co-sponsored.

I have chosen to put my name in support of this bill because I believe it is the right bill to pass this Parliament.

The Australian people voted to remove discrimination – not to extend it. It's time for us to get on with it. It's time to remove discrimination from our Marriage Act.

It's time to legislate for marriage equality.

To the high schoolers who found my purse and handed it in at Aldis, thank you so much. You’re a great bunch of kids. Your honesty was appreciated very much.

Parkes residents were less than impressed when they read online about PAC Park being vandalised just one day after Parkes Rotary Club members cleaned up the area. The story appears on page 3 of our paper today.

What is wrong with people today don’t they like our town looking beautiful and clean.

Sad isn't it. They really don't think about the effect it has when they do this sort of thing. Hundred of $ to fix and hours of someone else’s time.

A bloody disgrace. Thumbs up to Rotary for cleaning it up, a good bunch of people doing a great job for the community.

Kids these days have nothing to do in this town, so why don’t we give them something to do other then playing sport, as there has never been anything to do.

Skate park. Gyms at all the parks. Riding their bikes on all the walking tracks. We had less when I was a kid. I never graffittied a wall. Just disrespectful is what it is.