At this 25th holding of the appeal, the members of the community donated 200 new toys for local distribution and provided $8040 to be used for the purchase of food and goods for persons and families in need of such support over the Christmas period.

The support given to the appeal by the management and staff of the local Target store enabled the community to make their donations possible. This support is gratefully acknowledged.

Assistance given to the Uniting Church locally with the distribution of some items by members of the local Salvation Army was greatly appreciated.

Publicity of the appeal through the local press, and the support of the mayor Gary Rush at the launch in December did much to bring this good cause to the attention of the community.

The annual appeal is conducted statewide as a joint effort of Target stores and Uniting, an arm of the Uniting Church in Australia.

Rev Oto Faiva, of the Uniting Church here in Bathurst, who with the manager of the local Target store, Lisa Morrison, organised the appeal here in Bathurst, said that the wonderful support given locally is another example of the way in which the Bathurst community rallies to support worthwhile happenings every time.

Locally it made possible a good Christmas for some of those in need of a helping hand at the time.

To all involved, a heartfelt thank you.

IT’S time we got rid of the party system. Let us be represented by our elected official, not the party Then if they don't honour their commitment they are out.

And while we're at it a lot of money could be saved by dissolving state governments. How much would that save? Many billions I should think. No knowing. Try to find the cost of running the NSW Government on Google.

Access Economics put the cost of the states in 2001 to be $20 billion per year and that was 16 years ago, so it would be a whole lot more now.

Then there are the inefficiencies of overlapping responsibilities.

Why do we put up with this money-wasting nonsense?

We would all be so much better off with the money that could be saved.

EACH year on Australia Day, Australians come together to celebrate living and being part of this nation, a multicultural nation, a nation expanding and thriving on accepting people of all different races, cultures and backgrounds. However, this year I am asking you to look at multiculturalism from a different angle.

Instead of multiculturalism, a term which focuses on the differences of our country and our people, I implore you to focus more on a common humanity. We all have this, yet we instead focus on our differences.

The key to acceptance and harmony is both; finding similarities, and accepting differences. Neither are more important, and having one without the other creates an imbalance which grows into disconnection with community and isolation.

Australia Day is a time to focus on our common humanity, but like many of my other messages we need to continue to adopt this approach in our everyday lives.  Australia will continue to develop, our people becoming more diverse and our cultures intertwining. It is up to you to develop with it.