The event will bring hundreds of competitors and their supporters to Bathurst’s world class BMX track on College Road.

The facility hosted the BMX Australia national championships 12 months ago and many of those competitors are returning for this weekend’s competition.

The decision by council to invest in productive infrastructure is paying dividends, generating visitations to the city, and through BMX Australia, the track and the city are gaining international exposure as they live stream the weekend’s competition.

The BMX track is one of the results of council’s investment in productive infrastructure in recent years, a hallmark of this term of council under the leadership of former mayor Gary Rush.

Council’s budget during this time doubled, with an investment in major capital projects including the BMX track, upgraded facilities at Carrington Park, the start of work on the $10 million Kelso reservoir and many others.

In his three-and-a-half years as mayor, Gary was heavily involved in the promotion of Bathurst as a vibrant, prosperous regional city and made economic development and the growth of the visitor economy key priorities.

He was also mayor during the city’s bicentenary year and we now have a number of high profile legacy projects after 2015, including the Winter Festival, Living Legends, Pillars of Bathurst and the Bathurst Macquarie Heritage Medal.

As a council we will focus on our remaining months of this term, building on the work that has been undertaken so far to ensure the city and region continue to grow and prosper.

L-PLATER logbooks are set to be replaced with new technology.

One-hundred L-platers will trial the new technology by using one of the four new smartphone apps designed to record driver training – Licence Ready, Learner Journey, Ezy Log and L2P.

The trial will be conducted over a six-week period and stringent reporting will let the government know just how effective they are.

The apps have been designed so that they don’t distract new drivers or their supervisors, and comply with all applicable road rules relating to the use of mobile phones.

Transport for NSW will review feedback from the trial, and successful apps are expected to be rolled out more widely later this year.

War memorials funding now open

THE first round of 2017 funding for the Community War Memorials Fund (CWMF) is now open.

The CWMF is designed to protect and repair local war memorials, which preserves the Anzac legacy.

I urge councils to apply for the fund, which provides the opportunity for all NSW communities to access up to $10,000.

Applications will be assessed by the State War Memorial Committee, which is made up of the NSW RSL, Public Works Advisory, NSW Office of Environment and Heritage and Veterans’ Affairs.

For further information, please contact Veterans' Affairs on 9228 4710 or email VeteranGrants@dpc.nsw.gov.au

Back to Business Week

This week we celebrate small businesses - the driving force of our economy, generating growth, innovation and jobs.

Back to Business Week events are being held across NSW, so get involved.

For more information on events and seminars being held in your area, visit www.industry.nsw.gov.au/backtobusiness or contact your local council.

Gala concerts

I HAVE a limited number of tickets left for this year’s Seniors’ Concerts in Sydney on March 7 and 8. These wonderful annual events are free for seniors and a great way of saying thank you for all our seniors do for our families and communities.

If you would like more information, please contact the Bathurst Electorate Office on 6332 1300.