The event will be held from April 19-21.

The race, which features a variety of production cars, continues to grow each year and this year's entry list is brimming with a large and diverse competitor base.

Drivers, crews, supporters, and their families and friends will come to Bathurst to watch the race and ultimately shop, dine and stay in our city.

In turn, this will provide a substantial boost to our local economy and highlight the very best of the region to our visitors.

For more information and tickets, visit www.bathurst6hour.com.au.

Cirencester friendship agreement

ALICE Chandler from Cirencester returned to Bathurst for a second time last week.

This was Alice's final part of her journey before returning home to England.

The 18-year-old first visited Bathurst in October last year as part of a student exchange project between Cirencester and Bathurst.

She was hosted by local families who gave her an insight into what life was like in our city and regional Australia.

Council has a friendship agreement with the town of Cirencester in England, the home of Lord and Lady Bathurst.

This initiative aims to promote awareness, communication and opportunities for the people, and organisations of our two regional communities based on friendship, commerce, education, sport and tourism.

Council approached Cirencester Town Council in 2016 to form an official friendship arrangement and we are now seeing the results of this initiative with bonds and friendships between our two communities growing.

In March, Council formalised the friendship agreement with Cirencester.

The formalisation of the agreement will allow both communities to further explore opportunities for the collaborative development of research, the organisation of joint academic, cultural and artistic activities and so much more.

THE state continues to experience prolonged and widespread drought conditions despite some welcome rainfall in March, particularly in the Bathurst electorate.

While recent data shows that some isolated areas like Bathurst have moved into drought recovery, we can never take the rain for granted.

The NSW Combined Drought Indicator shows that although there has been some shifts in the nature of the current drought, 99.5 per cent of NSW is still experiencing drought conditions.

I am aware of how difficult these conditions are for our farmers, which is why the NSW Government is quickly assessing current drought relief measures to make sure farmers are receiving the best possible support and that this support is ongoing.

The NSW Government has committed almost $1.5 billion to the drought support package, boosted the Farm Innovation Fund from $650 million to $1 billion and increased the value of low interest loans available through the fund up to $1 million.

The latest State Seasonal Update and information on a range of services and support available to primary producers is available on www.droughthub.nsw.gov.au

Rules reminder

ONE life lost is one life too many and speeding remains the greatest cause of death and injury on our regional roads.

Thirty-nine per cent of the 354 road fatalities last year were speed-related and 71 per cent of those were in country areas.

As Minister for Regional Roads and Transport, I'd like to urge people to brush up on their knowledge to potentially save lives and avoid penalties during Road Rules Awareness Week from April 8-14.

People may consider themselves good drivers, but knowing the road rules, such as who has right of way at an intersection, and what different signs and traffic signals mean, is an important part of road safety.

Learn more at www.facebook.com/nswroadsafety

Bright ideas

MY Community Project gives you the chance to develop your great idea to revitalise or renew your neighbourhood, whether that be through the addition of a community garden, a safe and inclusive playground or holding a cultural fair.

Through this program, locals can think about what their community needs, develop that idea with a sponsor like TAFE or a charity, and then work with them to transform their concept into reality.

Once we have the eligible project applications for each area, we will invite the community to get behind them by voting online for the projects they like the most.

A total of $24.4 million will be available, spread across the entire state, for projects valued between $20,000 and $200,000 that will make communities more liveable, cultural, accessible, safe, revitalised or healthy.

Visit www.nsw.gov.au/mycommunityproject