Penny Sharpe's blog

The O'Farrell Government is planning to cut tens of thousands of jobs across the State as part of the September budget - ripping the guts out of local health, education and emergency services.  

"The O'Farrell Government has flagged it plans to cut tens of thousands of jobs in health, primary industries, education and emergency services," Opposition Leader John Robertson said.  

"Cutting tens of thousands of job cuts will rip the guts out of healthcare, education, the Police Force and other vital services in NSW.

"The Premier has put word out of up to 80,000 job cuts to soften the ground for when the final figure comes in at less than that.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women in Australia. Today in the NSW Parliament we will get the chance to debate a motion I put forward about Heart Disease.  The motion coincides with the end of the Healthy Heart Challenge run by the Heart Foundation.

I rise today to mark the very sad passing of Trevor Davies.  Today a community  - a community in the truest sense - gathered at Pitt St Uniting Church to bid farewell to Trevor Edward Davies. At the young age of just 55, Trevor died on 14 June 2011 of a heart attack.

His devastated family spoke of a beloved brother and an uncle for whom they cherished.

A man quick with a joke and a long and infectious laugh.

They told how as a teenager he had tried to revive his father after a fatal asthmatic attack.

They told of his undying love for his mother.

A man who always had something interesting to say -  just as he was always able to listen to the stories of others.

The end of week 3 has me moving into a phases where I feel like regular exercise has become a part of my life again. It's not perfect but I'm doing more than I have done recently. I may even have lost a kilo or two.

Parliament finishes this week so I hope to increase the physical activity over the 5 weeks without long periods of time spent sitting in the chamber.

Alcohol remains a no go.

I hope that tomorrow I will be able to have the NSW Legislative Council debate a motion recognising Heart Week and the Go Red for Women campaign.

In late July/early August my current staffer is having 4 weeks leave. I am looking for people who would be interested in filling in for this period of time. I would prefer someone who can work full time for that period but I am willing to consider a 4 day/1 day split or a 3 day /2day split.

My office is located in Parliament House, Macquarie St Sydney. The hours are approx 9 -5 but will require additional hours on occasion. The job will require you to:

-          Update and maintain the database and filing system

-          Proactively monitor media, Hansard and relevant journals for key issues