The arts are an essential industry. We need artists as much as we need accountants. We need dancers as much as we need doctors. We need comedians as much as we need civil engineers. We need filmmakers as much as we need financial planners. We need musicians as much as we need ministers.

It is the age-old story – the lack of public transport across the Northern Rivers that leads to high car ownership and a failure of local and regional public transport infrastructure and use.

A Northern Rivers family might be forced to leave their life behind without direct intervention by the Minister for Immigration, Tony Burke. The de Silva family have been living locally since 2020, contributing significantly to local businesses and to disaster recovery.