The event was a wonderful celebration of the Dubbo business community, which like so many others is showing tremendous resilience through a really tough time.

People often ask me why Dubbo continues to thrive through such an intense drought, and the answer I always give is the diversity of our businesses and those who operate them.

While we live in a regional part of NSW we have so many different facets to our business community, and it was pleasing to see so many different industries recognised with awards

That diversity is the case with other locations within the electorate as well, with business owners looking for innovative ways to keep going.

A big congratulations to Andrew Bassett and the team from Fitness Focus, who took home the coveted Gold Rhino, and well done to everyone else who was nominated for an award.

Last week in Parliament I was able to ask a question of NSW Minister for Corrections and Counter Terrorism, The Hon Anthony Roberts MP, about many of the programs available in the NSW Corrective Services sector.

Recently I had the good fortune of hosting Minister Roberts for a visit to Macquarie Correctional Centre, where we were shown some of the wonderful art, music and skills programs the inmates take part in.

A couple of the art program participants actually completed some amazing paintings of the Minister, and while it is important to remember they are incarcerated for a reason, these programs are important in providing them with the confidence and skills to help with their rehabilitation and ability to adapt once they are back in the community.

It's well-known that NSW is facing the worst drought on record, and with record low rainfall rates, regional communities are not getting the water they need to grow crops, water livestock or even drinking water.

Last week, the Water Supply (Critical Needs) Bill 2019 was introduced to Parliament by the NSW Water Minister, The Hon Melinda Pavey MP, with the intention being to expedite the planning processes so we can build more dams now, so when it does rain, we can capture as much water as possible to get regional NSW through future droughts.

Hopefully there is some common sense and bipartisanship shown by the Opposition and the cross bench, and this Bill is allowed to pass through the Parliament in the near future.

With Christmas fast approaching, and we are asking for help to design his inaugural holiday greeting card.

For many years now, primary school children across the Dubbo electorate have been asked to submit drawings, with the winner to take pride of place on the card, which is delivered to hundreds of people and organisations across NSW.

Entry is open to all primary school students who reside in the Dubbo electorate which includes the Mid-Western Regional, Wellington, Dubbo and Narromine areas.

The winning entry will receive a $200 gift voucher to the store of the student's choice, second place will receive a $100 gift voucher with a $50 voucher for third.

All entries must be A4 in size with no cotton, glitter or anything stuck to the page, must not be folded and the artist's name, age and school should be clearly marked on the back of each entry. Entries can be sent via post to Dugald Saunders MP, PO Box 1327, Dubbo, NSW, 2830.

Until next week, Dugald