It’s been another wet and wild start to the year. Across North Queensland, there are manyanxious people asking familiar questions: will the roads flood, how many cyclones will we face, and will there be food on the shelves?

When Ann Barry stepped off the S.S. Iberia in April 1964, she carried little more than a single chest of possessions and a heart full of courage. At just 20 years old, she had left her birthplace, Brynithel, South Wales, behind, embarking on a month-long voyage to begin a new life in Australia.

That leap of faith, born of her parents' dream to move to Australia, became the foundation for an extraordinary life, one that has now been crowned by Ann finally achieving Australian citizenship at the age of 82.

Next week will mark one month since 15 innocent Australians lost their lives at one of our nation’s most iconic spots. Bondi will now forever be synonymous with the worst terror attack on Australian soil. It devastated families, shattered communities, and scarred a nation. It should never have happened.

Federal Member for Dawson, Andrew Willcox MP, is proud to announce that 44 outstanding young athletes from across the Dawson electorate have been successful recipients of the Australian Government’s Local Sporting Champions program.

We know you’re busy this time of year, but down here in Australia, we’re hoping you can spare a moment. Christmas under Labor is looking less like It’s A Wonderful Life and more like The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.

We’ve written our wish list, Santa, the same list Labor promised to deliver when they came down the chimney in 2022. Just like countless kids who wake up on Christmas morning to find socks instead of a shiny new bike, Australians are discovering that Labor’s promises don’t quite match the packaging.

Australia’s manufacturing sector is being steadily weakened under the Albanese Labor Government, not through a single bad decision, but through a pattern of failure. What we are seeing now is not economic management. It is crisis containment. Labor is applying band-aids to a bullet wound, and taxpayers are being handed the bill.

The Government’s decision to bail out Tomago Aluminium is the latest example.

Australia went to bed wounded, and woke up confronting a truth we should never have had to face.

What unfolded at Bondi was not just an act of violence. It was an act of terror. It was an attack on innocent people, on a community gathered in peace, and on the values that bind us together as Australians.

Federal Member for Dawson, Andrew Willcox, says the Whitsundays is now facing an unprecedented double threat: a proposed wind farm pushed into the heart of rural communities, and growing fears about asbestos contamination that are eroding public trust in government safeguards and environmental protections.

The face of Australian manufacturing has changed beyond recognition in recent years, and not for the better. Once a vital source of jobs, exports and national self-reliance, our manufacturing sector is now a hollow shell of what it used to be.

Older Australians have paid their taxes, fought in wars, raised generations, built and run businesses, farmed our lands and pushed this country forward. They’ve contributed for decades, and now that it is their turn to be looked after, the current Labor government has abandoned them.

The latest round of the Bruce Highway Targeted Safety Program is a major disappointment for the Dawson electorate, with the Albanese Labor Government failing to provide meaningful investment in one of Australia’s largest and most critical regional highways.

Federal Member for Dawson, Andrew Willcox, says Labor’s humiliating reversal on forcing regional communities onto slower, lower-quality roads confirms what locals have been saying for months: the policy was unworkable, unsafe, and designed to shift costs away from Canberra and onto the bush.

Federal Member for Dawson and Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing and Sovereign Capability Andrew Willcox says the Coalition’s decision to abandon Labor’s net-zero target is a victory for common sense, cost-of-living relief and Australian industry.

Mr Willcox said the Coalition reached a principled position “the right way, through consultation, evidence and respect, not ideology, slogans or political theatre.”

Federal Member for Dawson, Andrew Willcox MP, has announced 12-year-old Emma Vella from the Mackay region as the winner of his annual Christmas Card Competition.

This year’s theme, “My Favourite Thing About Living in Dawson,” invited children aged 12 and under to celebrate the people, places, and spirit that make the region special.

Federal Member for Dawson and Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing and Sovereign Capability, Andrew Willcox, says Labor’s plan to drop regional speed limits leaves regional Australia stuck in the slow lane.

The ‘roadblock to regional progress’ proposal would reduce the default speed limit on unsigned roads outside of built-up areas, which is currently 100 km/h, down to as low as 70 km/h.

Six months into a second Albanese term, the biggest illusion of all is being exposed. Net Zero at all costs, supposedly for the good of the planet, has not been working out so well for our country.

Yesterday at the National Press Club, The National Party of Australia drew a line in the sand, declaring it will no longer support Labor’s reckless Net Zero target by 2050, calling it unaffordable, unachievable, and unsustainable for Australia’s economic and industrial future.

Federal Member for Dawson, Andrew Willcox MP, has raised serious concerns regarding the Bureau of Meteorology’s (BOM) new website, following overwhelming feedback from constituents, local farmers, and weather professionals.

The Albanese Government’s $2 billion Green Aluminium Production Credit misses the mark, throwing taxpayer money at a problem it helped create. Soaring energy costs and unreliable power are the real threats to Australia’s aluminium industry — yet Labor blocked a Senate inquiry that could have addressed these challenges. The Coalition believes in supporting manufacturing with reliable energy and smart policies, not costly handouts.

Federal Member for Dawson, Andrew Willcox MP, is calling on the region’s youngest artists to take part in a special Christmas Card Competition celebrating what makes life in Dawson so special.

Children aged 12 years and under, living in the Dawson electorate, are invited to submit a drawing or painting that shows “My Favourite Thing About Living in Dawson” — capturing what home means to them, especially at Christmas time.