Thank you to everybody who sent me greetings for the Festive season and may I wish you all a Happy New Year! I do trust your Christmas New Year break was an enjoyable one. It isn't necessarily so for everyone I know, as it can be a time of considerable stress or perhaps loneliness even, when others seem to be having such a good time celebrating.

I do hope though that everyone has some positive plans for 2007. I believe that this will be another busy year for Government and I will be out and about at the various shopping centres holding my regular Mobile Office as usual, starting first weekend of February at Belconnen Fresh Food Markets. Please check the relevant area of my website for upcoming dates.

Assembly Committees will also commence in February and I will be trying to keep you up-to-date with the 4 Committees that I sit on in various capacities. Of course the Education Young People and Training Standing Committee, which I chair, has 3 inquiries at present and these can be found here.

For Health and Disability, of which I am Deputy Chair, click here. You will see the details of our newest inquiry there which is into the "Use of Crystal Methamphetamine (Ice) in the ACT".

The Planning and Environment Committee has a number of inquiries on-going, and I am sure a few will be of interest to you. You can view those here.

My 4th Committee, which will commence again in February, is the Select Committee into Working Families in the ACT looking into the effect of the Federal Government's new IR Legislation on ACT workers and their families.

Prior to the Christmas break, and certainly during that time, a subject raised frequently with me has been climate change and sustainable practices. The ACT Government is working on a climate change strategy with other states and territories. As you well understand this is something that the whole country, in fact the whole world needs to be urgently engaged with. Having said that I am sure that this is yet another matter in which our Government won't be afraid to show leadership. I will certainly be doing my best to raise matters in relation to climate change at each opportunity.

To view the ACT Government's Office of Sustainability website you can log on to sustainability.act.gov.au where you can see information about Sustainability, Climate Change, Water and Energy Policy, the ACT Biosphere Reserve proposal and the Community Rebates and Efficiencies Program. I would welcome your suggestions, comments and feedback.

I was pleased to note that the ACT was fatality free over the holiday period and that our road trauma and deaths were reduced in 2006 compared to 2005. However I am sure that this is no reason for us to be less vigilant in our approach to road safety in 2007. It would be terrific if we are able to say at the end of this year that not one person was killed on ACT roads in 2007!

My first edition of the Porter Report will be published on the site in February. I am looking forward to working with and for you in 2007.

Warm regards,

Mary.

Mary Porter AM MLA
Member for Ginninderra