Debate Gets Heated at The Daily Telegraph’s Bush Summit in Wagga Wagga
News Corp Australia’s Bush Summit arrived in Wagga Wagga earlier this week, with an impressive line-up of speakers and panellists, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and NSW Premier Chris Minns, and a fiery debate between New England MP Barnaby Joyce and Clean Energy Council National Spokesperson — and former 2GB host — Chris O’Keefe.
The Bush Summit dinner took place at Wagga RSL on Tuesday night, before the main component kicked off on Wednesday morning at Charles Sturt University.
ClubsNSW, under the Your Local Club brand, is a Major Partner of the Bush Summit.
The event provided an opportunity to bring together politicians and industry leaders to discuss some of the key issues facing regional and remote communities. Among the hot topics were housing, energy and access to essential services such as healthcare.
The program kicked off with a Keynote Address from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who has been attending the annual event since its inception in 2019.
He then sat down with The Daily Telegraph Editor Ben English to discuss housing, as well as other critical issues facing towns in the bush right across Australia.
The day also featured several panel sessions with special guests including Riverina MP Michael McCormack and Wagga Wagga MP Dr Joe McGirr, as well as Liz Ritchie — CEO of the Regional Australia Institute — and Assistant Police Commissioner Paul Pisanos.
But by far the most emotive session of the day came when Barnaby Joyce — now a staunch opponent of net zero — and Chris O’Keefe faced off to debate renewable energy.
The Bush Summit was televised live on Sky News Australia and streamed via The Daily Telegraph online, and was hosted by Sky News presenter Peter Stefanovic. You can re-watch all the action here.
Further information about the Bush Summit dinner, including an address by ClubsNSW CEO Rebecca Riant, can be found here.
The national component of the Bush Summit is taking place in Ballarat on Friday.
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