Pittwater Online News

New Analysis Shows Mackellar MP Dr. Sophie Scamps Tops Time Spent Doing Her Job

Mackellar MP Dr. Sophie Scamps at a community event during her Summer 'break'. Photo: AJG/PON

Federal politicians headed back to Canberra this week, just as new analysis on they use their time in Parliament was released.

The time spent on political theatre and sledging are almost on par with policy debate in the Australian parliament, according to Australian-first analysis from Amplify, a not-for-profit group researching community views and promoting policy.

The Amplify House Monitor used AI to categorise more than 16,000 speeches over an estimated 625 hours from the first six months of the parliamentary term (mid-July 2025 - end December 2025).

While lifting productivity is high on the political agenda, the analysis shows MPs and Senators wasted more than a third of their time on political theatre and bad behaviour, spending the equivalent of 28 business days criticising and attacking one another.

Excluding parliamentary procedure and formalities, nearly 50% of the remaining time was spent on political theatre and bad behaviour.

The analysis of Hansard showed Mackellar MP and Independent Dr. Sophie Scamps spent the most time on policy. 

In an Interview with ABC Radio National on Monday Dr. Scamps said:

‘’I was really pleased and I think my team are really pleased as well because the reason I came into politics was to be constructive and collaborative and to bring in fresh ideas and I think that's reflected in these results.’’

Dr. Scamps has not only been turning up and doing her job, without enormous fanfare and much ado, some of her introduced amendments have been taken up by the government and helped federal politics closer reflect community expectations – the Scamps amendment ideas for a water trigger for mining projects, for example, were adopted by the Australian Government in December 2023. 

When parliament was recalled early in response to the attack on a children’s Hannukah party, Dr Scamps' amendment to establish a National Firearms Safety Council was also supported by the government.

‘’It is great news for Australians that in passing the new national gun laws the Government has agreed to establish a National Firearms Safety Council akin to the one I proposed in my amendment to the bill. A National Firearms Safety Council is based on the work of the National Gun Safety Alliance and would ensure a public health and safety lens is applied to gun control in Australia.’’ Dr. Scamps stated on January 21

Founded and chaired by venture capitalist Paul Basset with board members including former New South Wales Liberal Premier Dominic Perrottet and former Queensland Labor MP Kate Jones, Amplify’s CEO is Georgina Harrison, a former public servant.

“Australia is facing flatlining productivity, a nationwide housing crisis, growing levels of national debt and rising inflation, but instead of focusing on policy our politicians are more focused on political point-scoring and chest-thumping,” Georgina Harrisson said.

“Australians overwhelmingly want their elected representatives to focus on solutions to the big issues impacting them and their communities, not sledging each other.”

Amplify’s most recent national survey found 72% of Australians believe politicians are more focused on winning votes than solving problems and the Amplify House Monitor reinforces what the community already knows.

MORE HERE

Marine Rescue NSW volunteers respond to almost 700 incidents in January 2026

Marine Rescue NSW vessel Cottage Point 31. Photo supplied.

Data released this week shows Marine Rescue NSW volunteers across the state have begun the year in high demand, completing 668 search and rescue missions during January, including 162 emergency responses and the safe return of 1,644 people to shore.

Acting Deputy Commissioner Dan Duemmer said the peak boating period saw volunteers respond to a wide range of incidents, including EPIRB activations, sinking vessels, medical emergencies and numerous missing person searches.

“Our volunteers are highly trained and prepared to respond rapidly to many types of emergencies on the water,” Acting Deputy Commissioner Duemmer said.

“In January alone, crews attended 19 medical emergencies on our waterways, including cardiac arrest.”

Crews also carried out more than 50 assists to grounded vessels, which Acting Deputy Commissioner Duemmer said were largely avoidable.

“Boaters must be aware of tides, their surrounding environment and prevailing conditions,” he said. “If boating in an unfamiliar area, do your preparation, consult local charts and speak with the nearest Marine Rescue NSW unit before launching.”

Almost half of all responses across the state during January were related to engine issues.

“Boaters must ensure their vessel is in good working order before heading out, carry sufficient clean fuel, have the correct safety equipment on board, always wear a life jacket and check the weather,” Acting Deputy Commissioner Duemmer said.

Greater Sydney was the busiest region during January, with volunteer crews completing 282 search and rescue missions. The Middle Harbour and Port Jackson units also recorded their busiest peak summer period on record, providing daily on-water support over 62 days during December and January. 

“Volunteer crews from our two Sydney Harbour based units were in high demand on the state’s busiest waterway across December and January, completing a combined 183 missions, safely returning 514 people to shore.”

Acting Deputy Commissioner Duemmer also praised the Service’s radio operators for their vital behind-the-scenes work.

“Our radio operators are the backbone of Marine Rescue NSW. Their skill and knowledge are invaluable in assisting boaters on the state’s waterways,” he said.

During January, Marine Rescue NSW radio operators managed almost 27,000 calls and monitored 33,646 people on board vessels that had Logged On.

MORE HERE

Milla Coco Brown - Lucas Hickson Win 2026 Kim Burton Pro Junior 

MEREWETHER BEACH, Newcastle, NSW (Sunday, February 1, 2026)

Report by WSL

Today, Milla Coco Brown (AUS) and Lucas Hickson (AUS) won the Kim Burton Pro Junior, the opening event of the 2026 season for the World Surf League (WSL) Australia/Oceania Junior Qualifying Series (JQS). Merewether Beach delivered fun surf in the two-to-three-foot range for the second event in the 40th anniversary celebrations of Surfest Newcastle. The conditions set the stage for the region’s best juniors to compete for valuable ranking points as the race toward qualification for the 2026 WSL World Junior Championships officially began.

Milla Coco Brown (AUS) claimed her second Pro Junior victory in a row, her fourth overall. Credit: WSL / Paul Danovaro 

The successful run of Milla Coco Brown (AUS) continued today as the 18-year-old from Pittwater's Bungan Beach Boardriders claimed her fourth Pro Junior victory. After winning the Let’s Surf Lake Mac Pro Junior for a second time to close out the 2025 Australia/Oceania JQS season, Brown made it back-to-back Pro Junior wins to move to the top of the rankings for the new year. Between the two events, she also helped lead Australia to team gold at the ISA World Junior Championship in Peru, earning the silver medal in the U/18 division. Now, Brown is primed in her campaign to compete in the WSL World Junior Championships for the first time.

"Thanks to Kim Burton for putting on such a good event and the girls for a fun Final," Brown said. "I'm pretty happy to win. It was pretty fun, but tough conditions, so I was stoked to lock back into comp mode after free surfing for a couple of months. Good way to kick off 2026."

A strong southerly change blew through ahead of the men’s Semi-finals, seeing the women’s Final open as largely a battle of single turns. Brown took command from the start with two rides in the 4-point range, before finding a long open face that allowed her to unleash down the line and post a 6.67. A back-up 6.00 from an aggressive single turn provided a 12.67 heat total that closed the door on her opponents.

MORE HERE

Week Two February 2026: Issue 651 (published Sunday February 8 2026)

New Analysis Shows Mackellar MP Dr. Sophie Scamps Tops Time Spent Doing Her Job

Two Narrabeen Sports High School Teachers, One Curl Curl PS Teacher Honoured for 50+ Years of Public Education

Aquatics Milla Coco Brown - Lucas Hickson Win 2026 Kim Burton Pro Junior 

ARTEXPRESS is back! and Out Front 2026 celebrates the next generation artists - HSC Artists

NSW Women of the Year 2026 finalists announced: Several Locals named

Zali Steggall Calls For Royal Commission into Domestic Violence: 6 Women lost in 2026, so far  

Marine Rescue NSW volunteers respond to almost 700 incidents in January 2026

Pictures Dolphin Park Bushland Reserve: a stroll through this Right-of-way Park between Dolphin Crescent and Barrenjoey Road

DIY Ideas: A Job For Life: Apprentice Carpenter + Fee-Free Courses + Commencement Tool List + How to Look After Your Tools

North Sydney Council Refutes State Government Claims of Consultation on Future of Cammeray Golf Course

________________

Week One February 2026: Issue 651 (published Sunday February 1 2026)

Profile of the Week: A community legacy: Art Auction of works from the Home of Susan Duncan & Bob Story to Support West Pittwater RFS - Open now, closing Monday 9 March at midnight - Live auction: Saturday 7 March, Elvina Reserve, 3.30pm - Approximately 20 works will be concluded live

History: On International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2026 we Remember those Lost and the work of Sister Muriel Knox Doherty, Of Avalon Beach, at the Bergen- Belsen Camp

Vale Mike Fletcher AM -  9.10.33 - 30.1.26

The fauna bridge on Mona Vale Road East – will it be a bridge to nowhere?

Pittwater MP Launches Survey Asking For Local Knowledge on Sharks: State Government Announces Further $4.2 million to Improve Shark Safety this Summer + How to reduce the risk of an encounter with a shark

Aquatics Synthetic grass fragments are increasingly prevalent microplastics in waterways across Metropolitan Sydney: Report finds Microplastics Have tripled in Sydney's waterways in three years - Manly Cove's 'very high' reading -NSW microplastics report 2026 

NSW Government announces New Northern Beaches Hospital 'High Volume Surgery Hub' to power through waitlist: Pittwater MP Confirms Locals Will Have Priority

Summer BirdFest 2026: Play antics of New Locals - Blue-faced Honeyeaters Breeding In Pittwater

Australian Sailing Team Appoints Pittwater's Jim Colley as 49erFX National Coach

Pantaenius Pittwater Regatta 2026: titans versus raiders by Di Pearson - held from 13 to 15 February, Entry closes at 1700 hours on 2 February. Late entries may be accepted at an additional fee.

Autism Swim’s Dippers program launches at Queenscliff: Inclusive Beach & Ocean Safety - Free, starts Feb, 2026

Manly Writer's Festival Announces 2026 Program: Exploring Ideas, Storytelling and Civic Debate - Thomas Keneally AO to open four-day festival, 19–22 March 2026, Tickets now open

Community Concern As Another Tree Up for Destruction by the Council - Doubling of prior Bassett Street Mona Vale DA proposal under NSW government SSD's provides stark illustration of impact on local environment of laws written 'for developers' (Feedback closes Feb 2, 2026) - Community Objections Being silenced or Ignored - Dec, 2025 Address to Council by Secretary of Protect Pittwater

Food The Food Of Love: Valentines Day Meal Ideas For The Home Cook

Valentines Day is coming up this Saturday, February 14, and even though we may not go overboard in Australia in celebrating this day, a few little bit special recipe ideas, and being able to make them quickly, can add something extra to this year's celebrations of love, and if done without slaving for hours, also give you more time with your loved ones – you can never have enough of that!

Community News Mow for Ol'Mate in March, North Sydney Council to Apply for 52.66% Rise In Rates, Wildlife rehabilitators to get $9 million in funding, Safer Internet Day 2026, New NSW Children’s Guardian Appointed, Mona Vale SLSC's New Surf Boat, AOK: Urgent - Thursday Volunteers Needed, Maximum fares released for private ferry services, MWP Care Seeking Volunteers, Inaugural Surf Lifesaving Red & Yellow Day, Warriewood Community Centre Build: Update, Barrenjoey High School P&C Welcome event: Feb. 19, Bronze Medallion Course at WBSLSC: Feb 12, Narrabeen Sports High School 2026 Open Night, Development Coordination Authority (DCA) changes: Feedback invited, Feedback on Middle Harbour flood study findings Invited, Zonta's IWD Pittwater Woman of the Year Breakfast - Tickets available now, Narrabeen Lakes Amateur Swimming Club: Saturday Afternoons, Monika's Doggie Rescue Pets of the Week: Peaches and Cream + Huntrix, Now Open: funding round for the NSW Government's Holiday Break Autumn/Winter 2026 program, NSW Netball Privacy Policy: Ask Permission, Petition: Stop Politicians from spamming & harvesting our data, Pittwater  Residents Associations, Sports, Environment and Groups, Pittwater Offshore Newsletter

Environment Flowering Now: Pittwater Spotted Gum Trees, Australian Woodland Birds - Feeding behaviour of Varied Sittellas in the Capertee Valley, Wildlife rehabilitators to get $9 million in funding, Household rat poisons found to be ‘unacceptable risk’ to native animals; So why aren’t they banned?, Another mass fish kill at Menindee Lakes highlights NSW government’s failure to act on Darling/Baaka River: NCC, $7 billion pumped hydro projects declared critical for NSW by state government, Snakes in Suburbia: Coexisting Safely with our Local Species Webinar on Tuesday Feb 10 - Free, Mona Vale Dunes bushcare group: 2026 Dates, North Avalon Beach Dune Planting: March 1, Bangalley Headland WPA Bushcare 2026, North Head visitor access Changes: feedback closes Feb. 27, community invited to have a say on recreational opportunities In Great Koala National Park, Royal National Park plan draft amendment: Have your say, Birdwood Park Bushcare Group Narrabeen, These voices are the loudest in Australia’s ‘climate wars’, Renewables over 50%, wholesale prices down – is the energy transition… succeeding?, Why cheaper power alone isn’t enough to end energy poverty in summer, Victoria’s mountain ash forests naturally thin their trees. So why do it with machines?, If Australia and Indonesia agreed to end new thermal coal mines it could drive the green transition, Can a bird be an illegal immigrant? How the White Australia era influenced attitudes to the bulbul, Potoroos digging for ‘truffles’ keep their forests healthy – but for how long?, Tiny radio transmitters reveal a hidden survival tactic in birds, Some companies claim they can ‘resurrect’ species. Does that make people more comfortable with extinction?, Sydney Wildlife (Sydney Metropolitan Wildlife Services) Needs People for the Rescue Line, 2025-26 Seal Reveal underway, 622kg of Rubbish Collected from Local Beaches: Adopt your local beach program, This Tick Season: Freeze it - don't squeeze it, Protect wildlife: dispose of fishing gear responsibly, Notice of 1080 Poison Baiting, Volunteers for Barrenjoey Lighthouse Tours needed, Johnson Brothers Mitre 10 Recycling Batteries: at Mona Vale + Avalon Beach, Reporting Dogs Offleash - Dog Attacks to Council, Plastic Bread Ties For Wheelchairs, Stay Safe From Mosquitoes, Mountain Bike Incidents On Public Land, Report fox sightings, marine wildlife rescue group on the Central Coast, Possums In Your Roof?: do the right thing, Aviaries + Possum Release Sites Needed, Bushcare in Pittwater: where + when, Friends Of Narrabeen Lagoon Catchment Activities, Gardens and Environment Groups and Organisations in Pittwater, Ringtail Posses, Pittwater Reserves, Environment History insights + Walks, Birds +

Aquatics Milla Coco Brown - Lucas Hickson Win 2026 Kim Burton Pro Junior 

Children Sunday cartoons and animations returns this year. This Issue: Forever Green, Flowering Now: Pittwater Spotted Gum Trees, Australian Woodland Birds - Feeding behaviour of Varied Sittellas in the Capertee Valley, Brisbane dinosaur fossil is Australia’s oldest, A new comet was just discovered. Will it be visible in broad daylight?, Curious Kids: what do plants do all day? + what makes the wind? + what’s it like to be a fighter pilot?, Stories this week: The Beast Feast + 'Professor Nincompoop' read by Bryan Cranston, local groups 4U

Youth Flowering Now: Pittwater Spotted Gum Trees, Australian Woodland Birds - Feeding behaviour of Varied Sittellas in the Capertee Valley, Milla Coco Brown - Lucas Hickson Win 2026 Kim Burton Pro Junior, ARTEXPRESS is back!, Out Front 2026 celebrates the next generation artists, Club Chronicles: Billy Cart Blowouts in Longy Carpark, NSW Women of the Year 2026 finalists announced: Locals named, Opportunities: Newport Breakers Womens Rugby: Feb. 10 Training - bring your boots + a Friend+ NASA 2026 is a go!! + Safer Internet Day 2026 + Sevens by the Sea event + Battle of the Bands – Youth Edition: at Palm Beach + Fix our Feeds + Play Women's Social or Competitive Cricket with Cromer! + Pittwater Peninsula Netball Club + Avalon Bulldogs Announcement: Female Tackle Teams Kicking Off in 2026! + Female Tackle Coming to the Sharks in 2026!, Financial help for young people, School Leavers Support, Word Of The Week: Sport, Milan Cortina Winter Olympics: history, new events and Australian medal chances, A new comet was just discovered. Will it be visible in broad daylight?, Lainie Anderson’s novels about a real pioneering policewoman invite us to play historical detective, Australia once enshrined white superiority. These 10 trailblazers helped shift our attitudes to race, Why preferential voting is superior to first past the post, AC/DC in surgery and lo-fi beats in the office: what the science says about working to music, Brisbane dinosaur fossil is Australia’s oldest, Epiaceratherium itjilik: The rhino that lived in the Arctic, From statement sleeves to the codpiece: 5 fashions which should come back from Tudor England, Men rule the Grammys as women see hard drop in wins at 2026 awards, I studied 10 years of Instagram posts. Here’s how social media has changed, Olives have been essential to life in Italy for at least 6,000 years – far longer than we thought, Local services for you

Seniors Mow for Ol'Mate in March, Rich boomer’ stereotype needs to go as new research shows 1 in 4 older Australians living in poverty: COTA Report, Deals done and dollars secured but what about stranded patients?: National Seniors, Pittwater Probus, Wyvern Music Forestville: Alexander Yau – Piano Recital, Local Seniors Festival Events: 2026, AvPals Term 1 2026 Short Courses at Newport, Star power lineup confirmed for 2026 Premier's Gala Concerts: to be Live Streamed, Milan Cortina Winter Olympics: history and new events and Australian medal chances, With a shortage of aged-care beds, discharging patients stranded in hospital is harder than it sounds, Lainie Anderson’s novels about a real pioneering policewoman invite us to play historical detective, Silver and gold hit record highs – then crashed. Before joining the rush, you need to know this, Local groups, clubs, events and services for you

DIY Ideas A Job For Life: Apprentice Carpenter + Fee-Free Courses + Commencement Tool List + How to Look After Your Tools - TAFE classes commenced this week for those starting or continuing attaining qualifications in their chosen field. 

Worth noting is the NSW Government is investing in the qualifications for new apprentices. This saves up to $2,000 for training costs per apprentice. 

To be eligible for a fee-free* apprenticeship, including school-based apprenticeships, you must:

• have an employer that is signed up as an Apprenticeship Connect Australia Provider (ACAP)
• be funded under the NSW Government's Smart and Skilled Program
• commence your apprenticeship before 30 June 2027
• not have exceeded the maximum of three fee-free* apprenticeships under this initiative.

There are also a range of other help, support and incentives for those who want to do this through a traineeship for those over 21 with fee caps there too. Fee Free Apprenticeships courses and more information at at:  www.tafensw.edu.au/fee-free-apprenticeships

For those who haven't made up their mind and may not enrol until the mid-year start, there are a range of fee-free courses, which include a Statement of Attainment in Pre-Apprenticeship in Construction

This Issue, an overview of one for those who like working with wood and a few pointers we've picked up through the decades that may help with taking the path towards becoming a Carpenter.

Pictures Dolphin Park Bushland Reserve: a stroll through this Right-of-way Park between Dolphin Crescent and Barrenjoey Road