Russell Broadbent (McMillan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

No, I am passionate about what you said. I understand there are people in distress in our community. We should never forget that even in prosperous times there are those in our community who are missing out. We recognise that. However, when the state has a responsibility it should be dealing with it, and so should the Victorian state government, which is also rolling in money. The members have a responsibility to bring the dental issue to their attention.

I want to talk about the fires in Moondarra in Gippsland. The response to the fires by the chief executive officer and councillors of the shire of Baw Baw was very effective. During the fire, when there was a danger of getting a northerly long front and the south-west winds coming in and blowing the front through, what we decided to do—and I praise the DSE and the CFA for what they did—was to go into asset protection. Asset protection is about protecting homes. No houses were damaged and people did not have to leave their homes.

The response from the Baw Baw shire was fantastic. Their recovery program is going very well. It has provided a great opportunity for the community to come together. Tim Fischer came down to the area and promoted the businesses that lost money because the tourists stopped coming; they thought the area had been devastated. When the tourists come back to Walhalla there will be an opportunity for all of us to spend our money in our own backyard. This is a great place to visit. Walhalla—with the train, the mine, the people and the corner store—is open for business. I say to those people who are looking for a place to go in Victoria: come to Walhalla. Yes, there has been a fire through there; however, we as a community— (Time expired)

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