John Forrest (Mallee, National Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Trade) Share this | Hansard source

I thank you for that opportunity, Mr Deputy Speaker. I am very mindful of the challenges confronting the nation with respect to meeting the very serious needs of our Indigenous communities. Mallee, of course, has a huge number of Indigenous constituents on its roll and there are equal challenges confronting us in meeting their needs. The situation is nowhere near as serious as it is in the remote communities we see in the Northern Territory, in Queensland and in Western Australia, but it very much assists me to be mindful of their needs—particularly in the community of Robinvale. That is a community of around 4,000 people and it has a very cosmopolitan population. Its main economic activity is associated with horticulture. We have a very strong table grape industry associated with Robinvale. I would thank you for any assistance with regard to being relevant, Mr Deputy Speaker.

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