Sid Sidebottom (Braddon, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

I think it is really positive that we are able to talk about an outstanding program that is available to rural and regional Australia—no matter how you want to define it. Most people in this room have only something very positive to say about it.

Opposition member interjecting—

I suppose it is still lingering for some of them. My friend from the Riverina has also been a recipient. His community won that argument in a very competitive round and so they merited RDA funding. I congratulate them on that. Before I go on and discuss a couple of mine, if I may, I want to say that I have had the privilege of having both ministers, who are here at the moment, visit my electorate in terms of their portfolios. To our new minister, may I congratulate you on that.

There are two programs that I want to mention in passing. The Active After-schools Community program is a fantastic program, and it has been largely rolled out in my electorate. We have a fantastic number of schools involved in it, and I do want to commend it to the government and also the continuation of its funding, Minister. Then there is the Creative Young Stars Program, which was announced recently and the $27,000 for every electorate. I congratulate the minister on that. I suppose he can read about it Hansard rather than hear me talk about it.

Another program that I would like to talk about is Happy feet at the Penguin Athletics centre. In round 1, the Central Coast Council—where I used to be a councillor; and I am very proud to have been a councillor—applied for funding and missed out. Like many councils, they were determined to learn from round 1, and they were successful in round 2. Effectively, they got $520,000 from us, along with their investment. What is so fantastic about these programs is that you get the co-investment of the communities, and so $531,000 will be put towards revamping what we call the Dial Regional Sports Complex. This funding has allowed the community to completely redo the surface, which will make it an all-weather surface and, at the same time, fix up a lot of the seating, as well as revamp the administration building and associated other builds. The Central Coast Council is a council that does not ask for much, unless it is in their pitching itself as well. This is a genuine regional sports complex, carrying out really important work—and that is, first and foremost, the health and wellbeing of our region and communities. A lot of RDA funding is associated with community health programs, so it is great for infrastructure and also very, very important for the health and wellbeing of our communities.

The other great thing about many of these projects is that they involve employment. This is very important, particularly in rural and regional Australia as we are challenged economically in a number of areas for a whole variety of reasons—it is a fact. These projects are very important for stimulating and sustaining employment. One thing that I forgot to add about the regional sports complex project—and, hopefully, Minister, you will be able to open it when it is completed—is that it involves improved lighting so that we will be able to have night programs for the region. I do congratulate the Central Coast Council on gaining that funding.

More recently—let me tell you: if you have not visited this place, you must—there was King Island, the absolute jewel in the crown of Tasmania. Every cow has a name; it is just called in personally to be milked. King Island has the most extraordinary cheese and beef that you can imagine. Not only is it going to have two world-class golf courses—

An honourable member: Do cows play golf?

The cows play golf! You put your bag on the cow and you take it around the golf course with you!

However, very importantly, you have to get onto the island. What have we got? The minister came over just recently: $500,000 to a project of well over a million dollars to completely upgrade the terminal. It is going to not only provide better amenity on the island but bring in even more tourists. There are no cows in this terminal! It is a fantastic project, and congratulations to the council. Minister, I am sure you will be able to enlighten us on other similar rural and regional projects and the importance of them to local communities.

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