Tony Pasin (Barker, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Riverland and Mallee Vocational Awards hosted by the Rotary Club of Berri, which I was delighted to attend last Friday at Berri in my electorate of Barker. These awards are highly regarded locally. They are, in fact, nationally significant, as the awards are the largest of their kind in regional Australia. Before I congratulate the winners I want to commend all finalists on receiving a nomination for these esteemed awards.

This year's winners include: Jordan Owen, who was awarded the Building and Construction Industry Award; Nathan Burgess, who was awarded the Electrical Industry Award; and Ben Tanner, who was awarded the Engineering Industry Award. The hairdressing award was taken out by Sophie Butson. The Vocational Education Student of the Year was awarded to Matt Turnbull—no relation!—with Isabelle Swanbury and Mobaraka Mohammadi the runners-up.

The Australian School Based Trainee Award was won by Bethany Smith, with Christian Biele and Ellie Sracek as runners-up. The Australian School Based Apprentice of the Year went to Maria Chliaras, with Tahlia Price as the runner-up. The coveted Trainee of the Year was awarded to Stacey Geyer, with Caitlin Goodes the runner-up. The coveted Apprentice of the Year was awarded to Jarrad Hamood, who also took out the Automotive Industry Award.

I commend all these awardees on their efforts and thank the Rotary Club of Berri for hosting another successful Riverland and Mallee Vocational Awards.

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