Cathy McGowan (Indi, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

It gives me great pleasure to bring to the attention of the House some news from one of the jewels in the crown of my electorate of Indi, Alexandra in the Shire of Murrindindi, in the Goulburn Valley.

I was very pleased to meet with the Probus Club to do some really active listening, and I thank Kath Beveridge, Claire Hulland and the president and committee for all the good work they do. To the captains of Alexandra Secondary College, Olivia and Alex: thank you for your warm hospitality, and to acting principal, Nigel Lyttle. The school prides itself on its academic excellence. Recently, a number of students came to the ANU and participated in the National Youth Science Forum with great results. At least 40 per cent of the school is involved in music; it is very active in outdoor sports—particularly snow skiing; in VCAL and VET in hospitality, construction and their fantastic automotive work; and in speaking Japanese and Indonesian. It is a great country school.

The award-winning Alexandra District Health—the old hospital—which employs over 100 staff, last year attended to over 1,143 outpatients, including 634 operations. They are doing a fantastic job. The reports are there, with VHES—the Victorian Healthcare Experience Survey—reporting that 97 per cent of the people report good or very good experiences. So thank you to Margaret Rae and Mark Ashcroft, and to all the staff at Alex hospital: thanks for the terrific work you do.

Finally, to the listening post—to Melinda and Richard, who came and talked to me about Cathedral landcare and their issues with black— (Time expired)

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