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

I regularly rise in this place to talk about the importance of agriculture, and I am particularly proud today to welcome into the House some of my colleagues from Indi. A warm welcome to Stuart, to Scott, to Pat, to Patten, to Karen and to the mayor of Towong, David. They left their homes yesterday and have come up here today to talk to ministers and senior public servants about what is happening in the dairy industry in north-east Victoria. We have particular issues around water, around succession and transition between farms, around productivity, around energy, about growing the industry and about education. I appreciate the efforts you have made to be here today and am wishing you well with your meetings with everybody.

But I would particularly like to tell the House of the fantastic work the dairy industry is doing in community engagement and particularly in engaging with young people. They have this most amazing program happening with Tallangatta high school, working together to bring young people in and introduce them to the full range of jobs that are available in agriculture in north-east Victoria. Of all the work you do, I think the work with agriculture is going to pay the greatest dividends. We are encouraging young people to see agriculture as a future. We are saying, 'Come and stay in this community; we have wonderful jobs.' But the most important thing is that the dairy industry says, 'We care'—and they do.

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