David Gillespie (Lyne, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

It was my pleasure on Saturday night to go with my wife and enjoy being part of the Rotary Club of Taree on Manning's annual Christmas in July celebration which is held in the Centrepoint Arcade in downtown Taree. It was great to see over 100 people attend and be part of a major fundraising event delivered totally by volunteers. The long tables, the meals, the bidding for all the raffles and so on and so forth raised over $8,000 for youth activities that Rotary run in the Manning Valley.

I would like to congratulate past district governor Maurie Stack and his wife, Deidre, who initiated the event some years ago. I would also like to congratulate the chair, Jane Mackenzie, and her husband, chef Neil Mackenzie, Dusty and Phil Walkom, and chef Julie-Ann Booth. We also enjoyed the music provided by local entertainer and performer Matt Zarb. Congratulations to the Rotary Club of Taree on Manning.

I was also very pleased to attend Bundaleer nursing home in Wauchope 10 days ago and see the launch of the plan for a 140-bed facility newly built in Wauchope, courtesy of an $8.5 million grant from the federal coalition government. It will deliver a 140-bed facility specialising in caring for dementia, which is an increasing phenomenon across the aged demographic of the Lyne electorate. There will be 100 jobs in the construction and 100 new jobs at completion. Congratulations, Bundaleer.

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