Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I commend the member for Gippsland for this important motion. I know the member for Moreton this morning in the House had to double-check he was speaking on the right motion, and listening to those opposite I had to do the same. I thought I'd better get it out and just make sure. We don't want to make that mistake. Listening to those opposite talk about how amazing this program is and how much it's doing for their communities, they're very happy to stand up and talk about the programs delivering for their communities, which is great, because they are, as the member for Robertson said, delivering a lot for their communities. But what they're not talking about is point (2)(a) of this motion, which says the government has failed to provide funding for future rounds of the program, with no replacement for small-scale projects. They're not prepared to go and talk to the Prime Minister, talk to the Treasurer and advocate for this program privately or publicly, as we've seen today, but they're happy to stand there and take all the credit from the former government's funding and initiation of this program.

I'm sure the member for Moreton next will no doubt stand up and talk about the great things being delivered for his community. I implore him to stand up and publicly call on the Prime Minister and the Treasurer to continue to fund this program because it delivers for communities, and we all know it delivers for communities. I had the great privilege on Saturday of visiting the Yarra Glen fire brigade. Yarra Glen is my home town. It's where I grew up and spend my life. Through this program they were able to fund three thermal-imaging cameras. Talking to Captain Bill Boyd and meeting the team on the weekend, they were talking about how those cameras are going to make their jobs safer. With those cameras they can look and find hotspots the eye cannot see. Our community lived through Black Saturday. I lived through Black Saturday. Everyone knows the dangers CFAs put themselves through. This program has made it safer for those volunteers in Yarra Glen to protect our community, but this government is going to cut this program.

It is also about saving lives. The Lilydale community are benefiting from the Lilydale Community House having a defib on the outside of the building. They could not afford that defib without this program. I was there for the opening. It's right next to the bowls club. The bowls club have a defib as well, but that's inside and locked away. This one is available to the public at any time. There is no way they can raise those funds without this program. But this government have cut it, and those opposite will stand up and talk about how great it is, but they won't talk to their Prime Minister. They won't call out their Treasurer for not delivering for my community and for their communities. That is hypocrisy writ large.

Yes, it's important in saving lives, but it's important in bringing communities together as well. I was fortunate, two weeks ago, to visit the Kallista market, which reopened after having to close down through COVID. I was at their first meeting earlier this year, when the group decided to restart the market, and talked to them about options. I said, 'We've got this great program for volunteers like you that you should apply for.' This money allowed them to get marquees, to get generators and to re-engage with their community. The atmosphere and the vibe at Kallista two weeks ago on that Saturday was amazing. There was music. There were stalls. Businesses were making money. The school had their fete. They were fundraising. The shops were as busy as they've ever been. The Dandenong Ranges have been through some tough times. It's a tourism town. Through COVID and through the storms, they've been doing it tough, but the energy, the passion and the community connection was there. We got to open that and I got to speak to the committee. Without this program and without this funding, they wouldn't have been able to continue to move forward like they did. Many other organisations helped them as well.

I've got tens and tens of examples, just on this round, but there are hundreds and thousands of community groups across the nation that have benefited from this program in my community in Victoria and in many other seats. It is absolutely disgraceful that this government will cut this funding with no alternative. We all know that community groups are struggling with volunteers and struggling to fundraise. When you look at their faces and you see the joy that these couple of thousands of dollars bring, changing their organisations—this funding needs to be reinstated. (Time expired)

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