Sam Rae (Hawke, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I was absolutely delighted to host hundreds of local residents on Saturday morning at the Hawke government services hub. The event brought together federal government agencies such as Services Australia, the ATO and the NBN as well as state and local government representatives, providing a one-stop shop for locals to get the information and help they need when engaging and working through processes with government agencies and government more broadly. We helped locals resolve issues, including working through their pension applications, NDIS packages and JobSeeker payments and ensured they were getting the assistance they needed.

I want to extend a very big thanks to the staff from all the agencies and organisations that attended and for coming out on a Saturday morning as well as my own colleagues from 'Team Hawke' for their hard work in pulling the event together. A very special big shoutout to the Melton Men's Group, a group that supports the mental and physical health of local men all across our community. They put on a fantastic sausage sizzle outside the event and made sure that no-one went hungry.

The sun was shining in my hometown of Ballan this Saturday as our community celebrated the annual Ballan Autumn Festival. Boasting 110 market stalls, 30 food vans, vintage cars and machinery, the wood choppers and a fantastic array of great family activities, the Ballan Autumn Festival had the town absolutely buzzing. People came from neighbouring townships and further afield to enjoy all the festival had to offer, especially the amazing street parade, which featured local schools, clubs and our emergencies services, including the CFA, my son's favourite part of the event. There were some incredible costumes, and wonderful dancers and brilliant musicians all marching and entertaining the crowd. My thanks and congratulations to Kevin Harper and the whole team behind the Ballan Autumn Festival for once again putting on a fantastic event for our local community.

Sunbury's annual SunFest was back this weekend, celebrating a massive 48 years of serving the Sunbury community. SunFest featured market stalls, food trucks, fireworks, rides and performances by brilliant local musicians. I got to spend the day in the sun with the local state member for Sunbury, Josh Bull; as well as Hume City Council mayor, Naim Kurt; and Councillor Jarrod Bell, chatting to the tens of thousands of locals who descended on the village green for an absolutely great day out. I was honoured to judge the grand street parade, awarding prizes for some amazing costumes and decorations. A huge thanks to the organising community behind this event, led by President Craig McTaggart, for their hard work and dedication in delivering another spectacular and successful SunFest.

On Sunday I attended the annual Women in Rescue event in Pykes Creek Reservoir, in Myrniong, where the VICSES western region arranged a multi-agency training scenario for women in emergency services. This exceptional event showcased the talents and skills of our women volunteers on both land and water as they worked through a series of simulated emergency incidents. Our community is very, very fortunate to have such dedicated SES members, and this event was such a wonderful opportunity to acknowledge all that they do to keep our communities safe. I want to thank the SES western region for coordinating the day as well as the local SES teams, Victoria Police, St John's Ambulance, the CFA and the local Girl Guides for their participation in the great event and for their enormous and tireless contribution to our community.

Specialist Hoops is an organisation founded and run by local legend Emily Attard to provide people living with disabilities the opportunity to get active and play basketball in a safe and supportive environment. Starting as a one-day program back in 2017, Specialist Hoops now runs regular weekly sessions at multiple locations across my electorate of Hawke, with almost 100 regular participants. I was very lucky to go along to one of their programs recently at the Cobblebank Indoor Stadium to meet the amazing volunteers behind the program and join in their training session. It's fair to say that I was not the best player on the court by any stretch of the imagination. There were some phenomenal basketball players there. The positivity and inclusive spirit of the participants and volunteers was very clear as they played by their motto, 'No-one gets left behind.' I want to commend Emily, an amazing young person, for the incredible program that she and her team of volunteers have built and thank them for providing this important service for our community.

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