Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Education) Share this | Hansard source

Australia can't afford another three years of hard Labor. I'm worried that our country is heading in the wrong direction, with families struggling under Labor's cost-of-living crisis. I've watched as Labor and the Greens have attacked our community with bans on the timber industry and cuts to regional programs. I will always work to protect our local jobs, reduce waste in government and deliver lower taxes so that we can take the pressure off families and afford the things that really matter, like better roads, improved health care and upgrading our local facilities. We need a fair share of funding for Gippsland. We need to get Australia back on track.

I want to take this opportunity to update the chamber on the Cycling Without Age Gippsland program, which has received great support since we started fundraising only a matter of six months ago. As the honorary chair of the program, I have been able to work with the community to raise enough money to purchase two trishaws and a trailer, and we've started giving our first rides in our community for people who can no longer ride a bicycle for themselves. At its heart, Cycling Without Age, across Australia, is about generosity and kindness. It's about giving people the opportunity to socialise. I want to give a huge thanks to the volunteer pilots right across Australia who are giving their time every week to put smiles on faces. Personally, I've had the chance to volunteer to take several rides along the foreshore at Lakes Entrance. It's been an extraordinary privilege to hear people's stories. I look forward to spreading Cycling Without Age Gippsland right across the region in the weeks ahead.

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