Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to talk on one of my favourite subjects: the beaches in my electorate. Stirling has the honour of showcasing some of the best beaches in Australia. If we needed confirmation of that, it happened this week. It was fantastic to see Scarborough Beach, which is managed by the City of Stirling, scoop two awards at the Keep Australia Beautiful Clean Beaches Awards held in Sydney. Scarborough won the national awards for the litter prevention and resource recovery categories. Everyone in my home state knows and loves Scarborough Beach because it is one of Perth’s premier beaches. These awards cement Scarborough’s place in the list of the best beaches in the nation. More importantly, the awards are recognition of the people whose day-to-day work and volunteering efforts keep Scarborough Beach maintained in such a pristine condition. Their hard work encourages the wider Western Australian community to come to Scarborough and the areas further up the coast to enjoy the magnificent beaches and to support local businesses, cafes and restaurants. I have often taken interstate colleagues and friends to enjoy the atmosphere and views across the Indian Ocean coastline.

With summer just around the corner it is the perfect time for me to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of the volunteers in surf-lifesaving at both the Scarboro and Trigg Island surf-lifesaving clubs. I have firsthand knowledge of the fantastic teamwork that goes into both of these clubs. I am always happy to attend the numerous surf-lifesaving carnivals that take place on the Stirling beaches throughout the summer, and it is encouraging to see so many young people signing up for the surf-lifesaving programs run by the clubs. The younger generation are the future of these organisations, and I encourage young people to get involved wherever they can.

I also want to mention the City of Stirling and its dedicated team of staff who maintain Scarborough Beach and its surrounds. They are to be congratulated and thanked for their ongoing and committed work. Together with the newly elected Barnett state government and the local government, the City of Stirling, I am committed to ensuring that Scarborough Beach and the other beaches in my electorate remain pristine and family friendly. I will continue to support programs from all levels of government that will ensure the safety of generations to come.

In the time remaining I want to mention the former president of the Scarboro Surf-Lifesaving Club, Mark Irwin, who has left that role to take up the presidency of the surf-lifesaving association in Western Australia. He is a wonderful member of my community and a very good bloke, and we wish him well in that role. Surf-Lifesaving Western Australia plays a tremendous role in protecting Western Australians and visitors on our beaches every summer. The Scarboro Surf-Lifesaving Club, I understand, carry out about one rescue per day at the height of summer. The service they provide in a voluntary capacity to my community is vitally important and I commend them very heartily for it.