Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Roads and Regional Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I take this opportunity, being the first time I have appeared before you since the election, to congratulate you on your re-election as a local member and also your election to high office here. I look forward to seeing you continue to serve this place with such great distinction.

I have risen before in this place to talk about the future of the Gippsland Lakes and express my concerns about the way the lakes are being managed and the concerns I have for this magnificent waterway. I think it is important, as a local member at the start of a new term, to re-emphasise my commitment to making sure that both state and federal governments understand the importance of the Gippsland Lakes to the social, cultural and economic future of my region. I have been disappointed at the lack of ongoing funding and the lack of commitment from the state Brumby government beyond the previous budget round. I also have to express my concerns that the federal government has not made any allocation beyond the last round of $3 million, which has now been exhausted.

Like many others, I am frustrated with the delays. I am encouraging my community to demonstrate its support for the Gippsland Lakes by supporting a community action day and engaging in some practical environmental work in the townships of Lakes Entrance, Paynesville, Eagle Point, Raymond Island and Metung. It is a chance for everyone who loves these magnificent Gippsland Lakes to get together and demonstrate their support for the lake system and the catchment by picking up rubbish and helping, by practical action, to highlight our concerns for the future for the waterway.

I was approached by a local resident by the name of Tim Bull. The Bull family name is very famous around the Gippsland Lakes. Tim’s is a fourth generation family on the Gippsland Lakes. His family name is synonymous with Bulls Cruisers, a charter business but also a design of boat that is very popular with the boating fraternity. Tim also just happens to be the Nationals candidate for the state seat of Gippsland East. It was Tim’s idea to encourage the community to get involved in the community action day to demonstrate our support for protecting and enhancing the catchment and the lakes. I am working very closely with Tim on organising this day, and I think it will be well supported by the broader community.

A lot of rubbish has blown up on the foreshore of towns around the lake system, whether it has been washed off streets through the stormwater system or come off boats and collected via the tidal action, with the prevailing winds blowing it into certain areas of the foreshore. We really want to clean it up ahead of the summer season, particularly for the tourists who come to our region and make such a major contribution to our community.

As I said, we are targeting quite a few areas on November 7 this year. We are really encouraging Gippslanders to get involved in this program and demonstrate to governments that we are ready for action and call on them to support us in the activities we are undertaking.

In the time I have left to me I would like to reflect on a more positive story. This may alarm you, but I am now the second most famous person in the township of Lakes Entrance. For a while there I was the most famous, but Sally Chatfield, a young apprentice hairdresser from Lakes Entrance, has rocketed to fame over the past two months on Channel 7’s program X-Factor. It is no surprise to the people of Lakes Entrance that Sally has been recognised in this way. Sally has been appearing since she was seven years old at our carols by candlelight and at our New Year’s Eve fireworks displays, so there is a sense of paternal pride or maternal pride—whether a father or a mother in Lakes Entrance, we all feel some pride in this young lady and her achievements. Her own mum and dad are bursting with pride, as you would expect, to see her achieve such great things on a national scale.

Naturally, the people of Lakes Entrance are getting behind Sally, and I am encouraging them to do so. I think she has got to the final six now. My children keep me informed on a nightly basis how the program is going. Sally has an extraordinary voice, and she is also an extraordinary young lady in her own right. She is a lady who has been recognised in the past in our own township as the ‘young citizen of the year’ at the Australia Day ceremony, because she has always been willing to donate her time to contribute her great vocal skills to some of those community events I referred to. Her father, Kenny, is a mate of mine. I have played a bit of golf with him—although the way I play golf we do not spend that much time together; we seem to be on opposite fairways most of the time. Kenny and Sally are great Lakes Entrance people. I believe Sally is a real inspiration to other young people in regional communities. She has demonstrated that no matter where you have come from—whatever your background is and whatever battles you might have had in life—it is possible to go on and pursue your dreams. Sally has aimed high and is continuing to chase her dream. I wish her every success in the remainder of the competition.