Anthony Byrne (Holt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to update the House on some further recent achievements by my constituents, namely those from the Doveton community, of which I am very proud. One is the local youth tennis club, which recently received a Local Sporting Champions team grant through the Australian Sports Commission, and the other is the very famous Doveton Show, which was held on 25 September this year.

It is with great pleasure that I was able to attend the Serious Tennis Club in Doveton earlier this month to present the grant, worth $3,000, and certificates of achievement to the team members. Let me tell you, after having a friendly hit, that my return was no match for these up-and-comers. At the presentation I had a chance to congratulate head coach Justin Yeo, who was full of praise for his young tennis players. Justin said, 'There is never a guarantee in life, but we can guarantee that tennis will be a huge part of their lives. Each player has every chance at making a professional career.' It is important to invest in our local sporting champions. I wish all the budding tennis stars in this team, including Audrey Teo, Noellada Ah San, Zac Osbourne, Priscilla Dawson, Gabriela Sprague, Sara Kyriazopoulos, Alex Khreish, Daphne Mantzanidis, Vivian Fidantsis, Leo Khreish, Keeley Meijer, Jovanna Stanisic and Jordan Tichy, all the best in their tennis careers. The electorate of Holt has already produced NBA stars like Andrew Bogut and Socceroos stars such as Scott McDonald. Hopefully this grant will go towards producing a new Australian grand slam tennis star.

I would also like to pay tribute to an absolutely outstanding local success story, the Doveton Show. The seventh annual Doveton Show was held on Sunday, 25 September at Myuna Farm in Doveton. The show was organised and run solely by volunteers, led by the Doveton Show committee. This was the first year in which the Doveton and Eumemmerring renewal program was not directly involved in organising the event and assisting on the day. I am pleased to say that the committee did a tremendous job in taking up the reins, and it broke the attendance record of 12,000, set last year, with an estimated 15,000 people attending this year. Apart from the traditional fete atmospherics that I have mentioned in this place before such as show bags, rides and stalls, there were also educational and entertainment shows for everyone. These included traditional dances, reptile exhibitions, sheepshearing and art competitions. There was also a particularly impressive collection of vintage cars, in particular a pristine 1971 Ford Falcon GTHO. The Doveton Show is a testament to what can be achieved through local networks and the community at large. In particular, it is a home-grown success and it is something that, as the local federal member of parliament, I am extremely proud of.