Richard Marles (Corio, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I spoke in this place on 15 May this year about the broken T&G clock and the dirty Ford sign. I am speaking about two icons in our city which did not have enough care and attention paid to them, which sent, I think, a negative message about morale and pride in Geelong. I can report to this place that on 11 June I noticed the Ford sign being cleaned. I want to congratulate Ford for doing that. This is a big, bold Ford sign on the way into Geelong. It speaks of a brand which has been around for 100 years. It is such an important part of the identity of Geelong. Everyone who works at that factory can, at least until it stops making cars in 2016, walk in with a sense of pride. Indeed, everyone in Geelong driving past that sign can feel good about the place that this has within our city.

I understand that these are not necessarily the biggest issues, particularly when we face the challenges that we have in terms of the job losses that Geelong has faced over the course of the last 12 months, but, at the end of the day, mood matters. Mood defines our enjoyment of life in the moment. What we can do to improve people's mood, to improve the sense of morale in Geelong at this time, really matters.

With this in mind, today I want to talk about flags. There is nothing more demoralising than hearing the clinking of a wire on an old flagpole in the breeze or, worse, seeing a tattered rag at the end of it which bears the semblance of what used to be an Australian flag. Flags need maintenance. They deteriorate in the wind. They have a life. When you have a flag which is obviously becoming tatty and people see that flag, the message is that people do not care and they are not proud. Right now, we need to care in Geelong and we do need to be proud about our city and where we are going.

I want to call on all the businesses in Geelong, of which there are hundreds, which have flagpoles on their roofs to buy a new flag. At Libby's on Yarra Street—a great Geelong business—you can buy an Australian-made flag. In fact, it is made in Melbourne from Australian materials and costs $88. That is not a huge investment. You can put that on the top of your building. How good would it look in Geelong if on all the flagpoles, which were erected on the buildings back in the 19th century, there was a flag—an Australian flag, a Cats flag, a Geelong flag? How good would Geelong look if that were the case? It would send the message that we are a city which is open for business, which is moving forward and which is overcoming the challenges that are being presented to us.

Ian Goodenough (Moore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! In accordance with standing order 193 the time for constituency statements has concluded. If there is no objection, I propose that the time for statements be extended for a further 30 minutes.