Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Christmas on the Central Coast is a time of celebration. Whether it be in MacMasters Beach, Mangrove Mountain or everywhere across my electorate, families and communities really come together at this special time of year. For a mum like me, with my husband Chris and my two young children Oscar and Mollie-Joy, and for mums and dads right around the Central Coast, it is also a time to plan what presents to buy and what food to cook. Whatever you need to put under the Christmas tree or in the pantry, today I want to join with the Minister for Small Business, Bruce Billson MP, in encouraging people to shop locally.

Small businesses and family enterprise are the economic life blood of communities like ours. We need to encourage and nurture small business men and women, who take great risks and provide fantastic, outstanding local job opportunities. One of the best ways we can do this, of course, is to support them at the till by shopping locally, especially at Christmas. So I calling on people in my electorate, wherever you are on the Central Coast, to get out there and shop locally this month.

Where better to start than with a Christmas tree. This Sunday, I will be heading out to Gosford Race Club where the Rotary Clubs from across the Central Coast are raising important funds for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren and other great causes, and I really want to acknowledge the work of Greg Groppenbacher, for his work in advocating for that very, very important cause. Just up the road, in Gosford City, you will see a hive of activity, just as it was at weekend's Christmas Parade which I had the honour to join in. Hundreds and hundreds of local people were at Kibble Park, right next to one of the landmarks of Gosford City, the Imperial Shopping Centre. Imagine what this will be like in a few short years, when the coalition's delivery of 600 jobs into Gosford CBD in a purpose-built Commonwealth agency will start to see great results for that city. Gosford is a fantastic city and it is a city that the coalition government is committed to rejuvenating.

There are so many other opportunities to shop locally in my electorate. There is the popular Erina Fair and the nearby Fountain Plaza at Erina as well. If you are down on the peninsula, there is Deepwater Plaza at Woy Woy, the Peninsula Plaza on Blackwell Road and the fabulous Umina Beach shops on West Street, Umina. At West Gosford, you can get some outstanding fruit and vegetables from Christian and George at The Fruit Spot, or buy some locally grown lilies or outstanding rainbow roses for Christmas. You can also get wonderful, wonderful hams from Cafe Jam—just down the road from my home at East Gosford.

We have local shopping villages right across the Central Coast that are adored by locals—whether it be at Saratoga, Kincumber, Green Point, Point Clare—where I grew up—Koolewong, Ettalong Beach, Kariong, and those wonderful boutique shops near my home. Taste Grocer and Cafe is one of them. Another one of the best places to capture this unique village atmosphere that we have on Central Coat is at Killcare. Time sadly prevents me from mentioning all of the shops at Killcare, but I would mention the art gallery there, and the Fat Goose Café is also a wonderful place to unwind. These are great places to shop locally and enjoy the best the Central Coast has to offer. Of course, it would be remiss of me not to mention my own local cafe West Gosford at the Riverside Business Park, which overflows with people at this time of year—in fact, every day all year round. People get outstanding coffee at Jimmy G's from James, Tara and the team—and I do wish them well.

I would also like to encourage people on the coast to spend up at one of the many markets that are open most weekends in school playgrounds, church halls, and parklands. Over the summer, these places are also a popular destination for the thousands of visitors we welcome to our region. On 13 December there are the Kariong Markets at the Progress Hall. Artists and musicians will be a centrepiece at the popular Avoca beachside market, which returns on 18 January 18 with more than 100 stalls of local produce and goods. And in its 7th year is the famous Christmas Fair at the tranquil location of Mt Penang Gardens—and I will certainly be there this Sunday with my husband and two kids.

Our record speaks for itself in supporting small business. We have abolished the carbon tax; cut over $2 billion in red and green tape costs; undertaken a review of the competition framework; signed free trade agreements with China, Japan and Korea, which will have significant benefits; and, in July next, we will reduce the company tax rate by 1.5 per cent. On the Central Coast we are investing 600 new jobs, as I mentioned earlier, which will have a direct multiplier effect of hundreds of more jobs, and we are keeping our streets safer, with $680,000 to install CCTV cameras and to help protect shoppers, employers and employees. So I am encouraging visitors and residents alike to get out and about and shop locally on the Central Coast.