Bruce Billson (Dunkley, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I begin by congratulating Chris Crewther, his partner, Grace, and their daughter, Yasmin. Chris has been selected as the Liberal candidate to contest the seat of Dunkley at the next federal election, and I want to thank him and his family for all the energy they put into that contest. In fact, all eight candidates had so much to offer. I want to thank them and their families for their work and the nearly-200 grassroots members who chose Chris to be the flag bearer for Liberalism for the Dunkley electorate at the next election. I wish them well.

It was interesting—when I announced my intention not to re-contest the next election, some really lovely messages have come to my office. Some of them are very touching and some of them are just really nourishing at this time of change. One point was made by a couple who are well into their 80s. They have seen a lot of politicians come and go, if I remember their letter well. They pointed to the fact that I had made things happen and, in their words, 'brought life back to Frankston'. Well, I am going to talk about the life that is not only back in Frankston but how it is buoyant and how the opportunities are just delicious in this 'Riviera of Melbourne' that is around our city by the bay, Frankston!

We had people coming from everywhere for the summer influx. And why wouldn't they? There is such vitality, such great opportunity and so much to appreciate—whether it is the community, the people, the natural appeal of the environment or the visitor attractions. So we had a pretty busy summer and people were coming to visit our city by the bay. And this has not just happened by hoping it happens; it has been a concerted program to bring economic development, investment and vitality to our city.

I remember well over a decade ago, working with the Howard government to secure funding for an event strategy for Frankston. It is one thing to have the hardware; you also need the software, the activity, the reason to bring people to the city to engage in the city and then to do it again and again. Through that strategy, the Sea Harvest Festival was conceived. It was a wonderful occasion that transformed into the Waterfront Festival in another example of how that sound planning and targeted investment has made a real difference to employment and economic opportunities in our community.

It also identified the need for a visitor information centre. Everyone knows the Mornington Peninsula is the Yarra Valley with a beach. It is a great place to be. It offers so much that other parts of our nation offer but all there together. And the launch pad to enjoy the very best that the peninsula offers, where there is a reason every season to come to the Mornington Peninsula, is Frankston. Therefore, we needed a way of engaging with that visitor community to let them know what is available.

The visitor centre has done it again, winning award after award. They took out top honours at the Qantas Australian Tourism Awards, held in Adelaide earlier this year. As a tourism centre, they have gone into the national hall of fame, so highly regarded are they. But, again, it was an investment made possible by the support of a coalition government.

It did not stop there. The work that is going on to make sure the beach itself presents its best face for our community is another investment by a coalition government. More than $1.2 million went into the Frankston foreshore and yacht club precinct redevelopment. They are opening up that opportunity for people to come and enjoy all that is terrific about our community.

That is on top of the announcement I made last week that Sandstorm Events, operators of Sand Sculpting Australia, will receive three-quarters of a million dollars for an installation of a structure that will extend the sand sculpting season, which is currently four months, to be all year round—another reason to visit our community whatever the season.

As we look further forward, we are not stopping and resting on our laurels. We were in the vanguard of the Build the Frankston Bypass campaign. We succeeded. Now we have got Peninsula Link. We needed signage so that visitors to our community knew where these great attractions were. There was $175,000 from the coalition government to make investment in the visitor industry possible, to make the infrastructure that we fought hard for, led the argument about, got people to join the campaign for—for example, the Scoresby Freeway, which is now EastLink. We led that campaign and Labor followed.

It was the same with the Frankston Bypass, a project that I was told by then Premier Brumby no-one would ever use. That is not the case. It is brim-full of traffic. It is brim-full of people wanting to come and enjoy the very best of the peninsula but also our residents reaching out for economic opportunities that are part of their aspirations for their lives.

This, as the lady said in the letter to me, is about making things happen and bringing Frankston and our region to life. Chris Crewther has economic development credentials. He knows about the importance of jobs and opportunity. I am looking forward to working with him in the lead-up to the next election to make sure the Liberal flag flies high and proud over the Dunkley electorate for many years to come.