Gai Brodtmann (Canberra, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last year I had the pleasure of meeting with a number of bread bakers and bread-making judges at the Canberra Show. I was out there working on a Labor stand, and I gravitated, as I always do, to harvest hall, where I saw the entrance and the winners of the bread-making competition as well as the preserves, the cakes, the vegetable growing and also the flowers. I want to get on the record, it so inspired me that, coupled with a gift from my husband at Christmas—the CWA cookbook—I was inspired to enter the show this year. I put in two entries: an orange cake—I spent two months trying to master the orange cake—and a tea cake. Despite the fact that I got the thumbs down for my orange cake—but it was not disqualified—I got a highly commended for my teacake.

As a result of being at the show last year and talking to these bread makers and judges, I was thrilled to be invited back this year by the Royal National Capital Agricultural Society to present the awards to a number of winners of the ActewAGL Royal Canberra Bread Show. The awards were for best apprenticed exhibit in the first and second year apprenticeships. The awards were also for the best apprentice exhibit in the open show, as well as the best in show. It was wonderful to meet with these young bread makers and their families who were incredibly excited and thrilled about the fact that they had won these awards.

The show, as we know, is a celebration of Canberra's talented bread-making community, and this year people turned out in full force. There was nearly 400 entries in the bread-making area. Canberrans are great bread makers, and they were out in full force.

I want to take this opportunity to congratulate and commend again Deion Mottramm—who took out best in show—Matthew Miller, Dean Elliott, David Damour and Lucinda Shiel who split the pool of the champion trophies and ribbons between them. All of them from bakeries within the ACT, many of them in my electorate. I am looking forward, particularly in winter, to getting out and tasting their award-winning products. They were worthy winners, and I congratulate them.

Following the presentations, a father of one of the bread makers competing in the show took me aside. He was brimming with pride as he explained to me that the his son's decision to take an apprenticeship in baking had been nothing short of life changing. Like so many other teenagers, his son had found himself a little lost, searching for a purpose. He got this apprenticeship, and, low and behold, here it is, really enjoying the apprenticeship and taking out awards in the bread-making competition. I am a huge fan of vocational education. What I saw on Saturday was evidence of how it can transform lives, and I congratulate again all of the winners.