Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to inform the House that soldiers serving abroad will very soon get a taste of country hospitality from my electorate. The Fassifern Rotary Club has put together 60 gift packs to send over to our serving soldiers, made up of local product, stuff I have taken from the office, puzzles, writing paper, protein powder, Tim Tams—anything our local business men and women and parents with children serving think might be a suitable gift.

Within my electorate we have the Canungra Combat Training Centre, so we have a strong understanding of the sacrifice that families make when their children, loved ones, parents, uncles and aunts are away serving. To put into perspective how large my electorate is, for me to attend every dawn service in my electorate, I would need to win eight consecutive elections, and only after 26 years of constant service could I return to the first place where I attended a dawn service. That indicates the number of memorials and cenotaphs in my electorate, where we pay homage to the brave men and women who serve overseas, who fight and provide a blanket of security for us as a nation to sleep under each night, and for that we should always be grateful. Merry Christmas to our troops overseas.