Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As any member here from a regional or rural electorate will tell you, nothing brings out country pride and local sense of commitment more than a country show. I am fortunate in the electorate of Blair to have seven country shows, each in a country town except for that of the city of Ipswich. Each of these are home to a dedicated and passionate volunteer team who do a fantastic job in promoting their area. As usual, I held a mobile office at each of the country shows, and I was treated to great hospitality. Whether it is poultry or produce, cattle or, indeed, craft, you can see it all at country shows. The show season kicked off with the Kilcoy Show, led this year by Senior Vice-President Alistair MacDonald, known to his friends and others as 'Macca', and by David Dunn, who seems to be the Treasurer of everything up there in the Kilcoy region. Next up was the Marburg Show, led by President Rob Krause with a committee including Secretary Stephanie Knight and others. Marburg is a small country town of just over 500 people in rural Ipswich.

The biggest of our shows is the annual Ipswich Show, led by Marcia Cruickshank and assisted by Vice-President Darren Zanow. The show has been going since 1873. The Ipswich Show is a three-day event which sees tens of thousands of people coming through the gates, with the Ipswich City Council estimating a contribution to the local economy of $13 million. I want to thank all of the 40 Labor volunteers who were there with me at my mobile office. We gave out 1,800 Shayne Neumann show bags, and I am glad I held the mobile office with the state members for Ipswich and Ipswich West.

The Esk Show also was held this year, organised by President Michael Jess and his lovely wife Sally, who is the secretary. Again, it was a resounding success. Esk is a most picturesque town. There was also the show at Toogoolawah, led by a committee made up of Vern Doyle, Jonella Dargusch and others. They always put in a great effort to promote their fantastic town. Last week, we had the Lowood Show, opened by the Governor of Queensland, Paul de Jersey, who himself is a Lowood lad. The committee is led by President Noel Kammholz and the 'Lion of Lowood', as I call her, Janine Schulz, who is fantastic at getting grants. I was very pleased to open the upgrade to one of the buildings funded under the National Stronger Regions Fund. Next week, we will have the Rosewood Show for another year, and I look forward to catching up with Secretary Kate Lenihan and seeing the hard work they do. The entire Rosewood community always gets behind the show.

I thank all the volunteers and also the show societies, who open up their showgrounds to provide facilities and resources for local sporting clubs and community groups and step up in times of great need such as flooding and natural disasters which have affected the electorate of Blair. With this in mind, I extend my congratulations to all the Blair country shows, their organising committees and all the wonderful volunteers on another great show season.