Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Northern Co-operative Meat Company has operated in Casino, the beef capital of Australia, since 1933. It is one of the biggest employers in the area and is proudly 100 per cent member owned. The meatworks is an integral part of the local community. Recently, long-time Casino resident Brian Olive achieved the milestone of becoming the first Indigenous person to have worked for 50 years for the company. Brian first started work at the meatworks in 1968 as a 16-year-old. He began sweeping the floors, then he took on a trade and ended reaching the highest level of his trade. Brian joins an elite club with fellow meatworkers John Cormack, who has also celebrated his 50-year milestone—congratulations to John—and David Forrester, who has worked at the meatworks for 52 years and is the Northern Co-operative Meat Company's longest serving employee. I'd like to congratulate Brian, John and David on the fantastic milestones they have achieved in their involvement in making Northern Co-operative Meat Company the success that it is.

Maclean is a beautiful town in the Clarence Valley. Besides being physically beautiful, it is a tight-knit community minded place. On 2 January a storm cell, described as a mini tornado, ripped through the town, causing massive amounts of damage and leaving 6,000 homes without power. The SES command received many calls for help. Extra units from Grafton, Yamba and Copmanhurst were called in to assist. I would like to thank the Maclean SES unit controller Mark Duckworth, his deputies, Ron Rushton and Steve Walton, and all of the many volunteers who gave their time working tirelessly to help others.

To give you an indication of the strength of the storm, the Clarence Hotel, which was in the middle of its lunchtime service, had the whole roof ripped off. The local school was damaged, as was the showground. The SES command itself had doors blown off hinges. Unfortunately, this year's Maclean agricultural show has been cancelled due to the damage that cannot be fixed in time for the annual show. But Maclean will and is recovering from this storm. It's in times like this you see the real character of a community, and Maclean has stood tall in the face of this adversity.

Malcolm Wallis was a passionate person who worked for Kyogle Council. He, very sadly, passed away recently. His catchphrase was 'living the dream'. I will never hear, read or see that phrase without thinking fondly of Malcolm. He loved Kyogle. I would like to offer my condolences to Malcolm's wife, Allison, his sons, Brenton and Kaleb, and his extended family.