Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Earlier I spoke about the great contribution made by volunteers across Australia, and I would like to share a fantastic voluntary initiative with my parliamentary colleagues in the hope that they too will spread the word. Even the member for Moreton may spread the word, because I know he is a ravenous meat eater! While my electorate of Swan is based within the Perth metropolitan area, we all rely on the success of our farmers across the country. The volunteering initiative is one that local butchers Brett, Di and Christian Simonds have set up to help our farmers who are struggling through the drought. The Simonds family run Executive Meats in Carlisle in my electorate of Swan. Their initiative will get butchers to set up a barbecue in front of their store on 1 September to raise funds for our farmers. They have branded it Every Butcher Needs a Farmer. The title of the initiative is fitting. Every butcher does need a farmer; in fact, we all do.

Drought affects the livelihoods of the farming families who work tirelessly to ensure we all have food on the table. The Every Butcher Needs a Farmer initiative is a fantastic way to support our farmers and our rural communities. I congratulate Brett, Di and Christian on the outstanding initiative and thank them for all they are doing to support our farmers. I am glad they got a photo with the Prime Minister last week to help raise awareness of this fantastic cause. I encourage all members to go down and see their local independent butchers and get on board with the barbecue on 1 September to support our drought-stricken farmers.