Matt Keogh (Burt, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Defence Industry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Spring really is one of the best times of the year in the electorate of Burt, with the Spring into Armadale Festival underway. The wildflowers are blooming, and, back in the middle of October, we had the famous Kelmscott show. This year's show was not without drama with a gale-force wind destroying a number of stalls, including mine, early on Saturday morning. The rebuild efforts of the State Emergency Service and the Kelmscott Agricultural Society were amazing. They worked from the early hours of Saturday morning to make sure the gates were open and the show was safe for families to enjoy in a timely fashion.

Once the show was up and running, we had a fantastic couple of days celebrating everything that the Kelmscott area has to offer. I was proud to see the stronger communities grant I facilitated for the Kelmscott Agricultural Society last year paying dividends. The technology purchased with the grant made sure the promotion and running of the show was flawless.

The Kelmscott show is an institution; kicking off in 1897, it's even older than the Perth Royal Show. I've been to nearly every show every year of my life, so I'd like to think of myself as a bit of an expert, and this year's event really was fantastic. My three-year-old, Nicholas, was a huge fan—though not exactly of the loud fireworks, I have to confess. To all the volunteers, the community members and my dedicated 'Team Keogh' volunteers as well as our state MPs who helped out on my show at the stall and with cleaning up on Saturday morning: well done and thank you for all your hard work.