Rick Wilson (O'Connor, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to welcome the team representing the Australian Outback Way, Australia's longest shortcut to the House. The Outback Way is a journey through the heart of Australia, a 2,700 kilometre road through some of the most remote and iconic country—harsh desert, vast floodplains, huge pastoral stations and Aboriginal lands. It links Laverton in my electorate of O'Connor to Winton in Queensland via the Red Centre.

It was a dream of Patrick Hill, President of the Shire of Laverton, who's here in the House today—g'day to Pat, who would be in the gallery if he'd got tickets in time!—Councillor Jack Carmody of Perentie Downs Station; Marty Seelander of the Pakaanu Aboriginal Corporation and Peter Craig, President of the Shire of Leonora. Twenty-five years ago Pat moved a motion at the Australian Local Government Association conference to seal the route from Laverton to Winton and The Outback Way dream was born. Since then the five shires of Laverton and Ngaanyatjarraku in O'Connor, the shire of Alice Springs in Lingiari, and the shires of Boulia and Winton in Maranoa have worked as a single Outback Highway Development Council. Led by General Manager Helen Lewis, they have secured over $1.2 billion in state, territory and federal funding to literally pave this way across Australia. I congratulate Helen, Pat and the team on 25 years of hard yakka. I invite you to learn more about The Outback Way at their afternoon tea presentation, which will be hosted by the member for Lingiari—who was here a minute ago and has just stepped out—and myself in Senate committee room five at 4 pm.