Joanne Ryan (Lalor, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's been a busy time in the electorate of Lalor, and I'd like to thank the community, our Indian diaspora, for some fabulous events celebrating Diwali that have happened across the last two weeks. I was thrilled, on Sunday 5 November, to attend two Diwali events, including one by the Australian Social and Humanitarian Association Global Foundation. Thank you to Sumar Betty, the operations manager, for the kind invitation. It was a pleasure to join this multicultural group and multicultural organisation to celebrate one of our most vibrant festivals. That evening, I joined Diwali Mela in Tarneit. Our incredibly vibrant Punjabi community came together to celebrate. This event was organised by Reena Rana and Indian Women in Australia. It was an absolutely fabulous event. I joined the mayor and almost every local councillor at that event, as well as the local state members, the Indian consul general in Victoria and Viv Nguyen from the multicultural commission. It was an amazing event. The dancing in the crowd and on stage was incredibly athletic and vibrant, and I make no apologies for making all of the invited guests dance along with the crowd.

That takes me to last weekend—and thank you to the member for McPherson. I attended a Remembrance Day service coordinated by the Werribee RSL. It was a moving service, and I followed it up by attending the RSL to celebrate the unveiling of a new display cabinet, which was provided by a grant from the federal government, that had been damaged through rain damage previously. I want to note the words of president, Daryl Ryan: the display cabinets and the memorabilia at the Werribee RSL do not glorify war but give rise to reflection and commemoration. I think that's a really important point to make. I want to thank the RSL for their commitment and volunteer hours from all of their committee members.

From Remembrance Day, I went directly to the rose and garden show at the Werribee Park Mansion, where I joined the volunteers, the supporters, of the rose garden who work year round, looking after that rose garden; doing the planting, the pruning and the fertilising; and making sure that all is fit for purpose for the fabulous rose and garden show. I want to thank David, in particular, for the guided tour of the magnificent and varied roses that they look after every week. I remind the community that Lalor Heroes is coming up. If you know a volunteer who needs to be celebrated, please get in touch with my office.