House debates

Wednesday, 15 May 2024

Constituency Statements

Rabey, Ms Natalie, Chisholm Electorate: Rinoldi

9:44 am

Photo of Carina GarlandCarina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | | Hansard source

I'm here today to pay tribute to Natalie Rabey, a selfless and fierce community advocate who passed away on 16 March. Natalie was a wonderful, generous woman. She was devoted to helping others and was a dedicated volunteer in the Chadstone community. Natalie was a founding member of the Ashburton, Ashwood and Chadstone Public Tenants Group and had served as its chairperson since 2012. She was a board member of the Victorian Public Tenants Association, and she was on the committee of the Power Neighbourhood House in Ashwood.

Natalie was an incredible advocate for people in public housing. I was inspired deeply by her tenacity, kindness and real care for our community. She was a true leader in our community. She made an incredible contribution to the lives of so many people in Chadstone, Ashburton, Ashwood and the surrounding suburbs through her strong advocacy. My love and thoughts are with Natalie's family at this difficult time, including her children, Penny, Michael, Leah and David; her grandchildren; and her many friends in our community. Natalie will be greatly missed. Vale, Natalie.

For those cooking pasta for dinner tonight, they may just be adding a little bit of Chisholm to their dish. Rinoldi pasta was founded in 1878 and is located in beautiful Mulgrave. Rinoldi pasta continues to operate as a family business, employing locals and creating amazing products, such as Vetta pasta, made from 100 per cent responsibly-grown Australian durum wheat. Rinoldi is more than just a pasta company, though. They have a long history of giving back to the community and engaging in sustainable farming practices. I'm so proud to have them in my electorate.

I recently visited the factory, and I'd like to deeply thank Bill Quayle and his amazing team for showing me around the facility and giving me a glimpse into what home-grown manufacturing looks like and what a future made in Australia looks like. Of course, our government will always back Australian industry and good local jobs in the food and other industries. Our government understands that businesses like Rinoldi are core to not only creating great pasta—and, as someone of Italian descent, I know great pasta—but also creating secure, well-paying jobs for Australian workers. It was wonderful to meet so many local workers when I recently visited Rinoldi in Mulgrave.