Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last week I was fortunate enough to attend the Chirnside Park football and netball clubs' volunteer and sponsorship night. It was a wonderful night to pay tribute to those sponsors—I'm proud to sponsor the club—and also to the volunteers that give so much to the Chirnside Park Football Club. But it's not just about Chirnside. I want to congratulate and thank all volunteers and all sponsors across the sporting clubs of Casey, whether it's football, netball, soccer, bowls or tennis. There are so many clubs and so many volunteers giving so much. All the clubs are crucial to our communities. In a regional area the football club, the netball club and the tennis club are the heart of the town. People volunteer and give up so much time, so thank you to all the volunteers.

I know the Powelltown Football Club celebrated, on Thursday night, the opening of their new club rooms, which had some federal government funding from the former government, and I'm sorry I couldn't be there. They're back-to-back premiers, they've had a good couple of years and they're working hard. I saw that the five Walker boys played together on the weekend, which is what community sport is all about. It's about family and connection, and it brings us together. When we've had a tough week there is nothing better than going to the club to have a kick with your mates and to celebrate and spend some time talking about what is important in life. To all the volunteers at all of the sporting clubs across Casey, I say thank you for everything you do to make sure that your club is strong so that your juniors and your women's and your men's teams can enjoy every weekend playing sport.