Kristy McBain (Eden-Monaro, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I concur with my colleague, the member for Riverina, Michael McCormack, who has done Tumbatrek with me a couple of times. It is such a fabulous event, which continues Tim Fischer's legacy but shows the beautiful, pristine nature of our communities across the country, most importantly in Tumbarumba. I'm sorry to have missed it, and I do hope, for that community's sake, that they are in one electorate for a period of time, because they do get shuffled around. I have no doubt that, for many years to come, they will be in good hands with the member for Riverina.

I will comment on something that came up in our electorate. Five years ago, on 23 January 2020, during the Black Summer bushfires, we lost aerial firefighters Captain Ian McBeth, First Officer Paul Hudson and Flight Engineer Rich De Morgan Jr. These American aviators tragically died when their large air tanker, bomber 134, crashed during firefighting operations, and on 23 January this year, emergency service personnel, members of the community, many people involved in fighting that fire and representatives from Coulson Aviation came together to honour their service and sacrifice at the memorial. It was a real honour to join them at Peak View this year, as I have in previous years. Again I'd like to extend my sincere condolences to their families. The men died whilst trying to protect our community, and we are forever in their debt.

I give a shout-out to VIEW Clubs. For those of you who don't know, VIEW stands for Voice, Interests and Education of Women. VIEW is a leading women's national volunteer organisation, providing the opportunity for women from all walks of life to meet regularly, establish lasting friendships and help disadvantaged Australian kids through supporting the work of children's charity the Smith Family. It's driven by the mission of creating social change in Australian communities. VIEW empowers women to have their voices on issues of importance for the future wellbeing of our society. There are more than 300 VIEW clubs around Australia, including in Adelong, Batlow, Bega, Braidwood, Bungendore, Cooma, Eden, Goulburn, Marimbula, Narooma, Queanbeyan and Yass, across the mighty Eden-Monaro. VIEW offers a friendship network, providing fun and a sense of purpose for members by supporting the education of disadvantaged Australian children. I'm honoured this year to be the guest speaker at Goulburn VIEW Club's International Women's Day event on 6 March. It's a tremendous organisation, and if you are looking to volunteer somewhere, join your local VIEW Club.

Finally, on International Women's Day I am proud to support another fabulous event in Eden-Monaro. The Queanbeyan evening branch of the CWA is holding a high tea in support of the Love Your Sister charity. Love Your Sister co-founder Samuel Johnson OAM—gold Logie award winner, everyone knows him—will be live in Queanbeyan on Saturday 8 March from 2 pm at the B in Queanbeyan. Tickets are on the Q's website from $75. Come along and have a conversation. All money raised goes to that magnificent charity. Thanks, CWA.

Alicia Payne (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In accordance with standing order 193, the time for members' constituency statements has concluded.