Wednesday, 15 November 2023

Eastern Victoria Region

Tom McINTOSH (Eastern Victoria) (09:55): It is great to see the school group here in the house. Welcome to the Legislative Council.

It was a big week in Eastern Victoria. We had three brilliant ministers on the ground, starting in Traralgon. We had Minister Shing and Minister Tierney at the $2 billion regional package forum. It was a full house. We came together to hear about worker accommodation, and we came to hear about the investment we are making in tourism and events and of course the big $1 billion extra additional investment we are making in housing across the regions.

I joined Minister Symes in Mallacoota, where we met with Tracey, the leader of the CFA brigade, and where we met with MADRA, the Mallacoota and District Recovery Association, to hear about the work they have done post fires and ongoing for their community. We saw the new skate park; the new container deposit collection facility, which I am told filled a 20-foot container in its first week; the Wilderness Collective and the incredible co-working space that they have there; and Mallacoota Abalone, which is the biggest employer in town and after the fires was rebuilt thanks to support from the state government. And it is great that we have the Victorian seafood showcase in Parliament today.

On Friday I was delighted to cut the ribbon on the new Korumburra community hub. The state government, working with South Gippy council, have built this fantastic new community hub with incredible views in the centre of town, where Milpara Community House will find their new home, their brilliant new library is decked out and the historical society will be located. Much like all of this investment, the hub will be an incredible asset for generations of regional Victorians to come.