Janelle Saffin (Page, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On Saturday, I attended the Tabulam Picnic Races. It is an annual event, an annual meet, to which people come from near and far for a day of fun and goodwill and a few bets here and there as well. I won a few dollars and lost a few, too, as did everyone else, but it was a good day out. The cup was sponsored by the Casino RSM and it attracted a good field. So, you see, in Page we have our gala events and, yes, there was lots of finery and weird and wonderful dress-up, but it was all good fun. The industry, because of equine influenza, has had a downturn over the past period, so it was good to see everybody there. Also there were lots of local sponsors, and I would like to pay tribute to the Tabulam Racing Club—all volunteers—and particularly to the secretary, Milton King, who put a lot of effort into making this a big day out.

Before the race meet, I also met with some locals who talked to me about the local issues, not only in Tabulam but also in the upper Clarence area, and emerging issues. One of those was the national plantations and the corporate plantations that are operating in our area—specifically, some of their practices. They also raised with me a number of other issues, which I will raise at a later date.