Darren Cheeseman (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I rise to reflect on the tremendous work that natural resource management groups do within my own electorate and within the Corangamite CMA and the wonderful contribution that they make throughout our regions and our rural areas. Yesterday I was pleased to receive advice from Minister Tony Burke that 453 successful community action grants were granted under the federal government’s sustainable land management practices framework.

In my electorate of Corangamite a large number of groups were successful in receiving grants of up to $20,000 for their work. I would particularly like to acknowledge the Woady Yaloak Catchment Group; the Friends of the Marine Discovery Centre, which is between Point Lonsdale and Queenscliff; and the Bellarine Landcare Group, who were successful in picking up a grant for some important work in the St Leonards area. I would also like to congratulate the Southern Otway Landcare Network, the Upper Barwon Landcare Network, the Geelong Landcare Network and the Otway Agroforestry Network. All of these groups have lots of active volunteers who participate in natural resource management.

The Corangamite Catchment Management Authority, which shares a similar region to my electorate and also covers parts of the federal seats of Corio, Wannon and Ballarat, has some 5,000 active Landcare participants throughout that area. They certainly make a significant contribution to our environment and to our landscape, particularly in protecting and enhancing our more valuable landscapes and ensuring that farming communities are worked with so that they can continue to farm in a more sustainable way in terms of fencing riparian zones and planting out creeks. In many parts of my electorate agroforestry is being added to farming enterprises, which of course has been very valuable.

I am pleased to see the member for Flinders here today. In fact, he came down and campaigned for the Liberal Party through the course of the federal election. I would like to report to him that all the areas and groups he engaged with responded by lifting the Greens vote at the cost of both the Labor and Liberal parties. I am pleased that he is here today and I am pleased that he enjoyed his time in my seat. He certainly did a tremendous job there in lifting the Greens vote to the cost of both of us.

As the member for Flinders realises and recognises, Landcare and environment groups play a very important role within my part of the world. My seat is similar to his seat. Our communities are very much environmentally aware. In many regards the federal seat of Flinders is almost the sister of the federal seat of Corangamite and it is, indeed, a very similar part of the world. Both are coastal electorates and they are, of course, delightful areas.

Nevertheless I am here today to recognise the contribution that the natural resource management groups do play. The Gillard government recognises, through various funding mechanisms, the important contribution that they make and I certainly look forward to working with those groups and with the government to ensure that adequate resources are put into this important area. (Time expired)