Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last Saturday I had the honour and privilege of opening the Sustainable Science Centre in Kilcoy State High School. Its principal, Ross Robertson, gave a passionate defence of the Building the Education Revolution at the opening of the Sustainable Science Centre. With $1.565 million in funding, this centre is where science, technology and agriculture meet. It is a fantastic facility. Students learn about the production of wine. They have grown the largest corn I have ever seen in my lifetime; it is huge. They also grow potatoes. They have chooks. They have lots of gardens. The students, who are mainly from agricultural backgrounds, have the benefit of seeing how science and technology can assist farming in the Kilcoy region.

Mr Deputy Speaker Slipper, this is an area that you used to represent and that I now have the privilege of representing in this parliament. This project is one of many in the Somerset region. About $20 million is being put into the Somerset region—a fairly traditional, conservative voting area in my electorate.

Also present at the opening was the mayor of the Somerset region, Graeme Lehmann, and many other dignitaries from the Kilcoy area. This is a wonderful facility. It has created jobs and it sustained jobs during the global financial crisis. This is yet again a demonstration of the federal Labor government's commitment to jobs and to regional Australia.