Eric Hutchinson (Lyons, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Many would have noticed that this week in Canberra the 2014 National General Assembly of Local Government meetings are being held. With 900 delegates and the theme of 'Getting down to business', it gives all of those community leaders, in those very important roles that they play within local government, an opportunity to interact with those of us in this place in Canberra. It is an opportunity for local government to put on the national agenda issues that are indeed important to local government, highlighting issues of urban communities, rural communities and territories to government and parliamentarians in this place. At the end of it all, we are individuals that live in communities that are governed at a state level and a federal level. But it is ultimately about community, and the old saying that 'all politics is local' is indeed very true. Local government is indeed about local grass-roots politics.

In the electorate of Lyons, I have 13 municipalities and I love them all dearly. Many of them are here today. They represent what are the very diverse and dispersed communities around my state of Tasmania and my large electorate of Lyons. Tasmania, ultimately, in many ways is a microcosm of our nation with urban communities, rural communities and regional communities. I am really pleased to welcome here this week the Mayor of the Southern Midlands Council, Tony Bisdee; the Mayor of West Tamar Council, Barry Easter; the Mayor of Latrobe Council, Mike Gaffney; the Mayor of Kentish Council, Don Thwaites; the Mayor of Meander Valley Council, Craig Perkins; the Deputy Mayor of the Derwent Valley Council, Mr Barry Lathey; and also the Deputy Mayor of the Northern Midlands Council, Mr David Downie.

Those that are not here this week, but whom I equally represent in this place, are the communities of the Tasman municipality, the beautiful part of the Tasman peninsula in the southern part of Tasmania; the Sorell Council; the Central Highlands Council; the Glamorgan Spring Bay municipality; and the Break O'Day municipality. It is indeed a very diverse community that I represent, and proudly represent, and I welcome the mayors and leaders of those local governments here to Canberra this week. Thank you.