Cathy McGowan (Indi, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am delighted to welcome to parliament today participants of the Rivers and Ranges Community Leadership Program who are in Canberra on their study tour. Regional Victoria has a commitment to developing leaders, and I am very proud that participants can be with us today.

Victoria has 10 community leadership programs—in fact, three of them are in Indi: the AVCLP, Fairley and the rivers and ranges program. We are hosting the visit together with my colleagues Rob Mitchell from McEwen and Tony Smith from Casey, and are delighted to be part of a diverse program looking at leadership as it plays out in parliament. I would like to acknowledge and thank my parliamentary colleagues and their staff for the help they have given in developing the programs.

However, programs like the Rivers and Ranges Community Leadership Program do not just happen. They take a lot of community work, and I would particularly like to bring to the attention of parliament the work of the chair, Ros Affleck; the deputy chair, Anne Leadbeater; secretary, Megan Buntine; treasurer, Michael Nadella; program manager, Lisa Linton; and my special friend and wonderful colleague, Michelle Dunscombe—thank you for the work that you have done.

In closing, I say to the participants: leadership in rural and regional Australia is not an optional extra. It relies on all of us to get out and do the work. It is important, particularly in this stage of change and development, that we take the opportunity for our communities to reach their potential. (Time expired)