Alannah Mactiernan (Perth, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I want to acknowledge the talent of Perth sculptor Ron Gomboc and to record how pleased we have been to have helped him with one of his projects. Many members may recall the fabulous Swan Valley showcase that we had in June, in Parliament House, where the great produce of the Swan Valley was on display. And of course one of the people displaying their talents and their produce was Ron Gomboc. At that event Ron showed me this beautiful little statuette which had been produced for the Australian Film Institute and the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts. This beautiful little object here is 22 karat gold plated and has Australian tiger iron, which is a gemstone mined in Western Australia and which really captures, along with the design, the spirit of Australia and the Australian outback.

I think it is important to understand that each of the statuettes is individually produced in order to reflect the individual talent of the recipients. Since 2011 this effectively has been the 'Australian Oscar'. It has been received by the likes of Jessica Mauboy, Cate Blanchett and Meryl Streep. Ron explained to us that he was having some small problems and misunderstandings that had emerged with the AFI over the production of the next set of these glorious objects. But I am very pleased to say that we have been able to sort these problems out, and I really want to acknowledge the helpfulness of AFI CEO Damian Trewhella in expediting this process. We have had a win all around—our Western Australian artist getting to lovingly craft his beautiful design and the brightest stars of our film industry being acknowledged with a fully authentic Australian artwork.