Anthony Byrne (Holt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We are clearly approaching the festive season. In that spirit, particularly for my constituency, which had some challenges late last year and this year, it is a time, regardless of where we have come from and what faith we have, for all of us to come together and to celebrate what is good about our community and what is good about our country. Holt is often represented in a particular way, but one of the great things about the electorate is the way it responds to adversity, the way it holds together when there are pressures and the way that as a community it celebrates the festive season and the spirit of Christmas. It does it regardless of faith.

The reason I am now going to talk about the community carols is that these events are not well known outside the Casey region, but one of the carols events that I will be talking about can get up to 10,000 people attending. It is an amazing spirit. It is a great end of the year—the full stop at the end of the year—to attend these as a politician, as I know the member for Shortland would agree. It is great to be able to go there and not have a political hat on and just basically experience that spirit of togetherness in the festive season.

In the time remaining, I want to mention some of these carols for those who might be listening and might watch this a bit later on. The Endeavour Hills Community Carols will be on 12 December between five and nine at 2 to 8 Gleneagles Drive, Endeavour Hills. The Narre Warren North Community Carols will be between 6.30 and 10 at the corner of Tom Jones Road and A'Beckett Road, Narre Warren North. The Lynbrook Moonlight Cinema and carols will be on Saturday, 12 December from 6 pm till late, whatever that means, at Banjo Paterson Park, Lynbrook. The Doveton community carols will be Saturday 12 December from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm at 2 Frawley Road, Eumemmerring. The Hampton Park carols by candlelight, which is a pretty large event attended by over 4,000 people last year, will be on Friday 18 December between 7:30 pm and 9:30 pm at the corner of Cairns Road and Campbell Drive, Hampton Park. The Cranbourne Christmas carols will be on Saturday 19 December between 4 pm and 9:45 pm at 101 Lesdon Avenue, Cranbourne. And the large one—I hope the others do not say this—the very large carols by twilight, which I have had the honour of going to for 10 years now, will be on Thursday 24 December between 6 pm and 9:30 pm at 340-350 Princes Highway, Narre Warren.

I would just like to say to the people of Holt, it has been again a great honour to represent you, which I have now done for 16 years. You are a community that is often misrepresented, often badly portrayed but there is no better community in this country to represent. It is just wonderful to be amongst you. I will be thinking about that, thinking of the new year and remembering the privilege of representing you when I see you at these carols.