Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Five years ago the Alstonville Community Preschool were told that they had to move; the hall they were operating out of was going to be used for another purpose by its owner. It was with great joy that, on Saturday, I was at the opening of the new Alstonville Community Preschool. It has been a long five years. There were many trials and tribulations, with a whole lot of logistics that were really a bit of a nightmare at times. The opening is a great tribute to the perseverance of the community and the people involved with the Alstonville Community Preschool, and indeed the Alstonville community as a whole, who got behind this project and made Saturday happen. It was a day of great joy, especially seeing the 40 young preschoolers in their new preschool.

I would like to pay tribute to some of the people who made this happen, because there was a lot of work involved. First there are the current committee members: Katherine Buckley, the President, who was tireless in her perseverance; Katrina Evans; Gabby Thompson; Nichole Roberts; Paul Green; Kirsty Heaps; and Criodan Dunford. The staff, Narelle Walker and Kay Walmsley, have also been tireless in making this happen. There are also the people who got the ball rolling five years ago, including Fernando Lamas, Jocelyn Perritt, Georgie Ford, Renee North and Ern Sandral. There are many people in the community as well who provided help and sponsorship: Don Page, the former member for Ballina, who was crucial; Ben Franklin, my Nationals colleague and current MLC, who was very important in getting this to happen; the mayor, David Wright; all the Ballina Shire councillors; and the former mayor, Phil Silver. People in the community who donated time or resources were the Ballina RSL; Fiona Lomax; the Alstonville Wollongbar Chamber of Commerce; Dave Gambley Building—Dave is a friend of mine and a great builder; Greenstar Earthmoving; Richmond Sand and Gravel; Summerland Credit Union; Think Water Alstonville—I could go on and on. To the Alstonville community: congratulations on your tireless work to make this happen. It was all worth it on Saturday when we saw those children running around and having a great time.

On Saturday night I attended a fundraiser for Generation Ag. They are the Next Generation group of the Far North Coast Group of show societies, who are passionate about the sustainability of the show movement. Generation Ag is aimed at 18- to 35-year-olds who live in our region. It holds an annual fundraiser, and on Saturday night the fundraiser was for the Drought Angels, who provide crucial support to farming communities in times of drought. I congratulate Craig Hosking, the president, Kelly Bryant, the secretary, and Samantha Chilton, the treasurer, on a great night. The fundraiser was at the hall in Clovass, which was great. I would also like to acknowledge some of the people who went in the challenge this year: Alyce Mitchell, Alice Magna, Benny Foster, Brandy Burgess and Brendan Gallagher. (Time expired)