Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to speak about the fabulous 52nd annual Dowerin GWN7 Machinery Field Day, which I recently attended. Over 160 kilometres north-east of Perth, Dowerin is a magnificent and beautiful rural town in the heart of the Wheatbelt. Dowerin Field Day is the largest of its kind in Western Australia and is the third largest in Australia, with people travelling from right across the state and the country to attend.

Over 25,500 people visited the two-day agricultural show, which is an increase of 10 per cent on last year. The event illustrated why it is the largest in WA, with a record 770 exhibitors, which is up 10 per cent on last year and up 33 per cent on the last five years. It is a fantastic testament to Dowerin Events Management, led by their chair, Michael Metcalf. This year's success is attributed, in part, to the great season the Wheatbelt region is anticipating, which will be a 10-year high and will be enjoyed by thousands of farmers across the great electorate of Durack. Congratulations to Waratah fencing products on being awarded this year's most outstanding exhibitor. The success of the Dowerin Field Day tastes so much sweeter for the shire of Dowerin, which, let us be honest, has had a bit of a rough patch of late. Under the leadership of shire president Dale Metcalf and CEO Andrea Selvey this very proud shire is back on track. I am very proud of them.