Russell Broadbent (McMillan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm glad netball came up, because we in McMillan and Gippsland are about to make a very important announcement that the netballers in Latrobe Valley are going to be very excited about. I think the Keenagers in Moe-Newborough are going to be very excited about an announcement that will be made very shortly. I can't make it today, but they're going to be happy!

I want to talk about my workers in Latrobe Valley that dig for gold. That gold is brown coal and that brown coal drives the power in this place. It drives the power for the whole of Melbourne. It drives the power for our manufacturing. It drives the power that enhances the lives of every Victorian, every Australian. It's been there constantly pumping out that power 24 hours a day, and those workers are proud of what they do. Their families are proud of what they do. I'm proud to be their representative. The netballers that play on the courts we are about to announce—but I won't get into detail of that!

We are proud of Latrobe Valley. We're proud of the towns like Moe-Newborough and Morwell. We're proud of the workers that work in those coalmines and work in those power stations that make the difference to every family in this nation. We should be lauding what they do, telling them how good they are and thanking them for the job they do on our behalf, because, when you get up in the middle of the night and want your air-conditioner on, those men are in there working for you today and tonight.