Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm very pleased to say that it's less so of a grievance tonight and more so of a good news story of one of the great community organisations in my electorate of Forde. There's big news from this one local group. The Australian Budgerigar Society is about to launch its Twitter account. That's very appropriate, I'd say! Puns aside, it is my great pleasure to mention the club in this chamber today and officially commend them for the work they do, which extends much further than Twitter, I can assure you.

The Australian Budgerigar Society was formed at a public meeting in Brisbane in February 1957 and so celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. The past three years, however, have been akin to somewhat of a golden age for the club, with the society's membership growing from just over 30 members in 2014 to over 100 members today. The club has strong roots in the Logan community and the Forde region, and has proudly worked for their interests throughout its history. Among the key aims of the club at its inception were to promote the breeding and development of the budgerigar to assist the progress of scientific knowledge about the species and to support the local exhibition of these beautiful birds.

It has been my privilege as the club's patron to witness their continued success in that regard. The club's carnival show, for example, which was the first event of its type in Logan City, has seen incredible growth over the years. That show commenced in 2015 with just 12 displays and drew a record crowd of 120 people. It more than doubled in size last year and, in 2017, the upcoming carnival show is said to include over 30 displays and is so far expected to draw more than 700 people to our region. It is a fantastic achievement and a ringing endorsement of what the group offers. Another key item on the club's annual agenda is its annual show, held in February each year. It is always the second- or third-largest show in the South-East Queensland region, usually exhibiting well over 500 budgies.

Lately, the club itself has reached a milestone, as well. The society was the first budgerigar club to have a clubhouse in Australia, with the venue generously provided by Logan City Council in April of this year. It was also the first Australian budgerigar club to venture into the online arena with a Facebook page. It will launch a new internet site this week. This, connected to its growing Twitter account, as I mentioned, and Facebook following, is giving them a great online presence and is allowing them to engage further with the broader community. The club's new uniform will also be rolled out to coincide with these exciting developments. I know I'm certainly hoping to get a new shirt to wear proudly when at club events.

It is worth mentioning that, currently, the club has the largest junior membership of any budgerigar club in Australia, having focused heavily on encouraging youth participation since 2015. Individual members are also achieving highly as part of the club. Club member Mrs Barbara Kelly won the spangle AOSV class—that is, any other standard variety—at the Australian National Budgerigar Council's 2017 national show. She was the first club member to do so. The club's junior members have also won the best junior budgerigar for the South Queensland Budgerigar Breeders' Association national preselection show for two of the past three years.

It's important for me to say that much of the club's growth and its ongoing success can be attributed to its current president Wayne Robinson, whose passion, energy and drive to help the club reach new heights is to be applauded. Mr Robinson is a true local community champion in my book. He should be greatly congratulated for his efforts. As he says—and this is very important—the club's focus is on being a club for everyone. Part of that focus is the club's dedication to supporting our local community in Forde, with a truly philanthropic streak running through its operations. The society is actively involved in fundraising for Mater Little Miracles. Earlier this year, it also stepped up to the mark when devastating floods were brought about by an ex-tropical cyclone tearing through our region. Never ones to shy away from a challenge, the budgerigar society banded together at that time to raise over $1,400 for the silent auction as part of the Eagleby flood relief fundraiser. I'm sure I do not have to spell out how much that effort was appreciated by the local families.

Clubs such as the Australian Budgerigar Society go easily unnoticed in our busy world, but they truly provide an invaluable service and social outlet for so many in our communities. Such organisations provide colour, flair and points of interest to so many people. I would never have known, for example, just how many varieties of budgies there are and how many amazing colours and breeds exist if it had not been for this steadfast group. It is a wonderful thing that such committed people are teaching us and the broader community more about the world we live in and how important it is to appreciate it.

The Australian Budgerigar Society was nominated in 2017 for the Community Organisation of the Year Award through Awards Australia. While missing out on the major award, it has been officially invited to the November event to receive special mention from the judges, who were particularly impressed with its ongoing community involvement. I look forward to seeing the club receive many such honours in the coming years. It certainly deserves broad recognition for the incredible community efforts it has made. To Wayne Robinson and the whole team of the Australian Budgerigar Society, I wish you every success for the future. I thank you for your valuable contribution to our community.