Andrew Broad (Mallee, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am quite pleased with the redistribution that has happened in Victoria in that I get to represent even more people across the great state of Victoria. Previously, the electorate of Mallee was one-third of the state of Victoria at 75,000 square kilometres. It will now go to 89,000 square kilometres and take in three additional shires: the shire of Pyrenees, the shire of Loddon and the shire of Central Goldfields. For me, this is a coming home. My farm comes back into the electorate of Mallee. My parents, unfortunately, become constituents of mine and no longer, when they present a big list of things that they want done, can I say that they need to talk to Damian Drum. Instead, I have to try and deliver—and deliver I shall.

Country people who live in regional Victoria deserve a fair go. They work very hard, and they don't ask for a lot. Simply, all they ask is to be able to drive on a decent road, to be able to make a mobile phone call: things that people who live in the cities can sometimes take for granted. All they ask is to ensure that there are good educational opportunities for their children, because very few people who live in my patch can have their children still live at home when they go on to higher education; their children have to move away from home. And all they ask is to also ensure that, when they are unwell and they go to their hospital or their doctor, there is a doctor. I have been in close conversations with Kerang today about trying to ensure there are doctors in Kerang.

We have been delivering and we will work very hard for the people of Maryborough, Avoca, Pyramid Hill, Boort, Wedderburn, Bridgewater, Inglewood and Serpentine. I'm very pleased to be able to announce that I will be putting a third satellite office in Maryborough so that that community has access. I think that is the first time there's been a satellite office in that town ever. Certainly there was not a satellite office in it when it was in the member for Bendigo's electorate, and certainly not when it was in the member for Wannon's electorate. I look forward to being accessible to those people.

There are things that we're still going to fight for, but I want to recap some of the things we've got or that are under construction now. The Mallee Accommodation and Support Program, with $2.45 million from the federal government, is being constructed now. This is helping people who are dealing with homelessness, people who are dealing with disadvantage in the Mildura region. We have things such as Sunassist. We gave them $20,000 for their wheelchair access vehicle. There has been money for the Irymple Bowls Club's new kitchen, which I opened the other day. There has been money for the Mildura Bowls Club, for some shelters. There has been $6 million given to deal with Indigenous employment. One of the things I'm really proud of is that, in my patch, when there is prosperity, we make sure that we deliver; we ensure we spread that around and make sure that our Aboriginal Australians have jobs, that our young Australians have jobs.

Last week, we announced $3 million for the Sunraysia Modernisation Project. This enhances the $103 million we have already delivered to modernise the irrigation upgrades. This will open up another 8,000 hectares of agricultural land to irrigation agriculture, and that will be producing products that are going all over the world. Last week, when I was in Mildura, I also went and had a look at Wakefields Transport. They had warehouses full of oranges going to China, thanks to the free trade agreement. Fantastic. It is wintertime and, rather than get a flu vaccine, it's best to get an Australian-grown orange because that will be good for you, it will support our industry and, I don't know, it's less painful than having an injection.

Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Dr Mallee!

Andrew Broad (Mallee, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Dr Mallee! There are some exciting things going on in the electorate of Mallee. There is more work to be done. I'll continue to advocate and fight for an indoor basketball sports stadium for the people of Mildura. It gets pretty damn hot in Mildura at times—

An honourable member interjecting—

And cold, but very hot. Those kids deserve to be able to run around and play basketball, so I'm going to be fighting very hard for that. I'd like to see Donaldson Park done in Loddon. I'd like to see the Mitiamo stock and domestic pipeline done. I'd like to see the East Grampians pipeline system done. I would also like to see a riverfront redevelopment done in Swan Hill. There is much to be done. It's a great part of the world. Come up to north-west Victoria. If you're in Melbourne, get out of cold Melbourne and come up to Mildura and get yourself an orange. The electorate of Mallee continues to get bigger. But, not only does it continue to get bigger; it continues to get better and, as a result of this redistribution, I will serve it to the best of my capacity.