Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In the last few months, I've had the opportunity to touch base with, and visit, a number of community and neighbourhood houses and centres in my electorate. I try to do this annually because it gives me a real insight into the pressures that people in these communities are experiencing.

It's an opportunity to thank the volunteers for the amazing work they do, and it is a chance to touch base with coordinators. By talking to the teams on the ground you do get a real insight into the struggles and challenges that these people in these communities have. I have a big regional electorate, and every town has its own community house or neighbourhood centre, and all are quite different. They really do reflect the grassroots of their community.

At Maldon, I had an opportunity to share lunch with a few locals who've lived there for a long time to hear about what they are experiencing and seeing. Whilst they said things are a bit challenging, they are really pleased to see the development of the streetscape go ahead. Maldon is the first notable town in Australia. It's a town of about 700 people.

In Castlemaine, I learned firsthand from people their concerns about cost-of-living pressures. There's been a lot of growth in Castlemaine with lots of people moving in. The community centre there does a great job at really bridging that divide between old Castlemaine and new Castlemaine. They talked about the need for more investment in early childhood education and the ability to train local workers, and they are really looking forward to the TAFE campus reopening in Castlemaine through Bendigo TAFE.

In Kyneton, I had the opportunity of joining the Kyneton senior citizens table for lunch. They do extraordinary work. They are all volunteers who run a very different organisation to U3A. They really reach out to people who are lonely, like older people who may have had their significant other pass away, and they reach out and help them. We had a great discussion about energy bills. One member was quite surprised at how low her energy bill was because the rebate from the federal government, via the state, had kicked in. So it was happy days there for that team in Kyneton. Energy bills and child care—these are the issues that come up at these lunches.

Finally, I got the chance to touch base with the team at Eaglehawk. They are extraordinary volunteers who not only offer a community lunch but also a pantry. Tuesdays are their busy days. I do want to give a shout out to the extraordinary team of volunteers. I think the saddest thing about what I learned about at Eaglehawk was the number of people homeless and living in the forest. Bendigo is surrounded by forests, and the fact that we have people living in the forests again is a concern and a worry for all of us.