It was an absolute privilege to attend the Bass Coast Aquatic and Leisure Centre's 50th birthday celebration recently. A particularly high note was meeting Amy Hodson, a 14-year-old local swimmer, who is an eloquent and effective advocate for a new Wonthaggi pool. Amy was joined alongside by her mum, Robyn. Amy trains five times a week at the centre with the South Gippsland Bass Swimming Club. They cannot compete at the facility because the pool is not up to competition standard. They can't practice diving starts, because there are no starting blocks.

Bass Coast Shire Mayor Brett Tessari reflected on the centre's history. The original pool shell was poured 50 years ago. There is a sadness about losing a much-loved facility, but a real sense of enthusiasm about all of the community coming together to push for a new modern pool. I've had a number of conversations with Mayor Brett Tessari and the Liberal candidate for Bass, Rochelle Halstead, who is a passionate fighter for a new swimming pool. We love our coastline across the Bass Coast, but it's essential to have a modern, well-resourced local pool where young people can learn vital swimming skills. I also talk with a lot of older people in the community who really appreciate the health and wellbeing benefits of having a local pool and leisure centre to provide that access. It was also great to have a hit of pickleball, which I have not tried before, with Mayor Tessari. It's a great game, and I encourage people in the community to get involved.

The General Sir John Monash Commemoration Service was held last week in Brighton at Brighton Cemetery. It was a commemoration service to honour the memory and legacy of General Sir John Monash, who, in my view, was Australia's greatest-ever citizen. He died 95 years ago last week in 1931. I want to commend the Victorian Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen and Women for hosting that event, and the serving military and police and government representatives who also attended.

Mr Speaker, in taking your mark, your lead on promoting civic education and democracy in our schools, it's given me great pleasure to launch the inaugural John Monash Prize for Monash secondary schools. We're getting a great level of interest already, and I look forward to presenting a prize to each secondary school across the Monash electorate soon. I can commend the lead that you've shown in promoting civics education and an understanding about why democracy is so important across schools. I encourage other members, who, I'm sure, are doing similar activities as well.

It was a privilege to attend the Erica Memorial Hall over the weekend for the launch of a new book called The Tucker Truck Came on Tuesdays, a new history of the timber industry at Erica, its sawmills, tramways and people. Gippsland historian Mike McCarthy has drawn on more than 60 years of research to write this new book. I want to particularly thank the Erica and District Historical Society, especially Jenny McNally, for organising such a great turnout. My friend and the former member for Narracan, Gary Blackwood, a long-time champion of our local timber towns, launched the book. It was also great to have my state parliamentary colleagues, the member for Narracan, Wayne Farnham, and the member for Eastern Victoria Region, Melina Bath MP, along. They are champions of our timber communities, they are champions of timber jobs, and it was very much a team effort there. I bought a copy of Mike's book, which he's kindly signed. I said I'll display it with great pride in my Parliament House office to represent all of those timber workers and timber towns across the Monash electorate.

I want to thank Australia's 18th Deputy Prime Minister and the shadow minister for veterans' affairs, Michael McCormack, for visiting my electorate last week. We had a number of events, including visiting the Vietnam veterans and the National Vietnam Veterans Museum at Phillip Island. I am passionately advocating for further funding so that they can redevelop and enliven their plans, which the board have meticulously put together. The National Vietnam Veterans Museum at Phillip Island is not just of great national significance; it is of great international significance as well. I thank all of the veterans who attended our roundtables across the Monash electorate.