Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Across our great country, Australians are very, very well served by the many, many people who put their hand up for local government. I want to honour one of those great Western Australian local government councillors, who is an esteemed citizen of a place in my home state of Western Australia called Bruce Rock, 250 kilometres east of Perth in the prosperous Wheatbelt districts. His name is Stephen Strange. Just recently, at the Western Australian Local Government Association Local Government Convention, Stephen Strange was honoured with a life membership of the WA Local Government Association. Stephen Strange represents all that is good about local government representation. He is active in his local community and has been the longest-serving shire president for the Shire of Bruce Rock, having been president since 1997. He has committed himself to public service in local council and across the whole community. How remarkable is this as a demonstration of Stephen Strange's commitment: he has missed only five council meetings and two conferences of the Western Australian Local Government Association in his 34 years of local government service. I want to acknowledge Stephen Strange and his wife, Karen. There is no Stephen Strange without Karen Strange. They travel, work and get great outcomes for their local community together. I want to applaud the work he's done to make roads safer across the Wheatbelt districts of Western Australia and to provide quality aged care for those people who want to age in regional Western Australia. I want to acknowledge the wonderful effort he's made over such a long period of time. Congratulations, Stephen Strange.