REMARKS TO THE ‘FUTURE GEELONG’ CONFERENCE
***Acknowledgements omitted ***
Last Saturday week was really a spectacular Geelong day. There was a motor boat show down on the waterfront with speed boat racing, the weather was warm, the bay was mirror calm, and it was packed with people. It was such a fantastic portrayal of the beauty of that precinct.
At the same time, there was the Head of the Schoolgirls Regatta. That is the biggest rowing regatta in the southern hemisphere. Our hotels were filled with the girls, with their families, with their coaches. Of course, we all know the river has its own beauty, but this was a celebration of the long history that Geelong has with the sport of rowing, but it was a celebration of women’s, of girl’s sport. And there were thousands of people there.
And then, of course, later in the afternoon, right here at this incredible stadium, we had the Cats’ first home game where we watched our team triumph. But if we think back to the 1990s no one would have imagined that Kardinia Park would have turned into this stadium, or indeed that our team would be, in fact, calling Geelong its home.
And I think that if you look across all of that, and you take the 184 years of the Geelong Advertiser and look through its archives, premierships aside, that Saturday a week and a bit ago was the equal of any Saturday that would have been covered by the Geelong Advertiser over that entire period of time. And it’s an example of how, I think, in so many ways right now, Geelong has never been better.
Last Tuesday week, I was at a forum, virtually. It was convened by our Mayor, Squadron Leader Stretch Kontelj. I call him Squadron Leader, well, he is Squadron Leader Stretch Kontelj – it’s a little known fact about Stretch that he is a member, a proud member of the Air Force Reserve and a continuing member. So, in this Airshow week it is Squadron Leader Stretch Kontelj. But it had about 150 people, I think, there and it was looking at the question of the refurbishment of the CBD.
Our CBD faces challenges which are not unique to Geelong. Our modern lifestyle, with the convenience of shopping in a mall, and Westfield is fantastic, it has presented a challenge to centres of strip shopping, which in effect, is what the CBD is. But that said, it has been a long standing issue, and other cities like Bendigo, like Ballarat, are perhaps dealing with it better. And yet, in that room, there were ideas, there was energy, there was intent. Most significantly though, there was the leadership of Stretch Kontelj. He doesn’t know I’m about to say what I’m going to say, not to embarrass him. But we are really lucky to have Stretch in the role that he’s currently in. Stretch and I obviously come from different sides of the political fence, but I’ve known Stretch for a long time, we’re good friends. And Stretch actually has done a lot in this town, he doesn’t need to be the mayor of Geelong, but the reason he’s doing it is because ultimately it has an enormous difference to our town, he displays a community spirit. And the fact of that means that we get the benefit right now of Stretch’s experience, Stretch’s talent, but also he brings an authority to the office which means that on an issue like the refurbishment of our CBD, I have a sense of hope that there is the opportunity to move the dial there in a way that we’ve not seen before.
And his community spirit I’ve seen countless times across Geelong. We saw it in Frank Costa. We see it in the family businesses that are operating in Geelong, which have been here for a long time. Last year, we celebrated the 170th anniversary of Fagg’s Mitre 10. Later you’ll be hearing from Richard Bisinella. I mean, these businesses provide jobs, they bring prosperity to our town, but the philanthropic intent of those who lead them gives rise to a community spirit in Geelong which in so many ways gives us such an advantage moving forward.
Our Prime Minister talks about his own political philosophy in terms of not holding anyone back, and not leaving anyone behind. And he has countless times said that he wants to lead a government which is informed by that spirit, certainly that does inform the way in which we have gone about our business. It’s a very Australian idea. But I think in so many ways, it’s a very Geelong idea. It’s an idea which is embodied in that community spirit, and gives me a sense that when there are challenges in relation to that noble sentiment, that there is as much an opportunity here in Geelong to meet the challenge of that sentiment as there is anywhere else in the country.
Last Thursday week, I saw an example of this out of the Cloverdale Community Centre in Purnell Road in Corio West, if you haven’t been there. I’ve been there many times, but I actually hadn’t been there for quite some time. Nowadays, it’s run by Liz Bonner, and we should know more about Liz Bonner, because she is an incredible person. I was so inspired by the energy and the vibrancy when I walked in to the Cloverdale Community Centre. In the first room there was a beginner’s guitar lesson going on. In the kitchen, there was a social enterprise being run by a woman who had emigrated from southern Thailand, who had been the victim of modern slavery right here in Australia, but was now cooking food with a group of smiling faces around her, incredible food that was being sold to organisations around Corio. As we moved through the centre, there was a group of students from Federation University who were down in Geelong for a few months doing a social work placement at Cloverdale. In the back, there was a music therapy class. And in the hour that I was there, countless people came up to me and told me how Liz Bonner had literally saved their life, that this centre was a place of gathering, was a place of community, of activity, of purpose, was a place of refuge. It was deeply inspiring. Liz Bonner is deeply inspiring. But it also reminded me that there the issues at hand do play in the space of life and death. That’s actually what Liz is doing. But it’s also confronting, because it asked the question of me whether those people, for people in Norlane and Corio, a whole lot of whom 15 years ago would have been working in places like Alcoa and Ford, which no longer operate, is it right to say that it has never been better than it is right now?
I’ve been a Member for Corio now for some time, and my sense of what is important has evolved. As local members, we often think that our job is to bring local commitments to our town. There’s no doubt that’s a critical part of it. And I think all of us who have been local members, to be honest, on both sides of politics, to look with a sense of pride at the infrastructure, the social infrastructure that we’ve contributed to this town; this incredible stadium, the convention centre, the library, the art centre, Cultra’s Northern Hub, the Norlane Swimming Pool, I could go on.
But actually for the people in Norlane and Corio right now, for me, the most important decision that we’ve made as a government, most recently, is the announcement that nine out of ten trips to the GP will be bulk billed. That people will be able to do that with no gap fee, without paying a cost. Because actually, bulk billing rates are not high in Geelong and we need to see them increase and when there are cost of living challenges, access to affordable health care and a sense of confidence that you don’t need to compromise your health is so profoundly important. Now, I know it’s a national policy, it’s not going to take up the same amount of newsprint in the Geelong Addy as a local commitment, but these days, as I am sitting around tables of national decision making, my sense of what’s important for the nation is deeply informed by my sense of what is important for Geelong. And I know that that decision right there is going to be enormously significant to make sure that we’re not leaving anyone behind in Norlane and Corio.
And then a couple of days ago, this Saturday, I went to the Harmony Day at Northern Bay College, where I was welcomed by the two school captains Ali and Farzana Mohammad Aref. Now, on Friday, we had the media launch for the Airshow. Justin Giddings, who’s a Geelong boy said to me that one of the exciting things about this year’s Airshow is that they are going to announce four scholarships nationwide that will be provided jointly by AMDA and Kallman Worldwide to NASA’s Space Camp at its Rocket Centre in Huntsville, Alabama – an incredible opportunity for young people. And Justin was really excited to tell me that one of the scholarship recipients is coming from Northern Bay. I had the opportunity to talk at length with Farzana. She is an amazing person. Born in Afghanistan, a young Hazara woman, spent most of her childhood growing up in Kuwait, has been living in Geelong for the last three years, lives now in North Shore, speaks three languages, studying maths and sciences at Northern Bay. Her ambition is to study science at Melbourne Uni next year. And with a complete sense of excitement, she told me that she had just been awarded a scholarship to attend NASA’s Space Camp at Huntsville, Alabama. Never been to the US before. I mean, it is going to completely blow her mind. And it really was one of the great things that happened to me in the week to actually talk to Farzana about what her ambition was, and to see that this is the modern face of Geelong. But it also got me thinking about the importance of the social infrastructure, of what matters to enable Farzana and all the kids across Geelong, including in Norlane and Corio, to fulfil their dreams.
Again, the decision that we’ve made today with the National Schools Agreement, which will see $16.5 billion of additional Commonwealth funding put into schools around the country and schools exactly like and including Northern Bay, means that the human capital, the young people of Norland and Corio and their potential will now be unlocked. And the free TAFE places that we put in place, 600,000 Australians taking part right now, more Commonwealth places at universities, and cutting hecs fees give such a better pathway for young people in Norlane and Corio to pursue their dreams.
We also want to see in Australia, but here in Geelong, our country and our town being a place, as we have been, where we make things. The National Reconstruction Fund is critical to that. So too is a decision which has more of a local character, and that is the decision to build Infantry Fighting Vehicles through Hanwha at Avalon, which is seeing a return of manufacturing to our town and with that, the opportunity for high‑skill, high‑tech, high‑wage jobs.
Now, as we look to the future, our challenge, all of us, is to see that Geelong does not bifurcate. That there are not two Geelong stories, but there is one. That the hope and the optimism which was embodied in Geelong last Saturday week, is a story that is there for all of us. And that whether or not you are a kid who is in the Head of the Schoolgirls Regatta or whether you’re a kid at Northern Bay, you have the same excitement. You set the same hopes for the opportunities for your future.
Across this town, I see shining examples of people who bring to bear a community spirit that will see that happen. Now I see Stretch Kontelj, and I see Liz Bonner and their work is absolutely about creating a single, united future Geelong. And as a federal government, we are really pleased to do everything within our power to support a Geelong in which no one is held back and no one is left behind.
Thank you.
ENDS