Almost 500 jobseekers enrolled in the Andrews Labor Government’s Free TAFE initiative at Federation TAFE last year, making rewarding career pathways a reality for thousands of Victorians.

I thank Ms Addison for the invitation to visit her electorate of Wendouree. I would like to acknowledge the COVID response efforts of health care workers from Ballarat Health Services and Ballarat Community Health and thank them for their dedication and hard work. 

Firstly, I wish to commend Mount Rowan Secondary College’s staff for the invaluable contribution that they make to the school community. I acknowledge their commitment to providing an exceptional learning environment where students are engaged, stimulated, and encouraged to be creative thinkers.

I wish to congratulate the current and former VCE students from schools in my electorate of Wendouree who have been honoured in the 2020 Premier’s VCE Awards. These awards acknowledge the academic excellence of the students during a year of great instability and uncertainty as a result of the COVID pandemic and remote learning. I offer my congratulations to Loreto College Ballarat dux Sarah Harrington on achieving 99.95. In recognition she has received a top all-rounder VCE high achievers award, one of only 23 in the state.

My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Education, and the action I seek is for the minister to visit my electorate of Wendouree to celebrate the practical completion of works at Mount Rowan Secondary College. The minister is no stranger to Mount Rowan Secondary College, having visited the school on several occasions to see progress of our record investment into the school’s redevelopment. The Andrews Labor government most recently provided over $3.5 million in the 2019 state budget to upgrade and modernise school facilities.

I rise to contribute to today’s matter of public importance discussion and talk about issues pertaining to women and Aboriginal Victorians in our justice system and corrections system. I am very pleased to see that we have a former Minister for Corrections, the member for Niddrie, sitting at the table, who did very, very good work in terms of the first year and a bit of this government. I really want to thank the minister for the great work and the leadership he showed in this sector in terms of crime prevention, in terms of corrections and in terms of all that he did. You were a very, very good minister, so thank you very much for that.

I am very pleased to rise to speak in support of the Commercial Tenancy Relief Scheme Bill 2021, which provides both commercial tenants and commercial landlords with protection and support in navigating the continued impact of COVID-19. It is always a pleasure to follow in the footsteps of the member for St Albans. I often stop in Sunshine for some great Vietnamese but I am yet to venture into St Albans on my way home, but now if it is good enough for Postcards, I will very much forward to it. When you think that St Albans has been described as having good people, good food and good experiences, of course they would have a very good MP. What a great contribution you have made.

My question is for the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events, regarding the upcoming Women’s Big Bash League matches to be held at the magnificent Eastern Oval on 13 and 14 November. I am so excited about welcoming some of the world’s best cricketers to Ballarat and seeing the next generation be inspired by our Renegades stars, like Jess Duffin. Will the minister please provide an overview of how these four WBBL matches will benefit the Ballarat community and our local economy?

I would like to thank the Member for Wendouree for her question, and also take this opportunity to thank The Orange Door team in Central Highlands for their work, commitment and dedication in commencing a new Orange Door service in October 2020 during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

New pedestrian-operated traffic lights at a busy Ballarat intersection have been switched on, keeping hundreds of school students safe on their journey to and from school. Member for Wendouree Juliana Addison said the new lights at the intersection of Sturt, Russell and Morrison streets are part of a broader $4.8 million investment by the Andrews Labor Government in boosting safety along the western end of Sturt Street.

The Andrews Labor Government is supporting regional Victoria’s recovery from the COVID pandemic by investing in local jobs and stimulating the regional economy. Member for Wendouree Juliana Addison and Member for Buninyong Michaela Settle today announced $300,000 for a Resilience and Innovation Program for small businesses across Ballarat and the Grampians to be run by Commerce Ballarat.

I thank the Member for providing me with the opportunity to share an update on the significant amount of work underway to improve the Ballarat road network.