Ms ADDISON (Wendouree) (17:18): I direct my adjournment matter to the Minister for Fishing and Boating. The action I seek from the minister is to provide me with an update on the Victorian government’s investment in fishing and boating and how this is benefiting recreational fishing in Victoria.

I was honoured to welcome the minister to my electorate of Wendouree to visit the Ballarat Fly Fishers Club and the Ballarat Fish Hatchery recently. It was fantastic to tour the Ballarat Fish Hatchery, located adjacent to Lake Wendouree, with the minister and hear from the volunteers about the work they do.

Significantly, Ballarat’s fish hatchery is the oldest fish hatchery in mainland Australia, established in 1870. I welcomed the opportunity to assist the minister with stocking Lake Wendouree with brown and rainbow trout and to mark the 10 millionth fish being stocked in Victorian waterways over the past year. Thank you to the Ballarat fly-fishing club for hosting the event.

I am always pleased to learn new things, and I appreciate Chris Doody from the Ballarat District Anglers Association for teaching me about the differences between male and female trout and Denis Faulkner for the quick lesson in fly-fishing.

It was after speaking with Chris that I was made aware of the outstanding achievements of Marian Miller. Marian was selected to compete for Australia’s women’s fly-fishing team at the 2020 Commonwealth Fly Fishing Championships in New Zealand. It was a successful competition for Marian and the squad, with the Australians placing first in the team competition.

Marian continued to be recognised as one of Australia’s premier fly-fishers, gaining selection into the Australian commonwealth and world teams in 2021. Unfortunately due to the global pandemic these competitions were cancelled. Marian’s latest achievement is being selected to represent the Australian women’s team at the inaugural FIPS-Mouche World Ladies Fly Fishing Championship in Norway this July. She is the only Victorian in the squad, and I wish Marian every success.

Not only is Marian a champion in her own right but she is also a champion for the participation of women in the sport of fishing. She is part of the leadership group for the Women in Recreational Fishing Network established in Victoria to encourage women to participate in all types of fishing. Marian has also been involved in the Casting for Recovery program, which introduces women who have had or currently have breast cancer to the healing power of fly-fishing.

I look forward to receiving an update from the minister on how the Victorian government can continue to support great people like Marian and recreational fishing in Victoria.

Read the Minister’s response here – or for more of my contributions in Parliament, click here.