Mrs BAILEY (5:37 PM) —Mr Speaker, as this is really the first opportunity that I have had when speaking in this chamber, I want to congratulate you on your election to this high office and to wish you well. As a preface to the remarks that I will be making in this debate, I would like to say how absolutely delighted I am to be back here as a member of the second Howard government and to express my thanks here in this chamber to the wonderful constituents of McEwen who made sure I came back to be a member of the second Howard government. It is with great pleasure tonight that I pay tribute to some wonderful people in the magnificent electorate of McEwen who have performed absolutely outstandingly.

I want to firstly pay tribute to the Shire of Murrindindi, which has taken out one of the most prestigious 1998 national awards for innovation in local government. The Shire of Murrindindi has taken out the winning position in the category of regional and economic development. Murrindindi, while it is a shire that covers a very large land mass within the electorate of McEwen, is a reasonably small shire by Victorian standards. It is a shire that comprises many small towns that, over the past decade or more, have had to adjust and have had to find new ways to cohesively bind the people within the communities of the shire of Murrindindi together.

We have an innovative and unique partnership within the shire of Murrindindi, because the shire has formed a partnership with a Japanese investor, Ito En, together with local farmers. They have trialled two new crops: green tea and wasabi. Not only have they trialled these two new crops but, in the case of the wasabi crop, they are actually trialling it by growing it in the by-product of fish farms within the shire. This is, as I said, a most innovative project. I would like to read to the House a comment made by the judging panel when deciding that the shire of Murrindindi should be the winner of the regional and economic development award. The judging panel had this to say:

This entry demonstrates how effectively local government can be, as a facilitator, uniquely positioned to establish close links with those involved for the benefit of the local and broader community.

In trialling these two new crops, the shire of Murrindindi has provided local employment in the short term; but, of course, in the longer term we are looking for much greater things. This is an important export initiative which, in the years ahead, will be adding to our local economy.

It was not only the shire of Murrindindi that starred in these local government awards; so did two other of my shires. The shire of Yarra Ranges, in which I am a resident, was a category winner for bush care and environment. The shire developed a plan for emergency management, which involved working with landowners with the larger bushland properties. Through a process of self-assessment, they have identified fire risk and have then devised strategies to implement an effective fire protection action plan. Given that this shire covers a huge area with approximately 140,000 people, this is an absolutely fantastic plan, working effectively at the grassroots.

The third shire that has won an award in these local government awards is the Shire of Whittlesea. They have developed an innovative strategy for getting people to clean up sporting grounds. Once again, this is a large shire developing a concept at the grassroots, involving all of the local communities and families. I say well done to all three of those shires, but in particular to the shire of Murrindindi. (Time expired)