Mr RONALDSON (1:49 PM) —Over the weekend Australia picked up three of 14 World Environment Day awards, which was fantastic news. One of those groups was the Ballarat based Australian Trust for Conservation Volunteers. This group was started in Ballarat. It is now a national voluntary, nonprofit organisation, which completes more than 4,000 week-long conservation projects in urban regional and remote areas of Australia. It has planted nearly eight million trees since it has been going and it also manages the federally funded Green Corps program. I am sure that all honourable members would welcome a regional based organisation, national organisation, picking up a World Environment Day award like this. I congratulate the two other recipients. I say to the ATCV that I am very proud of you and I am sure that all members on all sides of the House representing rural and regional areas would appreciate the significance of a national based organisation being in a regional centre picking up one of these World Environment Day awards. It was fantastic news.

While I am on my feet, I also congratulate the Aquinas campus of the Australian Catholic University where I had the great honour to be the occasional speaker on Saturday. Despite the fact that I locked my coat, my mortar board, my gown and indeed some speech notes in my office five minutes before the ceremony, I think all went reasonably well. But I do congratulate this fine campus of a fine university. Ballarat is blessed to have both the Aquinas campus of the ACU and the Ballarat University, both fine institutions.