Tuesday, 7 March 2023

 Sonya KILKENNY (Carrum – Minister for Planning, Minister for Outdoor Recreation) (14:12): I rise to update the house on the important commitments our government is delivering for regional Victoria in the thriving areas of fishing and boating. For more than eight years the Andrews Labor government has worked hard to deliver better boating and fishing facilities at waterways right across the state. Our investment has been unprecedented: more than $130 million in boating improvements, with $66 million dedicated specifically for boating-related projects in Victoria’s regions. We have proudly funded upgrades at Cowes Jetty, Cape Conran, Lake Bullen Merri, Waranga Basin and Warrnambool, just to name a few, and it has been my pleasure to celebrate our investments with so many in this Parliament.

I joined the member for Bellarine at the Ocean Grove and the St Leonards boat ramps to officially launch the recreational boating grants programs. I joined the member for Hastings to inspect the new all-abilities pontoon installed as part of a $3.6 million upgrade at Hastings. The member for Cranbourne and I joined Women in Recreational Fishing and Boating at Casey Fields to celebrate their fifth anniversary. Since being established on International Women’s Day in 2018, they have grown to include more than 4000 members and recently won an award at the 10th world recreational fishing conference in Melbourne. In even more exciting news, the network is growing to formally include recreational boating, to be known as WIRFAB, and fabulous they are. Over in the other place, a member for Eastern Victoria Tom McIntosh and I helped to release some beautiful brown trout into Devilbend Reservoir, adding to our stocking effort of over 10 million fish in over 220 lakes and rivers, setting a new nationwide record and delivering on our election commitment. The Andrews Labor government will continue to back Victorian fishers, boaters, aquaculture businesses and tourism operations, especially those based in the regions.