Tuesday, 2 December 2025

 Bridget VALLENCE (Evelyn) (13:46): Christmas is a joyous time of year, and to everyone across my electorate, my local community, I wish you a merry and safe Christmas. But Christmas can be a challenging time for people, especially as cost-of-living pressures are biting harder this year. I want to give a shout-out to the tremendous work of some of our local groups that focus their efforts on those who are doing it tough, determined to ensure that everyone feels valued and can enjoy some Christmas cheer at this time of year. Rotary Club of Lilydale is again running the Christmas wishing tree gift appeal, together with Anchor Community Care and Lilydale police. Our thanks in particular to Anne and Gerry van Horick and Simon Tirchett and Lilydale Rotarians for this incredible initiative. Gifts, particularly for teenage children, can be dropped off unwrapped to many local shops, including my electorate office in Main Street, Lilydale, for children in foster care and kinship care and local struggling families to ensure that they receive a gift at this time of year.