Tuesday, 2 December 2025

 Juliana ADDISON (Wendouree) (13:54): I want to wish my community and everyone here at Parliament a very happy and joyful Christmas. I hope you can spend some quality time with those you love and have a well-deserved break.

I extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone who works in the Parliament for the support you provide us all throughout the year, particularly the clerk and her office, the Environment and Planning Committee secretariat, the catering team, security, the attendants, the tours and customer services team, building and grounds services and the procedure office.

I also want to acknowledge and thank my wonderful electorate office team: Christy, Amelia, Hayley, Ella and Aditi. I am so grateful for your hard work, your good humour and dedication to all things Wendouree. You are a pleasure to work with.

Across Ballarat, we have so many great local businesses. This Christmas I encourage everyone to shop local and support businesses and jobs in our community. It is truly the gift that keeps giving. I want to give a big shout-out to all those who are working over the Christmas and New Year period, providing frontline services. Thank you for the work you do, keeping our community safe and cared for over the festive season. And importantly, I would like to invite community members to pop by my office with donations to help fill boxes for the reverse Advent calendar. This is an amazing initiative that Ballarat embraces each year, and it celebrates the true spirit of Christmas by supporting those who need it the most. And a reminder to everyone: please drive safely over the holidays so we can all have a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.