Tuesday, 9 December 2025

 Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:35): As we head towards Christmas, most Victorians are preparing for a well-earned break, a chance to slow down, switch off and spend some time with people they love. But we know that for thousands of workers across our state the next few weeks will be some of their busiest times of the year. So to the hospitality staff serving crowds of Christmas shoppers, to the nurses, ambos, police and emergency call takers working through the night, to the transport workers who keep our great state moving and to the retail workers in shopping centres, service stations and supermarkets right across Victoria: thank you for everything you do. You keep our communities running when the rest of us have the opportunity to pause. You make Victoria work not only in December but each and every day of the year. Certainly, these workers deserve our respect, whether they work in retail, hospitality, transport or emergency services.

On emergency services, as we head into a summer period we know there is another group of Victorians who will be called on again and again to serve our community: our firefighters – the men and women of the CFA, the FRV and our forest fire management crews, and the volunteers that support them as well, who will be on the ground protecting lives, homes and communities over summer. They do this work knowing the risks. They do it with great courage and skill, and they do it for all of us to keep us safe in our homes and in our communities in one of the most high-risk, bushfire-prone areas in the world. So on behalf of our grateful state, thank you for the sacrifice to all these workers and volunteers. But also let us remember the families who stand behind them and the work that those families do to support their loved ones, who in turn are working hard to keep Victoria safe. This summer and every summer, we stand with you and we thank you.