Tuesday, 28 October 2025

 Nick McGOWAN (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (22:54): (2041) We teach our children resilience, and I am afraid I am having to exhibit some resilience of late. Minister Erdogan, you would be very upset to hear this, but this is true. Sometime this year I sent off for a competition. It is a competition open to all young Victorians, and I still consider myself young, so I thought, ‘Why not? I’ll send off for this competition as well.’ The competition was of course to create a new Myki youth card. I think I am qualified for that; I was a youth once, maybe some time ago now. Mrs McArthur, I hear you chuckle over there, but I am still in touch with my youthful thoughts at least.

Enver Erdogan interjected.

Nick McGOWAN: Yes, it is all relative, Minister. That is exactly what I thought. So I sent off my entry to this wonderful competition, and of course it had to include a toilet, because it is a transport card after all, and that toilet had to pertain of course to Ringwood East train station. Off I sent my beautiful creation, and I really thought that both the Premier and the Minister for Public and Active Transport or active and public transport – whatever it is called these days – would be just besotted, I have got to be honest, by my creation.

You would learn to your horror and mine alike that I received a letter from the Premier herself, and it is only appropriate that I read it in this chamber at this time. This is why I had to brace myself, because we teach our kids resilience but I had to learn this the tough way, and I am still learning it now at my ripe old age. It says:

Dear Nick,

We –

I am not sure who ‘we’ are. I think it is the government, but maybe it is the two ministers –

just wanted to write to say a very big thank you –

on this point, I agree with the Premier – she knows what she is talking about –

for entering the competition to design the new Youth myki card.

We received more than 6,600 entries –

which, to be fair, is quite a few, but I still thought mine was a standout one –

making it an incredibly tough job to consider a winner.

Well, I do not think it is really that tough, but I will sympathise with the Premier on this one. And here is the crux of the line. It has only taken two sentences, and she has gone straight for the jugular unfortunately. Premier, I will write this next time.

Unfortunately your artwork wasn’t chosen for the new Youth myki, but we hope it has pride of place on the fridge at home.

So it will be on the fridge at home, it will be in the bathroom at home, in the lavatory – it might even be next to the toilet – as a constant reminder of the dream that never was. Premier, I adore your letter. I will cherish this. I will put it right next to my competition entry that never quite was, which you and the minister for active and public transport decided not to cover in glory.

Of course I do take the opportunity to congratulate the young 11-year-old Charlie, who clearly was much more talented than I was when it came to design. But I would nonetheless ask and implore the Premier if we do this again next year that she not only remember me, that she cherish the one that I gave her the first time around, but that may be the second time around she can find it within herself, within her heart, within her consciousness, to perhaps give me that little nod of approval and put that little design of a toilet at Ringwood East train station on the new Myki card.