Wednesday, 18 February 2026

 Ann-Marie HERMANS (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (09:50): I want to acknowledge and congratulate the Australian Horse Industry Council, AHIC, on the opening of Victoria’s first nationally accredited large animal incident rescue, LAIR, which is a facility that has now started in Bendigo – a milestone following advocacy which I brought to this Parliament in November 2024. I particularly want to thank Mark Burnell, the president of AHIC, for his tireless efforts over the many years in making sure that we could get this important facility. This is a tangible step, providing the opportunity for the CFA, SES and other rescue first responders to respond to the needs of animals in great distress where they could save their lives.