STATEMENTS BY SENATORS

Senator BROCKMAN (Western Australia—Deputy President and Chair of Committees) (13:56): It was an absolute pleasure today to meet with a delegation from the Australian gas communities—all from my home state of Western Australia. I want to give them a shout-out because they really did express their pleasure and their happiness at representing their great industry in this place.

There was Dion, an Indigenous development coach with Woodside in Karratha, and Lili, a 19-year-old electrical apprentice working on the Pluto project for Woodside. There was Crystal, a commercial advisor working in Perth, and there was Bree, the chief executive officer of the Onslow Chamber of Commerce and Industry, obviously from Onslow. They all expressed such pride for the work they do, for the communities they work in right across my home state of WA and particularly for the industry that is most associated with those places, and that is the great Western Australian gas industry.

In particular, it was an absolute pleasure that, when I asked Lili, the 19-year-old electrical apprentice, to tell me about the sort of work that she was doing as a second-year apprentice, her face just lit up. Her face lit up with pride at the purpose of that role and her achievements. And to see a young Australian take such great pride in our wonderful gas industry warms the heart and the soul.

It's great to see that our gas industry, which will be with us for many generations, is in such great hands. So to Lili and to all the others—I thank you so much for coming to Canberra, for bringing that message from Western Australia about the importance of our gas communities.