CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS
Mr VIOLI (Casey) (10:12): It was an honour to join our local volunteer firefighters and their families at the Montrose Fire Brigade annual awards last weekend. Congratulations to Montrose firefighters Mark Dynes and Ryan Kimberley on receiving five-year service awards; to Phil Doyle, Ryan McCormack, Jamie and Liz Peters on your 10-year service awards; to Peter Carew on 45 years of service; and to Rob Earney on 55 years of service.
Greg Barry, Sally Conner, Allan Hopkins, Stuart McCall and the late Ed Stevens also received the National Medal. It was an honour to also join the Wonga Park CFA last Friday night to celebrate local volunteers at their annual dinner. Congratulations to Tim Edwards on receiving the 10-year service medal, Rhys Keown and Rob Pitcher on receiving 15-year service medals and Aaron Farr on receiving the 20-year service medal.
Congratulations to John Greenwood-Smith OAM, who received the 55-year service medal, life membership and the chief officer's citation for courage. I also acknowledge that he received the OAM this year. I had the privilege of joining the Sassafras-Ferny Creek CFA annual awards recently, where we congratulated Lieutenant Geoff Horner, who was awarded the 50-year service medal.
Rachel Faris-Cornwell was presented with the brigade's prestigious Firefighter of the Year award. Peter Leithhead and Michael Levi each received officer's awards, and the brigade was recognised with the Chief Officer's Certificate of Commendation for their actions during the June 2021 storms. I'm looking forward to getting out and celebrating with the Belgrave CFA on Friday night and the Monbulk fire brigade on Saturday night.
CFA volunteers give so much to our communities; we're so lucky to have them. Last week we celebrated Early Childhood Matters Week. I had the privilege of visiting Mooroolbark early learning centre during Early Childhood Matters Week.
It was fantastic to see young minds learning and engaging through play, supported by a team of dedicated teachers and educators. Thank you to Bri and Mel for showing me around and for the great conversation. All around the country there are early childhood educators like Bri and Mel working tirelessly to give Aussie kids the very best start in life, supporting their development and wellbeing and laying the foundations for future success.
We know that families know what is best for their children. Choice is so important for families in early learning, and we need to make sure that those childcare deserts in communities like mine and in regional communities across the country are dealt with. A key way to do that is to give families choice in how they raise their children.