CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS

Mr BIRRELL (Nicholls) (16:40): I rise to speak about the Shepparton Art Museum, or SAM, and, in particular, its successful hosting of works from Australia's favourite and most significant art award, the Archibald Prize. The exhibition coincided with a visit to Greater Shepparton by Her Excellency the Governor-General, Sam Mostyn. It was a happy coincidence, because the portrait by artist James Powditch titled Once Upon a Time in Yarralumla was part of the exhibition—a portrait of the Governor-General.

We found ourselves admiring the portrait, and, as the Governor-General said later, it was Sam looking at Sam with Sam at SAM! There was a time when SAM couldn't host such exhibitions; it only had room to display a very small fraction of its own collection. But that changed when the coalition government backed a new museum on the Victoria Park Lake in Shepparton with $15 million.

Since opening, the new museum has hosted numerous exhibitions and added significantly to the cultural heart of Shepparton. Along with the Archibald, the Young Archie Shepparton presents 26 portraits created by local students aged between five and 18 years of age, and those portraits are of people near and dear to them. Over the coming weeks, there will be a lot of focus on racetracks around the country—particularly in our home state of Victoria, Madam Deputy Speaker Aldred—with the Spring Racing Carnival, culminating on 3 November with the running of the Melbourne Cup at Flemington.

And the racing industry extends way beyond the track. Northwood Park stud near Seymour, one of the many breeding operations, is in my electorate. Just down the road, you'll find a statue of Black Caviar, the champion racehorse who won all of her 25 starts.

She was bred at the nearby Gilgai Farm near Nagambie, in my electorate. The Australian thoroughbred-breeding industry is the second-largest in the world. It supports nearly 10,000 jobs and contributes around $1.7 billion to the national economy.

Northwood Park stud is part of the international Godolphin organisation, and it's an incredibly modern and sophisticated set-up on the Goulburn River—again, in my electorate of Nicholls. The farm has a long history as a horse and cattle property originally developed by AG Hunter. He raced and stood the 1925 Melbourne Cup winner, Windbag, on the property.

That racehorse, Windbag, has a few namesakes in this place from time to time! Everyone, enjoy the racing and remember that there are thousands of hardworking staff—vets, farriers, feed suppliers and horse transporters—behind every runner during the Spring Carnival.