Guy Barnett (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tonight I stand to congratulate Diabetes Tasmania on a fourth consecutive successful Tasmanian Pollie Pedal. A special thank you tonight goes to Caroline Wells, the CEO of Diabetes Tasmania, who is once again providing excellent leadership. Caroline was supported this year, as in past years, by Leanne Clark. Thanks also to Jonathan Jones, our photographer and all-round supporter, and to the whole team at Diabetes Tasmania for making this such a successful event. The event is organised by Diabetes Tasmania in conjunction with my office, and I would specifically like to thank my personal assistant Caroline Donaghy for the work that she has done in assisting to make this event another successful Pollie Pedal.

I am pleased to advise that this year the event raised over $35,000 for community awareness and education about diabetes for people in Tasmania. The funds will also be used to support camps for children with type 1 diabetes. Those camps are really appreciated. I have been to the camps, and I know how much value they have for the children who attend them.

This is the fourth occasion that the Pollie Pedal has been held in Tasmania. The first was on the north-west coast. The second was on the east coast, from Saint Helens down to Hobart. The third was from the north, from Launceston to Evandale, through to the north-east of Tasmania, to Georgetown and back to Launceston. It was an approximately 100-kilometre a day ride, mixed with wonderful scenery and a great time and camaraderie between all the pollie pedallers. It was also an opportunity to partake of some of the highlights of Tasmania, including wineries, cheese factories, chocolate factories and the like.

Firstly, before I acknowledge the pollie pedallers who were involved, I want to thank our generous sponsors, without whom this event could not have occurred and without whose support so many funds would not have been raised. I thank the gold sponsors, Sanofi Aventis and GSK, or GlaxoSmithKline, for their wonderful support. The silver sponsor was Medtronic—and I know that Medtronic will be presenting an address to the Parliamentary Diabetes Support Group outside Parliament House here in Canberra next week, and they are regular supporters of events for people with diabetes. In fact, I use one of the Medtronic insulin pumps and it works well. One of the bronze sponsors was MAIB, the Motor Accidents Insurance Board, in Tasmania. I thank them for their support, together with Norgine and Eli Lilly, who were also bronze sponsors.

This year we had a diverse group of riders, including the Hon. Tony Abbott, who once again provided his invaluable support. He has supported us in past Tasmanian pollie pedals and he has done it again this year. He in fact launched the Tasmanian Pollie Pedal this year at Bellerive Primary School. This year, unfortunately, Pat Farmer was not able to join us. He had to pull out at the last moment, as did the Hon. Judi Moylan, who is the chairperson of the Parliamentary Diabetes Support Group. She was unfortunately ill in the week preceding the Tasmanian Pollie Pedal. I know they would have loved to have been there. There was also Greg Hall MLC, the member for Western Tiers in the Tasmanian upper house; Alderman Helen Burnet from the Hobart City Council, who is responsible at least in large part for ensuring that we were there in Hobart this year and in the south of Tasmania—thanks to Helen for her influence in making that happen; Mayor Mark Shelton from the Meander Valley,  a fine rider, a great person and, more recently, a Liberal candidate for the state election in the electorate of Lyons—good luck, Mark; Mayor Graham Bury from the Kingborough municipality; and Mayor Bertrand Cadart, who was known as ‘Clunk’. He participated in the original Mad Max movie. One of the evenings we were together we watched the Mad Max movie and saw Bertrand Cadart on his motorcycle in his entree into movie making. This year he was on a motorcycle and he assisted in leading and backing up the pollie pedallers. We appreciated Mayor Cadart’s support.

I should mention that Tony Abbott has been in more than 10 national pollie pedals. This year it is going from Brisbane to Sydney, and I think it starts on 27 April. It is raising money for a wonderful charity in Sydney. So well done, Tony Abbott, and all the best with that national Pollie Pedal. Also on the list of riders was Paul Lindsay, who is a regular supporter, and this year he did not get lost on his bicycle. To Jez Moulding and Astrid Macassey, thank you for your support. There was also John O’May, who is organising the Great Western Tiers Cycle Challenge in the next couple of weeks in Tasmania, Greg Hall MLC, Grant Young from the MAIB, Helen Burnet; Tom Kleyn and Simon Cocker from Unions Tasmania. We have a whole range of people from across parties, and Simon Cocker from Unions Tasmania is a good supporter of the Pollie Pedal. He won the award as being the most upright rider in this year’s Pollie Pedal.

Also riding was Caroline Burridge, who like me has type 1 diabetes, and just last weekend she ran the Paris Half Marathon. Congratulations to her on her endurance and determination—a wonderful example she is to many. Craig Williams, Andrea Darcy and Marco Fragiacomo also joined us. Marco also joined us on the Kokoda JDRF trek last Anzac Day, together with 17 other walkers—what a great experience that was—as well as climbing Mount Kosciusko on World Diabetes Day. Marco is a good friend and a great supporter. To Tony Narkowicz and Andrea Schiwy, thank you for your support and efforts to make it all happen. There was also Hugh Mackinnon, who keeps coming back and supporting the Pollie Pedal; Mayor Mark Shelton; Roy Gatenby; Stephen Redpath; Mark Tate; Mayor Graham Bury and his wife, Ken MacRitchie, who has been on all of the pollie pedals and is a great support; Jehangira Sidhwa from Eli Lilly; Louise Gibson; and Mayor Bertrand Cadart.

I would also like to thank the following supporters for making the Pollie Pedal a success: Steven Hay, Principal of Bellerive Primary School; Mayor Jock Campbell from the Clarence City Council, who launched the Pollie Pedal; Denise Long, who is the Principal of St John’s in Richmond; Mayor Carmel Torenius, who gave us support at the Sorell Council; and Angela Barker, who gave us wonderful support, interpretation and education at Barilla Bay—a wonderful highlight. Barilla Bay oysters are a must for all who travel to Tasmania. I would also like to thank the Pear Ridge Cafe. On day 2 we travelled south into the Huon Valley. I would also like to thank Krystal Anderson at Peppermint Bay—thank you for a wonderful lunch. I also thank Barry Lange and David Turley, CEO and President of Huon Eldercare. The Huon Valley is definitely one of the most scenic parts of the four pollie pedals that we have been on and a great credit to that area. We really appreciated that, especially after getting to Huon Eldercare. It is an aged-care facility, and some of us perhaps felt that we might end up there not just for the day but for a longer period. Day 2 was a big day.

On day 3 we headed north into the beautiful Derwent Valley. To Andrew Stack at Moorilla, thank you for your hospitality. To David Walsh, who is undertaking an $80 million museum development at Moorilla, that is a fantastic effort. We congratulate you on that and look forward to the final outcome. To Mayor Tony Nicholson, who hosted us in the Derwent Valley on the Derwent River, as Mayor of the Derwent Valley Council, thank you for your hospitality. Thanks also to Monique Lubiana at the Stefano Lubiana Vineyard, a wonderful facility and a great place for tourists and great wine. Finally, thank you to Lord Mayor Rob Valentine, Lord Mayor of the Hobart City Council, who welcomed us into Hobart on our final effort after day 3.

Kerry O'Brien (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Was there a booze bus?

Guy Barnett (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There was no booze bus. It was not required. We rode within the law. There were a few scratches and bumps along the way, but everybody was safe, healthy and well. We were treated to the beautiful scenery of the Derwent, Huon and Coal River valleys. As I have indicated, it was a wonderful success. Once again, thanks to Diabetes Tasmania for the Pollie Pedal. It was a great success and I would like to convey my thanks to all those who helped organise it, who participated in it and who supported us on this wonderful initiative.