MURCHISON MLC Ruth Forrest spent a week on King Island.
Ms Forrest said that she wanted to take the time and give King Island residents and organisations the opportunity to meet with her and to talk indepth, so she could be fully across and understand the issues that impact the lives of King Island residents and organisations.
The King Island Show was held early in the week and Ms. Forrest was able to meet with people in a relaxed show atmosphere, despite the wild weather. Rather than a table in a marquee, Ms. Forrest made her way through the exhibitors, attended the demonstrations and events, ate at the food stalls, marveled at the dog jumping and handling, tried some whip cracking and even went to the puppet show.
Phoenix House was an open day for a cuppa, cake, and chat and all were invited to call in. It was an opportunity to celebrate International Women’s Day.
The Emergency Services came together to talk about their need and issues with her. This included highlighting some bureaucratic processes that hail from the past but cause disincentives when sourcing volunteers who wish to move between the services and expressed3 their desire for the introduction of recognition of prior learning (RPL), so that retraining, when the individual may have certifications and lengthy experience in one emergency service can be transferable to another.
The group also discussed potential home base locations and the unique situation that King Island services are unable to simply obtain additional assistance from a neighboring municipality.
A meeting with the Grassy community and Group 6 Metals assisted in providing Ms. Forrest with an update on the needs of Grassy, where the population has tripled in a short time.
Ms. Forrest and her husband Rob Woolley visited homes, paddocks, businesses and enjoyed King Island’s produce both at home and in the restaurants. They played tourist and visited Seal Rocks and Stokes Point, stopping to enjoy the scenery and the country hospitality in homes along the way. There were some private moments, and these were spent walking, catching the last rays of sun, having a brew and celebrating a birthday.
Ms. Forrest said, “You know you are in a wonderful place when everyone so warmly greets you. King Island is that place! Great to be back! Lunch at Legs Cafe, staying at Alexandra’s, dinner at Oleada tonight, looking forward to Wild Harvest – birthdays don’t come much better than this.”