Hansard debates

Mrs McARTHUR (Western Victoria)

I would like to place on record my appreciation for the efforts of all the professions on the front line of the COVID outbreak. This does not just include heroic healthcare and emergency services workers but also pharmacists, carers, childcare staff, volunteers, farmers, delivery drivers, retail workers and all those keeping our society going through this unprecedented lockdown.

I also pay tribute to the patience of parents, often ill prepared and ill equipped for the huge challenge of mandatory homeschooling. Nor should we forget the tolerance of their employers, perhaps worried about their own futures but almost without exception acting fairly and reasonably to their employees. I hope this government will remember the sacrifice and decency shown by small business owners as we move towards a difficult and uncertain recovery.

As Victorians we have come together to make the extraordinary, damaging sacrifices demanded of us in this unprecedented time, and we will face together an unpredictable future. Yet at this time of border tensions we should also acknowledge the support we have had from fellow Australians beyond our state’s borders.

In particular I pay tribute to the work of the 3459 ADF personnel deployed around our country, around half of whom are assisting Victoria. How Victorians, and indeed all Australians, must wish they had been here from day one!