TRANSCRIPT: OFFICIAL OPENING OF ABILITY NETWORK HUB, COWRA 12 MARCH 2025
E&OE
STARTS: 3:00pm
ENDS: 3:07pm
MICHAEL McCORMACK:
Well, thank you very much, Jim (Morgan), and to you and your Deputy Ruth Fagan, to Shane Kruger, to the board. Hands up, all the staff. Where are all the staff? Put your hands up, every one of you. Put your hands together for the staff, please. What a great job—friendly, committed people. Jim mentioned that you can't put a budget on some things. And in life, you can't put a budget on kindness. And what has been done here, particularly by community-minded people, particularly by families, particularly by the tradies—how good are Cowra’s tradies, who have put in so many hours, so many hours free of charge? That just doesn't happen in communities other than regional communities, I don't think. Our regional communities come to the fore when they can see a good project, when they can see the need, and when they love their communities. And that's what happens when we have people who are driven to succeed on behalf of the community’s most vulnerable. And the community gets judged by how well it looks after its people. And Cowra, you've come out in spades today.
This facility is going to, as Graham Parker said to me when I first came here 10 or so minutes ago, make such a difference. He said, what a difference since the time that I saw this land, that I put in a bid, and that we got this land. And it's high on a hill. It's smack bang almost in the middle of Cowra itself. It's close to family; it's close to community. But it's got that beautiful elevation that you're never going to get built in. And the people, the clients who are going to use this facility should have the very best of facilities. And Steph and I will continue to work hard, and I know the Member for Cootamundra, how hard she works, how pleased she is about today’s proceedings—as we all should be. You deserve these facilities. Your clients deserve the very best because they are the very best.
So, to every person who's put in a little bit of work, a whole lot of work—thank you. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. You can clap if you like. I don’t know whether you’re winding me up or that was just a really good sentence, but I’ll just say one more little thing. Shane Kruger is such a doer. And we need people like Shane in our communities—people who throw away plans, people who don’t take no for the final answer, people who just get on and get things done. Shane, to you, a huge debt of gratitude is owed. This facility wouldn’t be here, wouldn’t be possible without your efforts. So well done, mate. Excellent job. And now... thank you. And now keep the applause going for Steph Cooke to address the crowd. So, put your hands together for Steph Cooke, the Member for Cootamundra. Thank you.
STEPH COOKE:
Thank you, Michael. And it's so lovely to be here in Cowra with you today. Michael and I overlap and share a big part of this part of New South Wales together, with Michael as the Federal Member and myself as the State Member. And so, every opportunity that we have to spend time together—to spend time together—is good, because ultimately, it’s about celebrating the achievements of our communities and seeing hard work pay off.
And here we are today with this magnificent facility. I’ve had the opportunity to drop in on it many times, as most of you know. And to see it come along this far and to be what it is today is just absolutely wonderful. I’m so excited to see this. Chairman Morgan, thank you so much for the opportunity to be here to celebrate this with you and your board. Graham Parker, who I’ve known for a very long time and who’s still—and who still hounds me, I think, every week or every second week on one issue or another as it relates to Cowra—whether it’s this space or the health space more broadly. We need champions like you, Graham. And thank you very much for all that you have contributed, not just to this space but to health more broadly in this community. It’s wonderful. Thank you.
To the Board of Ability Network, thank you so much for your vision, your determination to see this project come to life. There are four values that I truly believe make great leadership. There’s effort and attitude and being strong and kind. And you all bring that in spades. And you can see that in what has been delivered here today—the attitude that you’ve brought from the outset, the never-say-die attitude that we are going to do this, we’re going to deliver it for the community, and then that effort that’s required, the hard work. And I’ve spent much time working with Annie over grant applications and making sure that wherever possible, we were putting our best foot forward here on behalf of the community. And, of course, the strength and courage to see something like this through is extraordinary. And it’s all underpinned, as my good friend Michael McCormack has pointed out already, underpinned by kindness. So, it really doesn’t get much better than that.
And finally, to the staff—wow, you are just extraordinary. I always leave this place feeling so inspired and determined, and you’ve refilled my cup to be able to go on and do other wonderful things in our communities—not just here in Cowra, but well and truly beyond that. So, thank you for what you’re doing here on the ground. And know that it’s making a difference, not just in this community but far, far wider than here, because people like me go out and we talk about the amazing things that are happening here in Cowra and how we would love to see this in every single small community right across regional New South Wales—and if not that far, then certainly in the Cootamundra electorate.
To all of the trades and tradespeople who have made a contribution—either in kind or through financial—thank you so much for what you have contributed. You will forever be associated with this project, and rightly so. And you can hold your heads high and be proud of that contribution and the difference you’re making, because this facility is set up not just for the people here today, but for generations to come, and that is really, really wonderful. So, I will wrap it up there. I have no idea who I’m supposed to pass on, but I will pass the mic to …
But Shane, thank you so much for all of your interaction, for everything that you’ve delivered here. It’s quite extraordinary, given the bare block of land that we started with here—or that you started with here. And it’s been, from my perspective, and I know Michael has already indicated, it has been an honour and privilege to support you every inch of the way and the rest of your team. You fully deserve it. Congratulations on today. Thank you.
SHANE KRUGER:
Thank you, Steph and Michael and Jim. Now we pretty much move on to just some fun things. We’ve got a plaque behind me that needs this little curtain removed, and we’ve got a ribbon to be cut. So, I might ask the board members to come forward. Rachel, Genevieve... Thank you.