Grievance Debate

Murray Bridge Events

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (15:10): I want to talk today about a couple of events I attended over the most recent weekend, one being the Murray Bridge Show and one being the International Pedal Prix held at Murray Bridge. Both these events are great events for the region and attract tens of thousands of people to the region over the weekend.

I was very privileged to open the 98^th annual Murray Bridge Show, which is a great show, with livestock, beef cattle and dairy cattle. There is a hen stand and poultry stand, and there are also the indoor exhibits, with cut flowers and floral art, and a fantastic display of wool from throughout the region was also on display. I assisted with the judging of these, and I was also very impressed with the outdoor entries.

There were some classic cars and some vintage cars, and Whitys Earthwork had a display with a drag car and a tractor that had been done up. It looked as though it could work, but it almost looked like a drag tractor, with a 1979 Kenworth and a Detroit motor in it. For anyone who does not understand what a Detroit motor is, it is a two-stroke engine that can make a lot of noise. I was not fortunate enough to be there when it was running, but I classed Whitys Earthwork as the best outdoor exhibit.

As with a lot of these rural shows, there was a show of utilities. Some people have some great imagination and invest a lot of money in their country utes at the show. It is a show that only runs because of the work of volunteers, and I certainly congratulate the committee and the volunteers who put the show together. It is volunteers who put together all our rural shows, and they do great work attracting thousands, and many were there on the Friday night. They had live bands, and the show continued through to Saturday, when I was able to open it.

Also, this year we saw the 20^th 24-hour event with the human-powered vehicles in Murray Bridge. This was the final round of the UniSA Australian HPV Super Series, and it is the premier human-powered vehicle race in Australia. Races are held throughout the country: there is one at Mount Gambier, one at Loxton, two in Adelaide, one at Busselton and one in Murray Bridge. The ones in Mount Gambier and Busselton are not part of the series. These pedal prix have created interest right across the country.

In Murray Bridge, we had entrants not only from right across South Australia but also from Western Australia, Northern Territory and Victoria. People come to this event, and I believe that we have the perfect site, not just in this state but in the country, for hosting it on a 1.7-kilometre circuit around Sturt Reserve, with 206 teams, at least 3,200 competitors and many thousands of spectators who make their home at the reserve. There are also over 30 houseboat moorings where people can camp. I was able to utilise a little riverine houseboat, which was a magnificent little place to stay while I was there.

This is just such a great event for so many teams and so many spectators to attend. It pours hundreds of thousands of dollars into the local economy—in fact, many, many hundreds of thousands of dollars. As I said, we see these teams come not just from across South Australia. From my electorate, we had teams from throughout Murray Bridge, as well as teams from Coomandook and Tailem Bend.

I must say that it was great to be involved with the schools my two boys attend; one lad, Mac, was riding for Scotch and Angus was riding for Coomandook, so it was a matter of being a marshal at 2 o'clock in the morning or catering at 6 o'clock at night. It is a great event that is run by a great team under Andrew McLachlan with the Pedal Prix. It also would not happen without the help of so many parents and caregivers who help put on this grand event in Murray Bridge. It really showcases the area and what you can do with a bit of forethought, and I believe it will go on for many years to come.