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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-09-24 Daily Xml
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Kick off ya Boots

The Hon. J.E. HANSON (14:52): My question is to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development. Will the minister inform the chamber about the Kick off ya Boots theatre show which has taken place in Loxton and its importance as a mental health and wellbeing initiative?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:52): I thank the honourable member for his question and his ongoing interest in regional matters. It was an absolute pleasure to attend one of last weekend's performances of Kick off ya Boots at the Lutheran Peace Hall in Loxton. It was also good to have Nadia Clancy, member for Elder in the other place, in attendance in her role as the Premier's Advocate for Suicide Prevention, given Kick off ya Boots has an important role as a mental health and wellbeing initiative for local farmers, producers and residents.

Kick off ya Boots is the latest show from Little Town Productions, which is a volunteer-based organisation that has held over 125 performances, viewed by approximately 40,000 people since 1999. Indeed, I am advised that over the last 25 years Little Town Productions has performed a Christmas nativity story at the St Peter's Lutheran Church in Loxton, which has drawn large crowds both locally and regionally. So their role in the Riverland community is well established, important and appreciated as a means for connection and bringing people together through the joy of performing and all of the skills and benefits that performance brings to those who are involved, while at the same time spreading an important message to the wider community.

Kick off ya Boots is produced in association with ifarmwell, a farmer mental health initiative of the Department for Rural Health at the University of South Australia. Many members might be familiar with Associate Professor Kate Gunn, who is central to that and who I had the pleasure of meeting at a recent event in Mount Gambier. This year's show was written by Mr John Gladigau, founder and playwright of Little Town and also a director of Grain Producers SA. I must say, he has done an incredible job in putting together the show with his fantastic cast and crew, the result being a great celebration of what it means to live and farm in regional and rural communities.

In addition to that, the show explored the difficult topics of succession planning, drought, financial security and some of the other tough realities that face our farming communities. I was very impressed with the messages, which were essentially, among others, that it is okay to not be perfect, it is okay to reach out and it is okay to access support.

In watching the show, it is apparent how connected to the story those who were performing it are, something that could only come from the story being told by those who have experienced the tough realities of farming life and regional communities themselves.

While it was fantastic to see the great performances from farmers and other locals for farmers, it was really heartening to see so many people from all walks of life enjoying the show and picking up the important messages that it so clearly gets across. John and his crew will be back at Lutheran Peace Hall in Loxton this weekend, with performances on Friday 27th and Saturday 28th.

The performance includes an amazing three-course dinner as well. It was particularly encouraging to see volunteers doing that. The local high school provided the waiting service and I understand that it was volunteers doing the cooking as well, which was absolutely amazing. I was told last week that they were booked out, but I would encourage anyone interested to make inquiries because it is certainly worth seeing.

So, again, I want to congratulate all those involved in putting this production together. There are so many benefits for those involved in the show and for the audience who come along to see it. It is a great example of a community organisation that is making a huge difference and delivering an important message in a unique, fun and educative way and I loved some of the local in jokes—they were great.

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