On the 23rd of August I attended the launch of the North Ringwood Tennis Club’s water sustainability project. The club, through a combination of Federal and Council grants, has installed water tanks to assist the watering of its courts and reduce dependence on our limited water supplies.

Like many of our sporting clubs, North Ringwood Tennis Club is committed to environmental sustainability and it was great to hear their members discussing the ongoing need for sustainability, including the investigation of potential energy conservation projects.

I commend the club for its ongoing foresight and commitment to sustainability.

I attended the Ringwood Spiders Trophy Presentation Night on the 28th of August.

The atmosphere was understandably jubilant given the strong success of the team, including winning the Premiership Cup for the first time in 14 years, with the club already planning for next year’s season. Each year the number of attendees at the Ringwood Spiders Trophy Presentation Night increases, so much so that they had outgrown the clubrooms at Jubilee Park and instead held their function at the Ringwood Bowls Club.

With the football season drawing to a close, the Ringwood Spiders are preparing a range of off-season activities, including partnerships with other sporting clubs such as the Ringwood Bowls Club.

The Ringwood Spiders demonstrates what can be achieved within our community and it is fantastic to see the ongoing partnerships that have been formed within the Club, including the Ringwood Redbacks, the Ringwood Bowls Club and businesses such as Lakeside Cafe.

Lastly, this morning I attended a combined meeting of Scoot Wheel n Move and the Maroondah Disability Action Group. The two groups are both focused on accessibility, with Scoot Wheel n Move having a particular interest on mobility aids and the Disability Action Group focusing on advocacy.

This morning the groups were at a joint meeting to hear Bill Shorten, the Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children Services, who attended the meeting at the request of the Disability Action Group.

It is quite an achievement for any community group to secure the presence of a senior Government Member and it is great to see an example of a community group advocating on behalf of its community.

The discussion this morning was productive and I commend the two groups for their advocacy within the community.