Mr TROY GRANT (Dubbo—Parliamentary Secretary) [7.13 p.m.]: A witchetty grub starter, a lemon myrtle crusted crocodile entree and a paperback-wrapped barramundi fillet and warm salad. Does that sound good? I had the pleasure of attending with my beautiful daughter, Taylor, the Trundle Bush Tucker Day in early September where I got my fill of all sorts of tempting traditional bush tucker. In the world of the bush tucker chef, berries, bugs, grubs and various forms of game are standard ingredients. Bushwalks and trips to the park can take the place of supermarket outings. These days the art and traditions of bush tucker are not restricted to the Indigenous community, with a growing number of contemporary Australian chefs also trying their hand at homegrown cuisine. The cuisine has a long history which I had the opportunity to learn about when I visited the vibrant and welcoming community of Trundle.

The twenty-fourth annual Trundle Bush Tucker Day is all about creating culinary delights in traditional camp ovens over open fires that are judged by guest chefs. The day is a testament to the community's ability to empower themselves, to show off how colourful and exciting their little town is and to inspire and promote an ancient type of cookery—bush tucker. Situated approximately 65 kilometres north west of Parkes, Trundle has a population of 600, which more than doubles during Bush Tucker Day. It is a rural community with production consisting mostly of wheat, sheep and cattle farming. What impresses me about this little gem in my electorate is that it is the ideal place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the highway and experience the Australian bush, fair dinkum Australian hospitality and the leisurely way of doing things.

The heritage-listed Trundle Hotel was built in 1909 in three stages over three years. It is two storeys high and built out of pisé mud then rendered with cement. The hotel has the longest wooden veranda in Australia. Trundle is also home to the widest main street in Australia, which means members should not have any problems with angle parking. The showground is home to Bush Tucker Day, providing entertainment for the whole family with music, camp food cooking, damper tasting and old swag stories. This year's guest judge was Fast Ed from Better Homes and Gardens, who also gave cooking demonstrations throughout the day and whom I had the pleasure to meet once again.

For 24 years the locals of Trundle have worked tirelessly to hold Bush Tucker Day and I recognise their dedication year in, year out to this outstanding event. Their hard work this year led to the staging of an absolute cracker of an event. The festival, which showcases all things Australian from the bush cooking competition to the best decorated bush hat, a tug of war, a billy boil sprint and the iconic national damper throw, is indicative of what a community can do when it works together. I had a ball at the Trundle Bush Tucker Day and I love the fact that it reminded me how much I cherish being an Australian, particularly a regional Australian. If members ever get the chance I recommend that they set aside some time next September to duck out to Trundle and see what all the fun is about. Members can rest assured they will not be disappointed.

What inspires me about Trundle is that it is a small regional community that has undergone extreme exposure to the effects of drought and economic downturn at the social level as well as complete disdain from the previous State Government with regard to the delivery of services. But does that knock this community down? No, it does not. This community has resilience by the bucket load. This community has used its initiative through the Tree Change program and will be featured in an Andrew Denton production about the resilience of the bush. It is an opportunity to demonstrate that if people are committed to their community they can empower themselves and show people from other areas the opportunities that exist in small and regional communities. I commend every citizen of the Trundle community. They are a wonderful example of what it truly means to be an Australian and a proud New South Welshman.

Mr ROB STOKES (Pittwater—Parliamentary Secretary) [7.18 p.m.], in reply: I thank the member for Dubbo for informing the House of the wonderful work of the Trundle community in supporting Bush Tucker Day. It is a tremendous innovation for a town of only 600 people that has obviously gone through a difficult period of transition. It is great to hear of vibrant regional towns exploring various tourism opportunities. I was left wondering what Gordon Ramsay might say about the menu, and I am a little worried about whether WorkCover might have any concerns about the damper throw. Nevertheless it was a great story about real people doing real things in a real place.