Statement from the Member for Polwarth

State Member for Polwarth , Terry Mulder
Today I provided the Speaker of the Parliament of Victoria my letter of resignation as the Member for Polwarth, effective from the 3rd of September, 2015.
My resignation follows almost 16 years as a member of the Legislative Assembly and Member for Polwarth.
I look back with pride at having had the opportunity to serve the people of the Polwarth Electorate, and having served as a Minister in the Baillieu/Napthine Governments.
As the member for Polwarth, my electorate has received record funding, particularly over the four year period that I served in Cabinet. The Princess Highway duplication has been funded through to Colac, quite an achievement given the reservation was put in place the year I was born. Our rail line has been upgraded and is ready to receive additional rail services, and the airstrips at Cobden, Lethbridge and Colac have been sealed – setting the region up in vital areas of road, rail and air.
Schools have been rebuilt, early childcare centres built and expanded, natural gas funded to Terang, Winchelsea and Bannockburn, major upgrades to the Great Ocean Road along with $20 million during the Coalition government to assist local councils with their road and bridge upgrades under the Country Roads and Bridges Program. Community hubs and tennis courts and recreation facilities across the electorate have been upgraded, along with a multitude of other state government-funded projects.
I’m also proud of the achievements that I made working hand in hand with the community. One of the most important of these was the successful fight for a second pharmacy in Colac.  It wasn’t easy, but with local representatives and the community working together we did it.
As a Minister, I established Public Transport Victoria, which has seen a turn-around in the performance of the rail network; established the Taxi Services Commission, which improved customer service and driver pay and conditions; chaired the Ministerial Road Safety Council and developed road safety strategies that saw the lowest road toll in Victoria’s history during 2013; and – on a purely financial basis – was able to hand back Treasury in excess of $1 billion saved on the construction of the Regional Rail Project, were just some of the achievements that I will look back on with pride.
I give my sincere thanks to my staff in my electorate office, June Taylor and Denise Harris, for their compassionate and dedicated service to the people in my electorate. Also, to my former Ministerial staff, who were so highly regarded across government and industry – they were professional and supportive of me at every turn. I am truly grateful to you all.
To the electors of Polwarth, it has been an honour to start my life in humble circumstances, then be elected to the Victorian parliament by a community who knew me well – warts and all. I have been humbled by such an experience, and to represent such great people.
Only the family of a member of parliament can understand what it means to have a spouse or parent elected to parliament – extremely proud, yes, but lives measured by the continual “I can’t make  it” or “I won’t be there,” to see the achievements of their loved ones.
I thank my family wholeheartedly and trust I will finally be able to be there when needed.
I have given my best and it is now time to move on and let a newly elected member for Polwarth take the reins. The fundamentals are in place. This is a great region and it can only get better.
I’m confident the community will recognise the commitment that Liberal Party has shown to the people of the Polwarth electorate over my time of service. I believe that the best outcomes for Polwarth in the future will be with a Liberal continuing to represent them.
Media: Michael Lewis         Michael.Lewis@opposition.vic.gov.au         0433 495 454