Mrs ARCHER (Bass) (19:40): The electorate of Bass has long had a strong culture scene backed by a passionate community who consistently throw their support behind our many festivals, art shows and theatre performances. In fact, 'Is Launceston the new Berlin?' was the headline from Katherine Gillespie of Vice magazine, who was lucky enough to enjoy the MONA FOMA festival in Launceston last year. I'd like to begin today by giving a shout-out to an amazing theatre company which has truly embedded itself in the hearts and minds of the Bass community. The Encore Theatre Company was created a little over a decade ago with a goal of creating local community shows built with creativity, innovation and excellence. In their own words: Family, friendship, love, laughter, curiosity, risk … hope and possibility. The theatre is a place for experiencing all of these values that hold us together as a community. After debuting with The Sound of Music, they have created critically acclaimed and sold-out productions of Les Mis, Fawlty Towers, Mary Poppins, Wicked and The Phantom Of the Opera and a recent phenomenal and widely lauded production of Strictly Ballroom, just to name a few. Most recently, they just pulled off an incredible production of We Will Rock You. Over 130,000 people from across Australia have attended over 30 productions since Encore's inception. I'm one of the lucky people who have been fortunate enough to view some of their incredible shows. More than just theatre, Encore are about community. As a not-for-profit community theatre company, they're run entirely by an incredible crew of hundreds of volunteers, from the director to the dresser to the actors, program sellers, wigmakers and choreographers. Additionally, they have a firm focus on mentoring up-and-coming performers, partnering them with more experienced people and developing real opportunities for the next generation of performers, directors and stage managers to find their feet in a nurturing and supportive environment. Encore's incredible productions were recognised at the Tasmanian Theatre Awards earlier this year. Nominated for a great 16 awards, Encore won five awards for Les Mis, including Best Production and Best Direction, and two awards for The Sound of Music. I have no doubt that Strictly Ballroom and We Will Rock You will dominate next year's awards and that, led by an incredible team of committed and talented theatre lovers—Belinda King, Ross Marsden, Jamie Hillard, Paul Mannion, Ricky Chamberlain, Leroy Enniss, Wendy Flaherty, Rohan Foon, Danny Gibson, Troy Ridgway, Annie Scott and Di Summers—the company will continue to thrive in years to come. A special mention must also be given to Launceston College for their great production of Matilda. I was, sadly, unable to make it to this year's production, but the college's reputation for first-class productions continues to hold. I have heard from so many people in my community that the Launceston College version of Matilda was on par with professional theatre productions held in Melbourne and Sydney. So well done to the incredibly talented and dedicated performers, crew and staff who were part of Matilda. These are just a small number of the array of community theatre groups in my electorate. I would also like to acknowledge David Walsh, Brian Ritchie and the MONA team for bringing the incredible MONA FOMA summer festival to the north. The music and art festival has been an incredible addition to Launceston's summer festival line-up. Many of us have a personal favourite from the 2019 event. I, along with many others, particularly love the 12-metre-tall inflatable sculptural work by Launceston-born artist Amanda Parer, which took centre stage on the water in the middle of Cataract Gorge this year. Unsurprisingly, the festival has just won a third consecutive Helpmann Award. Finally, big congratulations to the team behind the brilliant Junction Arts Festival. An eclectic program of art, music and performance has seen the festival become a firm favourite in the community and for many who travel from elsewhere in Tasmania and the mainland to attend. Kudos to its creative director, Greg Clarke, for another fantastic festival. I was pleased that the Morrison government were able to contribute almost $80,000 to this year's program under the community development grants. I look forward to seeing what the 10th anniversary celebrations in 2020 will bring. I'm incredibly proud to be part of a community of passionate creatives dedicated to providing a quality and diverse array of artistic performances in theatre, art and music for those of all ages in my electorate.