Bells Beach is our nation’s surfing mecca –

It’s surfing’s MCG –

And I’m so privileged to have this amazing natural amphitheatre with its awesome waves in the heart of my electorate. 

An electorate where surfing underpins our culture.

It is a magnet that draws new residents and visitors to our coast.

And today, as the Easter swell kicks in and the Rip Curl Pro gets underway, the crowds are gathering.

This is the event that puts our region and our nation on the map.

It attracts a crowd of 50,000 people with more than 10 million digital viewers across the globe.

And it’s a huge economic driver for Torquay, the Surf Coast, the Bellarine and all of Victoria.

It means so much to our local communities – and even more so when we have locals in the swell.

We will be cheering on three amazing local surfers as they compete to win and ring the iconic bell!

Jan Juc local, India Robinson, who I caught up with at last year’s inaugural Parliamentary Friends of Surfing event – good luck! I hope to catch up with you again soon.

And congratulations to Tully Wylie from Torquay and Ellie Harrison from Barwon Heads – our wild card entries for this year’s event!

So, this Easter, I encourage everyone to come down to the Surf Coast —it promises to be an awesome swell and a fierce battle to win it and ring it.