I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet and paying my respects to their elders past and present. I am loving Adnates Art perched on the Gallery, what a wonderful modern tribute to the oldest continuous culture known to human history. I would also like to acknowledge the stars of the show and the artists here tonight. Major Justin King and Benalla Councillors. Jim Myconos and the Street Art Committee. Director of the Art Gallery Bryony Nainby Shaun Hossack and the Juddy Roller Team All other guests. When Shaun Hossack asked me to be involved in the Wall to Wall festival opening I was pretty stoked. I have been following this project from the start as I just love what it is doing for Benalla. There is no better gig as an MP than one in the town of your upbringing, celebrating an extraordinary community and cultural event that is proving to be both great entertainment for the locals and a must visit tourism drawcard. When we talk in Parliament and in press releases about growing the regions of Victoria this is exactly what we mean. Just as infrastructure and investment is critical to ensure thriving community towns, so too is culture, experiences and the coming together of community to celebrate all that is great about it. For some that greatness may be on the sporting fields scattered across the town, but for others creativity is their source of expression and achievement. I am so proud of Benalla, we have a history of supporting and encouraging community participation and pride through Art but the Wall to Wall Festival has completely upped the ante and has already put us on the world map. The town is buzzing I drove in this afternoon and there is much excitement about and masterpieces taking shape. My almost-five year old daughter is a bit of a budding artist and despite being familiar with the existing wall art from last year I dont think she had comprehended how it got there she was beside herself that people are allowed to actually draw on walls and wants to know if she can. As a mother of a young girl, as woman and as a feminist, I am particularly thrilled Gender Equality has been an inspiration for this years event. And I am so impressed that there is a 50 / 50 female / male artist line up I am particularly looking forward to tonight hearing from Kaff-eine and Goodie about their experiences. The 50/50 target is one I am proud to say my political party is striving for and nationally we have a commitment to reach by 2025. Here in Victoria under Premier Daniel Andrews, 44 per-cent of our Labor MPs are women and 9 of our 22 Ministers are women. We as a Government have taken every opportunity to talk about what is meant by gender equality and why it matters. It matters because. my daughter should not be paid less than my son for an equivalent job, she should not have to prove herself far beyond my son to be considered for a leadership position. It matters because undoubtedly diverse voices produce better outcomes for more people. And it certainly matters because gender equality is the key to extinguishing the power imbalance that is too often the root cause of gender violence in our communities, the cost in terms of tragedy and suffering is far too high in a country and state as fortunate as ours. The Wall to Wall Festival is doing so much more than highlighting extraordinary talent or the cohesive community of dedicated individuals bringing an amazing event to our beautiful town. It is also sharing with us a message, a trigger, a thought provoking idea about gender equality that I hope will translate into conversations across this town all weekend about why that is important. With its powerful message there to be had, the other great beauty of this event is that there are no barriers to access. The wonderful thing about street art is that it is displayed freely in the public realm for everyone. People that didnt know they even liked art suddenly have become extremely excited to see new works going up across town. It is indeed a very powerful means of connecting people. This festival may only be beginning to lay its roots but I have absolutely no doubt that with the dedication I have seen on display by its passionate organisers that it is set to play a significant role in the future of Benalla and provide yet another reason for people to put our beautiful town on the must visit list. I certainly appreciate that an event such as this does not come easily and that a significant amount of time, effort, and energy goes into sourcing funding, planning and bringing it all to fruition. I would like to commend, congratulate and sincerely thank every single person who has given of their time and effort to ensure that this weekend the Wall to Wall Festival in Benalla is the only place in Victoria you could possibly want to be. And with that I would like to officially launch the Benalla Wall to Wall Festival 2016 and hope you all have a fantastic weekend.