Jeff Kennett: Here’s a slice of heaven in the simple life

WHO would have thought the vanilla slice could be the symbol of how from simple little things, big things grow? But simple things always give the greatest pleasure, writes Jeff Kennett.

YOU might have thought I’d have devoted this column to the behaviour of those in the Andrews Government who have used our money for their own electoral campaigning, have been found out but will not accept any responsibility.

We might all disagree from time to time with policies of our elected officials, but we should all agree on the standards we expect parliamentarians to uphold. Fraud is unacceptable, using public funds to stop such fraud being investigated and reported is unacceptable, not accepting responsibility when such fraud is detected is unacceptable.

But I do not want to devote this column to what is the lowest standards of political accountability I have observed in Victoria over 40 years of public service.

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Instead, I want to talk about how small, simple ideas can have wonderful outcomes.

About 23 years ago, when Premier, I was challenged at a Victorian Farmers Federation annual meeting by a delegate who asked, why all the major events took place in Melbourne and why could not the Grand Prix be held in Ouyen?

I said that Ouyen did not have the infrastructure to hold such an event: track, accommodation, catering facilities and so on.

But I promised to find an event for Ouyen. Now, I love vanilla slices, always have. And so was born The Great Vanilla Slice Triumph.

Who would have thought the vanilla slice could be the symbol of how from simple little things, big things grow?

The community of Ouyen accepted the challenge and built the event into a major tourism activity, eventually over two days, for the town and surrounding community.

The Ouyen Bakery’s Dennis Gneil was a great supporter of the event, as well as being a baker of wonderful vanilla slices.

The first event was in 1998 and I was one of the judges but I had no idea of how much one needed to eat of each slice while judging. I finished the day absolutely bloated. Worse, it was very hot in Ouyen and the flies seemed to be bigger than the vanilla slices — I’m sure I ate a couple of them as well.

Jeff Kennett says he finished the day “bloated” at the first The Great Vanilla Slice Triumph in 1998.

Jeff Kennett enjoys a vanilla slice of heaven in Ouyen in 1999.

But it was a wonderful day, from which got Ouyen a great deal of publicity. Maybe not as much as a Grand Prix, but considerable.

The first Grand Prix was staged in Victoria in 1996, the first Vanilla Slice Triumph in 1998. This Saturday, the Triumph will be held for the 21st time. It was staged for 14 years at Ouyen, then moved to Merbein and this year will be held in Mildura.

I will be going to Mildura for the weekend to celebrate this milestone, which proves that often the best ideas are the simplest.

But there is another benefit that flowed from this simple idea. The winner of the Triumph was Neil McIntosh from his Halls Gap Bakery. The result was that demand for his slices took off and more people were employed to meet the demand.

Then the Bayswater Cake Kitchen won the title in the second, third, fourth and eighth years. It continues to promote its success and its business has grown substantially over the years. So again, from little things big things have grown.

Jeff Kennett at the second The Great Vanilla Slice Triumph with winner John Parsons from Bayswater Cake Kitchen.

Mildura is a wonderful city, as are its surrounds. It claims better weather year-round than the Gold Coast, is on the Murray River, is home to so much of our fruit and horticulture industry and because it is a midpoint between Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne, it is truly an inland city.

I should also says there is a gem you should visit if you are up in Mildura. Just over the river in NSW is the Australian Inland Botanic Gardens. It is a remarkable garden put together over the years by volunteers and is spread over 152 hectares.

When I first visited the Gardens in the 1990s, they were financially stretched. The Premier of NSW, Bob Carr, gave them no support. Our Victorian economy was recovering so I committed $50,000 of our money each year for five years to help the volunteers.

One of the benefactors of the Gardens was Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, a lifelong friend of mine and a committed gardener, who also was a major benefactor of the Cranbourne Gardens which is part of the Botanic Gardens property and is also extraordinary.

I look forward to visiting the Australian Inland Botanic Gardens again when in Mildura for The Great Vanilla Slice Triumph.

What a pity that the simplicity and wholesomeness of the Triumph and the honest toil, values and effort that goes into creating great gardens are not the values of our government here in Victoria. Once you lower your standards, you destroy public trust and you surrender the right to office.

The simple things always give the greatest pleasure. May The Great Vanilla Slice Triumph continue for another 21 years and beyond. May the bakers of the country again come together to compete for the title, a recognition like no other.

Have a great day … and a vanilla slice.

Jeff Kennett is a former premier of Victoria

@jeff_kennett