Janelle Saffin (Page, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to associate myself with the remarks and comments from the honourable member for Leichhardt and add that there is huge support in this place across the parties for the contribution that the honourable member gave. A week ago, Sunday, in my electorate of Page in Yamba, Jill Bradshaw and a group of committed people who are friends of volunteering for Tibet held an event at their place with an art show and a whole range of works to bring attention to the plight of the human rights suffering that is ongoing and seems to be systemic in Tibet. It is something that is intolerable in 2013, and we are right to speak up and speak out on that particular issue.

I would also like to talk about something else that has happened in my electorate. Some people here, I am sure, would know about the ABC TV series for children, dirtgirlworldvery popular, particularly with the young ones, but I think parents like to watch it too. I can see a few parents smiling, including you, Mr Deputy Speaker Leigh.

The creators of dirtgirlworld, Cate McQuillen and Hewey Eustace, live in my electorate at Whiporie. They beavered away for years and made this program hugely successful. Just recently, on 25 February, they were nominated for the International Digital Emmy Award for an Aussie company. That is pretty good. It is pretty up there. They live—and I have the Google map here of where they live—on the Summerland Way, halfway between Casino and Grafton. Whiporie is my pit stop as I drive around my electorate.

With dirtgirlworld they make a connection with kids. It is an Australian-created international kids TV show, and it comes from my electorate. So, dirtgirlworldand these are words that come from Cate and Hewey—'Dig it all.' The digital bits come from mememe productions. With the support of Screen Australia, they have been nominated in the kids and youth Digital Emmy category, to be announced in April, and it will be showcased on the MIPCube. As Cate and Hewie say, once again the dirtgirlworld team are packing their fancy pants and hitting the red carpet. It is a great program, and I know that the kids just love it. In the same way that we loved Play School, this is one of those programs— (Time expired)

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