David Coleman (Banks, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today I would like to talk about a couple of community events which I recently attended in Banks and congratulate the organisers of those events, which were tremendous occasions.

The first was the Oatley Village Festival, which was held on 19 October. It was organised by the local Oatley Lions Club and in particular Bryan Pirie, who was the main organiser of the event. The festival has been running since 1997 and, like many Lions events around the country, it does a tremendous job in raising much needed funds for important community groups.

More than 15,000 people attended the festival, and I was pleased to be able to say a few words on the day. More than $30,000 was raised for the St Joseph's Primary School in Oatley to provide support for children with autism. Some funds were also provided to St John Ambulance and the Kogarah Fire Brigade of the State Emergency Services.

It was a terrific day, with fantastic weather. There were about 200 different stalls, all representing different parts of the Oatley community. It was great to see our local community radio station 2NBC there, broadcasting the proceedings. They do a fantastic job in the St George district of Sydney, bringing to life our community and many of the great events that take place in it. Next year's event is on 18 October, and we are very much looking forward to it after the success of this year's event.

I would also like to congratulate the organisers of the Padstow on Parade festival, which was held on 27 October. This was organised by the Rotary Club of Padstow. There was lots of great entertainment, with street stalls, roaming kids and entertainers. Also, the SES and the fire services were there for kids to find out more about how these important community services work for all of us. It was great to see the support from local community newspapers, the police and the Bankstown City Council, which was also involved in the day. It was also terrific to see the Rotary Club of Padstow putting on the Padstow on Parade for the first time in three years. As you know, Madam Deputy Speaker, these sorts of community events are not easy to organise. An enormous amount of work goes into putting them together. So I really want to congratulate the Rotary Club and particularly Keith Roffey on their tremendous efforts.

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