Luke Simpkins (Cowan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

On Saturday night, I again visited the Bosnian club in Beechboro and I would like to thank the president Mr Muhamed Merdjanic for the kind invitation. There are many Bosnians in and around Cowan and I thank them for their efforts and positive contribution to our community. It was the occasion of a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the club. It is a great venue for the Bosnian community of Perth to gather and enjoy each other's company. It allows them to keep and promote cultures and traditions of their homeland. During the evening, they showed a video of Mr Merdjanic and community members actually building the club and the facilities 20 years ago. They also showed the very recent renovations, finished since my last visit—again, undertaken by the community members. It was good that they were able to harness a grant via the Barnett state government, which when coupled with the dedication, hard work, skills and volunteering spirit of the Bosnian community yielded such great results. Another example is the great fundraising that the club has done for those affected so badly by the recent devastating floods in Bosnia. Many thousands of dollars have been raised by the community. Having visited Sarajevo last year, I know that although the country has developed greatly since the war, the floods have been devastating and the money generated will be well utilised. I would like to again congratulate Muhamed, the Beechboro Bosnian club committee and the Bosnian community for being a highly positive motivated, hard-working and effective community in Perth.

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