Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to praise Yeppoon teenager Ellie Kendall, who I met recently during a visit she made to Parliament House in Canberra. Ellie, a year 12 student from St Ursula's College in Yeppoon, was named the Capricornia winner of the ABC Heywire competition for young regional Australians aged from 16 to 22. Winners from all over Australia assembled in Parliament House for a Heywire youth ideas summit.

ABC Heywire is a prestigious competition where young people from around the country write a story about real life in a regional area. The winners' stories are recorded for broadcast on ABC radio, and the winners attend a youth summit inside Parliament House.

Ellie's story was about the experience of Cyclone Marcia in her home town of Yeppoon in February last year. Cyclone Marcia was a dreadful event that hit Yeppoon and the surrounding districts, including Byfield, as a vicious category 5 cyclone. It destroyed many homes and businesses in the town.

Ellie is an amazing young person and it was a thrill to meet her at Parliament House. She is an inspiration to other young people from Capricornia.

During a morning tea reception for Heywire winners, Ellie was fortunate to meet federal agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce. I was delighted to sit with Ellie at a Heywire dinner for national winners at the Australian museum in Canberra.

See this speech in context