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

I am pleased to have the opportunity today to acknowledge the great efforts of the Penshurst RSL swim club. On 2 April, I attended the Penshurst RSL Youth Swim Club's annual presentation evening at the Peakhurst West Public School pool, which is a very highly used pool in my electorate. I presented the Banks Outstanding Sporting Achievement Awards on the evening. The club is run entirely by volunteers—president Ray Roy and a whole host of other volunteers—who keep things ticking over every year. Importantly, the club provides not only the swimming and various races and so on but also learn-to-swim classes for the smaller kids. That is of course so important, particularly in our nation. I want to thank Penshurst RSL swim club for all of the opportunities they provide for local kids, and I look forward to continuing to work with the club.

The Resourceful Australian Indian Network is an important group located in my electorate at Penshurst. RAIN provides a range of support services for people in the Australian Indian community in my electorate. I was pleased that recently RAIN was awarded a grant of $9,000 under the federal government's Stronger Communities Program for audiovisual equipment in its centre in Penshurst. This will enable RAIN to better run various seminars and other information sessions at its Penshurst location. RAIN provides cultural activities, recreational events, information sessions, health and fitness programs and a range of other really important programs in the Indian community. I would like to thank Sudha Natarajan, the CEO, and all of the other members of the executive committee.

At Carlton in my electorate, St Cuthbert's Anglican Church is a real centre in the community. The church provides not only the traditional church services but also a range of broader services for the community—things such as information on parenting skills, internet safety and a range of other issues as well, run by the St Cuthbert's community. I would like to thank Minister Steve Wakeford for his leadership, and also to Lyndon Mitchell for the large amount of work that he puts in for the St Cuthbert's community and, indeed, for the broader Carlton community which benefits from the efforts of St Cuthbert's.

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