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

I am very pleased this evening to have the opportunity to highlight a number of community organisations in my electorate of Banks that are doing great work in our area. On 21 September I attended the P&C meeting at East Hills Girls Technology High School in my electorate. It was good to be invited along by Joanne Colliss, the P&C President, and Veronica Necyporuk, the school principal. East Hills Girls is one of the largest schools anywhere in my electorate; in fact, it just recently became part of my electorate after the recent redistribution. It was good to attend the P&C meeting. We talked about a number of the initiatives coming up at the school, various fundraising activities and a range of other things. The school is currently looking at putting in place a uniform shop, and it has recently conducted a fundraising event for various priorities around the school. It is a big school with a very big reputation around not only my electorate but Sydney more generally. Girls come from all over Sydney because of the wide range of subjects that are taught in the technical environment at East Hills Girls. I want to thank the school again.

I also recently attended the annual presentation of the Revesby Rovers Soccer Football Club at Amour Park in Revesby. Revesby Rovers has been a part of our community since 1950 when a gentleman by the name of Alan Addie established the club. It has gone from strength to strength in that time. It had more than 300 players in 2015, with teams ranging from grade 6 through to grade 12. A wide range of achievements were celebrated on the day. It was good to see Fouad Dabliz, the President, and Dimitri Hursalas, the Secretary. The committee more generally was there in force on the day. I do want to thank Revesby Rovers for inviting me along. It was nice to be able to present the Banks outstanding sporting achievement awards on the day. Congratulations, in particular, to all the kids who were successful.

I also recently attended the Macedonian Language School at Peakhurst West in my electorate. About three per cent of people in the Banks electorate are of Macedonian background, and Macedonian is one of the most widely spoken languages in my electorate. At Peakhurst West Public School, Danny Kochankovski, the president of the after-school school, has a great committee supporting him, including local families of Macedonian background. Many of the parents of the kids who attend the language school are also on the board. It was nice to meet the kids from different age groups, from kinder right through to high school. Of course, Macedonia has an ancient culture and language. It was good to be able to meet with the school, and I certainly look forward to visiting again.

I also recently attended the Clavier Music and Art school in Hurstville. It was great to see on the day some really quite exceptional performances—piano, strings and a range of other performances. The school specialises in both music and painting. It has a long history dating back more than a decade. Grace Leong is the principal. On the day I met a very impressive group of kids and presented a range of awards.

As a society we are very good at acknowledging sporting achievements. That is good and appropriate; we should celebrate our sporting achievements. It is good that we do that, but we should also celebrate achievements in the arts because one of the great marks of a civilised society is its appreciation of the arts, and that is certainly the case in my electorate, where there are many flourishing artistic schools. I do commend them, particularly the Clavier Music and Art school and all of the kids who were successful at the awards ceremony.

See this speech in context