David Coleman (Banks, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

On 2 May I attended the East Hills PSSA district cross country competition at Padstow North Public School. It was a fantastic day. I really want to commend the kids on their efforts. The East Hills PSSA brings together schools from Revesby, Padstow, Panania, East Hills and Picnic Point. The athletic endeavours of these kids are quite amazing. The cross country races are quite long and they are not easy. For kids who are as young as eight or nine to be involved in these races is really impressive. I want to thank the cross country convenors: Fiona Gaston, from Padstow North Public School; and Ros Rowland, from Panania Public School, who has been involved in this event for many, many years. It is a great testament to the schools in the East Hills district—all of the principals and all of the sports coordinators who organise this event, and especially the kids, who did themselves so proud on the day.

On 19 May, I attended the Georges River Country Women's Association branch meeting at Mortdale RSL. The CWA, of course, is the largest women's association in Australia, bringing together women and families from all backgrounds as part of a network of support. I would like to thank the president, Cath Sloane, for inviting me along on the day and the CWA for all of their efforts in the community. We had a really good discussion during the meeting about issues such as the excessive use of jet skis on the Georges River. My view is that jet skis should be banned on the Georges River. We continue to wait to get that outcome from the state government. It was good to discuss that issue and also some important issues about excessive development proposals in the Banks area, particularly in the Canterbury-Bankstown region, where the council has some extremely excessive proposals. Thanks again to the CWA for having me along on the day.

The Lions Club of Lugarno is one of the bedrocks of the community in Banks. In fact, they are one of the great Lions Clubs of Australia. They are extremely active and have lots of members. They raise over $100,000 every year for charities in our community. Just last month I attended the annual sports breakfast at Hurstville Oval. There are a lot of entertaining speeches given on the day, and it is a long tradition. Thanks to President Doug Smith, First Vice President John Clarke, Second Vice President Geoff Meehan and all of the gentlemen from the Lugarno Lions. It is a really special organisation, with such a big reach and impact in our community.

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