Joanne Ryan (Lalor, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Last week I had the pleasure of visiting Lollypop Creek Primary School in its first month of operation. It's a brand new school in my electorate. I want to thank Principal Joel Riddle for the opportunity to address the school community of 200 brand new students from prep to grade 6 and to pass along to them a set of Australian flags for their new flagpoles.

Lollypop Creek Primary School carries a story that happens in my electorate every year. There are four new schools across the electorate of Lalor that opened their doors this year. They are the Ngarri Primary School, the Nearnung Primary School and the Karwan Primary School. I want to congratulate principals Honey Stirling, Chris Simmons and Ashley Craig on their appointments and the great beginning to the new school year in these new schools.

In a growth area like ours where people join our community every day, these new schools mark that growth. They also mark the important work that happens in our local community where we build communities from the ground up, where we are focused on inclusion and harmony, and where we are working so hard to ensure that we have cohesion in our community. That work often starts in these brand new schools where we support our local children and where, as a community, we aspire for them.

Along with our new schools, of course, all of the schools across Wyndham have begun this new year of 2023. I want to welcome the many new teachers to our communities who have joined our existing schools and send my best wishes to all the schools across the electorate.

And while I'm talking about the growth corridor and our new schools, and listening to others speak about Australia Day, I would like to report to the House that the CEO of Wyndham City Council informs me that in Wyndham we're expecting 15,000 new citizens through citizenship ceremonies across Wyndham this year. I have attended three or four ceremonies already this year, and will obviously attempt to attend as many as I can get to. But, again, on that theme of building community from the ground up, this is the real work that goes on in the community that I represent here. As I told the children of Lollypop Creek Primary School, my job is to bring their stories to this place so that the 150 other members of the House of Representatives understand who we are, understand our challenges and understand our great achievements.

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