Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Hansard source

It's one of the quaint traditions of country Australia but it's something we continue: it's the debutante ball. I know that people throughout the parliament will have deb balls in their electorates. It's something that we honour the tradition of in country Australia. On Saturday night I went to the Ganmain debutante ball. It's one of the biggest fundraisers for St Brendan's Primary School. It was great to see the debs: Olivia Gardiner partnered by Hugh Nowlan, Summer Griffiths partnered by Noah Hatty, Lacey Harris—Joe O'Connor partnered her—and Eva Lucas partnered by Lucas Hatty. It was fantastic to see those young debs coming out into society. It's a fantastic tradition. I see nods from those opposite because they know just how important this tradition is for country Australia and for country communities. May this tradition long continue into the future.

See this speech in context