Matt Burnell (Spence, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The communities of the northern suburbs of Adelaide are home to an incredibly strong collective of people. Over the decades, families in our patch have not always had an upper hand, sometimes in an economic sense and sometimes in difficult social circumstances. It is this disadvantage that drives me to do what I do to fight for the people who are doing it tough to ensure their needs are met and their aspirations can be realised. Such hardship as the north has endured creates extraordinary resolve. We are a people, regardless of the challenge at hand, with a stiff upper lip, ready to push through whatever obstacles present themselves.

I can think of no better example of this than my visit to the Kaurna Plains School in Elizabeth last month. I participated in the Indigenous school's Little Long Walk, which saw its staff, students and families walk around the school oval to celebrate Aboriginal culture and raise awareness of the issues that First Nations people face. On the day it absolutely poured with rain and there was little cover for anyone, but Kaurna Plains didn't care. They would have walked in a hurricane. I was soaked by the end of it, but it made clear to me that Kaurna Plains, from students to staff, is absolutely determined to make a positive impact not just on themselves but on the community around them. It's a school that, despite the disadvantages it faces, will push through to support its students in the most important stages of their lives.

Peyton Turner, a year 10 student, who I met on the day, embodies this. Her efforts in South Australia's Teen Parliament to raise awareness of the need to teach Indigenous languages are extraordinary. She rightly brought positive attention to the significant contribution of language towards Aboriginal culture, captivating both the media and the state government. Peyton should be incredibly proud of her actions, and I know that I could not be more proud of a student from our patch in the north, raising her voice to benefit her community and beyond.

I am even more proud of being able, as part of this Labor government, to deliver the Schools Upgrade Fund to five schools in my electorate, including Kaurna Plains. This means that students in my community, like Peyton, will be more able to receive quality education, to effect positive change for themselves and others. It also means that other schools—including the primary schools of Elizabeth East, Elizabeth South and Elizabeth Park, as well as Swallowcliffe School—will be more capable of delivering better outcomes for young Australians and their families. It also means that we, in the north, as tough as we are, will be closer to lifting the scourge of disadvantage off our backs, through quality education, to strengthen our community now and for years to come. I thank the House.

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