Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to talk on something that actually matters. When the member for Oxley gets up with this sort of confected outrage about a comment that has been made that somehow reflects the racism on this side of the House, it does not do race relations or the ethnic communities, many of whom I represent, any good at all. He expresses mock indignation about a comment that was made as an aside in the parliament about the Labor Party’s corrupted preselection processes—which are actually outrageous. The idea that ethnic communities are used in this branch-stacking way is not a good thing for Australian democracy. I think anyone who is reading about the trials and the tribulations of some of the Victorian members of the ALP having to go cap in hand to the various ethnic factional warlords in Victoria would equally be outraged. I represent a very multi-ethnic electorate. They have some real problems and concerns and one of them is not some aside made in the parliament by the Minister for Health and Ageing. Let us get real when we start talking about these things and talk about things that matter to the Australian people.

I would like to take this opportunity tonight to highlight a particular ethnic service in my electorate of Stirling and some of the quiet achievers who do not always get the recognition they deserve. One of them is Heather Niss, who was here in Parliament House on Monday night to receive a National Award for Quality Schooling for her work and dedication to students in the local Jewish community in Stirling. Ms Niss is a teacher at Carmel school and she was highly commended in the excellence by a school support staff member category. She was nominated by a very proud principal, Ms Lorraine Day, as well as by Carmel students. Ms Niss was given the opportunity to travel to Canberra to receive her award and also to take some time to visit places around the nation’s capital.

Ms Niss is not alone in her dedication to the residents that I represent in Stirling. Staff and volunteers at the local Chung Wah Community Centre in Balcatta have received some funding from the federal government’s National Respite for Carers Program. They are working very hard to ensure that ethnic Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai residents in my electorate of Stirling, and also in the wider metropolitan area, get access to some respite care. As many people will know—and it is something I have become aware of since becoming a member of parliament—one of the biggest challenges for carers is being able to find some respite. Caring for a loved one is a 24 hours a day, seven days a week occupation. It is difficult for carers to find any respite from their extensive duties. Finding someone whom they feel they can trust their relative with and who will provide a safe and warm environment for them is exactly what the Chung Wah Association is going to do with the grant that is being provided by the federal government. I would like to congratulate them and to thank the volunteers at the Chung Wah Association who are really making an effort to make the lives of some of the elders in their community better.

Some of the businesses in Stirling have also received some good news lately. Structural Monitoring Systems, based in Osborne Park, has received $2.9 million, one of the largest ever Commercial Ready grants that has been awarded to a Western Australian company. The grant will go towards helping them to commercialise a structural monitoring system that works particularly well for the aviation industry. Boeing and Airbus have taken a particular interest. I am extraordinarily pleased that a small business at Osborne Park in my electorate can operate on such a global scale thanks to the $2.9 million grant from the federal government.

Finally, I want to touch on the Stirling Business Association, which is the largest business association in Western Australia. It has been operating for more than 30 years and has enjoyed great success. The Stirling Business Association, along with the City of Stirling, prepared a submission seeking a grant from the Regulation Reduction Incentive Fund. I was pleased to announce that they received $187,000 to streamline their processes and to deliver improvements to small businesses in my electorate when they interact with their local council. Mr Speaker, as you are well aware, it is 10 years since the election of the Howard government, and I am very pleased to have highlighted a few examples of how its responsible management is making the lives of my constituents better. (Time expired)