Stuart Henry (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to recognise and to rejoice in and praise the efforts of both the young and the old in my electorate of Hasluck in helping to build our community. I would like to tell the tale of the Swan senior storytellers, who have initiated the Tales of Times Past program. The program is a wonderfully creative way of bringing a little local history to our children in primary schools and to the community in general in my electorate and in the surrounding area.

This talented group of senior storytellers hand down their experiences in life as they remember them, whilst at the same time building a rapport and respect with young primary school kids in our community. Tales of Times Past is a wonderfully creative way of bringing a little local history to children in primary schools and to the community. This talented group of senior storytellers hand down their experiences in life as they remember them about how things used to be—how, years ago, fresh milk was delivered to children in primary schools, bread was delivered daily by horse and cart and clothes props were sold to hold up washing on clothes lines. Many of our senior citizens have a multitude of personal experiences and anecdotes tell about when they were growing up. The lessons in how things worked in the past are fascinating and are a part of our social history. It is right that we hear them and learn from them. To have these stories of personal experiences passed down from generation to generation is very special in my view.

The Tales of Times Past program was recently awarded the BankWest seniors award’s certificate of recognition in the area of active ageing leadership for their contribution to community participation. I would also like to commend the Swan senior storytellers, particularly their coordinator, Mrs Esther Flowerday, and volunteers Mary Shaw and Dorothy Gibbs. I congratulate them and the other volunteers associated with this program on their achievements, their dedication and their significant contribution to the development of our children.

It appears to me that part of the problem in our society today and in communities generally is that quite often young people grow up without contact with grandparents or with senior members of our communities or the extended family, and therefore do not have the opportunity of getting to know or appreciate seniors or to build respect for them. The excellent initiative of Tales of Times Past gives young kids and youths this chance to bridge the gap between young and old and to share experiences and grow together.

On the other hand, many young people do wonderful things in our community and need to be given as much recognition as possible. For example, some 50 students from Lesmurdie Primary School raised more than $2,400 for Australians with multiple sclerosis. These students deserve our recognition. They took up the MS Readathon challenge to raise these funds. The amount of $2,400 from Lesmurdie Primary School is a wonderful achievement. One student, Tamara Bishop, raised $1,126.85 on her own by reading more than 50 books. In all, participating Lesmurdie Primary School students read 480 books. I understand a teacher from Lesmurdie Primary School suffers from MS, and it is a really fantastic effort to see these Lesmurdie students supporting their teacher and this program in this way. I congratulate each and every one of them.

I would also very much like to recognise and acknowledge the wonderful efforts of students from Ashburton Primary School, Gosnells, in my electorate of Hasluck. Twenty-five year 7 students were invited to perform for elderly and disabled people who attend the Southside Care Day Centre. The invitation was issued by the centre through teacher Nelomi Ranasinghe. The school was absolutely delighted to respond with a song and dance routine and puppetry and clown performances. The year 7 students finetuned their song and dance routine during drama classes before putting on their excellent performance before the audience at the Southside Care Day Centre. The elderly and disabled audience had a truly wonderful time, joining in the dancing, singing and revelry with the students. I congratulate the community spirited year 7 students from Ashburton Primary School, Gosnells.

These examples of community interaction help to build the values base of our society and should be strongly encouraged. All too often we hear the negatives about our young people, and we should be ensuring that at every opportunity we highlight the wonderful contribution they make as an example to others. (Time expired)

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! It being 5 pm, the debate is interrupted.