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

The distance and the cost is a serious disadvantage for Western Australian school students travelling to our nation’s capital to see the Australian parliament in progress and to understand its work. As the member for Hasluck, I wanted to provide an opportunity for high school students to better understand the parliamentary process and our system of democracy, to see firsthand our national capital and to discover national politics in an environment in which they were free to form their own impressions. This led to the establishment of the Hasluck Leadership Award, with the kind permission of the Hasluck family.

Sir Paul and Dame Alexandra Hasluck are both distinguished Australians and much-respected Western Australians. Sir Paul Hasluck, a well-respected politician, was the first Western Australian-born Governor-General. He commenced his education at Guildford Primary School in my electorate. His wife Dame Alexandra was a distinguished writer and historian. The Hasluck Leadership Award was introduced to be a vehicle for inspiring and developing the leadership potential of young people. It provides opportunities for them to develop their leadership qualities and assists them to realise their full potential. I am pleased with the fantastic outcomes of this award as it has clearly demonstrated to the electorate of Hasluck how talented, how committed and how vibrant so many Australians in our community and in our schools are.

Each year every high school in the Hasluck electorate is invited to nominate a student who best meets the criteria established for the award. From these nominations, two year 11 students, a girl and a boy, are selected to represent the electorate of Hasluck in a visit to Canberra. The students nominated each year have all been very talented and a wonderful credit to their schools. The schools include: Thornlie, Lesmurdie, Forrestfield, Kalamunda and Governor Stirling senior high schools and Southern River, Guildford Grammar, La Salle, Lumen Chisti, Mazenod and St Brigid’s colleges. I would very much like to thank the schools and the year 11 coordinators for their support in making the Hasluck Leadership Award the success it is.

The students who have been recipients of the Hasluck Leadership Award are: in 2005, Paige Boyatzis and Reece Shoesmith and, in 2006, Zak Cole and Tara Franzinelli. Subsequently, all have been elected as head boy or head girl in year 12. Tara Franzinelli has been elected to City of Swan Youth Advisory Council. Year 11 students are selected for this award so that they can return to their respective schools and speak to their peers and other students about their experiences in Canberra.

The students who receive the award attend Canberra during a sitting week, meeting with the Prime Minister, the Treasurer and other senior government ministers, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of this House. Indeed, Mr Speaker, I appreciate very much the time you have taken to inform these students of your role as Speaker and I thank you for your generosity in this regard. This provides an opportunity for the students to see the real people behind the highest public offices in Australia, to gain a real understanding of their responsibilities and the importance of these roles in the parliament and as a function of the government of Australia.

Visits to the War Memorial, the National Gallery and the High Court are also arranged, along with a personal tour of the Australian Institute of Sport and Duntroon Military College. A special thanks to Brigadier Appleton and Lieutenants Mortimer and Watson, who provided an excellent insight into military life. Also a special thankyou for the giving of their valuable time in meeting the Hasluck Leadership Award recipients goes to the Prime Minister the Hon. John Howard, the Treasurer, the Hon. Peter Costello, the President of the Senate, the Hon. Paul Calvert, and again to you, Mr Speaker of this House. Needless to say this award would also not be possible without the fantastic support of the businesses in the community who sponsor the Hasluck Leadership Award. I very much appreciate their enthusiasm and commitment to the young people of Hasluck and thank them for their support.