Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last Thursday I visited Gateshead Public School and witnessed the enthusiasm of students involved in the Active After-school Communities Program. I was welcomed to the school by the principal, Martin Frohlich, and parents, teachers and the students that are involved in the program.

This is a good program. It provides after-school activities for primary school students between 3 and 5 in the afternoon. Particularly at a time when childhood obesity has increased to the level that it has, I was really impressed by the dedication of all those people involved in the program and the innovation associated with it. I would also like to mention Sue Barben, the regional coordinator of the program in my area.

When I was there I was involved in some of the activities with the students in the program. There were 20 children involved in the program, and it was operating at capacity. They were playing with balls and hoops, and I enjoyed being involved in a ball game with some of the girls.

Last semester the school went to Blacksmiths Beach. The people involved in instructing the students there were members of the Swansea-Belmont Surf Lifesaving Club, and the students learnt a lot and had a very enjoyable time. Currently the program operates one day a week. Next term it will be operating two days a week.

This program should be applauded and it should be funded at a higher level. If there is anything that we as a parliament can do, it is to make a commitment to the young people of Australia and to their health; I see this as a program that is doing that. I would like to see the future of this program secured beyond this year. I would like to see a commitment to its expansion and to the development of partnerships with some of the key sporting bodies like the NRL and the AFL. This requires the involvement of a teacher as well as an instructor.

I am not sure that this program is properly funded. It has the support of the parents and it has the support of the school. This is a program that the students support, evident by the fact that it is operating at capacity and that it will be expanded next term. I commend those at Gateshead Public School and the regional coordinator. (Time expired)