Daryl Melham (Banks, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I want to inform the parliament of a remarkable young woman who lives in my electorate, Manal Saroufim. I met with Manal and her father last Friday, 30 May. Manal is 20 years old. She was a delegate to the 2020 Youth Summit, held in Canberra on 12 and 13 April. Manal participated in the discussion group on climate change, sustainability and rural Australia. She is currently studying international politics and law at Sydney university. Manal is a member of the executive of AIESEC—the Association Internationale des Etudiants en Sciences Economiques et Commerciales—at the university. Manal attended St Jerome’s school at Punchbowl and then MLC at Burwood. Manal won one of the 2006 undergraduate scholarships from the Australian Lebanese Foundation. She is active in the Arabic Council and she has worked specifically with disadvantaged youth in local schools. She visited India in the past few years.

I spoke with Manal and her father for some time. We had a cup of tea and some cakes in the electorate office last Friday, and she displayed to me a strong values system. She impressed me very much as a woman of integrity. She had an enthusiasm that is rarely seen in young people. That is not to say that young people do not have enthusiasm, but the level of enthusiasm and the wisdom that she displayed were amazing for someone of her age. In my view, she is someone who will be a future leader for her community and she will make a great contribution to this nation.

There is something that strikes me about people like Manal, and about Manal in particular. I have been in this place for some 18 years and I think it is fair to say that over that time I have become a little bit cynical. I do not really draw a lot of inspiration from some of my colleagues on either side of the House or in the state or territory parliaments. But I do draw inspiration and I get enthusiasm when I meet people like Manal, who display all of the qualities of decency, who have enthusiasm and who have integrity, all of which means that we are secure, I think, in our future as a nation. I think the youth summit was a good thing. She was only one of a number of delegates. I am sure we will hear a lot about this young woman in the future, and it will all be good. (Time expired)