Yvette D'Ath (Petrie, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak about the Petrie Future Leaders Essay and Public Speaking Competition. This year marks the fourth year of the competition, which is held annually in my electorate of Petrie. I would like to welcome to the chamber today the two winners, Paivi Adenyiyi and Teagan Tedman, along with Paivi's mother, Deborah, and Teagan's mother, Trudy. Teagan is the winner of the primary school category. Teagan is 12 years old and is in grade 7 at Deception Bay North State School. Teagan's essay and speech were about bullying, particularly the impacts of bullying on school students. Teagan spoke from personal experience, and I thank her sincerely for sharing her story with us. She had some great ideas about how to reduce the incidence of bullying in our schools.

Paivi is the winner of the secondary school category. She is 14 years old and is in grade 9 at Grace Lutheran College at Rothwell. Paivi discussed immigration policy in her essay and speech and spoke very passionately about how her family migrated to Australia. Paivi discussed the benefits of a multicultural society balanced against the concerns about the number of people arriving by boats and seeking asylum and about the challenges this brings to policymaking. I am sure all members of the House will join with me in congratulating Paivi and Teagan on their success in winning this year's competition.

The 2013 competition was launched in March this year and culminated in a gala speech night on 21 May. Primary and secondary students wrote an essay on an issue they would like to raise with the Prime Minister, in which they discussed why the issue is important and what they believe can be done about it. The students then attended a gala night where they delivered a speech on their essay. The entrants were judged on both their essay writing skills and their public speaking skills. The prize for the winners was a trip to Canberra with a parent to spend the day behind the scenes in Parliament House, to learn more about our nation's parliament. I would like to acknowledge and congratulate our judges, Mr Gerard Williams, CEO of Fair Work Youth Space; Mr Martin Hall President, President of Redcliffe City Chamber of Commerce; and Ms Sharon Armstrong, Treasurer of the North Lakes Chamber of Commerce and Industry. I would also like to thank the Brisbane Airport Corporation, which has sponsored this competition every year and has given $1,000 towards the flights of the winners and their parents this year. Without their support, we would not be able to offer such a fantastic prize to our winners and parents.

I look forward to showing Teagan and Paivi, and their mums, around Parliament House today and to taking them to meet some of our nation's highest decision makers. They will also have a chance to observe question time in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. I have warned them what to expect. There may be the odd person being thrown out, but I hope we are all on our best behaviour today. I hope both students enjoy the experience on offer today and take away from their visit an enthusiasm to participate in public debate and to ensure that the youth of today have a strong voice, a voice that can make it all the way to Canberra. Teagan, Paivi, Trudy, and Deborah: welcome to Parliament House.