Ken Wyatt (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Early next year I will once again have the opportunity to bring Hasluck's best and brightest young leaders to parliament as part of the Hasluck Leadership Award. The Hasluck Leadership Award is a leadership development program designed to foster the creative and innovative leadership skills of the young people in my community. The award provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for two young people who demonstrate exceptional leadership characteristics to travel to Canberra, tread the corridors of power and experience life in the heart of politics. During the week in Canberra, the Hasluck Leadership Award recipients will visit places that include the Australian War Memorial, the High Court of Australia and the Museum of Australian Democracy.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the sponsors of the Hasluck Leadership Award. This program could not take place without the support of Qantas, the Swan Chamber of Commerce, Brikmakers and the Damien Cole Group. The generous support of these organisations has helped provide leadership training opportunities for the young people of Hasluck. The Hasluck Leadership Award also could not take place without the help and support of our community judges, David Turner, Joanne Pryce and Harry Rosielle. I know our judges had tough decisions to make this year as all of the applicants for the young leader award were of exceptional calibre.

I am pleased to announce that the winners of this years Hasluck leadership award are Jade Gurney and Stephen Beerkens. Jade Gurney is a young leader from Lesmurdie Senior High School whose teacher described her as 'a dedicated and committed student who always strives to do her best and is well respected by her peers and classroom teachers'. Jade aspires to study theatre and film and has a strong interest in European history and culture. Stephen is a young leader from La Salle College who aspires to study composition at WAAPA. Stephen is a passionate musician who hopes to compose music scores in the future. Stephen's principal has described him as an 'outstanding representative of the youth in the electorate of Hasluck' and 'a valued member of the La Salle community'. He is heavily involved in multiple school bands and is a mentor for the junior band members. Both Stephen and Jade consistently seek to challenge themselves for the benefit of not only their schools but also the wider community. I look forward to welcoming Stephen and Jade to Canberra in early February next year.

In addition, there was a strong field of young leaders who applied for the Hasluck Leadership Award and I would like to share their names: from Darling Range Sports College, Brooke Thompson; from Guildford Grammar School, David Gregory; from La Salle College, Bridget McKay; from Lesmurdie Senior High School, Casey Armstrong; from Rehoboth Christian College, Emily Candeloro and Ryan Suckling; from Southern River College, Christie Clark; from Saint Brigid's College, Sophie Hellemans and Claudia Salas; and from Thornlie Senior High School, David Bell and Citra Cetinich. I was impressed by the references provided by these nominees. The references all described these nominees as great mentors and leaders of their schools within their communities. We certainly have a much more positive future to look forward to due to young leaders such as Stephen and Jade in the Hasluck Leadership Award.