David Coleman (Banks, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very please this morning to have the opportunity to highlight a number of organisations in my electorate that are doing tremendous work in the community. On 2 October I attended the meeting of Padstow Probus at the Padstow RSL. About 100 people were there, which reflects the strength of Padstow Probus and the depth of its community involvement. I would like to thank Graeme Rutter, the president, for inviting me along and also, in particular, Beverley Hart and Leon Farrin.

The group does a wide range of activities in the community. It provides an important social support mechanism for local residents. It arranges outings as nearby as the Sydney CBD and, indeed, as far away as the Middle East. It was great to learn more about some of those activities on the day. I do thank Padstow Probus very much for the opportunity to join them at their meeting.

I would also like to acknowledge the great work of Sailability in my electorate. On 7 October I visited Sailability at the Kogarah Bay Sailing Club, which is at Dover Park in Blakehurst. Sailability for many years now around New South Wales has run a program through which people with special needs, especially children with special needs, learn about sailing and in the process learn greater skills and self-confidence through the good work of the volunteers at Sailability. The day I went was a very blustery day, and sailing activities had been suspended, but it was good to see all the volunteers down there and the kids from some of the local schools in my area. The president, Howard Courtney, and all the very many volunteers who are involved—many of them have significant sailing experience themselves—do a wonderful job, and I do thank them very much for what they contribute to our community.

I would also like to acknowledge the 40th anniversary celebration of the Vietnamese refugee settlement in Australia, held under the auspices of VAWA, the Vietnamese Australian Welfare Association, which I attended on 23 September in Bankstown. Ambrose Dinh has been a very longstanding leader in the Vietnamese-Australian community, and it is a very strong and passionate community in my district. The Vietnamese community understands the value of freedom more than anyone else—certainly more than those of us who have been so fortunate as to have been born in Australia. Having fled an evil regime and continuing to confront it in their homeland, the Vietnamese community are very strong and powerful advocates for the values of freedom. I want to thank Ambrose Dinh for all his work over many years and everyone who attended this important event.

On 27 September, I was privileged to attend a church service at the Kogarah Greek Orthodox Church, the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, Our Lady of the Myrtles and St Elesa. I would like to thank Father Sophronios Konidaris for his kind invitation to attend the mass of the divine liturgy in honour of the patron saint, Our Lady of Myrtles. There is a large Greek Orthodox community in my electorate, and I was very pleased to attend this important service, officiated at by His Grace Bishop Iakovos of Miletoupolis. The church has a very broad role in my community and indeed each year organises the Being Greek festival at Carss Park in conjunction with Kogarah Council, and this event is one of the largest events on St George region calendar. It is attended by well in excess of 10,000 people each year, with a terrific highlight on both the contribution of Greek-Australians to our electorate and the broader association between Greece and our nation. So, to Father Konidaris, thank you again and thank you for the leadership you provide in the community and everything you do for our residents.