Teresa Gambaro (Brisbane, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to speak about an event I attended on Saturday night. It was the season launch for 2016 for the Brisbane Broncos, my home team. It was a wonderful occasion. There were some 750 people. I want to place on the record my congratulations to Corey Parker and the team. It was a wonderful event. I look forward to it every year. What is probably not known about the Brisbane Broncos is that, apart from them being the premier Queensland team, they do incredible work in Brisbane and throughout the wider state of Queensland.

I want to speak of one of the programs the club runs, called Beyond the Broncos, which is an initiative between the Brisbane Broncos and the Australian federal government. It aims to provide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander year-10 to year-12 students at participating schools with the support they need to receive an education and complete secondary studies. An integral part of this program is the Indigenous program support officers, Merle Cashman, Jharal Yow Yeh and Brett Grienke. These support officers are each situated in a school, and in most cases more than one school, which they will attend and work closely with each individual student on a personal level, forming a bond and relationship that will see each student overcome barriers to attending school and completing their studies.

This is not only an invaluable program for students who are involved; but it also plays a larger part in providing role models for thousands of children across Australia. Another important aspect of this program is the personal development workshops which are conducted by the clubs player welfare and Indigenous program coordinator Jason Fiddes. Each participating school receives four workshops, and current players of the Brisbane Broncos are also used in these sessions. They inspire the students and use their experiences and journeys as an encouragement to students. With the help of corporate partners, Broncos support officers and staff working with the program, the Brisbane Broncos do all they can to help the students stay in school and complete their secondary studies.

The Brisbane Broncos are also involved in the Deadly Choices initiative, which is run by the Institute for Urban Indigenous Health in South East Queensland and funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health. I want to place on the record tonight my absolute appreciation of the incredible work that is being done by Adrian Carson. I particularly want to thank him for his role in being active in improving Indigenous health. Deadly Choices is a campaign which aims to empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to make healthy choices for themselves and their families; to stop smoking, to eat good food and to exercise daily. Deadly Choices also encourages Indigenous people to access their local health service and complete a health check; not just to see the doctor when they are sick but to visit their health service and access support to prevent or better manage their chronic disease and remain healthy.

Another program is the Brisbane Broncos Game Development Department, which provides grassroots rugby league support throughout Queensland and northern NSW. The department is the largest game development operation in the National Rugby League, with seven staff working in the department. The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club have been committed to supporting rugby league at a junior and schoolboy level since its inception, visiting approximately 50,000 children and working with over 1,000 coaches annually. Those numbers are absolutely amazing when you think about it.

In an effort to give back, the Brisbane Broncos Charities Group was established to assist Queensland charities whose values are aligned with those of the Brisbane Broncos. This program is an ongoing program that is in its 10th year. There are currently 12 charities supported through financial, merchandise and ticket donations, player appearances and the allocation of one home game each to promote their charity.

It is clubs like the Broncos that should be heralded for their work. Not only do they provide entertainment and a great source of pride for their fans; but their incredible work through charity and volunteering is even more admirable.

I want to pay tribute to the club's leadership team in CEO Paul White—who gave an inspiring speech the other night; I wish him well in his health recovery—and coach Wayne Bennett, who has incredible respect from the players as well as pride in the players, providing generous philanthropic support. (Time expired)