Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Minister for Territories, Local Government and Major Projects) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to rise to acknowledge the contribution made in my electorate of Bradfield by the many active Rotarians throughout the electorate. I want to emphasise in particular an event organised by St Ives Rotary, but let me first acknowledge all of the Rotary clubs in Bradfield and across Australia. This very active community organisation does much good work. To mention a couple of signature projects within the electorate of Bradfield, Lindfield Rotary organise a fun run every year, which is coming up very shortly. They usually have at least one or two local politicians participating, and I can once again confirm that I will take part in the Lindfield Rotary Fun Run. Turramurra Rotary is well known for its graffiti removal project, and I have appreciated the opportunity to participate in that over recent years.

Today I want particularly to acknowledge St Ives Rotary and an event that I attended on Saturday, 6 March, the St Ives Food and Wine Festival. This is an event that has now been running, I think, for three years. Each year the crowds grow larger, having the opportunity to sample some wonderful food and wine from all around Australia and many forms of entertainment, including the Knox Grammar School Pipes and Drums. Most importantly, this very important event contributes to a charity, Room to Read, which is dedicated to improving literacy rates amongst the world's poorest people. Over 250 million children around the world are not achieving basic literacy skills and, of course, countless adults around the world struggle with illiteracy. That, in turn, is a barrier to employment and to full participation in modern life. It is a problem that particularly affects women, who make up two-thirds of the world's illiterate people. Sadly, it also affects many of Australia's Indigenous people. Room to Read, therefore, is a very important charity, providing a vital service to children who might otherwise never have the chance to learn to read. I congratulate, in particular, Peter Laushey of the Rotary Club of St Ives, who has been the driving force behind this very important event. I also want to thank and congratulate the sponsors: Savills Cordeau Marshall, Hornsby Mazda, Mercedes-Benz Hornsby, Talbots Financial Services and Ku-ring-Gai Council. I congratulate the Rotary Club of St Ives and all involved in this wonderful event. I look forward to it continuing to build on its success next year.