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

I want to take the opportunity this afternoon to highlight a number of community groups in my electorate who are doing good things in the Banks community and thank them for their contribution. Last year on 12 December, I attended Marist Catholic College Penshurst for its presentation day at the Hurstville Entertainment Centre. It was good to join the school community for a celebration liturgy and to present awards which acknowledged students who had done good things during the year. The school principal at Marist Penshurst, Ray Martin, is my old mathematics teacher from many years ago, and it was good to see Mr Martin, the P&F president, Reg Soares, and all of the other people who contribute to Marist Penshurst. Marist Penshurst had some big news this week. Andy Wright, an alumnus of Marist Penshurst, won an Academy Award at the Oscars for his work on sound editing and sound mixing on the film Hacksaw Ridge. So I give a big congratulations to Andy and to the broader Marist Penshurst community on all of their efforts.

On 21 February, I represented the government at the opening of a new senior school centre at Georges River Grammar school. Georges River Grammar is an independent school located in Georges Hall and draws students from around south-western Sydney, including from numerous suburbs in my electorate such as Picnic Point, Panania, Revesby, East Hills, Lugarno and a number of others. The government was able to provide $700,000 in funding towards the new facilities at the school. Those facilities were particularly impressive, I have to say. We saw the art facilities, flexible learning spaces, new computer labs and a range of other facilities on the day. I say thank you to Principal Denis Lee for his hospitality on the day and to Reverend Daniel Dries for his involvement, and also to the school captains, who spoke with great eloquence.

Oatley RSL Youth Club is one of the most important sporting and youth groups anywhere in the Banks electorate. It has been there for many years and runs a whole range of services for local kids, including gymnastics, football and a range of other activities—netball, of course, chief among them. Each year, members of the youth club assist the Oatley RSL sub-branch in their Anzac Day celebrations, and it was good to see local author and former sub-branch president Bill Wright there on the evening, and also the coordinators of the youth club, including Peter Emmanouilidis, Nicole Graham and Robyn Ellis. Robyn has been working with the Oatley youth netball club for many, many years, and her efforts in the community are very much appreciated, as are all the efforts of the volunteers at the youth club.

On 17 February, I attended a meeting of the St George branch of the Association of Independent Retirees. I like to meet regularly with the independent retirees down there at Club Grandviews in Peakhurst. Every time we meet, we have a cup of coffee and a chat and always a very frank and robust discussion about a range of different issues. On the morning that I visited, it was good to talk about issues such as the overall economic picture in Australia, the Australian economy and issues related to our budgetary position and the banking industry, amongst other topics. I would like to thank the president of the St George branch, Mary Bourke, for her invitation to attend, and Robert Curley, the vice-president, who chaired the meeting in Mary's absence. Robert is a contributor to the Association of Independent Retirees, not just in St George but across the entire nation, and does a lot of the research and legwork, frankly, from which association members benefit. So, Robert, thank you, and thank you to all the members of the association for another very interesting and robust discussion.

House adjourned at 17:00