Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Small Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There are three local events I would like to refer to tonight. On 17 March, I was pleased to attend the 75th anniversary service of one of our fine schools: Delany College, Granville. Delany College was opened back in 1942 as Patrician Brothers' High School and went co-ed in 1997, catering for years 7 to 12. The college was renamed after Bishop Daniel Delany in honour of its Patrician heritage. Appropriately, the 75th birthday celebrations were held at St Patrick's church on St Patrick's Day. I was pleased to be able to attend the service with students past and present as well as with the wider school communities of the Parramatta and Granville area.

Delany College is a great school and it reflects the culturally-diverse community of Granville. As Father Paul Roberts said, 'When I walk into school, I see the remarkable diversity of humanity—a mix of students from parts of the globe, living in peace.' I would like to acknowledge the work of Principal Robert Muscat, along with the teachers, in helping continue the traditions of Delany College. I thank them for allowing me to be part of their 75th anniversary celebrations and pay tribute to the students of Delany College both past and present.

The Pakistani community celebrated last night. If you want to know about the Pakistani community in Australia, you only have to look at the mighty census. In 1901 census, there were 360 cameleers from the area which is now known as Pakistan. They were largely ex-British military cameleers and they were essential in building the Overland Telegraph Line—one of the great engineering achievements of the 19th century, with 36,000 posts and 3,200 kilometres of wire. In the 2011 census, 67.8 per cent of the Pakistan-born aged 15 years and over had some form of higher non-school qualifications compared to 55.9 per cent of the broader Australian population. It was a community punching above its weight on high school qualifications back in 2011, and it is continuing to do so now.

Last night, they got together at the Himalaya Emporium in Bankstown to celebrate Pakistan Day. As usual, about 500 people turned up. I have had the privilege of attending a number of their functions previously, but I was in Canberra last night, so I was not able to attend. I know I missed a really good night. The event recognized five Pakistani-Australians who have made outstanding contributions in their professional field. That is quite a tradition on Pakistan Day in Pakistan. An award ceremony is organised where the President gives military and civilian awards to people for their contributions to Pakistan. In Blacktown, awards were given for contributions to Australia. The recipients were Asim Saleem, Uzma Shahzad, Adnan Meher, Shafqat Ali and Dr Mansoor Syed. I convey my hearty congratulations to them all. Also recognised were Pakistani-Australian students who received an ATAR of 95 or over in their 2016 HSC. Abbas Rana, the president of the association, reiterated the need to support Australia and feel like Australians, as only love for this country can make us a good part of this society. Despite not being able to attend, I thank the president, Abbas Rana, for the kind invitation, and I hope I can make it next year.

On Friday, 31 March, it will also be a very sad day in Parramatta because a whole group of us will be heading down to the Parramatta pool for our last swim there. The pool was built in the 1950s by the community. It was literally crowdfunded by the community, who wanted a pool. It is a war memorial pool. On Friday, 31 March, the state government will close it and demolish it to make way for a stadium. Many of us have swum in that pool for the Parramatta City Swim Club that has been teaching there for decades. About 1,300 kids go there for lessons, and local schools use it. Saint Pat's school down the road have pointed out that it will cost them $600 for a 62-seat bus every time they want to go to a pool now.

This was a CBD pool. It will be until Friday. Many of us have been swimming in it for years. I swam in it when there were outdoor cold showers in winter. Some of us in Parramatta are tough. It is one of the best pools in New South Wales. It has an Olympic diving tower—one of only two in Sydney. It has 10 lanes. It is an Olympic standard pool. You can actually set a record in that pool. On Friday, it will all be over.

I would like to thank Suzette Meade, in particular, and the many people in the community who fought so hard to keep this pool open. They have done a remarkable job. I say to the state government and the state member, Geoff Lee: this will not be forgotten. This is painful for us. This is our pool, and we want to keep it. We will not forget when the election comes around. (Time expired)