Stephen Jones (Whitlam, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Development and Infrastructure) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's Child Protection Week, and today I'm calling on parliament to open up our hearts, our minds and our wallets—and our communities—to a group of young people who have come to parliament today as part of a project called 'Protection'. They have made a film and have been involved in making this film for the last three or four years. I want to give a special shout-out to Cooper Mangarelli, Drew and Nicole Brown, Nyetarlee Jackson and Victoria Thomas. They largely come from housing commission suburbs in my electorate. They are fantastic, enthusiastic young kids, and they have brought their cinema cubby to the lawns of Parliament House. It's that colourful structure out the front—

An opposition member: It's cold today!

Yes, it is cold today, but their enthusiasm is infectious. I want to read a couple of quotes to the House, particularly from Lilly, who has been involved. She is 14 and says, 'We are super excited to finish this film and to show it to other kids and their families all around Australia and talk to them about the issues and messages that come up in our film.' And then there's Cooper, aged 10, who says, 'We're very proud of our film, because it's us on screen. We're not Hollywood actors; we're the real thing. It's great when people tell you how much they loved the film.'

The issues they are talking about are important. They're about bullying, racism and how to deal with the challenges confronting you and your households. I'm encouraging you and your communities to get behind this important project. (Time expired)