Jason Clare (Blaxland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Services, Territories and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's 50 years since Paul Keating was first elected to this place. Actually, it's 50 years ago next week. Paul served here as the member for Blaxland for almost 27 years. As we all know, he also became the 24th Prime Minister of Australia and transformed our economy and our country. As the current member for Blaxland, I had the honour on the weekend to announce the establishment of an annual Paul Keating Lecture. Paul is a Bankstown boy, so it is appropriate that this annual lecture be held in Bankstown. Every year, Bankstown will host a prominent Australian to talk about what Paul Keating did for our country and what we can learn from him to help build a stronger party and a better country.

The first lecture will be held on Thursday 7 November at the Bryan Brown Theatre in the heart of Bankstown. Paul will be there. Paul's good friend—and my good friend—Chris Bowen will deliver the inaugural lecture. The lecture is also supported by Western Sydney University, which is building a vertical campus in the heart of Bankstown on the edge of Paul Keating Park. They'll be making a very special announcement on the night. I announced the lecture on the weekend, and tickets are already almost gone. I would encourage anybody that's interested in coming along to click on my website and register for a ticket or get your name on the waiting list. It promises to be a great night with the great man himself.