Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Recently I went to Mernda Central College for the opening of the new Japanese tea garden. I saw a fantastic performance by the Takio drummers. The garden has a beautiful design with a fantastic atmosphere that makes you calm and relaxed when you're in there, so I invite the member for New England to come down. It might be good for him! This has been 18 months in the planning with Darryl and Cathy Furze. We were very lucky to have Junji Shimada, the Consul-General of Japan in Melbourne, together with his wife, and my state colleague Lauren Kathage, the member for Yan Yean, at the opening. The school has this innovative Japanese program that allows students to create a deeper understanding of Japanese culture and language. Their partnership with a school in Kyushu in Japan allows visitors from that school to visit and offers Mernda Central students once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for trips to Japan. I want to give a big shout-out to Nick Creed, the assistant principal, and the teachers at Mernda Central College—including the lovely Alannah Currie, who's a very good friend of mine—for their creative vision and innovative learning environment. A big, big thank you has to go to the principal, Anthony Oldmeadow, for the way he leads the school and the way he's encouraging our next generation of leaders to come forward through his great work, his consistency and his absolutely brilliant attitude to being one of our top educators. To the consul-general: Arigatou gozaimasu to you and your wife for coming out and being part of this wonderful event. I have my Mernda Central tie on today, to prove I'm one of the clan. It was a great day. Congratulations to everyone.