Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My electorate of Chisholm really values education and lifelong learning. We're home to world-class universities—Monash University and Deakin University—fantastic TAFE and vocational educational institutions and some truly wonderful primary schools and secondary schools. Over the last two weeks I've had the joy of holding mock parliaments with year 5 and 6 students at Laburnum Primary School, in Blackburn South; year 6 students at Wattle Park Primary School, in Burwood; and year 5 and 6 students at St Justin's Catholic Primary School in Wheelers Hill.

I was so impressed by the energy and enthusiasm the students had for learning about our democracy and our parliament. The students had some excellent questions which I wanted to answer here today. A lot of their questions were about the mace in the House of Representatives. So, students, the mace is made of solid silver with gold plating, and it weighs 7.8 kilograms. It was made in London and was made to look like the mace used in the British House of Commons. It was a gift to the Australian parliament in 1951 from the British House of Commons and King George VI. Thank you so much to the students and their incredible teachers for welcoming me into their classrooms, and I look forward to visiting again soon.

I also recently held a roundtable with year 12 leaders from right across my electorate. It's so important to speak directly to young people and understand the issues that are on their mind. The policies we make in this place impact them, even if some of them can't vote yet, and they deserve to have a say about our country and our future. As leaders of their schools, the year 12 leaders spoke on behalf of their school communities. Some of the issues they raised with me were the environment and climate change, LGBTIQA+ rights, navigating the transition from high school to adulthood, the mental health of students, concerns about being able to buy a house in the future, balancing part-time and casual work with study, the cost of going to university, the importance of work experience and careers counselling for students, and their strong desire to be taught life skills in school. I want to sincerely thank the year 12 leaders for their insights, perspectives and passion for serving their school communities and advocating for their peers. These are true leaders in our community and wonderful representatives of our schools and our broader area. I want to thank them so much for attending the forum. I look forward to bringing the group together again soon. It was really a source of great joy for me to see so many friendships formed through the cohort of student leaders from right across my electorate.

I also want to congratulate Charlotte Sing from Presbyterian Ladies College in Burwood for being named the Victorian winner of the 2024 Simpson Prize. The Simpson Prize is a national competition for year 9 and year 10 students that focuses on the service of Australians in World War I. Charlotte was chosen from more than 1,000 entries from 79 schools across Australia. I know Charlotte has a passion for history and deeply cares for our community. She chose to complete work experience in my office last year, and I am delighted to see Charlotte thriving in her schooling. It was wonderful to be able to congratulate Charlotte in person today at the award ceremony here in Parliament House with the Minister for Education, Jason Clare. Congratulations to Charlotte. I am so looking forward to what the future holds for you.

It was fantastic, too, to welcome Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Emma McBride to visit the brand-new headspace in Box Hill recently. The headspace in Box Hill provides free mental health and wellbeing support for young people aged 12 to 25 years of age. This centre was delivered with $3.6 million as an election commitment from the Albanese Labor government. Assistant Minister McBride and I met with Ananya Krishna and Sankara Santosa, who are members of the youth reference group. They helped to design the space, which is beautiful, and provide ongoing advice and feedback to the headspace Box Hill team.

We also met with the broader Box Hill headspace team, Mind Australia and the Eastern Melbourne Public Healthcare Network, who are so passionate about supporting the mental health of young people in our community. Headspace Box Hill have only just officially opened their doors and already there is an incredibly strong demand for their services. I think this really shows just how needed this service was for our community. For young people in Mount Waverley and the surrounding suburbs, headspace Syndal, just two doors down from my office, also provides free mental health and wellbeing services. I have visited both centres, and the staff there are truly remarkable. I commend everybody for the work that they do in our community supporting young people.

On the weekend I was delighted to attend the 2024 Roberts McCubbin Primary School Art Show in Box Hill South. The Roberts McCubbin Primary School Art Show has been running for nearly 30 years, showcasing the work of local artists and benefiting the Roberts McCubbin Primary School community. I am a sponsor of the art show and I love being able to support such a terrific initiative. Congratulations to everyone who was involved in putting on such a spectacular exhibition. I was fortunate to secure a beautiful watercolour piece that was on display that I am looking forward to displaying in my office.

I am a proud supporter of small businesses in Chisholm. I recently held a small-business roundtable with the Minister for Small Business, Julie Collins. We spoke with representatives from a variety of small-business organisations from right across my electorate, including the Asian Business Association of Whitehorse, the Glen Waverley Traders Association, the Monash Precinct Network and the South East Melbourne Manufacturers Alliance. We heard about the challenges that small businesses are facing and we spoke about our government initiatives to support small and medium-sized businesses. I am proud to represent Chisholm, which is a community I know very well and love. As someone who grew up with parents who ran their own business, I know how important it is that we see small and medium and family businesses thrive right through our community. I take very seriously my responsibility to support education and to support small business in my electorate.

Being here, being able to talk about the wonderful groups and people in my electorate, is a privilege that I never take for granted. I'm really ambitious for our community. The meetings I've had over the last two weeks really encourage me. There is so much opportunity that our government will be able to support. I look forward to continuing to show up for, care and support my community for as long as I can.