Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'd like to pay tribute to Mr Nader Hanna who has worked at the Meadow Heights Education Centre, in my electorate, for almost 30 years, first as a teacher and then as CEO. With Nader's retirement, he leaves behind a legacy of what it means to fully contribute and make a difference in one's community.

The Meadow Heights Learning Shop, a not-for-profit community organisation, started in 1993 as a very small community centre in a shopfront of the Meadow Heights Shopping Centre with a budget of just $15,000. In 1997 it became a registered training organisation, with English as a second language on their scope of registration. Since then they've expanded from Meadow Heights to Roxburgh Park, Craigieburn, Dallas, Sunbury and even as far as Port Melbourne. Meadow Heights Education Centre has been true to its purpose by improving the quality of life for my community in the areas of education, recreation, leisure and children's services. Its impact on migrants and refugees establishing themselves in a new home has been immeasurable. The Meadow Heights Learning Shop's empowerment of our community in a supportive, caring and engaging environment means that it's deserving of the recognition and standing it has.

Over this time, the centre has successfully engaged learners from more than 23 different countries and cultures. With Nader's knowledge and perseverance, the centre has been able to keep educating the community when others may have given up. Through the trying times of COVID, Nader was the driving force in setting up ways that students could continue learning, reassuring students, many of whom were new to Australia and had not yet built a support system, that they were not alone. The Meadow Heights Education Centre was one of the few organisations that continued to stay open during the COVID lockdowns, combining a mix of teaching and learning strategies to ensure vulnerable students were not left without support. This also included the provision of food packages to needy families.

As CEO, Nader was actively involved in creating partnerships with other community organisations and expanding the operations of the Meadow Heights Education Centre, ensuring that there were courses run through the school hubs in four primary schools in Hume and assisting neighbourhood houses that were struggling. Nader supported the centre's staff through the years, celebrating the happiest of times with laughter—often with his delicious homemade cakes—and was a pillar of strength through their hardest moments, encouraging every person he worked with to be the best version of themselves.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Nader Hanna for his commitment and dedication to our community over so many years, and I do want to wish him a very enjoyable, stress-free retirement. He will be immensely missed. His retirement is our community's loss, but I know, having spoken to Nader's wife, that she's absolutely thrilled that she's getting her husband back. Good luck to both of you.