Maria Kovacic (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Earlier this month, I was fortunate to be able to take part in the 2024 Mike Powell Public Speaking Competition as a judge, alongside my friends the member for Berowra and the Hon. Natalie Ward MLC. The Mike Powell speaking competition is the premier public speaking competition for the New South Wales Young Liberals and, importantly, raises funds for mental health services.

The competition is named in honour of former member of the Northcott Young Liberals branch Mike Powell, who lost his life to suicide in 2011. It was particularly special to be joined for the evening by Mike's parents, Jenny and Keith Powell, who were so kind in sharing how much the evening meant to them in honouring their son's memory. Congratulations to the winners of this competition, Flinders Brogden and Chelsea Burgess Hannon, on their excellent speeches, as well as highly commended Aryan Ilkhani and the other competitors: Abby Smith, Nicholas Chiaverini, Reilly Palmer, Oliver Griffiths and Bella Mantakoul.

The event raised over $4,000 for local mental health services. I want to congratulate the Hornsby-Berowra Young Liberals Branch, led by Francis Bolster, for putting on such an impressive event. It was an important showcase of the breadth of talent in our New South Wales Young Liberals team, and, as federal patron of the Young Liberals, I'm really proud of our young Australians.