Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Multicultural Engagement) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, good on you, Senator Polley, and also good on Nola Marino MP for taking the lead on this. I was not aware of the extent of that issue of childhood dementia before the activities of this week. Congratulations and deep respect to you for that contribution and also for the work which you are doing on a collegiate basis with Nola Marino MP. Thank you very much.

Springfield, where my office is located in South-East Queensland, had its business Oscars last Saturday night. The event was convened by the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce, and it was its Marquee Business Awards. I'd like to offer some congratulations. The winners are first. The winner of the lifestyle award was Tash Maree Tours & Events. The winners of the professional services award were P&L Accountants. The winners of the best customer service award were Apar Hair Studio. The media and IT award was won by Purple Bunny Marketing. Congratulations! The education and training award was won by Springfield Anglican College, which is an outstanding educational institution. The financial services award, which I had the opportunity to actually present, had three wonderful entrants: Jet Team Finance, Zest Mortgage Solutions and PSK Private Wealth. The winner was—and there can only be one winner—Jet Team Finance. Congratulations to the Cafe Kalina at Springfield for the hospitality award. The real estate and property maintenance award was won by First National Real Estate Springfield. The outstanding small business award was won by Aquashield Bathroom. The business of the year award and members' choice award was won by Zest Mortgage Solutions. For winning the businessperson of the year award, congratulations to Rebekah Sanfuentes from McNamara Law. The president's award went to Helping Support Minds.

I would like to give my deep congratulations and pay my deep respects to the president of the chamber, Neil Coupland, whose real estate agency, First National Real Estate Springfield, actually won one of the awards. It was one of the first times I've seen Neil being almost speechless. I also congratulate Leila Stewart, the executive officer of the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce. Neil describes Leila as their single superstar employee, and she certainly is. Something special has been created by the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce, and that's brought about by the executive but also the wonderful businesses who are members of that chamber. Congratulations to everyone. It was a great privilege to be in attendance on Saturday night. Everyone's a winner in the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce.

I would like to speak about a remarkable cultural and spiritual event that I attended on Saturday 31 August at St Paul's School at Bald Hills, organised by the BAPS Swaminarayan Hindu community, where we celebrated Janmashtami, marking the birth of Lord Krishna. The event was a vibrant celebration rich in faith, culture and community spirit. The venue was beautifully decorated—and I just want to emphasise that; it was absolutely beautifully decorated—including with scenes from Lord Krishna's life, welcoming families. And there were so many families there who gathered to honour this sacred occasion. What really stood out was the unity and inclusiveness that brought together people of all ages and backgrounds. It was open to the entire community, strengthening the bonds within our wonderful, diverse community.

During the event, I had the privilege of receiving a nadachhadi—excuse my pronunciation—which is a sacred thread, which I'm wearing this evening and haven't taken off since the event. This further deepened my connection to the cultural significance of the day. I'd like to pay my deep respects to the BAPS representatives, Pujya Aarshpurushdas Swami, Pujya Bhaktinidhi Swami, all the BAPS volunteers, members and devotees and also Utsav Sejpal, who coordinated my participation in the event. Congratulations to everyone.

It was great to see the wonderful Councillor Sandy Landers from Bracken Ridge there, as well as two wonderful LNP candidates for the forthcoming Queensland state election: the LNP candidate for Aspley, my good friend Ms Amanda Cooper; and Mr Chris Mangan, who's the LNP candidate for Sandgate. He'll make an absolutely outstanding member for the seat of Sandgate. To all the other community members who were there: congratulations. It was a great event. Congratulations to the BAPS community.

I would like to pay my deep respects to the Rotary Club of Archerfield, of which I am an honorary member, for their very successful annual dinner and charity night at Gambaro's. This is an absolute institution. They raised funds on the night for a wonderful charity called Interplast. During my time as company secretary of a great Queensland company called PanAust Ltd, we worked very closely with Interplast, who assist in facial reconstructions, especially for children in need of those treatments in developing countries. We assisted that charity in Laos and also in PNG. So I'm very familiar with the work of Interplast.

There was a considerable amount of money—tens of thousands of dollars—raised on Saturday night by Archerfield Rotary for the charity. That will go to providing treatment in the Asia-Pacific region, which is a wonderful thing. Special thanks to Lester Drew and Ray Deen, both dear friends of mine, for their work in bringing the event together. To all the attendees of the event: thank you so much for your contribution to what was just a wonderful evening. Thank you to Archerfield Rotary and the broader Archerfield Rotary community for everything that you do for the community.

I would like to congratulate a wonderful Queenslander, Ms Julie Peel, who was successful just this week in being awarded a teaching fellowship from the Schools Plus Teaching Awards. Ms Julie Peel is principal of Milpera State High School in my home state of Queensland. Milpera State High School is one of my favourite places in the whole of Queensland. This is a high school which provides specific educational services designed for refugees and the children of refugee families. They have an outstanding record in terms of the wellbeing of students, the attendance rates of students and school completion rates. It is an amazing environment. Ms Julie Peel is the principal. She provides the leadership and is just outstanding in everything that she does.

But I know Julie would say of this award, this fellowship, which is a great honour which she has received, that she is receiving it on behalf of the Milpera State High School community—the whole community. That's all the teachers, the volunteers, the students and the families of the students in the very special environment they've created at Milpera State High School, which, from my perspective, represents the very best of Australian values. With that, I want to give my heartfelt congratulations once again to Ms Julie Peel, 2024 winner of a teaching fellowship from the Schools Plus Teaching Awards in my home state of Queensland.