Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's that time of year again—a time for celebration, to join in the spirit of giving and to be with families and friends. For many, they will be spending this summer celebrating, but, for others, they will be struggling. That's why today I'm announcing, again, my annual Christmas appeal and encouraging Western Australians to give generously—to come to my electorate office, in the heart of Perth's northern suburbs, and put your gifts of toys, clothes and nonperishables under the Christmas tree. This year, if you can't come to me, I will come to you. Simply reach out on social media or call my electorate office, and we'd be delighted to come and get your generous gifts.

Of course, I'm delighted to again announce that I'll be using your generosity, your generous gift giving, to support the Salvation Army in Balga, which is celebrating 50 years of service to the Balga community—a community that I grew up in as a young person. But, if you can't support my Christmas appeal because you're living overseas or in the eastern states, then I encourage you to look across your local community to find a charity, to find a not-for-profit, that you think deserves your generous gift giving at Christmas this year. This is an important time of the year. We celebrate and we join with family and friends, but we also spend a moment to think about those that may not be as fortunate as ourselves. I encourage people to give, in this very generous country, as generously as they can this Christmas.