Page 2003 - Week 06 - Thursday, 9 June 2022
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Yerrabi electorate—community engagement and events
MS ORR (Yerrabi) (5.26): Today I will give one of my first Yerrabi yaps in a little while. While it will be a tough job to fit absolutely everything that my team and the Gungahlin and Belconnen communities have been up to in one speech, I look forward to speaking about some of the highlights.
Yerrabi folks have responded to the work of this place with very much enthusiasm and passion over the last couple of months. For example, my office has received lots of positive feedback on the consultation on some of the play spaces in Gungahlin, including the Ngunnawal park and a brand-new recreation park in Casey. I am pleased to report that both projects have received a high volume and diversity of feedback, and lots of enthusiasm for them, which I have passed on to the minister, who is currently reviewing that feedback through City Services. I understand that City Services will be releasing a “what we’ve heard” report for both projects in the coming months. I am looking forward to reading that report, and I know that the community will be anticipating it.
My office has also been promoting opportunities for individuals and community groups within Yerrabi, wherever possible, to participate in the inquiries and drafting processes taking place in the Assembly. I have spoken at length in this place about the Carers Recognition Act and what its passage at the end of last year meant to me, my family and the community. I will not go into great detail except to express my gratitude to the individuals and groups from my own electorate who made up a significant number of the contributors to the bill’s construction and development.
I also wish to note, not for the first time, the truly extensive, comprehensive and overwhelmingly positive response my office has received since releasing the Period Products (Access) Bill exposure draft. I am happy to say that many individuals and groups from across Yerrabi are putting forward responses to this bill and showing a lot of support. Indeed, it has been quite touching to see Yerrabi’s overall compassionate and thoughtful character so clearly on display, upon even a cursory review of the feedback.
I would also like to take this opportunity to speak about some of the many community-organised events I have had the privilege of attending over the last couple of months. While the issue of period poverty is still fresh in our minds, I will start with the DigniTea—Share the Dignity—event which was held last month in Canberra, alongside 11 DigniTeas over five weeks, in celebration of world menstrual day, and in support of the ongoing work of Share the Dignity in fighting period poverty. Share the Dignity’s work on developing the Period Pride report remains a crucial resource for the ongoing work happening both within and outside this place. It is always a delight to have the chance to sit down and collaborate with other members of the community who are looking to tackle period poverty.
This would not be a complete Yerrabi yap without reference to many of the great community groups in Yerrabi. One of them, the Indian Australian Multicultural Sports Association—IAMSA—do lots of great work, particularly in the north of Gungahlin,
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