Page 921 - Week 03 - Thursday, 10 March 2005
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
and learn the values, behaviour and lifestyles required for a sustainable future and a positive societal transformation.
It was the qualities of sustainable education and the efforts to link communities through such education that led to the selection by UNESCO of Kate’s ride as a demonstration activity for the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. As Kate rode through the length and breadth of Australia, she brought with her a complementary education program. The program aims to encourage and facilitate the building of sustainable communities and to encourage children in the local schools that Kate visited across the country to be environmentally proactive.
Schoolchildren were able to track Kate’s progress with the ride through their web site, to which she and her fellow riders regularly contributed. The sharing of Kate’s experience as she rode that extraordinary distance around such a huge and diverse continent enabled the participation and involvement of schoolchildren and communities in her voyage and her cause. Her commitment to change and to working for change is outstanding and certainly deserves commendation.
In 1993, Kate organised and completed a trans-Siberian cycle expedition from St Petersburg to Vladivostok, a distance of 13,500 kilometres, to aid the children of Chernobyl. Now, in 2005, Kate has organised and ridden around Australia, including being the first woman to cycle the Canning stock route, to promote the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.
On International Women’s Day, we celebrate the commitment of women such as Kate to progressive change. Kate’s commitment to working for change and to achieving the unimaginable is indeed worthy of congratulation and celebration. Recognising the importance of sustainable education across our communities, particularly for our young people, is essentially minimising the impact of our own footprints while building a sustainable future.
She has taught all of us something about ourselves and about our involvement and our commitment to the world around us: that if we take the time to be involved and to echo her passion it will guarantee a better place for all of us. Meeting such an amazing woman on the completion of her ride around Australia was an honour. I take this opportunity to congratulate Kate for her achievements, to celebrate her successes and to wish that all of us take something from her passionate commitment to working for change.
Health—breast screening
MR SMYTH (Brindabella—Leader of the Opposition) (5.48): Mr Speaker, I wish to discuss my concerns, the Liberal Party’s concerns and the concerns of many members of the community regarding continuing delays with breast cancer screening and the receipt of those results. I want to make it clear that the opposition is in no way blaming the hardworking staff in the breast cancer screening clinic for these delays.
We blame the government for failing to adequately resource and staff this clinic so that it can: make appointments for women to be quickly screened; screen the target number of clients budgeted for; and deliver the results of the screenings to clients in a timely fashion. I do not think it is good enough to have the minister simply throw up his hands
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .