Page 3062 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 23 September 2014

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the capital projects in the 2014-15 budget, and particularly the University of Canberra public hospital—a public hospital that is going to provide subacute health services as part of the ACT public hospital network. It is going to provide overnight inpatient accommodation for mental health rehabilitation and general rehabilitation patients. In addition to those overnight beds, the hospital is going to include day places for mental health rehabilitation and aged-care patients. It will include allied health services such as physiotherapy, speech pathology and psychological therapies. There will be a range of community and outpatient services which will include falls injury prevention, memory assessment, continence services, and driver and vocational rehabilitation services.

Discussion concluded.

Adjournment

Motion (by Ms Burch) proposed:

That the Assembly do now adjourn.

Indian Independence Day

DR BOURKE (Ginninderra) (4.23): Tonight I pay tribute to diverse Indian Australian communities of Canberra, the great nation of India and the Indian national day celebrations I attended recently.

India gained its independence from nearly a century of British rule on 15 August 1947. The same day in Canberra, at India House, Indian High Commissioner Sir Raghunath Paranjpye first unfurled independent India’s tricolour flag. In the presence of over 300 guests he said, “May this flag ever fly on a peaceful and prosperous India. May it promote peace, order and unity all over the world.”

Sixty-seven years later, Canberra’s Indian community continues to commemorate Indian Independence Day. This year the India Australia Association of Canberra, with the support of the High Commission of India and the Federation of Indian Associations of ACT organised the event for the Canberra community. Despite the rain and cold, over 350 of us celebrated Indian Independence Day. This special celebration was one of the first large-scale events involving the collaboration of the entire Indian community in Canberra.

Folk dances and songs reflected the richness and variety of Indian culture, with performances from the India Australia Association of Canberra, the Bengali Association, Gujarati Samaj, the Malayalee Association, the Orissa Association, the Telugu Association, the Sikh Association, the Canberra Multi-Cultural Artists Association and Bollywood Dimensions.

This promotion of community unity echoed the sentiments expressed in the much-anticipated first Independence Day address of India’s newly elected, 15th Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. In an hour-long speech he addressed the nation without notes, and spoke of the importance of unity both within government and as a society.


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