Page 1391 - Week 04 - Thursday, 30 March 2017
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Let me take a minute to set the scene for you, Madam Deputy Speaker. There were jumping castles, pony rides, a petting zoo, reptile shows, an invasion of daleks, a nerf battle arena and food stalls: pretty much all you could ask for, and more, wouldn’t you agree? Over the course of the day, many small competitions are held for students, including arts and crafts, photography, cake decoration, scarecrow designing, and Lego building.
I was honoured to be asked to judge the Lego competition, but I have to admit that, to date, it was one of the hardest decisions I have had to make in my professional career. It was truly heart-warming to walk among countless imaginative Lego designs that gave particular insight into the dreams and aspirations of our youngest contributors to society. And yes, Madam Deputy Speaker, I count Batman, Superman and R2-D2 as genuine aspirations. Designs ranged from samurai dragon wars, replicas of the fair, spacecraft and—as claimed by Chris—“fully sick” race cars, all the way to a happy aerial view of a bride walking down the aisle and tea parties with friends, and everything in between.
Burgmann also uses the fair as an opportunity to raise funds for the Leukaemia Foundation through the World’s Greatest Shave. This year, over 15 students from middle school and senior school participated in shaving off their locks to raise money for the foundation, and successfully raised in excess of $5,000 between them.
I would like to quickly mention some of the volunteers who helped bring this incredible day together: Michelle Murphy, Wendy Preston, Deb Shannon, Karen Spedding, Beverly Clench, Tracey Jacob, Lyndall Muller, Lisa Weissel, Salena Kulkarni, Ana Hoogewerff, Averil Haidar, Rebecca Sporic, Trish Brodie, Kelly Robbins, Stephen Anthoney, Joel Anderson, Melanie Spencer and Leanne McKenzie. I apologise if I have left anyone out.
I would also like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the principal of Burgmann Anglican School, Steven Bowers, who remains a champion for the community. Well done, Burgmann, and thank you once again to the many volunteers of our community for putting in such effort and sacrificing so much of your time in order to bring this together. It was a wonderful event; I look forward to attending next year’s fair.
Multiculturalism—cultural acceptance
MRS KIKKERT (Ginninderra) (4.57): Today I wish to speak in support of multiculturalism. This is not merely an academic discussion for me; being a migrant from the Pacific Islands, multiculturalism in Australia is my personal, everyday, lived experience, and I am thankful to be a part of this great nation.
The white Australia policy, one described by Labor Prime Minister Billy Hughes as “the greatest thing we have achieved”, was introduced in part to force people who look like me out of Australia. I am proud to belong to a political party that completely dismantled this policy, making space for me and others like me in our vibrant multicultural society. I am likewise proud to sit on the only side of this chamber that
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