Peter Lindsay (Herbert, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want the parliament to know, I want the Australian government to know and I want the Australian people to know that I support the students at St Anthony’s school at Deeragun who care for other students. Last week I received 82 individual contributions from the students, and they were very thoughtful contributions indeed. They are coloured in as a mechanism to ensure that the students made their point: that they care. They care about child poverty; they care about child health; they care about the millennium goals that the world has set, to be delivered by 2015. I particularly want to thank Sophie Lulham from 3D at St Anthony’s school, who made a very colourful contribution, and Thomas Boscacci from 3D—Mrs Hickey’s class—for his contribution. It certainly touched me and I want to say to St Anthony’s school: you have my full support and I believe that you will have the support of all of the members of the Australian parliament.

There are eight UN Millennium Development Goals, but the school is particularly interested in millennium goal No. 4, which is to reduce child mortality. Not only do we have to think about that across the world; we also have to think about it in our own country. We have to think about what all of us can do to improve the lot of children as they face the world of the future.

To St Anthony’s school: thank you for sending me this particular certificate. You have indicated to me that St Anthony’s primary campus cares that Australia keeps its promise to achieve Millennium Development Goal 4 by increasing aid for child health to $560 million by 2010. You have told me that you have included 82 drawings of yourselves to represent children in developing countries that need access to health care. I want you to know that I support you. I want you to know that I will do what I can for this very worthy cause. Thank you for sending all of this to me.