Gai Brodtmann (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am living proof of the transformative powers of education, so I spend as much time as possible engaging in the activities of schools in my electorate. In the first six months of my term I noticed there were plenty of awards for students who got straight As in maths or English or who excelled in sport, but there were no awards for those students who were what I call the quiet achievers. There was a real gap in the market for those students who overcome physical and personal challenges and yet still achieve their goals.

In 2011, I introduced the School Legends awards. These go from the Little Legends awards for kindy students right through to the Member of Canberra awards for year 12 students. These awards were introduced as a result of the gap in the market that I saw. I noticed in 2011 when I first presented the awards that they were dominated by students who overcame physical challenges. There was many a tear shed when a little person, who had undergone brain surgery, emerged from the audience, yet still went to school and arrived with a big smile on their face despite the physical challenges that they had experienced. I also had a number of children who experience cerebral palsy and juvenile diabetes—all crippling diseases—yet they managed to overcome these physical challenges and arrive at school with smiles on their faces, happy to engage in activities and overcoming these challenges.

This year was quite different. About 60 per cent of the students who received the awards had suffered significant personal challenges. It was a really marked contrast. I will talk about some tragic circumstances. The father of one of the boys I gave a legends award to had committed suicide early last year, and his mother had left him and his five brothers and sisters a few years earlier. As a result of the fact that his father had committed suicide all the siblings were with foster parents throughout Canberra. The boy turned up with his incredibly supportive foster parents and I met him and gave him his award. He is a mentor at one of the schools for the little refugee children, the kids from non-English-speaking backgrounds, and they just adored him. So, not only has this young man experienced an incredible personal challenge and overcome it but he is also mentoring those younger students who are also facing their own challenges in adjusting to a new culture.

These are extraordinary young people who show resilience, courage and strength of character beyond their years. These awards boost self-confidence and self-esteem, and I have had incredibly positive feedback from parents and teachers. They are nominated by the school and they also send a very strong message that their school is watching out for them, aware of the challenges they are facing, supporting them and loving them.