Gai Brodtmann (Canberra, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Deputy Speaker, I congratulate Relationships Australia on 50 years of operation in Canberra and in the surrounding region. It is a community-based, not-for-profit organisation that has been providing relationship support services for five decades. I recently had the pleasure of attending Relationships Australia's AGM, which coincided with the organisation's 50th birthday. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Fiona Loaney for inviting me to take part in the celebrations, and to publicly acknowledge the great work the organisation does in Canberra and around the country.

I visited the organisation for the first time in May this year and was incredibly impressed with the great work that is being done by dedicated team of counsellors and mediators to bring to build strong and positive relationships in Canberra and the capital region. I was particularly impressed with the nonviolent resistance program based on the principles and philosophies espoused by Dr Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi. This program has led to a number of positive outcomes in my electorate, including a reduction in family violence and family conflict, and a reduction in antisocial and violent behaviour in schools in the community. Relationships Australia's long list of achievements in its 50 year history is impressive, and I look forward to seeing the organisation continue its great work for another 50 years. I would like to acknowledge that there are—hopefully—representatives in the chamber today; if not, they will be here soon.

Finally, Deputy Speaker, as part of the Shop Small campaign, today I am wearing Canberra designer Yumi Morrissey's Zilpah tart, which I bought at the Telopea Park School fete recently—and you can't get more local than that!