Ken Wyatt (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to talk about the Hasluck Leadership Awards. This program was started by previous Liberal member for Hasluck, Stuart Henry, and has resulted in seven young leaders from across Hasluck travelling to Canberra to experience life in the capital.

As soon as I was elected I pledged to reinstate this program, which seeks to develop, recognise and celebrate the leadership of our young people. Every high school in Hasluck was invited to nominate a year 11 student to enter the competition. The two winners will travel to Canberra and stay for a week in August to meet with senior decision-makers and leaders, both political and non-political.

Students were invited to answer the question: how will I benefit from the trip to Canberra? The seven finalists were then interrogated by an independent panel which required off-the-cuff, two-minute answers to some topical and difficult questions on leadership. I wanted to identify the leadership potential of our young people and provide some of them with the opportunity to apply this talent in the real world and to act as role models for their peers. The seven finalists all carried themselves exceptionally well and were a credit to their families and schools.

I would like to acknowledge Michelle Gaudin from Darling Range Sports College, Mariah Williams from Governor Stirling Senior High School, Angela Gazey from Kalamunda Senior High School, Heather Barnwall from La Salle College, Shaiden McNamara from Lumen Christi College, Joshua Bretnall from Mazenod College and Joanne Pryce from St Brigid's College. Each one of these young people were outstanding in their own individual right and are winners already, even without this recognition.

However, there were only two winners on the night as determined by the independent panel of judges consisting of Paul Rosair, the Director General of the Department of Regional Development and Lands; Tracey Hodgkins from Australian Experiential Learning Centre; First Class Constable Kay Turner from the Gosnells PCYC; Councillor Allan Morton from the Shire of Kalamunda, and Mark Pescud, a teacher at Ashburton Primary School. I would like to thank each and every one of the judging panel who had to make some tough decisions due to the calibre of the students in front of them. Each young person had their own individual skills and any one of them could have been recognised as the recipient of the major prize.

The judges found that Joshua Bretnall from Mazenod College and Joanne Pryce from St Brigid's College were the two standout students during the judging process. Both will be joining my and staff and me in Canberra during August.

None of this would be possible without our major sponsors, which I would like to publicly acknowledge: Qantas, Brikmakers, the Swan Chamber of Commerce, WesTrac, David Goode from Westate Finance, the Damien Cole Group and Tony Trlin & Co. Builders. Without them this opportunity for the young people of Hasluck would not have been possible.

What also made the evening special was the attendance of Senator Judith Adams and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition Julie Bishop MP. Julie was extremely giving of her time and spoke to each student and their families at length about challenges in leadership, and of the students' respective achievements. Senator Judith Adams also provided an insight into leadership, talking to families about her long and distinguished career in the Senate. She has been a supporter of the Hasluck Leadership Awards since Stuart Henry commenced the program.

Additionally, what made the evening so positive was the attitude of the students who did not win the final prizes. They were upbeat and optimistic and it seemed keen to get on with their studies and start their lives as year 12 students next year. I was astounded at their approach to life, their maturity and intelligence. They all have powerful aspirations in the fields of defence and law, for example, and are ready to contribute to society. As a result, I was inspired to launch the Hasluck Young Leaders Program on the same evening. This is open to all the award nominees plus head boys and girls from all high schools across Hasluck. It is an opportunity for students to participate in policy debates, excursions to locations such as state parliament and meet a number of different leaders within the community. This is designed to ensure that our young leaders across the electorate have every opportunity. In our society, we are too quick to point the finger at young people as being troublesome, disrespectful and even dangerous to others. I would like to challenge that notion, and do so with this program.

In my dealings with hundreds of young people across the electorate, I continue to be overwhelmingly impressed with the nature and commitment of many of these young people. These young people should be recognised by their peers as examples of what can be achieved through dedication and effort, and I am proud that they were part of the Hasluck Leadership Awards and will be part of the Hasluck Young Leaders Program in the future.

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