Chris Crewther (Dunkley, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) congratulates the six teams comprising Australia’s brightest high school students chosen to compete in the International Olympiads for science, maths and technology;

(2) recognises the work and effort these students put in to win the coveted spots in the team;

(3) notes that the Australian government has committed a total of $4.1 million over four years to help our best and brightest compete globally; and

(4) looks forward to hearing about the performance of the teams following the olympiad.

I'm extremely proud to be moving this motion today, to congratulate and acknowledge the hard work of the students who will soon be travelling overseas to represent Australia in the International Olympiads for science, maths and technology. We have lots of very talented people right across all generations, but, as the youngest member of the House of Representatives, making exciting opportunities and new horizons available and accessible for our youngest generations, not only in Dunkley but across the nation, is something close to my heart.

We live in a changing world where ensuring that our students keep pace with educational opportunities and successes internationally become more important with every year. I'm very proud of our young students who have reached these incredibly high stages of their studies, and I know they're proud to represent Australia.

I would like my colleagues to join me in congratulating the following students. The following students are representing Australia in biology: Sai Campbell, Shanni Chen, Luke Hemmingsen and Jessica Law. The following students are representing Australia in chemistry: Kieran Connor, Richard Huang, Raymond Li, Phillip Liang. The following students are representing Australia in earth science: Rebecca Whittle, Wayne Wong, Rose Zhang and Kim Zheng. The following students are representing Australia in informatics: Jerry Mao, Angus Ritossa, Albert Smith and Jacob Smith. The following students are representing Australia in mathematics: William Hu, Charles Li, William Steinberg, Ethan Tan, Hayden Tang and Guowen Zhang. The following students are representing Australia in physics: Stephen Catsamas, Boris Deletic, Alicia Lieng, Hugo McCahon-Boersma and Vladimir Mikho.

It's great to see such a solid Victorian contingent in that list. I know they will do us in Victoria proud, and they will do the rest of Australia proud too. These six teams representing excellence in these different fields are travelling to all different locations across the world, which will be a wonderful experience for any young student.

While I note that this year there wasn't a representative from my electorate of Dunkley, I have been very proud to support other students from my own electorate representing Australia internationally. Only last Friday I gave an ambassador pack to Olivia Robinson, who was travelling to Japan in July for the 30th Asian-Pacific Children's Convention. I congratulate Olivia on her wonderful success in being selected as one of only a few students across Australia to go to this convention.

Going back to the topic at hand, we have lots of young people who are competing on the international stage. Australia brought home gold from the International Olympiad in Informatics last year. That's why the Australian government has committed a total of $4.1 million over four years to help our best and brightest compete in international competitions like this. Minster Cash and Minister Seselja recently met with the Australian delegation, where they received their team blazers. I think this is fantastic because it shows the absolute support and commitment to competitions like this. Just as we support people travelling overseas for major sporting competitions and the like, it is important that we promote participation in intellectual Olympic Games, and these students, soon heading off, will do us proud.

These spots are extremely competitive to achieve, and the international competition is sure to exceed what these students have faced before, but just making it to the competition shows their dedication and hard work. This battle of the minds is sure to be incredibly exciting, and I look forward to hearing about our six teams' success when they return.

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