Melissa McIntosh (Lindsay, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Happiness by helping—isn't that a fantastic motto for a school to have? That's the motto of Emu Heights Public School that the Prime Minister Zoomed into last week when I visited the school. For many schools across our country—particularly, schools in my electorate of Lindsay—going to Canberra in year 6 is something they always look forward to. It's been really tough for them this year that they haven't been able to do that, so I've been bringing Canberra to them.

It was really great to have the Prime Minister join us. He was asked some pretty tough questions by the students. Matthew asked the Prime Minister what the biggest priorities were for the PM this year. It was also great to talk about what we're achieving in Lindsay. Mariah, the school captain, got up and talked about what the students were doing together and how they were living by their motto: Happiness by helping.

While the PM did get a few tricky questions about Sharks taking on Panthers and Panthers winning, overall, we gave great advice to the students about getting ready for next year—that big transition from year 6 in primary school to high school.

The students at Emu Heights aren't the only ones I've been visiting. I also visited Colyton High School recently. That was great. They'd received a grant to upgrade their volleyball court. They used to play volleyball on dirt out the back and now they have a proper court, so that was great. The Year 10 students made me play a professional game of volleyball with them, and it was really enjoyable just getting out with the kids. Ensuring that our children in our community are healthy and active and living healthy and active lives is one of my top priorities.

I also spoke to the year 10 students about what they want in their future and where they'd like to be. As I always say, we have such a wonderful opportunity in Western Sydney. With the international airport coming and all the investment coming into Western Sydney, I want to make sure that children, whether they're in year 10, year 6 or finishing high school, have the best opportunities for a good job and don't have to do the long commute out of our area for a good job, like many of the 300,000 have to do every single day out of Western Sydney. That's something I'm fighting for too.

I would like to thank all the schools who have opened up their schools. It has been a tough year. You've let me in. You've allowed me to present my Lindsay Quiet Achiever Award as well, which has been a real honour. The Lindsay Quiet Achiever Award goes to a student who goes about their school life quietly, helping other students, helping their teachers but, most importantly, doing their very best. I congratulate all the students in Lindsay who've received a Lindsay Quiet Achiever Award this year.

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