Matt Burnell (Spence, Australian Labor Party) | Hansard source

I'd like to take this opportunity to talk about an event that I was delighted to have been a part of on 29 June at RAAF Edinburgh, which is located in my electorate of Spence. The event marked a further five-year extension to the partnership between Defence and Questacon to empower and support teachers to bring STEM into their classrooms in a manner that uses fun, challenging and engaging ways. It was great to hear from local teacher Chloe Heffernan about the benefits of bringing STEM into her classroom and what it can bring to classrooms throughout Australia.

I'd like to thank the Assistant Minister for Defence for his video message on the day; he was unable to attend in person. I know that the assistant minister would like to have attended if he could have, as I know he very much appreciates the importance of building STEM talent pools in Australia, particularly full of bright young minds who one day might find themselves in careers in defence, defence adjacent or a number of other rewarding fields that are going to be critically important to Australia in the years to come. I'm sure he would also have enjoyed having a go or two on the VR flight simulator. I'm at least reliably informed that I make for a very decent virtual helicopter pilot. I'd like to thank Senator Fawcett for attending this event. It is important to have a bipartisan presence at events involving not just defence but also STEM education. Lastly, I'd like to thank Questacon director Jo White, Major General Wade Stothart and Air Commodore Adrian Maso AM for making the day a huge success.

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