Stuart Henry (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to recognise the efforts of some outstanding young people in my electorate of Hasluck. Although some schools in Western Australia take advantage of the subsidy program to visit Parliament House, the distance, the cost and the time it takes to travel from Perth to Canberra are prohibitive for most schools in Perth. After my election in 2004, I introduced a leadership award in Hasluck to give at least two young school students in my electorate an opportunity to visit Canberra.

The Hasluck Leadership Award is named after my electorate, which in turn was named after Sir Paul and Dame Alexandra Hasluck—two renowned Western Australians. The Haslucks are an example to all of us with their dedication to this country and its people. Sir Paul was a journalist, diplomat, bureaucrat, member of this parliament, cabinet minister and Governor-General of Australia. Dame Alexandra was a historian of note.

There are 12 high schools located within the electorate of Hasluck and each school is asked to nominate one year 11 student who most closely matches the leadership criteria set out by the award. From these students, two overall winners—a boy and a girl—are chosen to visit Canberra and tour the House of Representatives, the Senate, the Australian War Memorial, the Australian Institute of Sport and other nationally significant sites.

The two overall winners are chosen by a panel comprising local schoolteachers, who consider each student’s written application and oral presentation. I am very pleased to announce this year’s Hasluck Leadership Award winners: Zach Cole of Guildford Grammar School and Tara Franzinelli of La Salle College. These two outstanding young leaders were chosen from a field of 10 students from schools throughout Hasluck. I would like to take this opportunity to recognise each of these students: Benjamin Wholagan from Kalamunda Senior High School, Kate Buffham from Southern River College, Mark Letter from Mazenod College, Danielle Lombardo from Saint Brigid’s College Lesmurdie, Aqila Ahmad Sinwan from Forrestfield Senior High School, Toshiff Nathoo from Lesmurdie Senior High School, Jerusha Thomson from Governor Stirling Senior High School and Peter Cheng from Lumen Christi College.

It was very pleasing that the Prime Minister was able to present the Hasluck Leadership Award certificates to all of the nominees and announce the winners at a community morning tea in Gosnells on 28 July 2006. Over 300 residents and representatives from community groups attended the event, which I hosted jointly with the City of Gosnells. The Hasluck Leadership Award is about developing the leadership potential of our young people, so who better to present the students with their certificates than the Prime Minister of Australia? The students thoroughly enjoyed the event and I hope that it will help to inspire them in their studies and future careers. I am looking forward to hosting Zach and Tara in Canberra next month and I know they will enjoy their time here.

It is important for young people to appreciate the democratic principles and institutions which are the foundation of our free society, and I believe that promoting and encouraging leadership qualities in our youth is an important task for all of us. The Hasluck Leadership Award satisfies both of these objectives, and I am proud to contribute to such a worthwhile endeavour.