Joanna Gash (Gilmore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The students, teachers and community volunteers of Gilmore have again proven they are second to none. Recently, we helped facilitate the second annual Gilmore youth leadership forum. About 100 year 11 students from nine high schools and group leaders made up of teachers from public and private schools and community volunteers took part in a 2½-day event at the Waterslea conference centre in West Cambewarra. The event again exposed the students and leaders to inspirational keynote speakers. They were: Beaconsfield mine disaster explosives expert Darren Flanagan, AFP officer Sherri McMahon, a youth leader from Ulladulla, Mark Ettridge, SBS correspondent Bronwyn Adcock and Salvation Army icon Don Woodland.

The students and leaders also took part in leadership building workshops and activities. The major workshop was again carried out by Anthony Bonnici of Move Mountains. Anthony’s workshop was inspirational and a distinct highlight of the entire program. The students and leaders also carried out a Backyard Blitz type activity at the Bomaderry community centre. The Gilmore youth leadership forum participants, with the valuable assistance of the Shoalhaven City Council, Shoalhaven City Council park officer Glenn Elliot and Gilmore youth leadership forum project coordinator Steve Jones, did a fantastic job in re-landscaping the entire centre. It was inspirational to again see everyone voluntarily bending their backs and putting in for the good of the local community.

Last year, the Gilmore youth leadership forum participants did a fantastic job in making over the South Nowra Rotary park on the Princes Highway, and this year’s effort equalled that of 2005. As we all know, there is something extremely satisfying about getting your hands dirty and doing some really hard yakka. The youth forum students can well appreciate that feeling now. However, none of this would have been possible without the incredible support of our region’s public and private schools and some incredible sponsors. I seek leave to incorporate the list of sponsors, in no particular order.

Leave granted.

The list reads as follows:

Shoalhaven City Council, Bomaderry Bowling Club, BAE Systems, Premier Motor Service, Shoalhaven Area Consultative Committee, Manildra Group, Pan Macmillan, Telstra CountryWide, Shoalhaven Ex-Servicemen’s Club, EADS, Serco Sodexho, Campbell Page, Australian paper, Soilco, ActewAGL, University of Wollongong-Shoalhaven Campus, Partech Systems, Shoalhaven Water, A & D Tree Services, Shoal Bus, Coates Hire, Pel-Air, Langmore & Associates, Klimpton Press and the South Coast Register.

With permission, I would like to list the sponsors in the speech. Our heartfelt gratitude also goes to the team at Waterslea conference centre, led admirably and professionally by Jeff Mann. The forum also relies heavily on volunteers. We called on schools and community leaders for volunteers to take on the role of small group leaders. This year we had 21 group leaders, roughly a fifty-fifty split of teachers and people from the general community. Each and every one of them was outstanding, and I would like to go so far as to name them and thank them personally. I seek leave to incorporate the list, in no particular order.

Leave granted.

The list reads as follows:

Catherine Winnem, Stacy Lay, Emma Pearce, Steve Campbell, Penny Costello, Rod Williams, Marissa Newman, John-Paul Bober, Lauren Ray, Andrew Brown, Hayley Dean, George Spero, Jade ten Kate, Ros Hackett, Sam Luxford, Cassie Pearce, Sean Newman, Winston Wardle, Donna-Marie Clarke, Craig Weller and our man for all things first aid—Martin Gaffey.

My deep thanks go to Andrew Guile from the Nowra Anglican College. This was the second year that Andrew has acted as project coordinator for the forum, and again he excelled and led by example. I also thank my media and policy staffer, Sean Burns, who was also doing his second year. He put together the whole program. How lucky am I to have two young men like that working for me? Finally, and most importantly, I thank all the year 11 students who took part in this year’s event and their families. Without the students’ willingness to take on the challenges of the Gilmore youth leadership forum and their preparedness to move outside their comfort zone, the event would not have been such a success. We look forward to facilitating next year’s event and encouraging leadership for life. I also recognise the input of Alan Cadman, the member for Mitchell, for introducing me to the program and for his never-ending support.