Bruce Billson (Dunkley, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Small Business, Competition Policy and Consumer Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to speak on a couple of issues this evening. The first is quite definitely not a grievance but a cause for some celebration, and I am going to say something nice about a bank. Just hours after urging the government to take seriously the price-signalling aspect that can be at the heart of collusive behaviour and drawing attention to banking practices and the petrol industry in that regard, I am going to say something nice about the National Australia Bank. I was fortunate to attend three separate ceremonies in the Dunkley electorate relating to the Schools First funding program that the National Australia Bank, I believe, has contributed more than $10 million towards. It has overseen the program in partnership with the Foundation for Young Australians and the Australian Council for Educational Research. This Schools First program aims to provide support for school and community partnerships that have been set up to address a particular identified need or an opportunity within the school community that will bring benefits for students, where a plan has been developed and each partner is making a contribution to that plan, where the program is well organised and it is clear that the students will gain benefit from that program.

The National Australia Bank, the Foundation for Young Australians and the Australian Council for Educational Research consider applications and are in a position to make two kinds of awards available. One is the seed funding grant of around $25,000, and about 40 of those have been made available in 2010; and the other is the local impact award of some $50,000 each, and 68 such awards were announced in 2010. And we have state, territory and national awards to come, so there is still some good news to come.

I am thrilled that three of the secondary colleges in my electorate chose to take up that opportunity and won awards, and I would like to touch briefly on their programs. The first one is the Elisabeth Murdoch College in Langwarrin. I want to pay particular tribute to Acting Principal Judy Curson and the team that was involved in formulating this fantastic community mentoring program. It is an initiative that is very timely because it brings together a number of elements within the Langwarrin community to prepare young people for life into the future and skill them up with competencies which I think should be embedded in the school curriculum, but sadly are not, that are crucial to the way in which people interact: communication skills, working in teams, problem-solving and the like. This program, operating through Elisabeth Murdoch College, has as its partners the fantastic people at the Frankston University of the Third Age. Gail Dudeck and the team from the University of the Third Age have come together with the local council, Langwarrin Community Centre—the team there including Maree Saleeba and the board members—and the college students and staff for this cross-generational collaboration to develop the skills that I touched on.

At the award celebration, Amy Thomas and Bree Peart, two year 11 students who were very involved in the development of this program, were recognised—fine young people who are great examples and fantastic students at the college. They came forward to work with the teaching community and the University of the Third Age to pull this program together. The students drove the project and were an inspiration for the future opportunities stemming from this original idea. It is great that Bree and Amy are focusing on their studies. They were instrumental in the funding application and initiated the conversations that were needed with project partners to make it happen. So the young people themselves at the school were integral to the development of the program. The baton has been passed: Rhys Battisson and Lachlan Gray are two year 8 students who will be taking up the reins and providing that kind of student horsepower to the program.

It is about community mentoring that benefits the community and the students. The University of the Third Age bring their senior and experienced people into the school community. They meet regularly at the Langwarrin Community Centre. The program was about joint opportunities for two-way learning, where a young person can teach a mature-age person computer skills or an older person help a younger person prepare for a job interview or work on better management of their time and on communication skills and the like—things that are very important to the success of those young people into the future.

So I just want to give a big shout out to Elisabeth Murdoch College and all the gang that were involved there. It is fantastic that they have got recognition with this award. Phil Sim, deputy president of the EMC council, was also at the award ceremony. It was great to see the school really getting behind it. But that is just one example.

If we head over to Frankston North and Carrum Downs, we find that Flinders Christian Community College was also awarded a Schools First Seed Funding Award of $25,000 for a collaboration called Learning ICT with Industry. Year 9 and 10 students were able to work with information and communications technology industry professionals in the design and publishing area to produce the school magazine. Students were given the opportunity to take on roles and responsibilities that are normally experienced in the workplace, and to engage with a team focused on outcomes and collaboration. The industry professionals were able to play a significant role by connecting their workplaces with the schools so that there was learning and collaboration and real-time videoconferencing for problem-solving, and an ability to draw from the experience of the professionals who were making their time available to the students. Centreforce was at the heart of that. Mr Murray Payne, the director, and all of his staff put a lot of time into it. It is fantastic to see that contribution.

The school has been able to use some of the funds from the award to purchase equipment that will enable them to take further this videoconferencing collaborative learning model. I would like to send out my congratulations to Jillian Hudson, a teacher at the college, and Murray Payne of Centreforce, the two individuals who were behind that and who were given lots of support and encouragement by Maria Varlet, the campus principal of Flinders Christian Community College at Carrum Downs. When I was there for the presentation, the students were telling me about the wonderfully enhanced learning opportunities that arose from that collaboration.

The third school to receive a Schools First award was Mornington Secondary College, and again I was pleased to be part of that award celebration. This award was for the college’s Drum and Flag Corps program, a police youth corps program. This is a fantastic program comprising cadets, flag bearers, the marching corps and the drum corps led by dedicated local senior constables Mick Mears and Chris Dawson, and teacher and youth corps coordinator Paul Papettas, who is a very important part of the program. Now in its fourth year, over 200 students have been involved. Annually, this is part of their syllabus. It plays a key part in bringing police work, law and community closer together so that people who might not start out with a positive view of policing and law enforcement can gain firsthand contact with people through the program that Paul Papettas operates. The students learn about what policing involves. There are a number of excursions. They go behind the scenes and get to experience firsthand the workings of the police and how it affects all of our lives in terms of public safety and the wellbeing of the community. They visit the police academy, the air wing, the dog squad, the water police and the mounted police stables, as well as local police stations and central operations. They march at key events on occasions such as Australia Day, Anzac Day and Remembrance Day. More recently, they participated in the Bendigo and Moomba parades, to mention just a few examples.

This program is important for its educational content, but it is also crucial for the attitudinal change that is part of it. We are seeing young people developing strong, positive and lasting relationships with police. Mutual respect is developed. Respect for the law is nurtured. The students develop a knowledge and understanding about how policing and law and order adds to the wellbeing and vitality of our community. It helps to break down misconceptions and stereotypes on both sides, and positive attitudes remain with the students for years into the future. So it is a very important program. It is great to see that these three secondary schools in the Dunkley electorate have won that recognition and the resources that come with it.

Finally, in the 30 seconds still available to me, I want to commend Geoff Shaw, the Liberal candidate for Frankston in the upcoming election, and Donna Bauer, the Liberal candidate for Carrum. On the weekend I was pleased to be at a community meeting where they announced a $2½ million commitment to help restore Kananook Creek. It is an important waterway in the Dunkley electorate. It is a focal point of much of the city as it looks towards Port Phillip Bay, but what we have seen is the silting-over of that creek. It needs a good cleanout. It is not navigable any longer, especially around the mouth and past the boat ramps to Beach Street. It should be a community asset. It deserves some love, care and attention and I am pleased to see this announcement by the coalition. (Time expired)