David Bradbury (Lindsay, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On 2 September, the city of Penrith was 'painted REaD', with over 600 local children gathering to read, rhyme, sing and talk with the most famous kangaroo in Penrith, Rooby Roo. This occasion marked the Paint Penrith REaD initiative's second annual reading day, which began with a show at Centrebet Stadium followed by a reading hunt at Centro Nepean, where I happily read a book to an excited young audience.

The Paint Penrith REaD initiative aims to highlight the importance of supporting the early literacy skills of children from birth through reading, rhyming, singing and talking. Paint Penrith REaD has had a short but powerful presence in the Lindsay electorate, taking us by storm in just two years. Rooby Roo is now a household name in our local community, synonymous with bringing reading, imagination and interaction into the lives of our youngest and most impressionable community members.

I am extremely grateful that Rhonda Brain, creator of the Paint the Town REaD initiative, has shared her vision with our local community. Rhonda started this initiative 14 years ago, following her career as a primary school principal in Parkes. During that time she noticed a trend of delayed language development amongst young students. Since then, she has built this very successful literacy project, which operates widely throughout New South Wales. I would like to recognise the hard work and dedication of the Paint Penrith REaD team and the army of volunteers who support this cause. Firstly, I acknowledge Barbie Bates, who has played an instrumental role in building the presence of this project both in Penrith and throughout the Western Sydney region. Barbie and her team have spent countless hours hosting reading days and pyjama parties and visiting various community events. I thank them for their tireless dedication.

I acknowledge Mission Australia and in particular Families NSW team leader Julie Jasprizza-Laus and services manager Neryl Liston, who each play important roles supporting this project through the strategic working group and coordinating events. I also thank Penrith City Council and the board of the Children's Services Cooperative, in particular board director Janet Keegan and Karen van Woudenberg. Their strong support and commitment to this initiative has been invaluable.

Ahead of the annual reading day, I was also fortunate enough to MC Paint Penrith REaD's conference dinner, affectionately known as the Annual Bugs Convention. This year's function featured fantastic performances from Nepean Creative and Performing Arts High School, the Riverland Harmony Chorus and an address from Dr Matt Finch, an impressive speaker with a passionate commitment to literacy development.

The sky is the limit for this fantastic community initiative. In such a short period of time, Paint Penrith REaD has had an enormous influence in my local community and I am confident that in time this influence will spread right across Australia. I look forward to working with Rhonda Brain and her team to help further promote and expand this project, with a possible event to be held in Parliament House next year already in the works.

I once again thank the dedicated team behind the Paint Penrith REaD initiative and I look forward to seeing them, along with Rooby Roo, hopping throughout Penrith and nurturing early literacy skills in my community into the future.

Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In accordance with standing order 193, the time for members' constituency statements has concluded.