Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. How is the government working to make my community in south-west Sydney and other communities right across Australia stronger, smarter and fairer?

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Fowler for his question. I thank him for the way in which he represents the communities within his electorate in this place, and I thank him for spending some time with me last week when I had the opportunity to spend a number of days in Western Sydney, something that I very much enjoyed. Whilst in Western Sydney I had the opportunity to meet with people in all sorts of settings from all walks of life, but one meeting actually reinforced in me very strongly the importance of the government's plan for the nation's future—the importance of our focus, our relentless focus, on ensuring we create jobs and bring opportunity to Australians around the nation, including in Western Sydney.

I had the opportunity to meet with a young man called Corey Payne. He would be known to a number of Australians as a first grade NRL player—

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He played for the Bulldogs!

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am getting helped here. Yes, indeed—he played for the Bulldogs. So we are getting some supporters making sure that that is on the Hansard. Corey Payne has also engaged in getting a master's degree at Sydney university, and Corey Payne is running a charity that is there to inspire young people in Western Sydney—inspire them to be the first in their family to go on to higher education. In his company, I had the opportunity to meet Paolo and Elaine. Elaine and Paolo are both from Fairfield High School. Elaine, having studied there, is now enrolled at Sydney University. This is her first year and she is studying law. Paolo is still at Fairfield High School. He has set his sights on engineering at the University of New South Wales.

Our national partnership money at Fairfield High School has worked with Corey Payne—his charity and his leadership—and the school's leadership to create new opportunities for these young Australians. Our national partnership money has facilitated the construction of a dedicated study area, now known to students at that school as the home of the 'nerd herd'. That is something that they wear as a badge of pride: they are students who are studying together with the dream and aspiration of being the first in their family to go to university. If you were trying to boil down into one life story the work of this government and the importance of our plan for Australia's future, it is this: making sure that young people, whether they are in Sydney's west or anywhere else around the nation, get the opportunity to have doors open to them, whether it is to university or to an apprenticeship or traineeship, so they can have the skills they need for their life. It is through that that we will be stronger, smarter and fairer nation. It was great to have some time to spend with these very impressive young Australians.

Mr Lyons interjecting—

Mr Mitchell interjecting—

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Bass and the member for McEwen, there are procedures in this place that I am in charge of. I will deal with them at the appropriate time; question time is not the appropriate time.