Daryl Melham (Banks, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last week I was pleased to host the Prime Minister in the electorate of Banks and to observe the warmth with which she was received. On Wednesday, 6 March, I met up with the Prime Minister, together with the Attorney-General, the Minister for Home Affairs and the member for Watson, in Punchbowl. There, the Prime Minister chaired a community forum with representatives from Neighbourhood Watch, the Canterbury, Hurstville and Bankstown council crime committees, a local drug action team and representatives from Riverwood Community Centre in my electorate. The participants at the forum engaged with the Prime Minister, together with the other ministers, on matters to do with community safety. I noted a high level of participation and involvement as local issues were discussed in an open and constructive manner.

After the forum and prior to a press conference, I took the opportunity to introduce the Prime Minister to the group next to the room we were meeting in. This was a regular community meeting of seniors from the Chinese community who meet each week to socialise through dancing and other activities. The group was thrilled when the Prime Minister stopped by to say hello.

After the formal event, the Prime Minister accompanied me to the Riverwood Community Centre. I have spoken on the success of this centre in this place in the past. The organisation is the heart of the Riverwood community in my electorate and I was delighted to be able to take the Prime Minister on a brief tour with Ms Pauline Gallagher, the centre's manager. I am very proud of the centre and was very pleased to introduce the Prime Minister to the Riverwood community, as a whole, through its community centre. With Ms Gallagher, I introduced the PM to a frail and aged group, the childcare centre and several of the culturally and linguistically diverse groups which also meet there on a regular basis. On that day, a Vietnamese group were preparing for the centre's autumn fair which was held last weekend. I later got to try their 'trial' spring rolls. The Prime Minister spent some time meeting with representatives of the staff and volunteers. There is a staff of over 100, both full time and part time, who work with almost 140 volunteers. They speak over 20 languages between them, catering for the diversity of the Riverwood community.

As it happened, I visited the centre again the next day with the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Brendan O'Connor. Staff had already printed photos of the Prime Minister's visit and were very excited to have met her. That excitement was palpable even the next day. Minister O'Connor was able to see firsthand the commitment and dedication of those who operate the centre and those who participate in its activities. These are many of our more recent citizens giving wholeheartedly to their new community. I note particularly the involvement and the contribution of Ms Annie Organ, the current President of the Management Committee. The Prime Minister was impressed by the commitment of the staff and volunteers and pleased when she saw the numbers of people participating in the many activities at Riverwood. People feel at home there. The Prime Minister was a welcome guest.

Last year I hosted the Prime Minister at the Georges River College Penshurst Girls Campus. She was accompanied by the member for Kingsford Smith, the Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth, to do an education forum which was broadcast live on I think both Sky and ABC 24. Over 100 teachers and principals throughout the area, together with parents and staff, attended that community forum, where there was interaction and feedback. Even to this day I am still getting positive feedback from parents, teachers and principals who participated as to how impressed they were with both Minister Garrett and the Prime Minister and the way they conducted themselves in what was a positive forum.

These are the ways in which we should conduct our business—in a positive fashion. The Liberal Party, the National Party and the Independents are entitled to articulate their cases in a positive sense in a broader community. I do not want to see this country go down the American path in relation to the way the Republicans and the Democrats treat themselves and how they have debased politics in America. It is the politics of vitriol. I note that the member at the table had some positive comments to make this morning, and he is to be congratulated. We need to respect our culture and our institutions. We need to respect each other and conduct ourselves in a more dignified way. That is why I enjoyed the visit of the Prime Minister last week. (Time expired)