Michael Sukkar (Deakin, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I rise to acknowledge the work of an organisation in my electorate: Taralye, the oral language centre for deaf children in Blackburn. The pioneering centre was established in 1978 by the Advisory Council for Children with Impaired Hearing (Victoria), set up a decade earlier by families and early childhood education professionals. In the years since, Taralye has continued to be at the forefront of improvements in linguistic, educational and social outcomes for deaf children, both nationally and internationally. Just last week, I had the great privilege of attending the launch of the research findings of the Sound Connections project at Taralye, a collaboration of five listening and spoken language early intervention centres throughout Australia. The three-year project studied the language outcomes of more than 500 children, and the social inclusion outcomes of more than 100 children. I reiterate today what I said at last week's launch—that is, to congratulate everybody who worked with such dedication to see the project through to completion. In particular, I pay tribute to the families, educators and researchers, who are so dedicated to helping the children at Taralye reach their full potential. Finally, I wish recognise Therese Kelly, who does an exceptional job as Chief Executive Officer of Taralye, and who will celebrate 10 years of service in July. Congratulations, Therese, and to everybody at Taralye.