Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to speak in strong support of the National Schools Chaplaincy Program. Next week, 30 October marks the eighth anniversary of the commencement of the program. Last week I had the privilege of attending a function in my electorate, in Hastings, which brought together chaplains from across seven different Western Port schools and to hear the testimonials of students, parents and others about the value of this program to their lives, their work and their wellbeing.

There are some who would denigrate the National Schools Chaplaincy Program as some sort of religious frolic. It is anything but that. It has a deep and profound impact in terms of the way in which students are affected. But let me just give the testimonials, because nothing speaks louder. One local mother said that the school chaplain had helped her through a difficult time:

That is a quote from a mother at Baxter Primary School.

Another primary school student said:

That is a from a student from Baxter Primary School. Another student, at Western Port Secondary College, wrote this:

In short, what these testimonials say is that the chaplains are about protecting and helping young people with their lives, as well as their parents and the school community. I want to thank all of those who were involved in the establishment of this: David Price, Peter Rawlings, Jeff Harvey, Dale Stephenson and so many others. It is a great program, and I commend it.