Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

One of the great joys of being an elected representative in this place is being able to meet the wonderful school groups from the Goldstein electorate that come and visit Parliament House. All members know this wonderful joy of engaging directly with the voters of the future, the thirsty and hungry minds of our democracy, and we welcome them every day. So far this year, I've had the pleasure of meeting students from Kilvington Grammar School, McKinnon Primary School, St Joseph's School and St Mary's Primary School from the Goldstein electorate. Thank you for coming to Canberra, and, more critically, thanks for coming up on a sitting week so we can chat. It is an honour to meet and spend time with young, bright students who are discovering the strong spirit of our democratic institutions and traditions in the great land we call Australia.

The questions they ask and the observations they make are thoughtful and insightful and make me proud to be their local representative. Inquiry is critical to the future and health of our democracy, and they embrace that. It is always refreshing to be able to step out of the hustle and bustle of political life and engage directly with young people on a personal level and to connect with them so they can have a greater confidence in our democracy into the future. I'd like to emphasise how exciting it is to see what great values and curiosity our local schools are instilling in their kids. To those students from Kilvington Grammar School, McKinnon Primary School, St Joseph's School and St Mary's Primary School, welcome, and we look forward to more visits in the future.