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

Last week we hosted one of our regular Goldstein community morning teas. These gatherings are an important opportunity to honour those who contribute to our local community and to welcome those who are new to the wonderful electorate of Goldstein. We've always had a forward-looking, modern, liberal community that values strong social bonds that strengthen our civil society. So it was a wonderful opportunity to acknowledge those people who have done the hard yards locally.

We were joined by finalists of the Anzac poetry competition, swimming champions from McKinnon Primary School, as well as new members of our community, Karen and Fabian Vice. Congratulations to the winners of the Anzac Day poetry competition, Dewi Millie and runner-up Alexandra Lily Symes. We also had a chance to acknowledge the Anzac competition finalists: Helena Perkins, Ronny Seoud, Sophia James and Imogen Jackett-Simpson. Thank you to John Douglas, Ray Dunstan, Roger Hyde OAM and John Basarin AO for acting as judges for this important competition.

It was also a pleasure to meet Hannah Black and her parents, Suzie and Rob. Hannah is a year 8 student at Brighton Secondary School who has developed a fully functional bionic hand. I don't know about you, Deputy Speaker, but I hadn't achieved that when I was in high school. She makes me feel somewhat inadequate, and like I have some performance issues, compared to her capacity to do something so incredible at such a young age.

I also met Bobby Quadara and Chris Salvage, who were also in attendance. Bobby and Chris were representing Bayside Hockey Club, which recently raised nearly $2,000 in support of Bayley House, a local disability support charity for people with a disability, including people with Down syndrome. Their hockey club is looking forward to establishing an all-abilities hockey program at Bayley House. We had the opportunity to congratulate Carmelle Schachna for winning the Haileybury chess competition.

I lastly welcomed a group of district swimming champions from McKinnon Primary School, as well as their principal, Simone Eirth. Congratulations to Koharu Nishikawa, Rosie O'Brien, Daniel Sidur, Sam Chilco-Burns, Toby James, Bevis Han Li and Mia Kam. Thanks also to all the other guests and, of course, the Goldstein electorate the staff who helped bring it together.

We also recently had the Mother's Day high tea at Black Rock House in honour of Mother's Day on Sunday, 13 May. What better way to celebrate such an occasion than at Black Rock House. We were delighted with tea, coffee, sandwiches, cakes and everything else. I resisted temptation and stuck to the tea, but Black Rock House is a charming reminder of the value of conservation and preservation in the Goldstein community. It offers a unique view into the 19th century Victorian era. Thank you to the volunteer committee for this year, who brought all the activities at Black Rock House together: the president, Carolyn Brown; the minute secretary, Sandra Collins; the treasurer, Debbie Gruneklee; Gudrun Gawantka; Jayne Richardson; Eryl Harris; Tracey Scharenguivel and Leanne Geothel.