David Coleman (Banks, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On 23 November, I attended the St George Creative Art and Craft Centre annual exhibition in Penshurst. This is a fantastic event every year. The St George Creative Art and Craft Centre has been around since 1978 in the old Pole Depot building in Penshurst. Over that time, literally thousands and thousands of people, especially kids, have been through the centre, learning about art and craft and challenging themselves in painting and drawing, and in so many other parts of the creative arts. It is a wonderful organisation, and it has some fantastic people behind it.

I want to thank Margaret Conlon, who has recently been elected president again. Margaret has worked at the centre in a voluntary capacity for many years, and we're all very grateful for her efforts. I also want to congratulate the kids who received the Banks Outstanding Achievement Awards on the evening for their efforts at St George Creative Art and Craft. The arts have been around for basically as long as human beings have been around, and there is a reason for that. They're very important. They're a critical part of our society. It was wonderful to celebrate the local achievements in Penshurst last week.

On 16 November I visited Padstow Community Care, a wonderful organisation which does great work in our local community. It was great to announce that Padstow Community Care will receive over $600,000 in funding under the federal government's Financial Wellbeing and Capability grants. Manager Grant Heslop, Jamie Wendt, Jenny Antognelli, Trudy Soligo, Donna Johnson and the many other people involved in Padstow Community Care do wonderful work with people in our community going through difficult times. I thank them for their work, which has extended over many years now.

On 4 November I attended the Penshurst RSL Junior Rugby League Football Club presentation day at Evatt Park in Lugarno. Penshurst RSL is a great rugby league club. It has been around since 1961, one of the longest-standing in our entire region. It was wonderful to present Banks Outstanding Sporting Achievement Awards to some of the young league players at the club. I thank President Graham Chong Sun, vice-presidents Richard Morgan and Chu'mana Lee, Secretary Dave Cahill and Treasurer Steve Rogers. It's a fantastic organisation, one of the strongest rugby league clubs anywhere in Sydney, and it was a great pleasure to visit on that day.