Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is with great pride that I announce the winners of the 2018 Gorton Young Leaders Awards. I established these awards in 2009 to recognise young local people who've shown exceptional commitment to public service, specifically through involvement in voluntary work, student leadership or community service. This year, nine high schools across the electorate of Gorton participated in these awards. The 2018 winners of the Gorton Young Leaders Awards are: at Kurunjang College, Ms Nashay Anderson and Mr Owen Samson; at Staughton College, Nicole Nicholas and Benjamin Mulheran; at Lakeview Senior College, Emma Taylor and Jose Ong; at Copperfield College, Ms Naba Baro; at Melton Secondary College, Winona Duka and Jacob Azzopardi; at Melton Christian College, Anthony Higgins and Victoria Hirt; at Catholic Regional College, Melton, Chloe Laurel and Boden Mugridge; at Gilson College, Olivia Durbin and Kenny Kha Tran; and at Southern Cross Grammar, Kate Vukoja. These young men and women have shown excellent public service or voluntary work. They've been leaders in their schools, and it is up to the schools as to who are rewarded with this acknowledgement. The fact is that, each year, we find that there are many young people doing some remarkable things in our community.

I think it's fair to say young people get a raw deal—too often publicly and, indeed, in the media—where people focus on the things that are perhaps not as admirable. And yet the contribution, the philanthropy, the volunteerism, the generosity and the leadership of young people are often neglected. These young students—these potential local champions of the future who may continue to work in their community or go beyond that to find themselves in this place or leading the way in other pursuits—deserve recognition. I'm very proud to be associated with them. I'm glad that these awards have been dedicated to young people in these schools for almost a decade. In fact, this is the 10th occasion where the awards have been provided. We deserve to acknowledge young people, and I do so. I look forward to meeting them. We're going to gather sometime, hopefully before Christmas, so I can personally thank them, thank the teachers and principals, and thank their parents for a marvellous example of how important it is to be a positive contributor to the community. (Time expired)