Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to talk about some magnificent community groups within my electorate, some fantastic volunteers, that do vital community work, and I was very pleased to support them to gain some grants through the Stronger Communities Program. One of those groups is the Islamic Society of South Australia. I was delighted to support its successful submission, where it received a small amount of money towards the fit-out of its new Al Salam community centre. I'm pleased the member for Boothby, who attended the opening with me, is here. It's a fantastic group that does some great work with the community, aspiring to peace and ensuring there is a connection with the community in the area around them. It's a wonderful group.

Another group is the Castellorizian Association of South Australia. It's a great group that has been around since 1927, doing all sorts of things for the Greek community. It was set up by some of the first Greek migrants in South Australia. It's still going strong today. It does lunches for pensioners and has a get-together once a month. I attended its Christmas show on Sunday. I was very pleased that we were able to support its successful submission for $13,000 towards the upgrade of its centre's facilities. The oldest member there was Mrs Finos, a wonderful woman, who's been a member since the thirties—a very, very long time. Her son, Stephen Finos, is the president. It's a great group that has been doing great things for such a long time.

The Flinders Park Football Club is another fantastic club that has kids from the age of 10 upwards who participate in Aussie Rules. On training nights it's absolutely packed with mums and dads. It offers a great facility where kids can play sport and participate. I was very pleased that we were able to support its successful submission for $8,000 towards the upgrade of its facilities, namely an electronic scoreboard. It plays some night games and does a whole range of things, and it's wonderful to see the families that are involved in this wonderful club. That's why we were very pleased to support the club.

The Girl Guides South Australia is a great group in the Kurralta Park-Plympton area. We are pleased to have supported its submission for $4,000 towards the installation of solar panels, which will bring down its electricity prices. It's a group that has been around for a long, long time. We're all familiar with the Girl Guides and the great work they do for young women and young girls in this nation.

One group that I particularly wanted to mention is the Peake Gardens Riverside Tennis Club in Marleston. It has been around for a very long time. I was delighted that we were able to support its submission for $17,000 towards the upgrade of its facilities— (Time expired)