Celia Hammond (Curtin, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to recognise a tremendous young person in my electorate, Lucy Lonnqvist, this year's winner of the My First Speech competition. Lucy presented her winning speech in Parliament House last week and spoke passionately about using wellbeing, not just the GDP, to measure a country's success. Lucy argued that economic growth matters, but it is not the most important indicator of a country's collective wellbeing. We should also consider what really matters to us in our lives, what we value in the communities in which we live and what kind of society we want to be. It was inspiring to meet Lucy, a student of St Mary's Anglican Girls School and resident of Curtin, and listen to her determination, her passion and her will to make positive change in society. Lucy is already making a difference, and I have no doubt that she will continue to do so in the years to come. I'm sure that this will also not be the last time that she comes to this place.

It's important that we provide opportunities for our young people to step up, pursue their passions and make a positive contribution to the communities in which they live, and this competition does just that. Thank you to the judges, particularly to the Speaker of the House, for organising the competition, and congratulations again to Lucy and to all the other prize winners.