Ted O'Brien (Fairfax, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ruth Fairfax was the person who founded the QueenslandCountry Women's Association, the QCWA. What an impact that organisation has had for not just women on the land but also families on the land! Of course, it's Ruth Fairfax after whom the seat I represent on Queensland's Sunshine Coast is named—the seat of Fairfax.

In honour of Ruth Fairfax, two years ago I began a perpetual shield with schools in my electorate that recognised that next generation of leaders, the next generation of men and women who will be the Ruth Fairfaxes of the world in the future. These are children growing into adulthood who will make a contribution academically or on the sporting field or through civil society—people who are just givers and doers, demonstrating that same capacity for leadership that Ruth Fairfax had.

I was delighted to be able to attend over recent weeks a series of speech nights. One of the real downers about coming down to Canberra at this time of the year is you miss other speech nights. It is often at these speech nights that you learn so much about what schools are achieving and what those students are achieving. I want to take the opportunity here to acknowledge those people who were awarded the Fairfax award at their schools. In particular, I want to acknowledge, from Suncoast Christian College, Jesse Price; from St Andrew's, Daniel Boulton; from St John's at Nambour, Matthew Haley, Aryana Krpan, Halimah Reynolds and Jessica Seeleither; from Coolum Christian College, Jessica Young; from Mapleton State School, Ellen Reif; from Burnside State High School, Tane Powell; and from Maroochydore High School, Jessie Kent, Karina Buczynski and Maddison Denning.

It's so easy when life gets busy to not realise the effort that teachers and principals put in to make sure that our young people are achieving their best. While we believe in the importance of ensuring the basics are right at schools, we also need to ensure that we've got an environment where young people can achieve their best—and, indeed, we do. When you see some of the young people in my electorate of Fairfax, I tell you what: it is a humbling honour to be representing them and their families here in this place.