House debates

Monday, 15 February 2021

Statements by Members

Fairfax Electorate: School Principals

4:22 pm

Photo of Ted O'BrienTed O'Brien (Fairfax, Liberal Party) Share this | | Hansard source

Time and hindsight will see many a lesson learnt about the pandemic that we're now amidst, but one of the early lessons—and a big one—is the need for resilience and resilience not just at the national level but at the local level, to ensure that people don't fall through the cracks, to ensure that confidence is maintained and to ensure that local communities can bounce back when they face hardship. But such a local response requires local leadership, and I want to pay tribute today to school principals, who play an instrumental role in ensuring local resilience through this pandemic. Last week I visited a few schools and saw these principals in action.

I'm talking about Chris Ivey at St Andrew's Anglican College and Chris Gold at St John's College. I'm talking about Greg Myers at Good Samaritan Catholic College and Anthony Ryan at Coolum State School. These are principals who are showing leadership not just in their schools but, indeed, in their local communities. It's due to local community leadership that we are seeing every little pocket, certainly in my seat of Fairfax, respond to this pandemic with strength and with unity. I thank them and I encourage them to continue to provide this local leadership until we're through the other side of the COVID-19 pandemic.