Carol Berry (Whitlam, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to congratulate Archie Wilkinson, an apprentice plumber in my electorate who won a gold medal at the WorldSkills Australia National Championships in Brisbane earlier this year. These championships celebrate and showcase vocational excellence, and this year's competition featured over 600 apprentices, trainees and students, who competed over three days across more than 60 skills categories, including Archie's chosen field of plumbing. Following his gold medal in Brisbane, Archie was one of 39 apprentices selected for the WorldSkills Australia national training squad. This is the first step towards gaining a place on the Australian team, the Skillaroos, that will compete against more than 60 other countries at the 48th WorldSkills competition in Shanghai in September next year. In September this year, Archie joined his training squad teammates on a visit to Parliament House, where he met the Minister for Skills and Training and also the Prime Minister.

The Australian government proudly supports the WorldSkills program, which plays a vital role in encouraging young Australians to pursue skills based careers. Archie Wilkinson studied at TAFE in Goulburn and is now employed by Graham Isedale Plumbing in Mittagong, which is in the Southern Highlands region within my electorate. I congratulate Archie on all he has achieved so far, and I wish him all the best as he trains to gain selection for the Skillaroos.

I also rise today to recognise Reading Friends Australia, a not-for-profit organisation that encapsulates two things I am passionate about: education and community spirit. I'm proud to say that Reading Friends Australia is based in my electorate of Whitlam and that it organises scores of volunteers to assist children at 25 schools across New South Wales to practise reading. Reading Friends Australia trains volunteers and works with each school to tailor its service to suit the individual students at that school.

Recent research has found that one in three children in Australia struggle to read well. Reading Friends Australia try to address this problem and, since 2019, they have been working hard to improve the reading skills of Australian children. All this is powered by volunteers. Helping children improve their reading to increase their confidence and enable them to reach their full potential is an extremely valuable contribution on the part of these generous volunteers. Learning to read well is not only valuable for self-esteem; it's critical to future education, training and employment.

Earlier this month I had the great pleasure of meeting Luciana De Michiel, the founder of Reading Friends Australia, as well as several volunteers. I was delighted to be able to listen to children practise their reading and to see how rewarding this was for both the children and the volunteers involved. I commend all those involved with Reading Friends Australia for making such a valuable contribution to our community and our future.