Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I must say I was never any good at speed dating. I'm probably too longwinded. But I do admire Senator Polley's passion for this area and her consistent advocacy in relation to a whole range of matters dealing with brain health. I knew nothing about juvenile dementia until Senator Polley actually gave a presentation in the Senate, so I do warmly acknowledge her contribution in that regard.

I would like to congratulate the Crisafulli LNP government for delivering on their promises for the people of Ipswich. My office is located in the greater Ipswich region, and at the last state election the Crisafulli LNP government made a number of promises to the people of Ipswich, including to fund the business case for the second river crossing across the Bremer River in Ipswich. Notwithstanding the fact that the LNP was not successful in winning any seats in Ipswich, the Crisafulli LNP government is still delivering on its election promises for the people of Ipswich, including delivering on that important business case. So thank you to Premier David Crisafulli and the LNP team for delivering for the people of Ipswich.

We are currently in Ramadan. This is a month of fasting, communal prayer, reflection and community for our Australian Muslim community. I have attended a number of iftar dinners over the last week and a half. I'd like to acknowledge the Islamic College of Brisbane for their wonderful unity iftar dinner, which was hosted by the college and its CEO, Mr Ali Kadri. I'd like to acknowledge the school captains, who always inspire me. The students at the Islamic College of Brisbane always inspire me, so I want to give a big shout-out to them for the wonderful job that they did and to all of the school community for putting on a beautiful iftar dinner.

I'd also like to thank Her Excellency the Governor-General of Australia for hosting a wonderful iftar dinner at Admiralty House in Sydney, which I was delighted to attend in my capacity as co-chair of the Friends of SBS. I'd also like to acknowledge my fellow Queenslander Imam Akram Buks of the Slacks Creek Masjid, who was also in attendance from Queensland at that wonderful event. It was attended by faith leaders across all faiths, across all religions, and by community leaders from the Muslim community.

I also attended an iftar dinner hosted by the Bangladesh Association of Brisbane. The Bangladesh community is a wonderful community, and they provide medical personnel, doctors, nurses, IT specialists and engineers and contribute to Queensland and Australia in so many wonderful days. After that iftar dinner, I went to visit my friends at Algester mosque in Brisbane, who put on one of their wonderful community barbecues open to the whole community. The Algester mosque reaches out to the whole community and invites them to their iftar dinner, and they put on another magnificent barbecue, so I thank them.